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donating millions of dollars under pressure from the president, who took office four years ago -- but the Samsung chief denies making those and other payments to ensure the success of a 2015 merger that came under suspicion when the state-run pension fund appeared to hurt its own interests by backing the deal. Detained National Pension Service head Moon Hyung-pyo was also formally indicted Monday morning for his alleged part in supporting the merger. The extent to which the president may have been involved is yet to be determined, with her own impeachment trial ongoing at the Constitutional Court. It is known that she previously held private talks with 48-year-old Lee, who is a particularly important figure for South Korea’s sluggish economy given that his father, Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee, has been hospitalized since 2014 following a heart attack. “In seeking the warrant, the investigation team concluded that establishing justice was more important than the possible impact it could have on the national economy,” an official spokesman for the investigation team was quoted as saying at a briefing by Yonhap News Agency. A court will decide whether to approve Lee’s arrest at a hearing this Wednesday.Hillary deploys her ultimate weapon -- her cackle -- to deflect serous question on emails Jake Tapper did not get a chance to question Democrats in their first presidential debate, for some reason, even though he was chosen by CNN for the GOP debate the network broadcast. Perhaps as a consolation prize, he was able to get a one-on-one sit-down interview with Hillary Clinton, and asked her about her email scandal. Before he could even finish his question, she deployed her most feared weapon, the extended cackle-laugh. It was a remarkably inappropriate response to a serious question about national security. But it served its purpose, which was to evade a serious answer and signal to her supporters that these questions are not worthy of a response. Will she deploy the cackle when questioned by the House Special Committee on Benghazi next week? My guess is that she will, and I suspect that members of the Committee will have appropriate responses if she does literally laugh in their faces.MUMBAI: Twelve persons, including one infant, died on Tuesday morning owing to a building crash in Mumbai’s Ghatkopar area at LBS Road, Damodar Park, Near Shreyas Cinema.The ground plus four storied building is said to be over three decades old. Around 90 fire personnel, 14 fire engines and two rescue vans were rushed to the site. The dead included a three-month-old infant V. Renuka Lalit – whose body was sent to Rajawadi hospital.1) Ranjanaben Shah2) Sulakshana Khanchandani3) V Renuka Lalit Thak4) Mansukhbhai Gajjar5) Mikul khanchandani6) Pandharinath Dongre7) Rutvi Shah8) Krishu Dongre9) Manorama Dongre10) Amruta Lalit Thak11) Divya Ajmera12) Kishor KhanchandaniThe building is learned to have crashed around 10.43am following which fire brigade personnel and a team of NDRF rushed to the spot to rescue those who were trapped within the debris.A fire official present at the spot said that so far 15 persons have been rescued from the debris using cutters with the help of search cameras. One of the eyewitnesses TOI spoke to said that she saw the building crash before her eyes. “There was a loud sound and also screams of people from within the building for about two minutes after which we heard nothing and saw only debris lying before us,” said the eyewitness.BM Kapoor who lived in one of the opposite buildings said that there was a loud sound and dust and enveloped the entire area when the structure crashed. "Had it fallen in a slanting manner, the next buildings would have also been affected," said Kapoor.Each of the floor in the building were occupied by three to four families. Building is having RCC structure and currently removing of topmost RCC slab is in progress, also search of trapped persons inside the debris using search camera is on.Meanwhile, municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta has ordered an inquiry into the entire incident and has asked the inquiry team to submit a report on the crash within the next 15 days.Marc Barros – Moment Marc Barros is a co-founder of Marc Barros is a co-founder of Moment, amazing lenses for your mobile phone. Before Moment, Marc was a co-founder and former CEO of Contour, a hands-free camera company that makes action video easy to capture and share. Shortly after graduating from the University of Washington, Marc co-founded Contour in 2004 and led the organization from a garage to a multi-million dollar company with hundreds of thousands of customers around the world. @marcbarros Kyle Hart – Rhino Camera Gear Kyle Hart is the founder and CEO of the Puget Sound start-up, Kyle Hart is the founder and CEO of the Puget Sound start-up, Rhino Camera Gear. Established less than three years ago in Kyle’s garage, their small team has raised almost $500K from crowd-sourcing platforms to bootstrap their way into the highly competitive camera gear industry. Rhino’s passion is for quality film making accessories that make compelling and cinematic video available to anyone from the amateur to the seasoned Hollywood professional. Becky Brown – FiftyThree Becky Brown is the Art Director for brand at FiftyThree, Inc., – maker of the award winning iPad app Paper, and the new stylus Pencil. Becky’s focus is the creation of meaningful connections between hardware and brand. Before joining FiftyThree, Becky worked on design language for Courier and Xbox products at Microsoft, and served as Art Director at LUNAR in California. Dan Shapiro – Robot Turtles Dan Shapiro is the CEO and primary turtle wrangler at Robot Turtles, LLC, a company created when he accidentally launched the bestselling boardgame in Kickstarter history. Dan spent the last two years leading a Google subsidiary that operates comparison shopping products, which was a result of Google buying his company Sparkbuy. Shapiro blogs at Dan Shapiro is the CEO and primary turtle wrangler at Robot Turtles, LLC, a company created when he accidentally launched the bestselling boardgame in Kickstarter history. Dan spent the last two years leading a Google subsidiary that operates comparison shopping products, which was a result of Google buying his company Sparkbuy. Shapiro blogs at danshapiro.com and tweets as @danshapiro Eric Klein – Lemnos Labs My passion is imagining, engineering, and marketing innovative hardware products. I’ve had the opportunity to found successful startups, manage teams in highly successful, multi-national corporations, and provide capital to early stage startups. I’m a Partner at Lemnos Labs, the San Francisco based hardware accelerator helping lead the worldwide hardware renaissance. I’ve previously enjoyed product roles at Nokia, Sun Microsystems, Real Networks, Palm, and Apple. Jim Bob – Zumiez Jim Bob Hume is the Chief Merchant for Zumiez – A chain of 580 retail stores focused on youth culture. Jim Bob has been with Zumiez for almost 20 years, starting in the stores and working his way up through the buying department. Stanley Hainsworth – Tether Before founding the creative juggernaut known as Tether, Stanley was VP Global Creative of Starbucks where he oversaw all creative aspects of the brand – from new products, packaging systems and seasonal promotions to brand campaigns and advertising. Stanley also spent twelve years at Nike as a Creative Director working on everything from product launches to the Olympics. After Nike, he moved to Denmark to join the Lego Company as their Global Creative Director where he directed a total visual overhaul of the brand from top to bottom, including packaging, the web, retail and brand stores. Kara Wedmore – EVO Kara Wedmore is the current Apparel and Footwear (women’s) buyer at evo. evo is a Seattle based retailer specializing in outfitting outdoor and action sports enthusiasts. Before evo Kara worked as a buyer for Zumiez, another Washington based retailer. Kara has an uncanny eye for current trends and building new and upcoming brands. Adam Craft – Dragon Innovation Adam is VP of Manufacturing Engineering and Project Management for Dragon Innovation, a company whose mission is to help hardware entrepreneurs succeed in every phase of the journey from crowdfunding to manufacturing at scale. Formerly VP of Global Product Engineering for Hasbro, he has been leading technical teams and developing global products for over 25 years for companies including Hasbro, iRobot, Water Pik, and AT&T Bell Laboratories. Adam holds engineering degrees from Cornell University and the University of Michigan. A former oarsman, runner, and Ironman, Adam now seeks new pursuits of the knee-friendly variety. Bryan Papé – MiiR Bryan Papé is the CEO and Founder of Bryan Papé is the CEO and Founder of MiiR, an outdoor philanthropic brand that makes amazing products that change the world. Bryan jumpstarted his career in the outdoor industry as the first employee and minority owner of Little Hotties Warmers which sold to Implus in 2009. Soon after MiiR was birthed out of a desire to build a better water bottle and give clean drinking water to those in need. Sean McBeath – Igor Institute Sean is a co-founder and mechanical engineer at Igor Institute, a Seattle-based hardware engineering group that focuses on working with inventors, researchers, small companies, and startups. Before founding Igor, he worked as a design engineer at Chef’n and as a mechanical engineer at Synapse Product Development. Bret Richmond – Synapse During his time at Synapse, Bret has worked as a mechanical engineer, a project manager, and a mechanical engineering lead on projects like the Philips AirFloss, the Viableware RAIL, and a number of small, highly integrated consumer electronics. In his current role as Director of Engineering, Bret is responsible for ensuring that his multi-discipline teams are delivering high-quality product development consulting to meet their client’s needs. Ian MacDuff – FiftyThree Wrangler of electrons, weaver of firmware, and herder of cross-functional teams. Ian has spent his career developing consumer electronics and medical devices from inertial navigation systems and touchscreen remotes to drug delivery robots and defibrillators. He’s currently helping the world capture their creative ideas by putting Wrangler of electrons, weaver of firmware, and herder of cross-functional teams. Ian has spent his career developing consumer electronics and medical devices from inertial navigation systems and touchscreen remotes to drug delivery robots and defibrillators. He’s currently helping the world capture their creative ideas by putting Pencil to Paper Gary Rayner – Lifeproof A serial entrepreneur, he has founded lead and grown two successful hardware ventures; DriveCam and LifeProof. Gary has a long track record of innovation, pioneering, and driving many consumer products to market. The sum of his ventures have resulted in a generated accumulation of more than 2,000 man years of employment, and approximately $1Bn of revenues. Erik Hedberg – Moment Seattle-based designer / powder surfing enthusiast. Working on Instagram \| LinkedIn Seattle-based designer / powder surfing enthusiast. Working on @Moment Cameron Charles – Synapse Cameron graduated with a BS in Computer Engineering from the University of Waterloo in 2001, a MS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Utah in 2003, and a PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Washington in 2006. Upon graduation Cameron returned to the University of Utah to work as an Assistant Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department where he taught, supervised graduate students, and conducted research in the areas of analog and radio frequency integrated circuit design. Cameron is currently working as an Electrical Engineer at Synapse, designing embedded systems. Cameron has published his research in numerous journals and conferences, including the 12th most cited paper in the IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits from the 2000-2009 decade. Joe Heitzeberg – Poppy Joe is a co-creator of Joe is a co-creator of Poppy, a device that turns the iPhone into a 3D camera, which debuted on Kickstarter and is now in wide availability. Already, thousands of people have captured and shared their lives in 3D using Poppy. Prior to Poppy, Joe spent the last 15 years creating both venture-backed and bootstrapped software companies. Scott Jacobson – Madrona Scott joined Madrona in 2007 and currently serves on the boards of Haiku Deck, Indochino, LUMO BodyTech, Mobilewalla, RewardLoop and Yieldex; he is also a board observer for Animoto, BuddyTV, Mercent, Placed, Redfin and ShopIgniter. Prior to joining Madrona, Scott worked at Amazon.com, where he held senior product and business management positions in the Amazon Kindle and Amazon Marketplace groups. Scott is particularly interested in consumer web, digital media, e-commerce, mobile technologies, and hardware. Scott joined Madrona in 2007 and currently serves on the boards of Haiku Deck, Indochino, LUMO BodyTech, Mobilewalla, RewardLoop and Yieldex; he is also a board observer for Animoto, BuddyTV, Mercent, Placed, Redfin and ShopIgniter. Prior to joining Madrona, Scott worked at Amazon.com, where he held senior product and business management positions in the Amazon Kindle and Amazon Marketplace groups. Scott is particularly interested in consumer web, digital media, e-commerce, mobile technologies, and hardware. @scottjacobson Rob Bangerter – Independent Rob Bangerter is an Operations Professional with extensive experience in Consumer Products. Rob has been involved in all aspects operations from NPI to Reverse Logistics. He has worked in a wide variety of product categories and for industry leading brands such as Ride Snowboards, Gargoyle Eyewear, Cranium Games and Discovery Bay Games. In 2010, while at Discovery Bay Games, Rob was part of small team that created the world’s first, game based App-Enabled accessory for the iPad. Over the next 3 years, the team went on to create eight more products in the mobile space.Since leaving DBG in early 2013, Rob has helped several companies, as a consultant, bring connected hardware to markets around the world. Rob Bangerter is an Operations Professional with extensive experience in Consumer Products. Rob has been involved in all aspects operations from NPI to Reverse Logistics. He has worked in a wide variety of product categories and for industry leading brands such as Ride Snowboards, Gargoyle Eyewear, Cranium Games and Discovery Bay Games. In 2010, while at Discovery Bay Games, Rob was part of small team that created the world’s first, game based App-Enabled accessory for the iPad. Over the next 3 years, the team went on to create eight more products in the mobile space.Since leaving DBG in early 2013, Rob has helped several companies, as a consultant, bring connected hardware to markets around the world. LinkedINTRENTON -- The raids at multiple Trenton locations early Thursday were a planned take down of members of a heroin trafficking network whose members kept guns at the ready to enforce their trade, federal authorities said. Officers arrested six people and announced charges against 10. Two were already in custody and two remain at large, the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Jersey said. Authorities said the operation's leader was Ishmael "Ish" Abdullah, a 26-year-old Trenton resident who also uses the names "Gangsta" and "Papi." He was among those arrested Thursday in the raids. All 10 suspects face a federal charge of conspiracy to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin, and Abdullah and Christopher Proctor, 22, who uses the street names "Bris" and "Bris Broctor" are charged with possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman and other federal and local authorities said the joint investigations, which spanned a year, reinforce all levels of law enforcement's commitment to work together to rid city streets of drug crime and violence it brings. "This joint investigation and the arrests of these individuals, who plagued city neighborhoods to further their drug trafficking network, is not only a win for law enforcement but a victory for the citizens of this city who have had to live under those brutal conditions," Trenton Police Director Ernest Parrey Jr. said in the statement. 19 arrested in prostitution bust in Trenton Authorities have been investigating the alleged heroin trafficking since June 2015. Earlier this year, investigators obtained wiretaps for dealers' phone calls and read their text messages, officials said in a statement. That, coupled with multiple undercover heroin purchases, led investigators to determine that Abdullah was running a significant heroin business, authorities said. He bought the drugs from suppliers Jose Joaquin Torres-Mezquita, 30, of Philadelphia, and Ileana "Lilly" Sanchez, 30, of Trenton. Torres-Mezquita, who goes by "Alex Torres" and "Papi," and and Sanchez were arrested Thursday. The operation was headquartered in the Spring and Passaic streets neighborhood and Keith "Meech" Hunter, 24, coordinated the sales with Abdullah, officials said. Hunter remained at large Thursday. Abdullah's crew spoke in code on prepaid phones, used stash houses to store heroin and maintained joint access to firearms. Authorities said they listened in as members discussed drug quality, pricing and consumer satisfaction. In one conversation in September described in federal complaints, Torres and Abdullah allegedly discussed how Abdullah was going to pay the a $21,000 to $22,000 drug debt he owed to Torres and his associates. Abdullah suggested selling his Rolex watch, authorities said. "It's nice, it got a red face and diamonds in it and everything," Abdullah allegedly said. Torres called back and said his group would accept the watch as a pay down on the debt. Once Abdullah's group purchased heroin, they allegedly sold heroin it in "brick" form to lesser dealers, authorities said. Their bricks contained about one gram of heroin, and were further divided into "bundles," which contained about a fifth of a gram, authorities said. The brands names of the heroin included "Hot Sauce" and "Tiffany" and "Black Scorpion," federal complaints state. Authorities did not say if any narcotics were seized in the raids. Also arrested Thursday were: Bernadino "BG" Guervil, 28 of Trenton; Prince Sarnoe, 29, Trenton; and India Daniels, 23, of Morrisville, Pa. Previously arrested was Thomas Rogers, 22, of Trenton, who uses the names "Herb" and "T-Rod." Ishmael Abdullah's brother, Elijah "Uncle E" Abdullah, 21, of Trenton is listed as a fugitive with Hunter. Trenton police said in addition to five houses on the 100 block of Passaic Street, and locations on nearby Spring and West Hanover streets, officers executed warrants on the 100 block of Columbus Avenue and the 100 block of Bert Avenue. Kevin Shea may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find NJ.com on Facebook.Have you ever felt weak in the arms? Have you ever not been able to lift something up? Have your punches ever had little to no impact on your target? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions then what you need is an arm upgrade! Now before you pull up the Googles, asking just how exactly do you get your arms upgraded, stop right there, for the answer lies ahead. OGRE ARMS. That’s right folks, Orge Arms; the newest in weapons… err.. day-to-day life technology, to help with your common household chores and then some! Get rid of that fatigue in your arms! Never again will you have to look weak in front of people when you can’t pick up a boulder. Gone are the days where your punches go unnoticed, and now begins the days where your punches EVISCERATE everything in their path. That’s right people, feel like you need a new pair of arms? GET OGRE ARMS TODAY. So how about them Orge Arms, eh? Can’t believe something that destructive is being sold so accessibly… Oh, what was that? That wasn’t real? This is actually a review of the Strength Figma? (Nearing 5 years since release.) Oh. So Strength comes with well her arms, and then those things we call Ogre Arms, 2 face plates, 4 pairs of hands, and 2 pairs of sticks so you can pose the arms without them falling, which you can manage without… that’s what those black things below are. Strength has great pose-ability, and tends to look awesome with her not-normal-arms on. You don’t even have to try posing her with them, jut put them on her, and you’re she’s good to go. Ready to look BA and then some. In fact Strength basically speaks for herself so here’s just a mass of pictures. A happy Ogre Arms customer~ Ok so that wasn’t exactly a mass, but it was two in a row, which I’ve never done before, I think. Moving on, let’s talk about the details. I’m sure some of you may have noticed the wear and tear on her Ogre Arms, those aren’t wear and tear, that’s painted on battle damage, just like the other BRS OVA figma have on their weapons. Yay, consistency. Speaking of which, as you can see above the fingers on her Ogre Arms are articulated, so you can bend them at will to your pleasure… just not horizontally or anything, because reasons that involve breaking. Moving on from her weaponized arms, we have her hood. It is removable, thanks for wondering, it only requires some temporary decapitation. I wouldn’t take it off as without it she looks a bit weird, and by weird I mean she looks neck-less. All in all, love Strength, love the arms, love the hood. Great quality. Tails i kind of just there, chilling out, inconsequential. Get Ogre Arms today, upgrade your life, and destroy your enemies. Next time, I’ll do two in one, but before that I’ll write up a review of the Black Rock Shooter OVA since with Strength, that’s just about all the Original Figmas for the BRS line. Bye~I’ve never really been too good with self-acceptance. I tend to focus on the negative in myself, and when I do something well, I tend to think it’s a fluke. I look at what I do differently from others, and I assume I am wrong. I look at what others do better, and I assume I am irrevocably flawed. I see what I do well, and I trivialize it. And I see my errors, and I label myself as worthless. And that’s pretty much how I have spent my life. In regards to parenting, most everyone will tell you that you have to do what feels right for you. They tell you that you know your children better than anyone else does and that you will make the best choices for them. They tell you not to listen to the advice of others but to rely on your own instincts and wisdom instead. And that all sounds so good. So very very good. And maybe that’s why I never followed it. When Magoo was born, I drove myself batty. I would read every book and I would read every website and magazine article, and I would read all of the Baby Center comments (oh those dreaded Baby Center comments,) and I would beat myself up. Was I breastfeeding? Then I was doing something wrong. Was I formula feeding? Then I was doing something wrong. Stay at home mom? Working mom? Work at home mom? Step mom, biological mom, foster mom, adoptive mom? Someone somewhere was always telling me that I was wrong. So I did the only logical thing. I believed them all. Whatever decision I made, I would second guess myself because I had convinced myself that surely they all knew better. To trust my own instincts just seemed so… arrogant. It has been five years since those earliest days. In some ways, I have come far, in others, not so much. But what I have learned — if I let myself believe all the judgments, I will go absolutely mad. It’s hard to know where to draw the line between being open minded and being overly susceptible to the criticism of others. I’m not too good at drawing lines. But what I am slowly starting to realize is that there are billions of different ways to live this life. We are aided by our own strengths and blessings and talents, and we are also limited by our weaknesses and misfortunes and faults. All we really can do is take what we are, where we are, and what we have been given and make the best of it all. Ten hundred years from now, we will all be looking back on this life from the other side, and we’ll see the myriad choices we have made and where they landed us in the end. And the best that any of us will ever be able to say is that we did it our way. The best any of us can do is own our choices and the consequences for them. We can be grateful when we get it right and remorseful when we get it wrong, but always we must be able to say that we were who we thought was best. And much sooner than ten hundred years from now, our children will look back on their childhood, and they’ll have questions and opinions about this time. And again, all we can say is that we did it our way. We made our choices. We lived by our values. We did by them the best we could. And in this messy and crazy and complicated world, the best any of us can be is who we are. Let’s own it. And of course, I now have this song stuck in my head. Have a great weekend!Attorney General Jeff Sessions asked all of the U.S. attorneys appointed by President Barack Obama who are still in their posts to submit their resignation on Friday, paving the way for the Trump administration to remake federal prosecutors’ offices around the country. Notably, the request appeared to backtrack on an earlier request by President Donald Trump for Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, well-known for his aggressive prosecutions of insider trading and corruption in New York, to remain in that job. The news sparked confusion in Bharara’s office, and as of late Friday, his office was still seeking clarity from the Justice Department on whether the decision applied to him, according to a person familiar with the matter. “The attorney general has now asked the remaining 46 presidentially appointed U.S. Attorneys to tender their resignations in order to ensure a uniform transition,” said Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores. A spokesman for Bharara declined immediate comment. Acting Deputy Attorney General Dana Boente called all the U.S. attorneys, including Bharara, on Friday to alert them, though he may not have reached them all personally, according to a person familiar with the matter. An expanded version of this report appears at WSJ.com.Outrage as star of the Bachelor says gay people should NOT be allowed on hit television show and calls homosexuals perverted Comments were made during a 'network' party in Pasadena Friday Juan Pablo Galavis, 32, who is The Bachelor's first Latino bachelor said he didn't think gays or bisexuals would be good examples for kids His remarks come as ABC is poised to add another two hours of The Bachelor each week starting Sunday Galavis has now apologized claiming his remarks were taken out of context He has attempted to excuse himself stating English is his second language The star of ABC's The Bachelor has sparked widespread outrage by calling gay people perverted and saying they should not be allowed on the hit reality show. Juan Pablo Galavis, 32, was asked about his views on having a bisexual or gay version of the popular program when he candidly declared that a homosexual version of The Bachelor would not be a good idea. TV bosses have been quick to respond calling his comments 'careless, thoughtless and insensitive'. Scroll down to listen to the interview... On the record: Juan Pablo Galavis, the 32-year-old star of The Bachelor who also appeared on the most recent season of The Bachelorette, made the remarks in an interview Strange views: ABC's latest Bachelor says he doesn't think that there should be a gay or bisexual on the broadcast reality television show and described gays as'more pervert in a sense' At a 'network party' on Friday night in Pasadena, California, Mr Galavis was asked for his thoughts on allowing gay people onto the show. Mr Galavis, reportedly told The TV Page's Sean Daly in a radio interview: 'No... I respect [gay people] but, honestly, I don't think it's a good example for kids...' 'Obviously people have their husband and wife and kids and that is how we are brought up. Now there is fathers having kids and all that, and it is hard for me to understand that too in the sense of a household having peoples… Two parents sleeping in the same bed and the kid going into bed… It is confusing in a sense.' The off-color remarks made by Mr Galavis, who is the show's first Latino bachelor, didn't end there as he continued airing his conservative views. 'There's this thing about gay people... it seems to me, and I don't know if I'm mistaken or not... but they're more 'pervert' in a sense. And to me the show would be too strong... too hard to watch.' Outnumbered: Juan Pablo Galavis is the first Hispanic to lead the love charge on The Bachelor, but he doesn't feel the show has room for gays The single dad, who has been known to duck out of dates to spend time with his four-year-old daughter Camila, attempted to justify his comments by stating that he has many gay friends and co-workers. In the run-up to this season's The Bachelor, fans of Juan Pablo Galavis were calling him 'Juan-in-a-million' and 'Juan-derful. They may now be questioning their judgement. Galavis' legions of fans pushed back against the avalanche of criticism, accusing his detractors of misinterpreting the reality star's comments and censuring him for merely expressing his personal views. Damian Holbrook, senior writer for TV Guide Magazine who happens to be gay, came to Galavis' defense Saturday afternoon, posting a photo of himself in the company of the hunky 32-year-old. '@JuanPaGalavis groped me last night. He does NOT have a problem with gays, Holbrook wrote in the message, which Galavis himself later retweeted to his 219,300 followers. ABC, Warner Horizon and The Bachelor executive producers issued a statement on Saturday afternoon slamming Mr Galavis’ statements. 'Juan Pablo’s comments were careless, thoughtless and insensitive, and in no way reflect the views of the network, the show’s producers or studio,' the statement read. Apology: Pablo Galavis has said sorry to anyone that he has offended. 'If you listen to the entire interview, there's nothing but respect for Gay people and their families' he says Some of my best friends are gay: Galavis was asked whether ABC should have a gay or bisexual bachelor on the show. 'No,' Pablo Galavis responded. 'I don't think it's a good example for kids to watch that on TV. It's hard, it's hard, it's a very thin line.' Response: ABC, Warner Horizon and The Bachelor executive producers just issued a statement slamming Bachelor star Juan Pablo Galavis¿ statements. They say his comments were 'careless, thoughtless and insensitive' They're always "sorry" after the fact. Yawn. RT @NewsBreaker: HE'S SORRY: ABC's 'Bachelor' Juan Pablo Galavis apologizes for anti-gay remark — Brianne (@briannechantal) January 18, 2014 'Bachelor's Juan Pablo Galavis: Gays Should Not Be On The Bachelor- Did this idiot not hear about Duck Dynasty?! http://t.co/vWrFNiyLNX — Dean Obeidallah (@Deanofcomedy) January 18, 2014 WELCOME TO THE WRONG SIDE OF HISTORY JUAN PABLO GALAVIS AND SHERRI SHEPHERD ABC's 'Bachelor' Juan Pablo Galavis... http://t.co/faE5tr5yFd — Del Shores (@DelShores) January 18, 2014 Not a fan of the new Bachelor Juan Pablo Galavis anymore after his recent homophobic remarks. Not cool. http://t.co/Y42kPTJVgB — Jake Updegraff (@OnAirJake) January 18, 2014 The insensitive comments come just as ABC appears to be throwing it weight behind Mr Galavis and the long-running television show. He is one the networks' most popular stars in some time having reinvigorated the Bachelor franchise, now in its 18th season. Supporter: Damian Holbrook, senior writer for TV Guide Magazine who happens to be gay, came to Galavis' defense, posting this photo of himself in the company of the hunky 32-year-old ABC has even been airing Bachelor specials in addition to the regular episodes with the channel added two more hours of The Bachelor a week to take advantage of promising viewing figures that have been generated so far this season. Pablo Galavis has released a statement on his Facebook page saying the interview takes his remarks out of context. 'I want to apologize to all the people I may have offended because of my comments on having a Gay or Bisexual Bachelor. The comment was taken out of context. If you listen to the entire interview, there's nothing but respect for Gay people and their families. I have many gay friends and one of my closest friends who's like a brother has been a constant in my life especially during the past 5 months. The word pervert was not what I meant to say and I am very sorry about it. Everyone knows English is my second language and my vocabulary is not as broad as it is in Spanish and, because of this, sometimes I use the wrong words to express myself. What I meant to say was that gay people are more affectionate and intense and for a segment of the TV audience this would be too racy to accept. The show is very racy as it is and I don't let my five-year-old daughter watch it. Once again, I'm sorry for how my words were taken. I would never disrespect anyone.' Outspoken: The Venezuelan former footballer said he felt that gay people were more 'pevert' Impressionable: It makes one wonder whether the 32-year-old reality star is teaching this 'culture' to his four-year-old daughter Camila with ex-girlfriend, Carla Rodriguez On Facebook, Galavis’ mea culpa has received a mixed response, with some of his supporters blaming the media for stirring up controversy. Most commenters, however, blasted Galavis for his perceived bigotry and homophobia. 'What a jerk you are,' one Michael Shockley wrote on Galavis' Facebook page. 'The bachelor makes a joke out of love and marriage in the first place. I think it is confusing for a kid to see the bachelor.' User Sean Riley called out the single father as a hypocrite who espouses traditional family values while dating 20 women at once on TV ‘for money.’ In a brutal takedown of Galavis, The Salt Lake Tribune TV critic Scott D. Pierce went even farther, calling the Bachelor 'a big, stinkin' homophobe' and a 'narrow-minded bigot.' Pierce also took issue with Galavis' apology, in which he insisted that he does not hold homophobic views because he has many gay friends. ' 'Which is sort of like a racial bigot insisting that he has black friends,' Pierce wrote. Mixed messages: Facebook user Sean Riley posted this graphic calling out the single father as a hypocrite who espouses traditional family values while dating 20 women at once on TV 'for money' Pierce reported that in an amusing twist, on the day of the fateful party in Pasadena, TV critics staying at the Langham Hotel had roses delivered to their rooms with an attached card that read: 'Will you accept this rose? - Juan Pablo.' 'It was delivered to both the female and male critics,' Pierce wrote. 'Galavis must be horrified.' As a single father, Juan Pablo is looking for not just someone to be his wife, but also someone to be a mother to his daughter Camila. He explained: ‘I'm going to find hopefully the person who is going to join me and my daughter. That's what I'm looking for.’ Juan Pablo quickly became a fan favorite thanks during last years The Bachelorette to his clear devotion to his four-year-old 'It's a great responsibility because I am going to find hopefully the person who is going to be with me and my daughter,' he said. Critics wasted no time drawing comparisons between Galavis, the suave serial dater, to Phil Robertson, the rugged star of the popular A&E show Duck Dynasty. The bearded patriarch of the Robertson clan from Louisiana caused a monumental uproar when he equated homosexuals with terrorists, prostitutes and people who engage in bestiality in an interview with GQ magazine for the January issue. Following a brief suspension, Phil was reinstated on the show just in time for the premiere of season 5 this week. However, Mr Robertson’s anti-gay remarks may have done their damage, as the hit show, once considered the single most popular reality program on TV, had a 28 per cent drop in ratings compared to the debut of season 4 last year.Protestors chanted against Israel and Trump's decision on Jerusalem, carried banners reading â€œStop the occupation in Palestine nowâ€, â€œJerusalem belongs to Palestiniansâ€ and "We reject Trump's decision" Protestors chanted against Israel and Trump's decision on Jerusalem, carried banners reading â€œStop the occupation in Palestine nowâ€, â€œJerusalem belongs to Palestiniansâ€ and "We reject Trump's decision" Hundreds gathered in front of the White House on Friday to protest President Donald Trumpâ€™s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to perform the Islamic Friday prayer.The nationâ€™s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organizations, Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) and Jews United Against Zionism took their grievances to the US capital.â€œThis decision exposes what we have been saying for a long time that there is no such a thing as a peace process,â€ well-known US-based Muslim scholar, Omer Suleiman told Anadolu Agency, adding:f we are to initiate an honest peace process then the American government has been anything but an honest broker.However, the fault largely lies on Muslim leaders and Arab leaders, Suleiman said, adding that some of those Arab leaders have secretly aided the Israeli occupation while some have given permission â€œbehind close doorsâ€.â€œThis is more them, than anyone elseâ€™s faults
36% above the minimum wage, after all legitimate expenses have been deducted.” It also said it was putting in place an independent ombudsman to handle complaints and was this month issuing a new code of conduct to staff, demanding that managers treat couriers with “dignity and respect”. Field wants a government investigation into the use of self-employed workers at Hermes and other firms. The latest official data shows 83% of new jobs created in the UK between March and May were self-employed positions, which means they do not benefit from sick pay, paid holiday, pensions or employment protections. The gig economy is here to stay. So making it fairer must be a priority \| Will Hutton Read more In her first speech as prime minister in June, May directly addressed people who “have a job but you don’t always have job security”, saying: “The government I lead will be driven, not by the interests of the privileged few, but by yours.” “This is the prime minister’s first serious test of her commitment,” Field said. In a letter to Field last week, James said she was monitoring the situation at Hermes and signalled her determination to clamp down on any inappropriate use of self-employment in the British economy. “While I am unable to comment on the particular examples you refer to [at Hermes], I believe everyone deserves to be treated fairly at work, free from intimidation and abuse,” she said. “Employers cannot opt out of their employment law obligations by defining individuals as self-employed. An individual’s employment status is established based on the reality of the working relationship.” Field claims Hermes has been enjoying “almost exclusively the benefits of self-employment, namely that it is not obliged to pay employers’ national insurance and pension contributions, and is not covered by employment regulations covering the national living wage, holiday pay and sick pay. Yet the couriers themselves are enjoying few, if any, of the benefits.” The results of any HMRC inquiry into the self-employed status of the firm’s 10,500 contractors are likely to be closely watched by other firms in the so-called gig economy. Companies such as Uber and Deliveroo also rely on self-employed workers who do not receive sick pay, paid holiday, pension contributions or employment protection, but enjoy flexibility about when and how they work.WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama will propose a $2.5 billion tax credit over five years for businesses that invest in programs at local community colleges and hire their graduates, administration officials said on Friday. The proposal, dubbed the Community College Partnership Tax Credit, would require businesses to donate funds for equipment, instruction, or internships related to programs in areas such as healthcare, energy and information technology. Employers that hire students from such programs would get a one-time, $5,000 tax credit per individual brought aboard. Play Facebook Twitter Embed What's the Best Way to Save for College? 0:43 autoplay autoplay Copy this code to your website or blog The program, to be proposed formally in the president's fiscal 2017 budget on Tuesday, is meant to shore up community colleges' educational offerings, while helping businesses find high-skilled workers in certain fields. "Employers can define those skills and help colleges develop the curriculum that teaches them," said James Kvaal, White House deputy director of domestic policy. He estimated the initiative would produce 500,000 highly skilled graduates over five years. Special Report: Get tips and advice about college at College Game Plan Obama's budget requires congressional approval, which is unlikely. Administration officials expressed confidence, however, that the proposal would garner bipartisan support and the idea could gain traction. "The idea of... bringing together community colleges and the local employer base is a very powerful one and really doesn't break along party lines," said Ted Mitchell, under secretary at the U.S. Department of Education. FILE - In this Aug. 25, 2008 file photo, Ashley Kelley, a freshman business major at North Idaho College, shops for textbooks at the start of the fall semester at the community college in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Students fretting about how they'll pay for the many books they'll need for college this year have a raft of options. (AP Photo/Coeur d'Alene Press, Jerome A. Pollos) MANDATORY CREDIT Jerome A Pollos, Coeur d'Alene Press / AP Obama's final budget is likely to garner less attention than in previous years. Washington's focus is moving to the 2016 presidential campaign and the Republican-controlled Congress does not want to hand legislative victories to the White House. Related: Why This Group of Students Can't Get State Financial Aid Administration officials are aware similar proposals by the president have had limited success. Though his proposals to raise the minimum wage and make community college tuition free have not been enacted nationally, they say his championing of such ideas has spurred action on the state and local level. Under his latest proposal, states would get part of the tax credit money and be responsible for selecting businesses and community colleges based on a competition for applications. Employers could be involved in designing curriculums on advanced manufacturing, for example, or donating instruction time and equipment. Community colleges would get needed capital investment and businesses would recoup their investments through the tax credits gleaned from hiring graduates.The poster child for India's failure to punish the violent remains Narendra Modi, who is Gujarat's chief minister - a post he held during the 2002 riot, said the members. Two top members of a US Congress constituted commission on religious freedom have expressed sadness over nomination of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as the prime ministerial candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), terming him as the "poster boy" of India's failure to punish the violent. "It was another son of Gujarat, Mahatma Gandhi, who once offered a broad, tolerant vision for the country and its multi-religious society," wrote Katrina Lantos Swett and Mary Ann Glendon, in a special op-ed Special to CNN on Tuesday. "So, as 2014 draws nigh, whose vision will be embraced? Which India will prevail - that of religious freedom or religious intolerance? Time will tell," they wrote. While Swett is Vice Chairwoman of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), Glendon is a USCIRF Commissioner. The op-ed "The two faces of India" was published on the blog of the popular CNN program "Global Public Square", which is run by eminent Indian American Fareed Zakaria. "The poster child for India's failure to punish the violent remains Narendra Modi, who is Gujarat's chief minister - a post he held during the 2002 riots," they wrote. "Gujarat's high court rapped the Modi administration for inaction and ordered compensation forreligious structures that suffered damage. In 2005, the US State Department agreed with the recommendation of USCIRF and others to revoke Modi's visa," they said. "True, in April 2012, the highest court's Special Investigative Team failed to prove guilt against Modi and others in a case involving the deaths of nearly 70 people. But he remains implicated in other Gujarat-associated cases that have yet to be investigated or adjudicated," the op-ed said. "That is why, more recently, 65 members of India's parliament wrote to President Barack Obama, requesting that he not issue Modi a visa. Sadly, despite all this, Gujarat's most controversial resident is the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party candidate in India's 2014 prime ministerial election," Swett and Glendon wrote. It was at the recommendation of USCIRF that the then Bush Administration had revoked the US visa of Modi, based on the allegation about his involvement in the 2002 Gujarat riots. USCIRF has maintained that the Obama Administration should continue the same policy. Please read our terms of use before posting commentsBreaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings. Dec. 14, 2017, 2:06 AM GMT / Updated Dec. 14, 2017, 2:06 AM GMT By Alex Johnson The Navajo Nation has accused Wells Fargo & Co. of coercing vulnerable members of the tribe into opening accounts they didn't need as part of an aggressive sales campaign for which it has already agreed to pay tens of millions of dollars in penalties and settlements. In a 55-page lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the tribe — whose lands in Arizona, Utah and New Mexico are home to five Wells Fargo branches — accused the bank of targeting minors, the elderly and members who speak limited English for high-pressure pitches to sign up for unneeded accounts. Related: Wells Fargo fined $185 million for phony accounts, fires 5,300 staff The suit also claims that Wells Fargo personnel used fake email addresses and other falsified information to open accounts without members' knowledge or consent from 2009 to 2016. It seeks unspecified actual and punitive damages, as well as extra punitive measures. A Wells Fargo branch in Golden, Colorado. Reuters file "Wells Fargo's exploitation of its customers has been well documented. But even so, Wells Fargo's actions toward the Navajo people have been of a uniquely outrageous nature," Russell Begaye, the tribe's president, said in a statement. Wells Fargo on Wednesday said it couldn't comment on pending litigation. U.S. Magistrate Judge Laura Fashing hadn't scheduled any hearings yet on Wednesday. The suit includes a letter that the tribe says Wells Fargo sent in January reassuring members that "there has been no impact from Wells Fargo's improper sales practices... to the Navajo Nation community." But "this representation was false," the lawsuit argues, citing Wells Fargo's own records of its internal investigation. "Wells Fargo's unlawful sales practices spread to its branches on the Navajo Nation," and the bank "lied to the Navajo Nation in an effort to cover it up," the suit alleges. Specifically, it says, Wells Fargo personnel falsified birthdates to open accounts for minors without getting parental consent and told "elderly Navajo citizens who did not speak English that in order to have their checks cashed, they needed to sign up for savings accounts they neither needed nor understood." The suit caps a ghastly year for Wells Fargo, which agreed in October 2016 to pay $185 million in fines and millions of dollars more in restitution to customers who were charged fees after employees opened bank or credit card accounts in their name. More than 5,000 employees have been fired in connection with the scandal. More disclosures and admissions have followed. In March, Wells Fargo agreed to pay $110 million to settle a class-action lawsuit over as many as 2 million of the fraudulent accounts. In July, the bank said it would also pay $80 million in damages to hundreds of thousands of customers who it acknowledged had been charged for auto insurance they weren't required to buy. Then, in August, it said a new review had found 1.4 million more unauthorized accounts. Wells Fargo said it was earmarking an additional $2.8 million to pay back customers harmed by the scheme. Wells Fargo stock fell by almost a dollar on Wednesday.A US Embassy source confirmed on Saturday attache Colin White has left the country. A United States diplomat wanted for questioning by police after an alleged assault has left New Zealand. Embassy attache Colin White was at the centre of a diplomatic stoush between the two countries after police were called to an address in the Wellington suburb of Tirohanga on Sunday night White left the address with a broken nose and a black eye before police arrived. MONIQUE FORD / FAIRFAX NZ Muhammad Rizalman was extradited back to New Zealand, following a 2014 indecent assault. A request by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) on Friday for White to waive diplomatic immunity was declined by the US Government. READ MORE: * US Government refuses to waive employee's diplomatic immunity * Malaysian envoy defecated outside woman's house - Crown * Korean police could charge NZ government official after diplomatic immunity waived * South African high commissioner invokes diplomatic immunity over text sacking * Text sacking case struck out as South African high commissioner claims diplomatic immunity On Saturday, a US Embassy source confirmed White had left the country. White, a technical attache at the US embassy in Wellington, was understood to have been working with the GCSB spy agency. The US embassy said in a statement: "We take seriously any suggestion that our staff have fallen short of the high standards of conduct expected of US Government personnel. "Any allegations of wrongdoing are always fully investigated. We are communicating with New Zealand authorities." This was not the first high-profile case involving an overseas official based in Wellington. Malaysian military official Muhammad Rizalman bin Ismail was extradited back to New Zealand, following a 2014 incident where he defecated outside a Wellington woman's home and indecently assaulted her. He left New Zealand shortly after the incident, but had to return to New Zealand to face trial. After serving a sentence of home detention, he was escorted back to Malaysia by two New Zealand police officers. According to MFAT, foreign diplomats have diplomatic immunity from any criminal processes, and Kiwi diplomats enjoy the same protection when working overseas. However, the Ministry can ask for that to be waived if there are allegations of serious crimes. Police may also ask MFAT to request a waiver of diplomatic immunity to allow them to investigate allegations against a foreign diplomat, and police cannot interview a diplomat without that waiver. If an interview goes ahead, police can then seek a further waiver so they can prosecute the diplomat. Where a waiver is refused, MFAT can ask the diplomat's government to withdraw that person.VPASS is a tool for leaking the detection model of Android malware detection systems (i.e., antivirus software), and bypassing their detection logics by using the leaked information coupled with APK obfuscation techniques. AVPASS is not limited to detection features used by detection systems, and can also infer detection rules so that it can disguise any Android malware as a benign application by automatically transforming the APK binary. To prevent leakage of the application logic during transformation, AVPASS provides an Imitation Mode that allows malware developers to safely query curious detection features without sending the entire binary. AVPASS offers several useful features to transform any Android malware so it can bypass anti-virus software. Below are the main features AVPASS offers: APK obfuscation with more than 10 modules Feature inference for the detection system by using individual obfuscation Rule inference of the detection system by using the 2k factorial experiment Targeted obfuscation to bypass a specific detection system Safe query support by using Imitation Mode DISCLAIMER All the code provided on this repository is for educational/research purposes only. Any actions and/or activities related to the material contained within this repository is solely your responsibility. The misuse of the code in this repository can result in criminal charges brought against the persons in question. The authors and SSLab group will not be held responsible in the event any criminal charges be brought against any individuals misusing the code in this repository to break the law. (Disclaimer taken from: here DEMO Bypassing API-, Dataflow-, Interaction-based detection systemsFILE - In this May 9, 2013 file photo, Stephen Acquario, executive director of the New York State Association of Counties, attends a news conference in the Red Room at the Capitol in Albany, N.Y. Acquario is among hundreds of lobbyists in at least 20 states who get public pensions because they represent associations of counties, cities and school boards, an Associated Press review found. (AP Photo/Mike Groll, File) ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — As a lobbyist in New York's statehouse, Stephen Acquario is doing pretty well. He pulls down $204,000 a year, more than the governor makes, gets a Ford Explorer as his company car and is afforded another special perk: Even though he's not a government employee, he is entitled to a full state pension. He's among hundreds of lobbyists in at least 20 states who get public pensions because they represent associations of counties, cities and school boards, an Associated Press review found. Legislatures granted them access decades ago on the premise that they serve governments and the public. In many cases, such access also includes state health care benefits. But several states have started to question whether these organizations should qualify for such benefits, since they are private entities in most respects: They face no public oversight of their activities, can pay their top executives private-sector salaries and sometimes lobby for positions in conflict with taxpayers. New Jersey and Illinois are among the states considering legislation that would end their inclusion. "It's a question of, 'Why are we providing government pensions to these private organizations?'" said Illinois Democratic Rep. Elaine Nekritz. Acquario, executive director and general counsel of the New York State Association of Counties, argues that his group gives local government a voice in the statehouse, and the perk of a state pension makes it easier to hire people with government expertise. "We want the people that work in local governments to continue to be part of the solution," he said. "We represent the same taxpayers." The debate is more about principle than big money, since the staffs of such organizations are relatively small and make barely a ripple in huge state retirement systems. The eight New York associations, for example, have fewer than 120 total employees out of 633,100 current workers in the state's $158.7 billion pension system. Still, the issue raises a public policy question as many states and taxpayers struggle to fund their pension obligations required by law. "There is liability for taxpayers," said Keith Brainard, research director of the National Association of State Retirement Administrators. "Providing a pension benefit involves some amount of risk for the state and when you provide access to employees of entities that are not in control of the state." Unlike state government, for example, these groups aren't bound by salary restrictions — significant salary increases would result in increasing pension benefits. New York Conference of Mayors Executive Director Peter Baynes, who makes $196,000 a year and gets a 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee, argues that his and other associations have been at the fore of pushing to reduce taxpayers' costs, including reducing the costs of the pension system they share. New York lawmakers recently acted to reduce benefits for future government hires and are proposing 401(k) savings programs for employees instead of traditional pensions. But such cuts won't affect Baynes. Under the New York Constitution and that of most states, the benefits of those already in the pension system are protected from future cuts. "It's clear that there's a big problem with hypocrisy when these lobbyists have been pushing austerity and benefit cuts for other government workers while they themselves enjoy solid state pensions," said Michael Kink of the progressive group Strong Economy for All Coalition. "'Do as I say, not as I do' seems to be their approach on retirement cuts." "Workers who have faced cuts in pay and pensioners have a right to be angry — as do voters," Kink said. In many states, lobbying groups for states and counties take positions that could conflict with taxpayer interests, such as advocating to weaken caps on property tax increases and boosting state school aid. But associations of cities, counties and school boards argue that a plausible case can be made for allowing them to get state pensions. These quasi-government organizations operate mostly or solely on dues from their members — local governments or school boards typically — which are paid out of taxpayer-funded budgets. They argue they pool their resources to give a voice to government entities that serve taxpayers.New national polls show that Hillary Clinton is leading, but it’s not clear by how much. An ABC News/Washington Post poll shows the Democratic presidential nominee up by 4 points ― 47-43 ― with little movement over the last few weeks. But an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows Clinton leading by 11 points, 48-37 ― a substantial increase in the Democrat’s margin since the beginning of the month. The varying results from these high-quality polls highlight the fact that the race is in a state of flux right now. Both polls were conducted Oct. 10-13, after the recording came out of GOP nominee Donald Trump discussing kissing and groping women without their consent, but before many of the sexual assault allegations against Trump hit the news. The latest round of accusations began in earnest Wednesday night and Thursday, the last two days of the polls. As more allegations emerge, the numbers could continue to shift. The polls also don’t differ much in their partisan makeup. A different number of Democrats and Republicans in the polls would cause the numbers to differ, but the polls are strikingly similar on this metric. The ABC/Washington Post poll is made up of 33 percent Democrats, 33 percent independents and 25 percent Republicans. The NBC/Wall Street Journal poll is 35 percent Democrats, 33 percent independents and 26 percent Republicans. The HuffPost Pollster aggregate shows Clinton leading Trump by nearly 8 points in a two-way contest, and by about 6 points in the four-way race. These two polls aren’t likely to shift that much, since they average out to a 7.5 percent Clinton edge. The NBC/Wall Street Journal poll has tracked the fluctuations in the race over the last 10 days. In a poll conducted last weekend, in the immediate aftermath of the tape release, Clinton led by 11 points. But another day of polling after last Sunday’s debate took that margin down to 9 points, indicating Trump had regained some ground. Still, even if Clinton is only up by 4 points, as the ABC/Washington Post poll suggests, that would translate into a solid Electoral College win. As NBC’s Mark Murray pointed out, Barack Obama won by 4 points over Mitt Romney in 2012. Obama defeated John McCain by 7 points in 2008. A new CBS News Battleground States poll shows Clinton leading by 6 points across the critical states that would contribute to that Electoral College win, with 46 percent support compared to Trump’s 40 percent support across 13 states. The poll broke out results in Nevada and Utah separately. Clinton leads 46-40 in Nevada, with 4 percent for Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson and 5 percent for “someone else.” The state has been very close over most of the campaign, but Clinton is gaining. According to the HuffPost Pollster trend, Clinton has a lead of just over 1 percent. In Utah, Trump has a substantial lead with 37 percent support. Clinton and conservative independent candidate Evan McMullin are tied at 20 percent support. The HuffPost Pollster trend shows McMullin gaining ground, but Trump still has a 12-point lead over Clinton and a 20-point lead over the independent candidate in the state.Not to be confused with Dog bite Dog Bites Man was a partially improvised comedy television show on Comedy Central that aired in summer 2006. It began airing on The Comedy Channel in Australia in June 2007. The series was produced by DreamWorks Television. Premise [ edit ] Dog Bites Man was a parody of local news coverage, and followed the misadventures of a struggling news team from Spokane, Washington as they traveled around the country producing news segments. A mockumentary, the show incorporated scenes with the cast in traditional skits as well as them improvising with non-actors, who believed that they are an actual (albeit unusual) news crew. Disclaimer [ edit ] Perhaps to lessen confusion pertaining to the true reality of the show, starting with episode five each episode began with the following message: "With the exception of the news team, the following episode contains real people who were not made aware they were being filmed as part of a comedy show." Cast [ edit ] Zach Galifianakis as Alan Finger, the show's incompetent director. Also a musician, in episode three, he scored a hit song in Panama City using the name "The Finger" (the song was titled "Come on and Get It (Up in Dem Guts)"). A.D. Miles as Marty Shonson, an intern who serves as a production assistant. Andrea Savage as Tillie Sullivan, the team's producer. Matt Walsh as Kevin Beekin, the star reporter for the news show, who used to date Tillie the producer and still has feelings for her. Cancellation [ edit ] When asked on Michael Showalter's webisode series The Michael Showalter Showalter if Comedy Central had cancelled the show, Zach Galifianakis replied "Yes, thank God." He went on to explain that "messing with people" made him uncomfortable. Episodes [ edit ] All titles were prefaced with "Assignment:" No. Title Original air date 1 "Body Builders" June 7, 2006 ( ) The team reports on a bodybuilding contest and attempts to spice up the story. Also, the recently reunited Kevin Beekin and Tillie Sullivan attempt to get along. 2 "Undercover Homosexual" June 14, 2006 ( ) The team tries to uncover discrimination against homosexuals in the city by sending Kevin in as an undercover homosexual. At the end of the episode, the team concludes that "homophobia is gone forever". 3 "Spring Break" June 21, 2006 ( ) The team does a report on spring break. Tillie, who ostensibly despises spring break, gets caught up in the partying and Kevin attempts to "be cool" and talk to kids about the dangers of spring break. Also, Alan Finger records and releases a song, "Up In 'Dem Guts". 4 "Republican Leadership Conference" June 28, 2006 ( ) The team go to report on the Republican Leadership Conference. Whilst there, Tillie and Marty share a hotel room and Marty grows attracted to Tillie. Kevin talks a lot about meeting up with Chris Matthews and Alan gets people to sign a petition for the release his mother from prison for tasering up to 22 dogs. 5 "Team Building" July 12, 2006 ( ) The station is thinking about doing advertising for the show so a test audience is used to figure out the show's audience demographics. The show is criticized, causing the crew to be forced to go to a team building camp. Beekin is especially cynical about the process and is very rude to the leader whom he calls "Hippie Rambo". Beekin and Tillie hook up after Beekin shares his emotions around a campfire. By the end of the camp, they are all working well together, but that ends soon after they go back to work. 6 "Brighton, Florida" July 19, 2006 ( ) The network sends the team to Brighton, Florida to cover a missing girl story. Marty messes up the tickets and the team ends up in Brighton, Colorado, so the team decides to fake the missing girl story at that location. Marty is fixated on setting the zoo on fire but doesn't. The girl is found at the end while the team is creating a vigil. 7 "Christian Convention" July 26, 2006 ( ) In an effort to boost their ratings among the God-fearing demographic, the KHBX News team infuses its reports with religion by covering a Christian rock concert and a Christian gaming convention. In the process of filing their report, they learn new things about their own faith. 8 "Gas Prices" August 2, 2006 ( ) Due to budget cuts, the members of the KHBX news team are in danger of losing their jobs; it's either them or the Doppler, and it seems the Doppler has the edge. At the same time, they prepare themselves for alternative careers. Marty tries his hand at stand-up comedy while Alan returns to the seedy world of Korean Karaoke. 9 "Daytime Talk Pilot" August 9, 2006 ( ) Kevin is sick of doing menial garbage pickup reporting. He creates a pilot for a talk show titled Beekin and Eggs. He wants it to have A-list guests but fails in that regard. He interviews a guy from a gas station who charges by the half gallon since his pumps only display up to $3 a gallon. The team members think they do a good job yet the network fails to pick it up. 10 Klan Unaired ( ) This episode never aired. Though details are scarce outside of cast publicity interviews leading up to the show's initial debut, episode 10 features a remote from a Ku Klux Klan picnic in Pulaski, Tennessee. In an interview with the Knoxville News Sentinel on June 27, 2006, castmember Matt Walsh said, "The premise for the Klan episode is that we thought we were going to a typical American picnic, but we see the robes and the hoods and we realize where we are, [...] But, then, we decide to stay because the hot dogs are so good." In an interview on The Michael Showalter Showalter, Zach Galifianakis stated that Dan Mazer told the actors that there would be no guns, but that "he was wrong--there were a lot of guns". Home release [ edit ] DVD name Release date Ep # The Complete Series May 15, 2012 9 Producers and creators [ edit ] Jonathan Barry - Executive Producer Justin Falvey - Executive Producer Darryl Frank - Executive Producer Dan Mazer - Executive Producer Keith Raskin - Producer Dan Mazer - Creator See also [ edit ]Click Here for More Articles on The 2019 AWARDS SEASON The 2014 Tony Awards, hosted by Hugh Jackman, will be broadcast live from Radio City Music Hall in New York City, on Sunday, June 8th on CBS. Our official Tony coverage kicks off - NOW! Best Play Act One All the Way Casa Valentina Mothers and Sons Outside Mullingar Best Musical After Midnight Aladdin Beautiful A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder Best Revival of a Play The Cripple of Inishmaan The Glass Menagerie A Raisin in the Sun Twelfth Night Best Revival of a Musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch Les Miserables Violet Best Book of a Musical Aladdin- Chad Beguelin Beautiful- The Carole King Musical - Douglas McGrath Bullets Over Broadway- Woody Allen A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder - Robert L. Freedman Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre Aladdin- Music: Alan Menken, Lyrics: Howard Ashman, Tim Rice and Chad Beguelin The Bridges of Madison County- Music & Lyrics: Jason Robert Brown A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder- Music: Steven Lutvak, Lyrics: Robert L. Freedman & Steven Lutvak If/Then- Music: Tom Kitt, Lyrics: Brian Yorkey Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play Samuel Barnett, Twelfth Night Bryan Cranston, All The Way Chris O'Dowd, Of Mice and Men Mark Rylance, Richard III Tony Shalhoub, Act One Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play Tyne Daly, Mothers and Sons LaTanya Richardson Jackson, A Raisin in the Sun Cherry Jones, The Glass Menagerie Audra McDonald, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill Estelle Parsons, The Velocity of Autumn Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical Neil Patrick Harris, Hedwig and the Angry Inch Ramin Karimloo, LES MISERABLES Andy Karl, Rocky Jefferson Mays, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder Bryce Pinkham, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical Mary Bridget Davies, A Night with Janis Joplin Sutton Foster, Violet Idina Menzel, If/Then Jessie Mueller, Beautiful - The Carole King Musical Kelli O'Hara, The Bridges of Madison County Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play Reed Birney, Casa Valentina Paul Chahidi, Twelfth Night Stephen Fry, Twelfth Night Mark Rylance, Twelfth Night Brian J. Smith, The Glass Menagerie Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play Sarah Greene, The Cripple of Inishmaan Celia Keenan-Bolger, The Glass Menagerie Sophie Okonedo, A Raisin in the Sun Anika Noni Rose, A Raisin in the Sun Mare Winningham, Casa Valentina Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical Danny Burstein, Cabaret Nick Cordero, Bullets Over Broadway Joshua Henry, Violet James Monroe Iglehart, Aladdin Jarrod Spector, Beautiful - The Carole King Musical Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical Linda Emond, Cabaret Lena Hall, Hedwig and the Angry Inch Anika Larsen, Beautiful - The Carole King Musical Adriane Lenox, After Midnight Lauren Worsham, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder Best Scenic Design of a Play Beowulf Boritt, Act One Bob Crowley, The Glass Menagerie Es Devlin, Machinal Christopher Oram, The Cripple of Inishmaan Best Scenic Design of a Musical Christopher Barreca, Rocky Julian Crouch, Hedwig and the Angry Inch Alexander Dodge, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder Santo Loquasto, Bullets Over Broadway Best Costume Design of a Play Jane Greenwood, Act One Michael Krass, Machinal Rita Ryack, Casa Valentina Jenny Tiramani, Twelfth Night Best Costume Design of a Musical Linda Cho, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder William Ivey Long, Bullets Over Broadway Arianne Phillips, Hedwig and the Angry Inch Isabel Toledo, After Midnight Best Lighting Design of a Play Paule Constable, The Cripple of Inishmaan Jane Cox, Machinal Natasha Katz, The Glass Menagerie Japhy Weideman, Of Mice and Men Best Lighting Design of a Musical Kevin Adams, Hedwig and the Angry Inch Christopher Akerlind, Rocky Howell Binkley, After Midnight Donald Holder, The Bridges of Madison County Best Sound Design of a Play Alex Baranowski, The Cripple of Inishmaan Steve Canyon Kennedy, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill Dan Moses Schreier, Act One Matt Tierney, Machinal Best Sound Design of a Musical Peter Hylenski, After Midnight Tim O'Heir, Hedwig and the Angry Inch Mick Potter, LES MISERABLES Brian Ronan, Beautiful - The Carole King Musical Best Direction of a Play Tim Carroll, Twelfth Night Michael Grandage, The Cripple of Inishmaan Kenny Leon, A Raisin in the Sun John Tiffany, The Glass Menagerie Best Direction of a Musical Warren Carlyle, After Midnight Michael Mayer, Hedwig and the Angry Inch Leigh Silverman, Violet Darko Tresnjak, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder Best Choreography Warren Carlyle, After Midnight Steven Hoggett & Kelly Devine, Rocky Casey Nicholaw, Aladdin Susan Stroman, Bullets Over Broadway Best Orchestrations Doug Besterman, Bullets Over Broadway Jason Robert Brown, The Bridges of Madison County Steve Sidwell, Beautiful - The Carole King Musical Jonathan Tunick, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder Recipients of Awards and Honors in Non-competitive Categories Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre - Jane Greenwood Regional Theatre Award - Signature Theatre, New York, N.Y. Isabelle Stevenson Award - Rosie O'Donnell Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre - Joseph P. Benincasa, Joan Marcus, Charlotte Wilcox Tony Nominations by Production A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder - 10 Hedwig and the Angry Inch - 8 After Midnight - 7 Beautiful - The Carole King Musical - 7 The Glass Menagerie - 7 Twelfth Night - 7 Bullets Over Broadway - 6 The Cripple of Inishmaan - 6 Act One - 5 Aladdin - 5 A Raisin in the Sun - 5 The Bridges of Madison County - 4 Casa Valentina - 4 Machinal - 4 Rocky - 4 Violet - 4 LES MISERABLES - 3 All The Way - 2 Cabaret - 2 If/Then - 2 Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill - 2 Mothers and Sons - 2 Of Mice and Men - 2 A Night with Janis Joplin - 1 Outside Mullingar - 1 Richard III - 1 The Velocity of Autumn - 1 Related ArticlesLewis William Washington (November 30, 1812 - October 1, 1871)[1][2] was a great-grandnephew of President George Washington, who is principally remembered as a hostage of abolitionist John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia and as a prosecution witness in the subsequent trial of Brown. Lewis Washington was the son of George Corbin Washington, the grandson of William Augustine Washington, and a great-grandson of Augustine Washington, half-brother of George Washington.[3] Lewis Washington inherited Beall-Air near Halltown, West Virginia through his mother, Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Beall. He made his home at Bel -Air from 1840 until his death in 1871.[4] The Harper's Ferry Raid [ edit ] Lewis William Washington inherited several relics of George Washington, including a sword allegedly given by Frederick the Great to Washington and a pair of pistols given by Lafayette.[5] John Cook, who served as John Brown's advance party at Harpers Ferry, befriended Washington and noted the relics, as well as the slave population at Beall-Air. Brown was fascinated with the Washington relics. During Brown's October 16, 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry a detachment from his force led by Cook seized the sword and pistols along with Washington at Beall-Air, taking along three of Washington's slaves. The hostages were taken to Harpers Ferry by way of the Allstadt House and Ordinary, where more hostages were taken. Ultimately, Washington and the others were held at Brown's base in the fire engine house of the Harpers Ferry federal arsenal. All survived their captivity, and Washington identified Brown to the Marine rescue
family members who have asthma and hay fever, you may experience AD, Moffat says. “A lot of family members have this trio of ailments but I don’t have this in my family,” he says. “I don’t think we know why AD occurs but we do know that it’s a malfunction in the immune system.” Don’t miss the things your mother’s health can reveal about your body. There’s more to AD than just physical pain For those with AD, the psychological aspect of the condition can be debilitating. “People suffer from anxiety and depression, and lots of people have had to give up a job because they were expected to be in the public domain,” Moffat says. “For example, if you have AD on your face and you can’t have people walking away from you during a business meeting, the stigma is really big.” AD can lead to social isolation too. “Imagine you’re on a third date and things are going well,” Moffat says. “What’s your worry? That the girl you fancy is going to see the backs of your knees or your feet or the bottom of your back and be disgusted.” These are the biggest relationship dealbreakers, according to science. An educational plan Moffat hopes that his new project, produced in partnership with Regeneron, Sanofi, and the National Eczema Association, will build AD awareness and help educate the public about the disease. The site includes a documentary short that allows viewers to peek inside a “day in the life” of a person living with controlled moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis. “Once in a lifetime you get a real opportunity to build a platform from which you can talk about something people haven’t talked about before,” Moffat says. “This is that moment.” And the site also offers a place for those with AD to turn for information. “If we can educate people to understand this disease than the people suffering from it will be empowered to speak about it,” Moffat says. Hoping for understanding—and kindness In the end, Moffat hopes that, in the future, no one will ever mock, poke fun of, or isolate someone with AD. “I like to think about this disease in that way,” he says. “I think that one day nobody will stare at my feet on the London subway. I believe that will happen.” Learn more about what common diseases your skin can reveal.Open research is concerned with making scientific research more transparent, more collaborative and more efficient. A central aspect to it is to provide open access to scientific information, especially to the research published in scholarly journals and to the underlying data, much of which traditional science tends to hide away. Other aspects are more open forms of collaboration and engagement with a wider audience, including citizen scientists and the public at large. Open research is research conducted in the spirit of free and open-source software. Much like open-source schemes that are built around a source code that is made public, the central theme of open research is to make clear accounts of the methodology freely available via the internet, along with any data or results extracted or derived from them. This permits a massively distributed collaboration, and one in which anyone may participate at any level of the project. Especially if the research is scientific in nature, it is frequently referred to as open science.[1][2] Open research can also include social sciences, the humanities, mathematics, engineering and medicine. Types of open projects [ edit ] Important distinctions exist between different types of open projects. Projects that provide open data but don't offer open collaboration are referred to as "open access" rather than open research. Providing open data is a necessary but not sufficient condition for open research, because although the data may be used by anyone, there is no requirement for subsequent research to take place openly. For example, though there have been many calls for more open collaborative research in drug discovery[3] and the open deposition of large amounts of data,[4] there are very few active, openly collaborative projects in this area.[5][6][7] Crowdsourcing projects that recruit large numbers of participants to carry out small tasks which are then assembled into a larger project outcome have delivered significant research outcomes,[8][9] but these projects are distinct from those in which participants are able to influence the overall direction of the research, or in which participants are expected to have creative input into the science behind the project. Most open research is conducted within existing research groups. Primary research data are posted which can be added to, or interpreted by, anyone who has the necessary expertise and who can therefore join the collaborative effort. Thus the "end product" of the project (which may still be subject to future expansion or modification) arises from many contributions across multiple research groups, rather than the effort of one group or individual. Open research is therefore distinct from open access in that the output of open research is prone to change with time.[10] Unlike open access, true open research must demonstrate live, online collaboration. Project websites that demonstrate this capability have started to become available.[11][12] Copyright conventions [ edit ] Issues with copyright are dealt with by using either standard copyright (where applicable), releasing the content into the Public domain or by releasing the content under licenses such as one of the Creative Commons licenses[11] or one of the GNU General Public Licenses[citation needed]. Examples [ edit ] In 2005, several examples arose in the area of the search for new/improved medical treatments of Neglected Diseases.[11][13][14][15][16] Science and engineering research to support the creation of open-source appropriate technology for sustainable development has long used open research principles.[17][18][19][20][21] Open source research for sustainable development is now becoming formalized with open access for literature reviews, research methods, data, results and summaries for laypeople.[22] Wiki-based examples include: Appropedia, Wikiversity, Citizendium, Scholarpedia. While first attempts towards opening research were primarily aimed at opening areas such as scientific data, methodologies, software and publications, now increasingly other artifacts of the scientific workflow are also tackled, such as scientific meta-data[23] and funding ideas.[24] In 2013, open research became more mainstream with web based platforms such as figshare continuing to grow in terms of users and publicly available outputs.[25] The Transparency and Openness Promotion (TOP) Committee met in 2014 to address one key element of the incentive systems: journals' procedures and policies for publication. The committee consisted of disciplinary leaders, journal editors, funding agency representatives, and disciplinary experts largely from the social and behavioral sciences. By developing shared standards for open practices across journals, the committee said it hopes to translate scientific norms and values into concrete actions and change the current incentive structures to drive researchers' behavior toward more openness.[26] The committee said it sought to produce guidelines that (a) focus on the commonalities across disciplines, and that (b) define what aspects of the research process should be made available to the community to evaluate, critique, reuse, and extend. The committee added that the guidelines aim to help improve journal policies in order to help transparency, openness, and reproducibility "become more evident in daily practice and ultimately improve the public trust in science, and science itself."[26] See also [ edit ]StaffPad is a new pen-friendly music notation application for Windows 8.1 and Surface. StaffPad features advanced handwriting recognition, and will convert your music into a typeset score. Simply write your music straight on to the screen, using your device’s pen. As you move from bar to bar, StaffPad will convert your handwriting into an ‘engraved’ score. You can draw notes, beams, stems, articulations, accidentals, slurs, ties and more. The developers describe it as ‘the most natural way to write music on digital device, ever.’ What You Score Is What You Hear StaffPad contains a built-in playback engine, and an entire orchestra which has been recorded and programmed to play back your score. Multiple dynamics layers, multiple recorded articulations, repetition samples and smart playback rules ensure that what you see is what you hear. The entire symphony orchestra is represented, and more instruments are available to purchase from the in-app store. Key Features: The interface has been designed to reduce clutter, and is context sensitive – showing only the information you want, when you want it. Use your finger to move around the score, and pinch to zoom – with butter-smooth scrolling. When you want to write music, just use the pen. Use your eraser button on the pen to remove both ink strokes and existing notation. You can also draw freehand on the score, using the sketch layer, to quickly brainstorm and leave notes/comments for yourself and others. StaffPad will intelligently layout the score when it’s time to print. You can print the entire score, as well as individual parts for each musician. StaffPad has smart collision avoidance and music layout rules which handle the reflowing of the music to a page-based layout automatically. StaffPad allows you to easily share and export your work. You can export MIDI and MusicXML, should you wish to continue working on your score in other programs. You can also export your score to MP3/WAV format, or quickly email an MP3 of your work in just a couple of taps via the Windows 8.1 share charm. StaffPad also supports import of MusicXML and MIDI files. StaffPad is always saving your score, and keeping track of versions – which you can return to at anytime. By saving your scores to OneDrive, you can ensure that your scores are kept in sync across all your devices. StaffPad also syncs your settings and preferences. You can also organise your scores into ‘collections’, meaning that your scores and projects stay neatly organised, for easy access. You can even pin frequently accessed scores straight to the Start Screen. StaffPad is the first notation application which allows you to easily draw dynamics/music expression data right onto the staff. By toggling the expression layer, you can elegantly draw in additional dynamics detail, which can enhance the realism of playback without compromising the existing dynamics markings on your score. StaffPad intelligently handles transposing instruments, allowing you to write in concert pitch and toggle to transposing when you’re ready, or when printing. You can write music in multiple voices, transpose selections, reverse stem directions, quickly repeat bars and insert text intuitively via the quick input tiles. Quick symbols provide the easiest way to enter trills, tremolos, fermatas, rehearsal marks, pedal markings, hairpins and much more. Compatibility: StaffPad has been designed for Surface 3 and Surface Pro. StaffPad requires a device with a digital pen (also known as an active digitiser) and multitouch capabilities in order to function as designed. If your device does not support pen and touch, the app will not function correctly. Support will not be available to users attempting to run StaffPad on an incompatible device. Features Music handwriting recognition Designed for pen and touch Realistic score playback Score auto-layout Beautiful, simple UI design Full orchestral instrument library included Print full score and individual parts Sketch layer for freehand comments/markings Expression layer Smart articulation symbols Import MIDI/MusicXML Export to MIDI/MusicXML/MP3/WAV Organise scores into collections Sync scores with OneDriveMultiple voice layers In-app store for more instruments Featured articles and tutorials Transposing score support Easy editing capabilities Quick start templates StaffPad is available for a limited time for US $49.99 (normally $69.99).Before superstorm Sandy pounded the shores of the East Coast, it had already claimed its first American victims. With the storm still a day from landfall, the U.S. Coast Guard received a distress signal from the tall ship Bounty located approximately 90 miles off the cost of North Carolina. Tragically, the ship's captain and one of her crew were claimed by the sea, but a matter of hours later, 14 other sailors were safe on shore. All in a day's work for the service whose motto is semper paratus — always ready. While Congress narrowly averted sending the nation over the fiscal cliff, the next storm looms on the horizon in the form of the debt ceiling and looming spending cuts. Only this time, instead of playing the role of heroes, the men and women of the Coast Guard stand to be among the victims. Despite its vital and omnipresent role protecting America's shores and our mariners from harm, the Coast Guard's budget has been steadily declining in recent years, even as its role has expanded to include maritime homeland security. The time has come to recognize the true value of the Coast Guard's mission and to include its operations as part of an integrated national defense budget. Unlike our nation's other military branches, the Coast Guard is not housed in the Department of Defense. It moved from the Department of Transportation to Homeland Security in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and took on an enhanced suite of responsibilities combating the threat of waterborne terrorism. Because of the history of terror attacks on American soil, we often think first of them arriving via aircraft or in the form of bombings, yet maritime threats have at least as much potential for destruction. In 2008, when Pakistani terrorists mounted a massive assault on 11 sites in Mumbai, India, most of them arrived in the city by way of hijacked fishing boats. In the current geopolitical climate, one of the most likely scenarios for a large-scale terrorist attack involves smuggling a nuclear device across our borders through a seaport. In this case, the Coast Guard — not the U.S. Navy — would be our first line of defense. The Navy has nearly eight times as many active duty service members as the Coast Guard, yet its budget is 15 times greater. One of the results of this discrepancy is that the average Navy ship is 14 years old, while the average Coast Guard High Endurance Cutter is three times older. As of 2009, the Coast Guard fleet represented the third-oldest naval fleet in the world, younger only than the navies of Mexico and the Philippines. And while Navy ships turn tail and steer clear of oncoming hurricanes, the Coast Guard steams headfirst into them on rescue missions. It is unconscionable for us to continue sending servicemen and women into the heart of nature's most furious storms on ships built before the invention of the smoke detector. In 2013, Congress is likely to spend more money on development of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter than on the acquisition and operations budget of the entire U.S. Coast Guard. The F-35 has yet to fire its first shot during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. A unified national security budget would allow lawmakers to draw direct comparisons between military purchasing programs. They could weigh value of investing in new Coast Guard vessels to patrol our shores, rescue stranded mariners and assist in foreign operations against the ongoing sink of resources into a jet fighter that was conceived and constructed to fight the wars of the 20th century. Savings garnered by cuts in one defense agency could easily be shifted to finance a homeland security agency. For instance, part of the Navy's $16.1 billion shipbuilding budget for 2013 includes two more $2.7 billion Virginia-class submarines, an arguably unnecessary expense in the post-Cold War world. Repurposing money from just one of those submarines could help the Coast Guard buy new ships before large parts of its current fleet are forced into retirement. If we want the Coast Guard to continue living up to its motto of semper paratus, Congress must reassess its commitment to ensuring the service can also remain semper potens — always able. Combining the Coast Guard budget with the rest of our nation's armed services would be a win for our maritime first responders. Lawrence Korb, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, served as assistant secretary of defense in the Reagan administration. His email is [email protected]. Michael Conathan is CAP's director of ocean policy. His email is [email protected] to fight back? Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week. Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! Support Progressive Journalism The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. Fight Back! Sign up for Take Action Now and we’ll send you three meaningful actions you can take each week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and we’ll send you three meaningful actions you can take each week. Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue Travel With The Nation Be the first to hear about Nation Travels destinations, and explore the world with kindred spirits. Be the first to hear about Nation Travels destinations, and explore the world with kindred spirits. Sign up for our Wine Club today. Did you know you can support The Nation by drinking wine? On December 5, almost a full month after Election Day, Republican Pat McCrory finally conceded the governor’s race in North Carolina to his Democratic challenger, Roy Cooper. Even as Republicans across the South and Midwest rode the coattails of Donald Trump’s victory to greater control of state governments, McCrory was the only incumbent Republican in the country to lose a statewide race. This is a victory for North Carolina and the “Moral Mondays” movement that arose to resist McCrory’s extremism. For anyone committed to resisting extremism in the coming Trump years, McCrory’s failed one-term governorship in North Carolina is a case study worthy of attention. Ad Policy Related Article Trump’s Lies About Voter Fraud Are Already Leading to New GOP Voter-Suppression Efforts Ari Berman When McCrory became governor-elect four years ago, I sat down with him to discuss the 14-point moral agenda that a broad coalition of justice organizations had committed to pursue together in this state, which went for Barack Obama in 2008 and Mitt Romney in 2012. We knew well that the expansion of voting rights we had won in the 2007 legislative session was under attack by Republican strategists in North Carolina and beyond. They had invested millions in state legislative races in 2010 in order to regain control and gerrymander voting districts to “crack and pack” our coalition of voters. Only by securing all three branches of government could they complete the makeover of North Carolina they had promised (a set of promises that were echoed by the Trump campaign this year). McCrory’s broad smile echoed his optimism when he talked about getting North Carolina’s economy working again. Celebrated as a moderate mayor in Charlotte, our state’s largest city, McCrory was glad to sit and listen to our concerns. “I’ll meet with you once a month if you will promise not to criticize this administration in public,” McCrory told me. Politics, he believed, was the art of negotiating deals in private. But we had already learned what every American must understand in the coming Trump years: Democracy depends on everyday people standing together in public, refusing to be divided by those who refuse to serve the common good. McCrory came into office in 2012 through a backroom deal designed to fracture our moral coalition. Confident that black religious voters could be split off from marriage-equality advocates, Republicans put Amendment One on the 2012 primary ballot to define marriage in the state constitution as a union between one man and one woman. McCrory’s coalition of voters was baited by fear of gay marriage, much as Trump held out fear of immigrants, Muslims, and protesters in this year’s campaign. North Carolina’s 2013 legislative sessions exposed McCrory’s inability to stand up to the extremism that had brought him to power. While other Republican governors like John Kasich in Ohio expanded Medicaid to insure health care for citizens of his state under the Affordable Care Act, McCrory went along with extremists in the legislature and denied Medicaid expansion to half a million North Carolinians. A huge share of those who were denied access to health care were poor, white people in rural counties who had voted for McCrory. When a fellow Republican mayor from Belhaven, North Carolina, reached out asking McCrory to help save the town’s hospital, McCrory said there was nothing he could do. Ready to Fight Back? Sign Up For Take Action Now That June, the Supreme Court’s Shelby decision removed pre-clearance requirements for changes to voting laws in states formerly covered by the Voting Rights Act. Within days, McCrory signed the worst voter-suppression bill in the nation. The North Carolina NAACP sued immediately, and after three years of litigation, a federal court made clear that the law had intentionally targeted African Americans with “almost surgical precision.” But North Carolinians knew we could not afford to wait quietly while democracy was under attack. In the spring of 2013, when the voter-suppression bill was still making its way through the legislature, Moral Mondays emerged as the direct action of concerned citizens against the unconstitutional takeover of our state. Over a thousand North Carolinians were arrested in the largest state government–focused civil-disobedience campaign in US history (arrests that would later be thrown out by a state superior court judge). We took our stand in public, and we exposed the vulnerability of divide-and-conquer tactics to cross-racial, cross-class fusion coalition building. We fought back hard, organized all over the state, hosted more than 200 Moral Monday events, went to court to prove race-based voter suppression, and defeated one of the worst voter-suppression bills in the country since Jim Crow. We proved that we do not have to concede the battle in the South. In this year’s reelection bid, McCrory’s team tried to use HB2, the so-called “bathroom bill,” to once again rally a base around fear—this time, fear of their transgender neighbors. It didn’t work. Our Forward Together Moral Movement pointed out that the bill wasn’t about bathrooms at all. HB2 attempted to codify discrimination, denied all North Carolinians the right to challenge employment discrimination in state court, and overrode the victories of municipal living-wage campaigns. That’s why workers stood with preachers and LGBTQ activists stood with the business community to oppose the bill. This moral, fusion organizing convinced a majority of North Carolinians to make McCrory the first governor in our state’s history to lose a reelection bid. Along with much of the rest of the country, North Carolina fell victim this year to the extremism we’ve not yet experienced in Donald Trump. But we could not be deceived by the extremism we have endured under Pat McCrory. Though we know too well that America faces some tough days ahead, this moral victory should give all Americans reason to hope that we can revive the heart of our democracy and move forward together to a more perfect union.BREMERTON, WA—(report from KitsapPumas.com) A new look Kitsap Pumas side overcame a spirited Seattle Stars by a single goal under the Gordon Field lights on Saturday March 14 Jeff Halstead shot photos of the match and David Falk captured some video of the action. Former FC Portland player Austin Rogers started in goal for the blue and whites and was protected by a defensive four of George Bundy (right), latest signing Matthew Eronemo (center), returning captain Cory Keitz (center) and 2013 Puma Brandon Scott (left). Justin Ortinau and Trevor Jensen were partnered at central midfield and were flanked by Graham Davidson (left) and trialist Dawda Dibba (right). Ashkanov Apollon made his debut at forward alongside another trialist, Ethiopian internationalist Abdul Aman. Despite not having a single training session prior to the match, it was the Pumas who started on front foot. A series of quick passing combinations nearly unlocked the Stars defense after only ninety seconds but the final pass just got away from Aman. The 167 fans who made it out didn’t have long to wait for the first goal to arrive. In four minutes, Ashkanov Apollon’s lightening speed allowed him to ghost past three defenders before applying a calm finish past the stranded Seattle goalkeeper. The Pumas continued to enjoy the majority of possession however some fine defending from Seattle coupled with some rustiness from the men in royal blue meant chances were limited. As the half wore on, Seattle grew in confidence and began to create chances of their own. On 22 minutes Buba Jammeh, who was impressive throughout, found room to venture down the left hand side and swung in a cross that caused confusion in the Pumas box before the ball eventually dropped just by a relived Rogers right hand post. University of Fraser Valley player Elijah Sampson and returning Puma Michael Chamberlain were introduced midway through the first half for Dawda Dibba and Abdul Aman. On 33 minutes, the dangerous Apollon was hauled down on the edge of the box. From the resultant free kick, Justin Ortinau curled an effort over the wall that was well saved by Scott Barnum in the Stars goal. A succession of Stars corners towards the end of the half came to nothing and the sides went in to the break separated by Apollon’s early strike. Pumas Head Coach Cameron MacDonald was clearly experimenting with the line-up, making numerous changes for the second half. 2013 Puma Zac Sampson and University of Fraser Valley defender Zach Hanson replaced Cory Keitz and George Bundy in the back line. Former Bellingham United player Rene Caro came in at defensive midfield for Ortinau while Poulsbo lad Ismael DeLuna and the third UFV player Connor MacMillan replaced Sampson and Davidson in the wide areas. These personnel changes also seen the Pumas switch from the traditional 4-4-2 system to a more modern 4-2-3-1 set-up. The Stars came out fired up for the second half and began to take a hold of the game. After a period of play in midfield, in the 61st minute a Seattle midfielder sprung Julian Bravo free on the edge of the Pumas box. The lively midfielder produced a neat cutback to evade a defender, then curled a magnificent effort beyond the outstretched reach of Rogers to tie the game up. That goal seemed to be the catalyst the Pumas needed to get back into top gear. Good work in the middle of the park from MacMillan and Caro helped feed an exciting Apollon/Chamberlain partnership. As the game wore on, the Pumas pushed for a winner without creating much in the way of clear cut chances. On 73 minutes, Apollon tested Barnum with a left footed free kick before the Stars countered and had a shot blazed over the bar. MacDonald introduced academy player Logan Beachy to the game on 75 minutes with the 17 year old replacing Aman on the left side. The youngster was immediately thrust in to the action and combined well with MacMillan to free Chamberlain in the box, but the former Concordia University star could only fire his shot high over the crossbar. The Pumas pressed hard to find the second goal and there persistence eventually paid off in the 86th minute. Eronemo fed Apollon who slipped MacMillan in the right hand side of the box and the midfielders cutback was thrashed into the goal by Chamberlain. Seattle threw men forward in the final few minutes to try and salvage a draw but despite a few nervous moments, the Pumas held on to claim there first win of 2015. This contest only served to strengthen the belief that the Pacific Northwest is awash with talented adult soccer players. As both teams gear up for exciting seasons; The Pumas aiming to clinch a second PDL National Championship and the Stars looking to conquer the Evergreen Premier League, both coaches will have taken a lot from this exercise. Pumas Head Coach Cameron MacDonald was pleased with the efforts of his players; “Considering we haven’t yet gotten these guys on the training field, for them to put in a shift like that was heartening. We knew coming in to this the Stars would be a good test, and we can take plenty of positives from that display. There are still guys trying to earn contracts and its fantastic to be able to watch them in a game environment.” AdvertisementsGet the biggest daily stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email The latest progress on Liverpool FC's new Main Stand and glorious spring sunshine over Everton's Goodison Park ground as well as Stanley Park itself can be seen in these stunning images taken from drone footage. The pictures were taken by Steven Thomas from Huyton, who used a drone to capture birds-eye view shots of the LFC stadium redevelopment earlier this year, and has now provided more for us from the Walton area. Liverpool FC are redeveloping their iconic stadium as part of a £260m scheme for the whole Anfield area. Last year, the £260m scheme received planning permission from Liverpool city council with the project expected to create 360 new jobs and bring in an extra £14.5m to the area annually. Everton meanwhile confirmed last September their desire to build a new stadium on Walton Hall Park - they have been playing at Goodison since 1892. In pictures: Archive pictures of GoodisonMy oldest sister’s daughter—the eldest granddaughter—got married the week before Christmas in the lakeside, snowy, storybook province of northwestern Michigan. No rotting institutions and degenerating traditions embody the sorry state of American culture more than weddings and marriage. My brother-in-law, who became a made man in a nationwide insurance mafia when he married my sister, laid out big bucks for the wedding. Estimates range from 50 thousand dollars and up. This is the same brother-in-law who, only a few years after he started raking in the dough as an insurance agent for a secretive corporate giant, said to me, “There would be a revolution in this country if people knew how much our agents made.” To which I replied ‘you don’t know Americans very well do you?’ Americans will sometimes resent and hate fat cats (especially when taxpayers bail them out on Wall Street only to have them laugh at the suckers all the way back to their own banks); but they’ll just envy and covet the middle class schmuck who makes it to the upper middle class. In the American wedding tradition, the germination of decades-long grudges is the toxic icing on the cake. Indeed, it’s hard to imagine a cake without it. If you haven’t stomached one, try to sit through an episode of ‘Bridezillas.’ “The Donald’s” (as in Trump) ex-wife, Ivana, helped her daughter throw a splendid ceremony, after Mommy’s day of wedding bliss. I don’t know how many millions were spent, but the mother-daughter fantasy ended in divorce seven months later for Ivana. This illustrates a general rule of thumb. The importance that a large segment of American women attach to weddings is inversely proportional to the actual meaning and substance of their relationships. And it’s woe to any man—father, brother, or groom—who doesn’t sign on to this march of madness. On the other side of the connubial coin, 53% of voters in Maine voted to repeal that state’s same-sex marriage law six months after it was enacted. That’s the same percentage that repealed California’s same-sex marriage law. The legislatures or courts in five states– Massachusetts in 2003, Connecticut in 2008, Iowa, Vermont, and New Hampshire early in 2009—have given society’s imprimatur to same-sex marriage. But in nearly every state where it has come up for ballot, including California (30 of 31 states between 1998 and 2012), same-sex marriage has been defeated. The pop tides flow back as easily as they flow forth. “This is an amazing moment. It’s beyond words,’’ said Mary Conroy, spokeswoman for ‘Stand for Marriage Maine,’ the organization leading the fight against same-sex marriage in Maine. “I feel energized, overcome, overjoyed for the family and the people of Maine.” And I feel sick for the people of America. Exploiting the irrational fear that if the state sanctioned same-sex marriage, children ‘would begin learning about gay marriage and gay relationships in school’ has aroused much anti-gay sentiment. God forbid that America’s children, many of whom have grown into teenagers like those able and willing to stand around for hours and watch a 15- year-old girl being repeatedly gang raped in the San Francisco Bay Area, should learn about healthy gay relationships. It’s time for another strategy, a completely different approach–one that, I daresay, will work. One central motivation that both straight and gay marriages share is a desire for society’s stamp of approval on their unions. For my family and millions like them, it’s all about appearances, largely driven by a need in many women (enabled by sheep-like behavior in most men) to measure up to comparisons by other women. Of course gays mostly want to be treated as equals, legally and socially. Why should the State be in the marriage business at all? In one stroke, the whole phony debate about whether marriage is between a man and a woman, and (OR in the minds of opponents) between two people of the same sex, evaporates if marriage becomes simply a matter of civil unions for everyone. Is marriage, by any name or rite, what society deigns to confer, or what two people decide to consummate about their relationship? What society thinks only matters to the extent that society denies or restricts the legal rights of some partnerships, but not others. The law still discriminates, and that’s a large part of the reason gays want state sanctioned marriage. If all unions were granted the same civil status however, then legal discrimination would end and moral confusion would lessen. Civil union document in hand, couples—straight, gay, or in-between—could then have the church panoply if they so desire. It appears we’re still a long way from just and sensible attitudes about unions and marriage being embraced across the land. But gays could benefit everyone by dropping their campaign for State approval of same-sex marriage, which is equal parts dress and redress, and pursuing a strategy of equal civil unions for all. If the Supreme Court rules against gay marriage, or even if it hedges and doesn’t rule in favor of it, there may have no other choice but to pursue such a strategy. Martin LeFevre [email protected] With a few changes to make it current, notably the last paragraph, this column was first published four and half years ago. It holds up well I think, and seems very relevant this week.Women Who Have To Delay Pumping Risk Painful Breast Engorgement Enlarge this image Maria Fabrizio for NPR Maria Fabrizio for NPR When we covered the story about four Frontier Airlines pilots who said their employer did not provide adequate accommodations for pumping breast milk, more than a few readers seemed to feel like the women just wanted an extra work break. "Bathroom breaks are necessary to ensure the pilot can still perform," a commenter said. "Breast pumping is not." Au contraire, say women, lactation consultants and health care providers. The painful swelling of engorgement can lead to medical problems and reduce milk supply. And it can make it extremely hard to focus on the job. But many people don't know about it; even new mothers. "When I had my first and started breast-feeding, I was completely unprepared for any of it. I knew nothing, not even what was normal," says Alissa Parker, now an international board certified lactation consultant in Ashland, Ky. She had her child after earning a master's in nursing as a pediatric nurse practitioner and working in primary care pediatrics for five years. "Breast-feeding education for health care providers is that weak." She figures that most healthy breast-feeding women have experienced engorgement at least once outside of the immediate postpartum period. That could be because they were unable to pump at work, felt uncomfortable about breast-feeding in public or miscalculated the time they would be separated from their baby or a pump. Engorgement immediately becomes stressful because it's like a "ticking time bomb," Parker says. "The main thought in your head is, 'How can I get this to stop; when can I pump or feed my baby?' " And if a woman can't pump, breasts swell and become firm and painful. For Parker, engorgement felt like having two hot, sweaty bowling balls strapped to her chest. That's not unlike my description: like two boulders had been grafted to my chest tissue and magically hooked up to my nerves so that they radiated pain from the inside out. One light touch elicited a scream of pain — definitely more distracting than needing to pee. "It felt like a toothache that was so bad I would have been headed for a root canal — with a second-degree sunburn to boot," Stephanie Palmieri of Fremont, Calif., told me on social media. And Meribeth Densmore in Santa Fe, N.M., said it was "like my boobs were about to explode." The pain is often coupled with heat, leading some women to compare it to an actual burn. "The pain is hard to describe. [My breasts] were sensitive to touch, like sunburn is, and a fairly permanent kind of burning ache set up on my chest, waxing and waning as they filled and emptied," said Madeleine Ware of Wellington, New Zealand. "I wouldn't want my pilot distracted by a burning feeling in her breasts, or hesitant to lean over to perform certain actions because of the risk of pain." Melina Kolb of Alexandria, Va., described it as "hard lumps that burn and hurt" when she lifted her arms. "When you are engorged, that is the only thing on your mind," Kolb said. "I could not think about anything else except my breasts and the fear of developing mastitis." Mastitis is a bacterial infection that can result from engorgement. If a woman can't pump, engorgement can lead to plugged ducts, mastitis and even abscesses, sometimes requiring hospitalization and intravenous antibiotics. One study found that approximately 1 in 10 breast-feeding mothers experienced mastitis in the first month of breast-feeding — and that was in Nepal where far fewer women had to navigate work schedules or similar barriers. An earlier study in Australia found 27 percent of breast-feeding mothers developed mastitis. Severe mastitis can develop into sepsis — blood poisoning — and require intensive care. Abscesses can require surgery and extra time for wounds to heal. These medical costs can mount up for the woman and her employer if she has employer-provided health insurance, and reduce work productivity. Even if women don't develop these problems, trying to pump while already eng
8, at right about the time Americans were getting wind a recession was looming. There was a slight bounce in response to the multi-trillion dollar bailouts promised by Congress and Presidents Bush and Obama, but the bubble created on cheap borrowing and negligent lending couldn’t be blown back up. Four years on, with literally tens of trillions of dollars infused into the system by central banks all over the world, transportation rates for goods remain at near all time lows, suggesting that our governments’ best efforts have failed miserably. And rather than the economic improvement touted by the best and brightest of our politicians, economists and financial gurus, we are nowhere near where we were before the crash. In fact, it’s getting worse, as evidenced by the latest Baltic Dry Index report, which this morning experienced its biggest single day drop since 2008: It has been a while since we looked at the Baltic Dry Index, which when normalizing for the excess glut in dry container ship supply (such as right now – 5 years after all the excess supply in the industry – has long been normalized), continues to be one of the best concurrent indicators of global shipping and trade. We look at it today, moments ago it just posted an epic 8.2% plunge, crashing from 900 to 826, or the biggest drop since 2008! Of course, conisdering the collapse in global trade confirmed in past days by both Chinese and US data, this should not come as a surprise, although we are certain it will merely bring out the BDIY apologists who tell us that supply and demand here (like in every other Fed-supported market) are completely uncorrelated. Source: Zero Hedge The bottom line is that American consumers are broke (and hungry). But not only are we broke, we owe more than we can ever hope to make to pay back the loans we took on during ‘the boom times.’ The notion that we are somehow in an economic recovery while 100 million Americas are classified as poor, with hundreds of thousands entering poverty on a monthly basis is ridiculous on its face. We are in serious trouble folks. Had you asked Americans in the Spring of 2008 if they were ready for the coming real estate bubble collapse and stock market crash that would see 40% of their wealth wiped out they would have laughed in your face. They’ll laugh in your face today, too, should you tell them things are only going to get worse. But the numbers don’t lie. We are in what many have referred to as America’s next great depression. Laugh if you want, but reality will soon take that smile right off your face.Elon Musk concedes that "the Internet is very good at figuring out secrets." So yes, the D in the Tesla Model S P85D stands for "dual" motor. Yes, it's the same system coming to the all-wheel-drive Model X. But here's what we didn't expect: 687 lb-ft of torque and a 0-60 MPH run of 3.2 seconds – a full second quicker than the standard P85. Oh, and 1g of lateral acceleration. In other words, it's obscenely fast. Before I get into what it's like to be in one, here's the breakdown on what's been done and what's on offer. The top-spec Model S, the P85D, comes in at $120k (with both the performance and tech packs required). That gets you two motors: the same biggie-sized one out pack in the standard P85, and then a smaller motor fitted up front. That new motor packs an additional 221 hp into the S, with the rear motor dolling out 470 HP, for a combined 691 HP. Plus a quarter mile time of 11.8 seconds (down from 12.6). That new motor, along with some associated electronics, puts the curb weight up by 291 pounds for a total of 4,936 pounds. Yes, that's heavy, but it also balances out the weight distribution to an even 50:50, allows 1 g of max acceleration (what other sedan is capable of that?), and the range penalty is 10 miles (275 v. 285). But that's on the top spec model. In the lesser specs it actually increases range. Advertisement The 85D (non-S) and 60D makes do with a combined 376 hp and 362 lb-ft. But in both cases, they get a 10 mile bump in range (295 and 225, respectively). And the reasons are simple. First, two motors means you've got one more motor for regen, sending additional power back into the battery pack for more range. Secondly, by optimizing the usage of each motor down to the millisecond depending on the traction available, Tesla's geeks have been able to tweak the software to use the right motor at the right time at the right speed, all to boost efficiency and performance. Advertisement Both cars also don't suffer the same weight penalty since they're each using the smaller motors, so overall tonnage is only up by 176 pounds, and 0-60 times have dropped by 0.2 seconds. To add the extra motor to each car brings the price up by $4,000. Tesla is taking orders on all the D models tonight, with deliveries of the P85D happening before the end of the year and the standard 85 and 60 models coming in February. Advertisement Tesla is still working on calibration, but I got a brief, spirited run in the back seat, and the results are – and kinda I hate admitting this – scary. Acceleration runs don't freak me out. I've been in cars with over 1,000 hp manned by a competent driver, and I'm able to keep my cool. But something is different in the P85D. When the driver slams on the accelerator, my mind knows we're OK, but my body – for just a few tenths of a second – got freaked out. Maybe it was the torque or the blackened tunnel that we shot into, but there was the briefest moment of panic, which subsided as the twist of the motors started bleeding off. It's like nothing else I've ever experienced, and that includes a run in the electrically-augmented Porsche 918. Advertisement I caught Musk talking to another reporter before going for a ride, and he mentioned driving modes. Currently, there's Normal and Sport. But Musk wants to add another designation: Insane. "I'm serious," Musk says. I don't think he's overstating things.Solar power is no longer just about slapping photovoltaic eyesores on existing rooftops to harness a bit of extra sun energy. Nowadays, people are finding unique ways to integrate solar energy into architectural, vehicular and even fashion designs from the beginning. Moreover, some innovators have even figured out ways to make structures entirely energy-independent by combining various alternative energy sources. When solar was first introduced it was an auxiliary power source – now we have cars, boats, planes and even entire buildings that run on solar power. From the world’s first energy-autonomous vehicle to solar balloons, arcs, lily pads and even bras here are some of the most clever contemporary solar designs. These push the existing envelope of solar technology and design ingenuity. Click below to learn more:The Schiller Institute New York City Chorus sang the Russian and US national anthems to honor the members of the world-renowned Alexandrov Military Ensemble, who perished in a plane crash on December 25. The performance took place during a wreath laying ceremony at the Teardrop Memorial in Bayonne, New Jersey on Saturday. The choice of time and place for the ceremony was not a coincidence. January 7 is the day when Christmas is celebrated by Orthodox Christians in Russia, while the deadly plane crash took place on the day when American Christians mark the birth of Christ. Read more The Teardrop Memorial was a gift from the Russian people to America on the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The Schiller Institute Chorus performed the Star Spangled Banner and the Russian National Anthem in the presence of Russian Embassy officials and members of the New York Police and Fire Departments, as well as relatives of 9/11 victims. Chorus director Diane Sare offered her “deepest condolences” to the Russian people over the tragedy. “The loss of the chorus was particularly great, because as everyone who sings in a chorus knows, the combination of our voices is greater than each of us individually, or each of us added up as parts,” Sare said, as cited by the Schiller Institute NYC Chorus website. She stressed that Russia’s pain is felt by many in America, saying, “let me assure everyone, we are not a group of Russian immigrants, as was said on YouTube.” The Schiller Institute NYC Chorus also performed at the Russian Consulate in the US on New Year’s Eve to commemorate the Alexandrov Ensemble. Footage from the event was watched by 400,000 viewers in Russia in just 24 hours, who were “grateful for a gesture from Americans,” chorus member Suzanne Klebe told the Hudson Reporter. The Russian Defense Ministry’s Tu-154 plane crashed soon after takeoff from Sochi Airport, killing all 92 people on board. READ MORE: 'Tremendous loss': NYPD mourns Alexandrov Ensemble deaths The jet was en route to Latakia, Syria, carrying 64 members of the Alexandrov Ensemble army choir, aid workers, and journalists to take part in Christmas and New Year’s celebrations.Story highlights Former Vice President Dick Cheney says he supports the CIA's Bush-era interrogation tactics "I would do it again in a minute," he said on Sunday Cheney called the recently released Senate report on the practices "seriously flawed" A defiant former Vice President Dick Cheney stood by his defense of the extreme interrogation techniques used by the CIA on detainees in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on Sunday, saying, "I would do it again in a minute." Critics of the interrogation tactics -- detailed in a recently released controversial Senate report -- contend they should be considered torture and regretted. But Cheney said there is no "moral equivalence" between the terrorists' actions and the CIA's interrogation techniques. "With respect to trying to define that as torture, I come back to the proposition torture was what the al Qaeda terrorists did to 3,000 Americans on 9/11," Cheney said on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday. "There's no comparison between that and what we did with the respect to enhanced interrogation." JUST WATCHED Bush officials respond to the torture report Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Bush officials respond to the torture report 01:02 JUST WATCHED UN lawyer detail possible torture charges Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH UN lawyer detail possible torture charges 06:54 JUST WATCHED How Brennan defends the CIA on torture Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH How Brennan defends the CIA on torture 04:36 The former vice president also dispelled the report's findings that then-President George W. Bush was unaware of the techniques taking place, saying that Bush authorized the tactics, and the report detailing otherwise is a "lie." "We got the authorization from the President and authorization from the Justice Department to go forward with the program," Cheney said. "It worked." Cheney also said he believed the involuntary rectal feeding and hydration tactic revealed in the report was not, in his mind, considered torture, but rather a medical procedure, despite medical experts denouncing the tactic as ineffective and not medically justified. "That does not meet the definition of what was used in the program," Cheney said. Cheney called the report "seriously flawed," contending that the analysis was conducted in a partisan fashion and was released without speaking to anyone who knew anything about the program. "It was based on, done only by, Democratic staff," Cheney told CNN on Sunday. "It's very, very poor piece of work. It should not be used to judge the agency or the program."SOMERVILLE — A fiery crash that seriously injured three people, including a 16-year-old pedestrian, was triggered when the driver of a Hyundai Sonata suffered a medical problem and then collided with a Honda Civic that burst into flames, State Police said. The crash took place at about 8 a.m. at the intersections of the McGrath Highway and Medford Street in Somerville and ultimately involved a total of five vehicles and at least six people, three of whom were injured, State Police said. The 16-year-old male was initially believed to have been ejected from one of the vehicles, but then his father arrived and identified clothing lying on the sidewalk as belonging to his son, and officials realized he was on foot when struck. Advertisement “He was about to break down. He was panicking,’’ said Esha Burnett, a Somerville resident who was walking by the intersection when the man arrived. “I saw a few tears come from his eyes, and I started to have tears myself.’’ Get Metro Headlines in your inbox: The 10 top local news stories from metro Boston and around New England delivered daily. Sign Up Thank you for signing up! Sign up for more newsletters here Police drove the teen’s father to Massachusetts General Hospital, where his son was taken, officials said. State Police said the teenager is believed to have suffered injuries that were serious but not life-threatening. Somerville Deputy Fire Chief Bill Hallinan said all three of the injured — the teen and the drivers of the Sonata and the Civic — were taken to Mass. General. The two drivers both suffered serious injuries. Aram Boghosian for The Boston Globe A pedestrian, 16, was one of three people injured in this fiery five-car crash on McGrath Highway and Medford Street in Somerville on Friday morning. In a statement, State Police summarized how the crash unfolded: The Sonata driver, a 56-year-old woman, suffered the medical problem and collided with a 2005 Honda Civic operated by a 26-year-old Medford woman. The chain reaction continued until it also involved a 2012 Ford Focus hatchback operated by a 51-year-old Somerville woman, a 2002 Honda Accord operated by a 38-year-old Somerville man, and a 2001 Toyota Sequoia SUV operated by a 28-year-old Somerville man. Advertisement After being struck, the Civic burst into flames and was so heavily damaged that the make of the vehicle could be determined only by the Honda symbol on the hubcaps. Hallinan said people in the vehicles and from the neighborhood rushed into the intersection to help drivers out of the cars after the crash. Somerville Schools Superintendent Tony Pierantozzi said that the teen is a student at Full Circle High School. “Our thoughts are with the student and his family at this time,” Pierantozzi said in a statement. “We are hoping for the best possible outcome for all involved, and are prepared to offer whatever support we can to the student, his family, and to the Full Circle community. “ State Police said that because the chain-reaction crash stemmed from a medical issue with the driver of the Sonata they will not be citing her for any traffic violations. Advertisement The names of the people involved will not be released, State Police said. State Police closed the entire highway for about a half-hour. John R. Ellement of the Globe staff and Globe correspondent Aram Boghosian contributed to this report. Aneri Pattani can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @apattani95The Greatest Dunks By Shamarie, 13th Jul 2014 \| Follow this author \| RSS Feed \| Short URL http://nut.bz/2d7p6m9d/ Posted in WikinutWritingColumns & Opinions This page is about my Top Five Favorite In-Game Dunks. Five Of The Greatest Posterized Dunks 1. Shawn Kemp dunking over Alton Lister in the 1992 NBA Playoffs is my all-time favorite in-game dunk. I never saw a dunk that was so amazing and hot! Shawn Kemp drove to the lane and dunked on Alton Lister with any problem, and sent him to the floor. After the play, Shawn Kemp pointed at him, which was a great taunt! That dunk will always be Shawn Kemp's most memorable play. 2. Dr. J's "rock the cradle" dunk over Michael Cooper's head was incredible! It was a regular season game between the Philadelphia 76ers and the LA Lakers. Dr. J charged down the court's left side, and as he came inside of the 3-point line, he cupped the ball into his wrist and forearm, rocked the ball back and forth before taking off and slung the ball around behind his head and dunked over a ducking Michael Cooper. What a classic dunk! 3. Scottie Pippen dunking over Patrick Ewing in Game 6 of the 1994 Eastern Conference Eastern Conference Semifinals was awesome! The Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks rivalry of the 1990s was one of the best ever in the NBA. Patrick Ewing jumped up to defend Scottie Pippen' shot, Pippen jumped from the left block, fully extended the ball out in his right hand, absorbed body contact from Patrick Ewing, and slam dunked the ball through the hoop with Ewing's hand in his face. When the play was over, Scottie Pippen incidentally stood over a fallen Patrick Ewing. What a dunk! 4. Michael Jordan's infamous dunk over Patrick Ewing in Game 3 of the 1991 Eastern Conference First Round Playoffs was spectacular! It was also the highlight of that whole series. John Starks and Charles Oakley trapped Michael Jordan in the corner, but faked a move to the wing, spin past Charles Oakley then soared in the air and "posterized" Patrick Ewing. Unbelievable! 5. Kevin Johnson dunking over Hakeem Olajuwon was remarkable! It was Game 4 of the 1994 Western Conference Semifinals, and Kevin Johnson drove from the baseline; over 7'0" Rockets center Hakeem Olajuwon. The dunk became one of the greatest highlights in NBA Playoffs history.Search Gallery Sailor Mars - Genderbend LeoLeus 58 Sailor Mercury - Genderbend LeoLeus 56 Advertisement Advertisement Sailor Moon - Genderbend LeoLeus 60 One hour a day 50 LeoLeus 180 One hour a day 48 LeoLeus 94 One hour a day 47 LeoLeus 159 One hour a day 46 LeoLeus 24 One hour a day 45 LeoLeus 175 One hour a day 43 LeoLeus 213 One hour a day 41 - Guu LeoLeus 19 One hour a day 38 LeoLeus 168 One hour a day 37 LeoLeus 37 Mature content One hour a day 35 LeoLeus 24 Nicolas LeoLeus 33 one hour a day 32 LeoLeus 169 One hour a day 30 LeoLeus 42 One hour a day 28 LeoLeus 41 One hour a day 25 LeoLeus 30 One hour a day 24 LeoLeus 166 One hour a day 22 LeoLeus 41 One hour a day 21 LeoLeus 161 One hour a day 20 LeoLeus 12 One hour a day 19 LeoLeus 38 One hour a day 18 LeoLeus 74A new breed of sophisticated hacker is emerging as one of the most worrisome digital adversaries for western intelligence chiefs: cyber privateers. Just as England’s Queen Elizabeth I officially licensed pirates to plunder the treasure ships of her rival Philip II of Spain in the 16th century, nations such as Russia and Iran are increasingly arming and encouraging criminal and activist groups with the cyber weaponry necessary to harm their adversaries, while keeping themselves at arms length, say senior security and defence officials in the US and Europe. “A lot of the techniques that were the preserve of state-sponsored attackers are starting to make their way into broader communities of criminals,” said Simon Goldsmith of the defence contractor BAE System’s cyber unit, Applied Intelligence. “It’s proliferating in a massive way and the object of attacks by these groups is moving from large financial theft to using the same techniques to commit sabotage and for intelligence-gathering.” State use of proxy agents to carry out disguised attacks is not new. But a recent shift has been noted, with a significant increase in the sophistication and number of worrisome attacks from non-state groups, western security officials have told the Financial Times. They point to a handful of serious attacks in which proxy organisations or criminal groups appear to have played a central role — with a nation state agency working in the background. When Sony Pictures was hacked last year, the US government confidently attributed the attack to Pyongyang. However, several follow-up incidents may not have come from North Korea, even though they were disguised to appear as though they were state-sponsored. Officials say cyber privateers were probably responsible. Francis Drake was appointed by Britain's Queen Elizabeth I to prey on Spanish ships. Today's privateers stay in the shadows Likewise, when an attack was launched against JPMorgan and other large US banks last year, many in the US cyber and intelligence community believed that the Kremlin was responsible. But the US government refrained from publicly accusing Moscow because the origin of the attacks was so murky. And, increasingly in Europe, campaigns against sensitive national infrastructure and intelligence targets appear to be linked to cyber groups whose previous interest was extortion and criminal enterprise. Admiral Michael Rogers, US Cyber Command chief and director of the National Security Agency, has repeatedly highlighted the issue as one of the most significant trends to develop in the digital security environment this year, according to two military officials familiar with his thinking. “[Something] I look for in the future [is] nation states using surrogates as a way to overcome our capabilities in attribution.” he said in a rare public speech in May. Some criminal groups are now routinely using tools that could only have been developed by nation states. “One of the reasons this business is getting more interesting is because the difference between government and non-government is becoming increasingly unclear,” said Ewan Lawson, a senior research fellow at the UK’s Royal United Services Institute and a former cyber warfare office at the UK’s Joint Forces Command. “What is happening is that adversaries are turning to these peripheral groups and saying, ‘Here’s a list of areas we are happy for you to go into and here are some tools to do it.’ It’s a charter to hack.” In depth Cyber warfare As online threats race up national security agendas, and governments look at ways of protecting their national infrastructures, a cyber arms race is causing concern to the developed world Further reading One telltale sign comes from tracing the “DNA” of pieces of malware — the malicious software used in attacks. Disentangling the evolution of such cyber weapons is nevertheless tricky: while criminals could have been given them by government agencies, they could also have copied malware already in use. One of the greatest concerns around the rise of cyber privateering is that once criminal groups have been equipped with the ability to penetrate well-defended organisations such as foreign government agencies or utilities, there may be little to stop them from turning their attention later to other, more lucrative targets. Officials also worry about their propensity to slip up, or overstep the mark. “They are generally more dangerous because they don’t necessarily have the situational awareness to moderate their impact,” said one western security official. While countries such as the US are growing more confident in attributing — and retaliating to — attacks, most expect their adversaries in cyber space to ramp up their use of privateer agents. “The Russians, in particular, spend a lot of time thinking very carefully about how to avoid stepping over the evidentiary standards of what qualifies for an armed attack or the use of force, particularly in cyber space,” said Jim Lewis, director of the strategic technologies programme at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think-tank. “They don’t want that trail of breadcrumbs to lead right up to the Kremlin. We’re going to be more and more hamstrung by this.”The question is not why it took over 24 hours for the UK to find Belgian-colored lights to project in solidarity, but why after 67 years of terror, it still has not found the simple blue and white lights to project the flag of Israel onto any public place. Well, what a shock the rest of the world will one day have to undergo. Because if you allow an "excuse" for one false narrative of Islamic extremists, you will then have to allow it for the others. You will, for example, have to accept the word of ISIS that Belgium is a "crusader" nation, deserving to be attacked because it is involved in a "crusade." The facts show is that all these "excuses" for terrorism are incorrect. Israel is not, for instance, carrying out the "war crimes," "apartheid" or "genocide," which propagandists have persuaded Europeans that Israel is engaged in. Israel is fighting an enemy that breaks every rule of armed conflict, and Israel responds in a manner so precise and so moral that allied nations are concerned that they will not be able to live up to the Israeli military's moral standards the next time they go to war. The day after the Brussels terror attack, landmarks in the UK were lit up in the colors of the Belgian flag. Portions of the press in Britain excoriated the country on this. Why, they asked, had the now-traditional, mawkish ceremony occurred the day after the attacks rather than on the evening of the attacks themselves? Why were we a day late with our lights when other cities had managed to do their "solidarity" gesture straightaway? Such are our times. And such are our questions. The night after last week's terror attacks in Brussels, public buildings in Britain, such as the National Gallery in London (left) and Manchester town hall (right) were lit up with the colors of the Belgian flag. If there is a question in all this, it is not why it took more than 24 hours for the UK to find its Belgian-colored lights, but why after 67 years of terror, it still has not found the simple blue and white lights it would need to project the flag of Israel onto any public place. It is not as though there haven't been plenty of opportunities. Israel's enemies have provided us with even more opportunities for light displays than have now been offered to the light-infatuated by the followers of ISIS. You could argue that in the last seven decades, public attitudes have changed; that today futile gestures of "solidarity" are all the rage, but in generations past they were not. It might have been unheard of for any British institution to beam the colors of the Israeli flag into buildings in 1948, 1956, 1967 or 1973. But when sentimentalism came to Britain, it came in a big way. If it had not struck us by the time of the first intifada (1987-1993), it certainly had by the time of the second one (2000-2005). During that period, thousands of Israelis were killed and wounded by Palestinian terrorists. Yet there were no projections of the Israeli flag onto public buildings. Again, during the 2006 Hezbollah War, landmarks went unlit -- the same as after each salvo of rockets launched into Israel from the Gaza Strip, freshly evacuated by Israel to allow the Arabs there to create the Singapore or Côte d'Azure of the Middle East. When Israel is attacked, the steps of the Israeli embassies in London and other European capitals are not littered with flowers, teddy bears or candles, or scrawled notes of sympathy. Indeed, whenever Israelis are attacked and murdered, there is a response at Israel's embassies. It tends to be less teddy-obsessed; it consists more of crowds roaring in rage against Israel and having to be held back from further antagonism by the local police. It is possible that there are those who believe Israel is simply on a different continent from Europe and that, despite being an essentially Western society, it is not one to which we feel sufficiently close. Whenever a terrorist outrage occurs in a Western capital these days, there are always those who ask why the mourning for Paris or Brussels, say, is stronger than the mourning for Ankara or Beirut. But the Paris/Brussels question for Jerusalem rarely, if ever, gets asked. One could take the lowest road and say it is because in Israel the victims are Jews. But there is also an explanation just as true. It is that Israel is seen as different because when Israel is attacked by terrorists, it is seen by a great number of people in the West not to be an innocent victim. It is seen as a country which might have in some way brought the violence upon itself. Supposed excuses for this view may vary, from objecting to farms on the Golan Heights to Israel's refusal to allow weapons intended to annihilate it to be poured into the Gaza Strip. Others include Israeli "settlements" in the West Bank, while at the same time disregarding that to most Palestinians all of Israel, "from the [Jordan] river to the [Mediterranean] sea," as they put it, is one big "settlement" -- to be exterminated, as openly set forth in both the Hamas and PLO charters. Neither charter has ever been renounced. If you look at any map of "Palestine," it is actually a map of Israel, but with "al-Quds" instead of "Jerusalem" and "Jaffa" instead of "Tel Aviv." For these Palestinians, there is, in fact, just one underlying offense: the existence of the State Israel itself. This piece of land, however, as Canaan, the Fertile Crescent, and Judea and Samaria, has been home to the Jews for nearly 4000 years -- despite Romans, Saladin, the Ottoman Empire and the British Mandate. What remains are facts. And what the facts show is that all these "excuses" for terrorism are incorrect. Israel is not, for instance, carrying out the "war crimes," "apartheid" or "genocide," which propagandists have persuaded Europeans that Israel is engaged in. Israel is, quite the contrary, fighting an enemy that breaks every rule of armed conflict, and Israel responds in a manner so precise and so moral (as the High Level Military Group concluded in its assessment of the 2014 Gaza conflict) that allied nations are presently concerned that they will not be able to live up to the Israeli military's moral standards the next time they go to war. Israel, like the rest of the West, is trying to find a legal and decent way to respond to an illegal and indecent set of terrorist tactics. It is also not true that Israel's enemies have some righteous territorial dispute. They already have the whole of the Gaza Strip, and if they wanted most of the West Bank, they could have had it at almost any time since 1948, including at Camp David in 2000. On each occasion, it was the Palestinians who turned down all offers -- without even proposing a counter-offer. Even so, in the eyes of many Europeans, Israel is seen to have done something for which suicide bombers are thought to be an understandable response. Whether said or unsaid, this is the rationale that makes terror against Israel a lesser offense than terror everywhere else. Well, what a shock the rest of the world will one day have to undergo. Because if you allow an "excuse" for one false narrative of Islamic extremists, you will then have to allow it for the others. You will, for example, have to accept the word of ISIS that Belgium is a "crusader" nation, deserving to be attacked because it is involved in a "crusade" against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). You will have to accept that for standing up to the Islamic extremists in Mali and Syria, these Islamic extremists have the right to attack the people of Belgium, France, Sierra Leone, Canada, the United States and Australia. You will have to accept that Europeans can be killed for publishing a cartoon, simply because a foreign terrorist group says so, and then accept that the cartoonists brought it themselves. The enemies of Israel and the enemies of the rest of the civilized world have some minor differences, but there is far more that they have in common. They are both driven not only by the same jihadist ideologies but by the insistence that their political and religious view of the world is relevant not just for them, but needs to be implemented against all of the rest of us. It may take a while to realize it, but we are all in the same boat. It also may take a while until European cities reach for the blue and white bulbs; but if we start to question where those bulbs went, we might get closer not only to understanding Israel's predicament, but to understanding the predicament that is also now our own.In this video, ISIS fighters shy away from the face-to-camera statements normally made by jihadist groups, instead focusing on action and combat. A CNN journalist even noticed similarities between certain parts of the montage and scenes from the US film “Zero Dark Thirty” on the search for Osama Bin Laden. Even though the production style is reminiscent of Hollywood blockbusters, ISIS insists that everything depicted is real. To this end, the names of fighters appear on the screen when they come into view, as well as the names of fighters who died in combat. In the same way, the film points out the locations of much of the footage. The cruelty of ISIS’s execution scenarios are chilling. At the 38 minute mark, men accused of having worked for the United States are filmed digging their own graves.Posted by Snoofo Posted by Phantom Posted by Rattenmann Torment Only Legendaries Sets Legendary Potions Follower Legendaries Misc. Items Horadric Cache Only Act I Act II Act III Act IV Act V Ah, no she cannot! Good catch. If an item is cache-only, that's the only place it can be obtained from (such as Ring of Royal Grandeur).Kadala's decided that while she has no plan to stop pointing out your occasional paper weight purchases, she will pay more attention to the kinds of things her buyers would at least know how to use. In our next patch, Kadala will only give you items that you are able to equip, with a focus on class specific weapon type.This will not change how she generates Legendary items, as those have always been class targeted. This is only a change to the rare items Kadala produces.My own documentation indicates that Vyr's should be Torment Only and Tal Rasha's shouldn't be obtainable from Kadala. If this isn't true, it's likely a bug to be passed on. I'll send that over to the appropriate folks to investigate.That said, below are Legendary and Set items thatbe obtained via Kadala. Legendary and Set items not listed below should be included on her drop table.Items marked with * are class-specific, and cannot be equipped by other classes regardless of item type.Act IV Horadric Caches have a chance to drop Horadric Cache items from any Act.Edit: Added some additional links. Thanks Droth!Edit 2.0: Removed Lut Socks, as we've verified they are not Torment-Only, nor intended to be.The Trinity College Bantams are the varsity and club athletic teams of Trinity College, a selective liberal arts college located in Hartford, Connecticut. Trinity's varsity teams compete in the New England Small College Athletic Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III. The College offers 27 varsity teams, plus club sports, intramural sports.[1] Varsity Teams [ edit ] Men's sports Women's sports Baseball Basketball Basketball Cross country Cross country Field hockey Football Ice hockey Golf Lacrosse Ice hockey Rowing Lacrosse Soccer Rowing Softball Soccer Squash Squash Swimming & diving Swimming & diving Tennis Track & field† Track & field† Wrestling Volleyball † – Track and field includes both indoor and outdoor. Baseball [ edit ] The Trinity Baseball team won the NCAA Division III national title in 2008, after having started the season 44–0, shattering numerous records in the process. After having been handed their first loss of the year by Johns Hopkins (falling 44–1), the Bantams clinched the national title by beating Johns Hopkins in the bottom of the ninth inning of the championship game. They finished the season with a 45–1 record.[2] Basketball [ edit ] Men's NCAA Division III Final Four - 1995. [3] Women's NCAA Tournament - 1995 & 1997. [4] Women's ECAC Champions - 2000. [5] Men's NESCAC Champions - 2008. Crew [ edit ] Both the men's and women's rowing teams are consistently ranked within the top five teams in NCAA Division III competition. In 2008, the women's Varsity 8+ won the NCAA Division III Rowing Championship title and placed second as a team, later going on to win the Jeffries Cup at Henley Women's Regatta.[6] The Bantams Women's Rowing Team won the NCAA Championship in 2014 at Eagle Lake in Indianapolis Indiana. The event, which occurred on May 30 and 31, 2014, resulted in both a team and First Varsity Eight win and ended Williams College's eight-year run as team champions in Women's NCAA Division III rowing. Cross Country [ edit ] Women's NCAA Division III National Runners Up - 2003. Men's NCAA Division III Championships - 2000, 2006 - 2008.[7] The Trinity Football team went undefeated in several seasons (2003–2005, 2008, 2012, 2016) and has won the NESCAC championship in eight of 15 recent seasons (2002–2005, 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2017). The Bantams had also won 59 straight games at home until October 25, 2014, losing to Middlebury College.[8] Field Hockey [ edit ] NCAA Final Four - 1993 & 1998.[9] Golf [ edit ] NESCAC Champions - 2010[10] Ice Hockey [ edit ] NCAA Division III National Champions - 2015.[11] By virtue of their 16-1-1 conference record, the Bantams received the top seed and home ice advantage throughout the 2015 NESCAC Men’s Ice Hockey Championship for a second consecutive season.[12] Though eliminated in the NESCAC quarter finals by Tufts,[13] the Bantams were awarded one of the four at large selections to the 2015 NCAA Division III tournament[14] defeating Nichols, Plattsburgh State, and Adrian en route to their first ever national ice hockey championship by defeating Wisconsin-Stevens Point in the title game.[15][16][17] Lacrosse [ edit ] Women's NCAA
household income: $50,241 (25th lowest) > Pct. below poverty line: 14.0% (23rd lowest) Kansas had funded just over 56% of its pension obligations as of 2012, worse than all but five other states. Additionally, Moody's has a negative outlook on the state's credit rating, citing both the state’s underfunded pension, as well as its plans to eliminate income taxes. However, several components of the state's economy performed well in 2012. The state’s 5.7% unemployment rate and its 10.2% underemployment rate were among the lowest in the nation. Also, Kansas faced a budget gap of just 8.1% in fiscal 2012, less than the state average of 15.5%. And while median home values declined nationally between 2007 and 2012, they rose 7.3% in Kansas. The state’s foreclosure rate was barely half the national rate. 12. Washington > Debt per capita: $4,148 (16th highest) > Budget deficit: 16.9% (13th largest) > Unemployment: 8.2% (tied-17th highest) > Median household income: $57,573 (12th highest) > Pct. below poverty line: 13.5% (19th lowest) Washington’s GDP rose by 3.6% in 2012, faster than all but three other states. Strong funding for its pension obligations also helped the state's rating. Washington had funded more than 98% of its pension obligations in 2012, the second highest nationally. The state’s median household income and percent of households living below the poverty line were both better than the national average. The Tax Foundation gave Washington strong marks for its business climate, citing no individual income tax on earnings, dividends, or interest payments, although the state does tax a number of business transactions that are untaxed in many other states. ALSO READ: 10 States with the Worst Health Coverage 13. Delaware > Debt per capita: $6,429 (7th highest) > Budget deficit: None > Unemployment: 7.1% (tied-23rd lowest) > Median household income: $58,415 (10th highest) > Pct. below poverty line: 12.0% (12th lowest) Despite high levels of debt as of fiscal 2011, Delaware holds a top credit score from both Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s. More than 88% of Delaware’s aggregate pension liabilities were funded as of last year, a higher percentage than all but five other states. The state was also among America’s wealthiest, with a median household income of $58,415 in 2012. Despite this, Delaware had one of the nation’s highest violent crime rates that year, with nearly 550 violent crimes per 100,000 residents. Crime is especially problematic in the city of Wilmington, where the number of shootings so far this year has already reached record levels. 14. Virginia > Debt per capita: $3,285 (23rd lowest) > Budget deficit: 12.2% (20th largest) > Unemployment: 5.9% (13th lowest) > Median household income: $61,741 (8th highest) > Pct. below poverty line: 11.7% (9th lowest) By many economic measures, Virginia is doing very well. The state had an unemployment rate of just 5.9% in 2012, compared to a national rate of 8.1%. Median household income was more than $10,000 higher than the national median. Virginia benefits from its close proximity to D.C. The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area, which includes the northern part of the state, had a median income of more than $88,000 last year -- more than $36,000 higher than the U.S. median. While the state’s pension funds were just over half funded on aggregate as of last year, Virginia’s general debt still receives a perfect credit rating from both Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s. The commonwealth also had the fourth-lowest violent crime rate in the country. 15. Montana > Debt per capita: $4,290 (15th highest) > Budget deficit: None > Unemployment: 6.0% (14th lowest) > Median household income: $45,076 (12th lowest) > Pct. below poverty line: 15.5% (25th highest) Montana was one of just eight states that did not need to close a budget shortfall going into fiscal 2012. State revenue came to just under $8,000 per resident as of fiscal 2011, and the Montana government spent roughly $7,100 per person that same year. However, the state still had a considerable amount of debt per capita, and Montana’s pension obligations were just 63.9% funded as of the end of 2012, compared to a 72.4% rate of pension funding across the nation. The state’s credit is rated just AA by Moody’s, putting it in the bottom half of the states. Montana’s poverty rate was roughly in line with the national rate in 2012. On the other hand, the state had the highest percentage of adults with a high school diploma, at 92.8%, compared to the 86.4% of adults nationwide. 16. Tennessee > Debt per capita: $925 (the lowest) > Budget deficit: n/a > Unemployment: 8.0% (tied-19th highest) > Median household income: $42,764 (7th lowest) > Pct. below poverty line: 17.9% (tied-11th highest) The Tennessee economy grew roughly 3.3% last year, better than the nation’s 2.5% growth. About a third of the increase in GDP came from growth in durable goods manufacturing, which includes the state's growing auto industry. The state is home to auto plants owned by Nissan, General Motors, and Volkswagen. Tennessee had the smallest debt in the country relative to its size, at just $925 per resident as of fiscal 2011. Several negative factors, however, lowered the state's ranking. Tennessee was the most crime ridden in the country last year, with a violent crime rate of 643.6 incidents per every 100,000 people. In the city of Nashville, the state’s capital and second largest city by population, the rate was nearly double that. 17. Oregon > Debt per capita: $3,650 (22nd highest) > Budget deficit: 24.0% (5th largest) > Unemployment: 8.7% (11th highest) > Median household income: $49,161 (23rd lowest) > Pct. below poverty line: 17.2% (tied-15th highest) Oregon has been among the fastest-growing states in the U.S. since 2010. And in 2012, it had the third-highest real GDP growth rate in the country, at 3.9%. Much of its economic growth was attributable to durable goods manufacturing, which includes computers and electronics. Worldwide leader in semiconductor chips, Intel Corp., is the largest private sector employer. Despite the state’s growth, Oregon’s poverty rate of 17.2% was above the national rate of 15.9%, and more than one in five households in Oregon depended on food stamps last year, more than any other state. According to Stateline, recent cuts to SNAP, better known as the food stamp program, will lead to fewer benefits for more than 300,000 children in Oregon. 18. Massachusetts > Debt per capita: $11,309 (the highest) > Budget deficit: 5.5% (37th largest) > Unemployment: 6.7% (16th lowest) > Median household income: $65,339 (6th highest) > Pct. below poverty line: 11.9% (11th lowest) Massachusetts’ tends to spend a great deal on its population. In particular, it spent about $640 more per person on public welfare than the average state. It had more than $74 billion in debt in fiscal 2011, or 131% of the state’s revenue. Massachusetts had, by far, the most debt of any state. State debt across the 50 states accounted for about 50% of revenue, on average. A positive factor for the state is its residents' health coverage. In part because of the comprehensive health insurance program implemented by former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney in 2006, residents easily have the highest coverage rate in the country. Only 3.9% of the population did not have health insurance in 2012, compared to less than 15% nationwide. ALSO READ: The 10 Worst States for Women 19. Indiana > Debt per capita: $3,405 (25th highest) > Budget deficit: None > Unemployment: 8.4% (tied-14th highest) > Median household income: $46,974 (19th lowest) > Pct. below poverty line: 15.6% (24th highest) Indiana is part of a heavily industrial region of the U.S. that, due to declining economic activity, has come to be known as the “rust belt." In Indiana, 28% of GDP came from the manufacturing sector in 2012, the highest rate in the country and more than double the national figure. The state’s exports were higher than the national average last year as well, at $5,259 per capita. But, according to Moody’s, the state’s exposure to manufacturing poses a challenge is exactly the challenge it is facing. Indiana still receives perfect ratings from both Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s. As reasons for its rating, Moody’s cited the state's “conservative fiscal management,” and its “willingness to make budget adjustments as necessary in response to revenue declines.” Indiana also has one of the country’s most business-friendly tax climates, according to the Tax Foundation. 20. Idaho > Debt per capita: $2,489 (16th lowest) > Budget deficit: 3.6% (39th largest) > Unemployment: 7.1% (tied-23rd lowest) > Median household income: $45,489 (15th lowest) > Pct. below poverty line: 15.9% (tied-22nd highest) Idaho’s government has relatively conservative spending habits, if the last few years are any indication. The state spent just $5,510 per resident in fiscal 2011, putting it just outside of the 10 lowest spenders. Revenue was roughly $6,600 per resident that year. The state had just a 3.6% budget shortfall as of fiscal 2012, one of the smallest in the country. As of the end of that year, the state had funded nearly 85% of its aggregate pension obligations. While Idaho may be doing a better-than-average job managing limited resources, the state’s economy appears to be struggling. Idaho's GDP grew just 0.4% last year, worse than all but a handful of states. The state was one of the hardest hit in the region during the housing price collapse, the effects of which could be still seen in the high foreclosure rate last year. 21. Wisconsin > Debt per capita: $4,013 (18th highest) > Budget deficit: 11.3% (22nd largest) > Unemployment: 6.9% (tied-19th lowest) > Median household income: $51,059 (22nd highest) > Pct. below poverty line: 13.2% (17th lowest) Wisconsin led the nation in funding pension obligations, with nearly 100% of its liabilities funded as of 2012. Several mechanisms help keep the program in good shape, according to Institutional Investor. Employee contributions are required and payouts are tied to the performance of the Wisconsin Retirement System’s portfolio, instead of being fixed. The state also boasts a population that is well educated and largely insured. More than 90% of adults aged 25 and older had a high school diploma as of 2012, and just 9% of residents lacked health care coverage -- less than all but six states. By a number of measures, however, Wisconsin ranked below average. The state’s real GDP growth in 2012 was only 1.5%, below the national growth rate of 2.5%. One in every 69 homes were in foreclosure in 2012, one of the highest rates in the country. 22. Hawaii > Debt per capita: $5,780 (9th highest) > Budget deficit: 9.6% (27th largest) > Unemployment: 5.8% (12th lowest) > Median household income: $66,259 (5th highest) > Pct. below poverty line: 11.6% (8th lowest) Median household income in Hawaii rose from $63,218 in 2011 to $66,259 last year. Hawaii’s unemployment rate was just 5.8% in 2012, versus a national rate of 8.1%. Additionally, just 6.9% of the state’s population did not have health insurance last year, among the lowest rates in the nation. This low rate is likely in part the result of the 1974 Hawaii Prepaid Health Care Act, which has required employers to provide coverage for all employees working at least 20 hours per week and earning $629 or more per month. Hawaii also had $5,780 in debt per capita as of fiscal 2011, ninth-worst in the nation. Hawaii’s government sector accounted for over 24% of state GDP last year, the most in the nation. Explaining its relatively low Aa2 rating, Moody's notes that the state’s high debt and large government sector employment are both challenges the state faces. ALSO READ: America's Riches (and Poorest) States 23. West Virginia > Debt per capita: $3,993 (19th highest) > Budget deficit: None > Unemployment: 7.3% (tied-22nd highest) > Median household income: $40,196 (3rd lowest) > Pct. below poverty line: 17.8% (13th highest) Despite having one of the nation’s lowest median household incomes and a high school graduation rate that was lower than all but seven states, West Virginia still ranked better overall on our list than more than half of all states. Between 2007 and 2012, home values in West Virginia rose by 4.6%, despite declining nationally by 11.5%. Also, just one in 646 homes was in foreclosure last year, among the lowest rates in the nation. The state’s economy was also relatively strong, with GDP growing by 3.3% in 2012, among the highest increases in the nation. A major contributor to this growth was mining, which accounted for 13% of output last year. Although Appalachian coal mining has declined considerably in recent years and faces a bleak outlook, a recent state commerce report noted that natural gas jobs rose 20% last year. 24. Maryland > Debt per capita: $4,348 (13th highest) > Budget deficit: 9.5% (28th largest) > Unemployment: 6.8% (tied-17th lowest) > Median household income: $71,122 (the highest) > Pct. below poverty line: 10.3% (3rd lowest) Maryland’s population is the wealthiest in the country. The state had a median household income of $71,122 last year, nearly $20,000 higher than the U.S. median. Also, just 10.3% of the population lived below the poverty line. The state had a relatively large amount of debt, at approximately 60% of annual revenue as of fiscal 2011, compared to 50% nationwide. Still, Maryland maintains a perfect credit rating from both Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s. Moody’s credited the wealthy tax base as a factor for its rating, as well as the state’s “history of strong financial management.” One negative factor is the state's high violent crime rate, which was one of the highest in the country last year. 25. New Hampshire > Debt per capita: $6,414 (8th highest) > Budget deficit: 20.0% (8th largest) > Unemployment: 5.5% (8th lowest) > Median household income: $63,280 (7th highest) > Pct. below poverty line: 10.0% (the lowest) By many measures, New Hampshire’s population has a higher quality of living than most of the country. The state had among the highest proportions of adults with a high school diploma and one of the lowest violent crime rates in the country last year. Also, just 10% of the population lived below the poverty line in 2012, lower than any other state. The state’s financial track record, however, is not as impressive. The state's government debt was $6,414 per person as of fiscal 2011, making it one of only eight states with more than $6,000 in debt per capita. As of the end of 2012, the state had funded just 56.2% of its pension obligations, one of the lowest rates. The state had to close a 2012 budget shortfall amounting to 20% of its total budget, among the largest budget gaps in the country. 26. Ohio > Debt per capita: $2,680 (18th lowest) > Budget deficit: 10.8% (25th largest) > Unemployment: 7.2% (25th lowest) > Median household income: $46,829 (17th lowest) > Pct. below poverty line: 16.3% (20th highest) Ohio is one of the nation’s largest manufacturing states, with the industry accounting for 17% of state GDP last year, compared to 12% of national GDP. Although the industry has contracted and jobs were lost over the past 10 years, there have been signs of recovery recently. At a recent speech in Ohio, President Barack Obama touted the auto industry bailout as having saved jobs. As of last year, Ohio’s unemployment rate was 7.2%, below the nationwide rate of 8.1%. Yet the state still had a number of problems. One in every 57 housing units entered foreclosure that year, one of the highest rates in the country. The state also has been criticized for its tax code, which includes a gross receipts tax -- a tax on individual business transactions that can be assessed multiple times during the production process -- that the Tax Foundation calls “easily the worst part of Ohio’s tax code.” 27. Pennsylvania > Debt per capita: $3,556 (23rd highest) > Budget deficit: 13.5% (19th largest) > Unemployment: 7.9% (21st highest) > Median household income: $51,230 (21st highest) > Pct. below poverty line: 13.7% (tied-20th lowest) Pennsylvania is fairly average by most categories. This was the case for the state’s fiscal track record. One outlier was the state’s pension obligations, which were poorly funded at 63.9% The state also had relatively poor credit ratings from both Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s. According to Moody’s, increases in pension contributions will limit the state’s spending flexibility for the next several years. Yet the state also excels in several measures. Between 2007 and 2012, home values in Pennsylvania rose nearly 6%, versus an 11.5% drop nationwide. Further, more than 90% of residents had health care coverage as of 2012, among the highest rates in the U.S. 28. Missouri > Debt per capita: $3,445 (24th highest) > Budget deficit: 8.8% (30th largest) > Unemployment: 6.9% (tied-19th lowest) > Median household income: $45,321 (14th lowest) > Pct. below poverty line: 16.2% (21st highest) Missouri’s finances appear to be in decent shape. The state faced a relatively small deficit in fiscal 2012, and its pension obligations were more than three-quarters funded. The Show-Me State is also one of 13 states with a perfect credit rating from both Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s. Missouri’s GDP growth, however, has lagged that of the U.S. in each of the last four years. The state’s exports were also among the lowest in 2012, at just $2,310 per resident. Possibly as a result of the state’s stagnant economy, Missouri’s revenue per capita was just $6,423, more than $800 per resident less than the national average. The state does well by some economic measures, however. Unemployment rate last year was just 6.9%, versus 8.1% nationally. Just one in every 113 Missouri homes was in foreclosure last year, compared to one of every 72 nationwide. ALSO READ: States with the Most Zombie Homes 29. North Carolina > Debt per capita: $1,931 (8th lowest) > Budget deficit: 12.2% (20th largest) > Unemployment: 9.5% (tied-4th highest) > Median household income: $45,150 (13th lowest) > Pct. below poverty line: 18.0% (10th highest) As of 2012, 18% of North Carolina residents lived below the poverty line, among the highest in the nation. Additionally, the median household income in the state that year was $6,000 lower than the national median income. North Carolina’s fiscal track record, however, is quite strong, and the state carries perfect credit ratings from both Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s. North Carolina had funded nearly 94% of its pension obligations as of 2012, trailing just two other states, and had comparatively little debt as of fiscal 2011. Recent tax reforms in the state have been met with mixed responses. Some critics claim the reforms overwhelmingly cut needed government services and disproportionately benefit the wealthy, while others argue the plan to cut income taxes will be beneficial to economic growth and employment. ALSO READ: The Nine Best Deals on Black Friday 30. Maine > Debt per capita: $4,447 (12th highest) > Budget deficit: 16.6% (14th largest) > Unemployment: 7.3% (tied-22nd highest) > Median household income: $46,709 (16th lowest) > Pct. below poverty line: 14.7% (tied-24th lowest) By some measures, Maine has a relatively weak economy. While the national economy grew by 2.5% last year, the state’s GDP grew by just 0.5%. The Pine Tree state exported $2,300 in goods per resident that year, compared to the $4,928 exported nationwide per person. On the positive side, the state's population is well off. Maine had the lowest violent crime rate in the country last year, at just 123 incidents per 100,000 residents. Also, the state’s adult residents were among the most likely in the country to have a high school diploma. The state’s poverty rate was below the national average. Relative to the size of its population, few states spent more on public welfare in fiscal 2011 than Maine. This spending amounted to nearly a third of the state’s budget. The average state spent about a quarter of its budget on public welfare programs. 31. Colorado > Debt per capita: $3,214 (22nd lowest) > Budget deficit: 6.3% (36th largest) > Unemployment: 8.0% (tied-19th highest) > Median household income: $56,765 (14th highest) > Pct. below poverty line: 13.7% (tied-20th lowest) Colorado was one of the nation’s weakest exporters in 2012, with only $1,574 worth of goods exported per capita. The average state in 2012 exported close to $5,000 per person. Colorado was among the states spending the least on public welfare programs as of fiscal 2011 -- one of three to spend under $1,000 per capita. The poverty level last year, however, was better than the national rate, at under 14%. Colorado’s education spending per capita was slightly below the U.S. average in fiscal 2011. Spending may have been low because the state did not have all that much money to spend. As of fiscal 2011, the Centennial State raised just $5,763 in total revenue per resident, among lowest figures. Governor John Hickenlooper hopes to reverse the state’s poor education funding in next year’s budget, which proposes increases in per-pupil spending. The governor’s efforts signal the reversal of a multi-year trend; Colorado’s per-pupil spending is down by more than 7% compared with education spending in fiscal 2008, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. 32. Arkansas > Debt per capita: $1,280 (3rd lowest) > Budget deficit: None > Unemployment: 7.3% (tied-22nd highest) > Median household income: $40,112 (2nd lowest) > Pct. below poverty line: 19.8% (4th highest) By several measures, Arkansas is a fiscally sound state. Government debt as of fiscal 2011 was just 16.5% of annual state revenue, the lowest in the country and much better than the 50% average across all states. The state was also one of just eight to not have any budget gap to close in fiscal 2012. And, relative to its total spending, Arkansas actually spent more on education than any other state. However, Arkansas has a very poor population, with the second lowest median household income of $40,112 in 2012, as well as one of the lowest proportion of adults with a high school diploma or more. ALSO READ: The Most Oil-Rich States 33. Oklahoma > Debt per capita: $2,716 (19th lowest) > Budget deficit: 9.0% (29th largest) > Unemployment: 5.2% (tied-5th lowest) > Median household income: $44,312 (10th lowest) > Pct. below poverty line: 17.2% (tied-15th highest) By many critical measures of well-being, Oklahoma performs quite poorly. More than 18% of residents did not have health care coverage last year, among the worst in the nation. Additionally, the state’s poverty and violent crime rates were also quite high and median household income was among the 10 lowest in the nation. However, the Sooner State does well by several measures. Between 2007 and 2012, home values rose by 11%, more than all but two other states. Oklahoma’s unemployment rate was fifth lowest in the nation last year, at just 5.2%. Although the state is among the nation’s smallest exporters per capita, it is a major energy producer of both natural gas and oil. 34. Georgia > Debt per capita: $1,373 (4th lowest) > Budget deficit: 7.6% (34th largest) > Unemployment: 9.0% (9th highest) > Median household income: $47,209 (20th lowest) > Pct. below poverty line: 19.2% (6th highest) Georgia exhibits strong fiscal management. The state had among the lowest debt burdens per resident in fiscal 2011 at roughly $1,400, whereas some states carried five times that amount. Additionally, the state had funded nearly 82% of its aggregate pension liabilities as of last year. But the state also had one of the nation’s highest poverty rates in 2012 at over 19%, as well as foreclosure and unemployment rates that ranked among the nation’s worst. Similarly, comparatively few residents had health insurance coverage. Despite that, Governor Nathan Deal has rejected Medicaid expansion and chose not to set up a state-run insurance exchange, two provisions of the Affordable Care Act. 35. Michigan > Debt per capita: $3,136 (21st lowest) > Budget deficit: 3.5% (40th largest) > Unemployment: 9.1% (tied-7th highest) > Median household income: $46,859 (18th lowest) > Pct. below poverty line: 17.4% (14th highest) During the recession, it appeared that no state would be hit harder than Michigan. However, a number of factors have since buoyed the state’s fortunes. In 2009, the state had the highest average unemployment rate in the country. By 2012, while unemployment was still high, six states had higher rates. Michigan’s GDP, which contracted by a record 9.1% in 2009, provides further evidence of the state's recovery. In the next two years, the state's GDP growth rate was among the highest in the country. Last year, it grew slightly less than the national rate. Despite its improvement, the state still struggles. Standard & Poor’s rates the Michigan’s credit as among the worst of any state. Characterized as unavoidable by city lawyers earlier this year, Detroit filed for bankruptcy this summer. 36. Mississippi > Debt per capita: $2,276 (10th lowest) > Budget deficit: 13.7% (18th largest) > Unemployment: 9.2% (6th highest) > Median household income: $37,095 (the lowest) > Pct. below poverty line: 24.2% (the highest) Nearly one in every four Mississippi residents lived in poverty last year, the worst rate in the nation. The state's unemployment was also among the highest in 2012, and median household income was among the nation’s lowest. Property values improved between 2007 and 2012, but relative to other states, median home values went from second lowest in 2007 to lowest in 2012. However the state has been responsible about borrowing, with debt per capita totaling just $2,276 as of fiscal 2011, tenth lowest among the 50 states. 37. Florida > Debt per capita: $2,294 (11th lowest) > Budget deficit: 15.8% (16th largest) > Unemployment: 8.6% (12th highest) > Median household income: $45,040 (11th lowest) > Pct. below poverty line: 17.1% (17th highest) Florida was rocked by the housing crisis as foreclosures piled up, home prices plunged, and construction went unfinished. Home values plummeted by nearly 36% between 2007 and 2012. One in every 32 homes in the state was in foreclosure last year, the highest in the country. Florida also had one of the nation’s highest crime rates, at 487 violent crimes per 100,000 residents. Meanwhile, 20% of the population lacked health coverage, more than all but three other states. The state received accolades from the Tax Foundation, however, for its business-friendly tax climate. Recently, Governor Rick Scott pledged to cut more than $500 million in taxes in his next budget. Scott also touted his own performance in cutting Florida’s deficit. Florida had to close a $3.7 billion deficit, equal to 15.8% of its budget, in fiscal 2012, according to the CBPP. 38. Kentucky > Debt per capita: $3,332 (25th lowest) > Budget deficit: 10.5% (26th largest) > Unemployment: 8.2% (tied-17th highest) > Median household income: $41,724 (5th lowest) > Pct. below poverty line: 19.4% (5th highest) While Kentucky was not heavily in debt, less than half of the state’s pension obligations were funded, well below the national average. Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s both give the state’s credit a relatively low rating, with Standard & Poor’s grading it AA- with a negative outlook, worse than all but a handful of states. Kentucky is one of the poorest states in the country, with a median income of just $41,724, and a poverty rate of more than 19%, both fifth worst in the U.S. Only 83.8% of the adult population had a high school diploma last year, also fifth worst in the country. Despite facing these problems, Kentucky wasn’t even in the top 15 for education or welfare spending in fiscal 2011, relative to the size of its budget. ALSO READ: The Worst States to be Unemployed 39. New York > Debt per capita: $6,944 (6th highest) > Budget deficit: 18.2% (10th largest) > Unemployment: 8.5% (13th highest) > Median household income: $56,448 (15th highest) > Pct. below poverty line: 15.9% (tied-22nd highest) New York's debt of nearly $7,000 per resident as of fiscal 2011 was among the highest of any state in the nation. Despite the significant presence of major industries in New York, the state was rated by the Tax Foundation as having the worst business tax climate in the nation. The group gave poor ratings to New York’s individual income tax, property tax, and unemployment insurance tax policies. Not all is bad in the Empire State, however. The state’s pension obligations were more than 90% funded, and the state’s foreclosure rate is 10th lowest in the country. 40. Alabama > Debt per capita: $1,891 (7th lowest) > Budget deficit: 15.9% (15th largest) > Unemployment: 7.3% (tied-22nd highest) > Median household income: $41,574 (4th lowest) > Pct. below poverty line: 19.0% (7th highest) Alabama was among the states spending the least on public welfare programs in fiscal 2011, but not because its residents were wealthy. Last year, nearly one in five residents lived below the poverty line. In fiscal 2011, 39% of Alabama’s spending went to education, or $2,277 per resident, among the highest levels nationwide. The percent of adults with a high school diploma or better, however, was one of the worst in 2012. The state’s GDP growth rate was also in the bottom 15 in three of the last four years. Last year, state GDP increased by just 1.2%, less than half the national growth rate. Unemployment in the Birmingham metropolitan area, Alabama’s most populous region, improved considerably between 2011 and 2012, dropping from 7.9% to 6.4%. This mirrored the trend statewide, where unemployment dropped from 8.7% in 2011 to 7.3% in 2012. 41. Connecticut > Debt per capita: $8,531 (4th highest) > Budget deficit: 17.1% (12th largest) > Unemployment: 8.4% (tied-14th highest) > Median household income: $67,276 (4th highest) > Pct. below poverty line: 10.7% (4th lowest) Connecticut's economy was the only one in the country to contract in 2012. The state also had the 4th highest debt per capita in fiscal 2011. Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s rate the state’s credit as relatively poor. This may be due to the state’s poorly-funded pension. The state’s pension obligations were less than half funded as of 2012. Connecticut’s crime rate was better than the national rate, although it varied considerably across the state. In Stamford, the violent crime rate was under 300 incidents per every 100,000 people. In New Haven, on the other hand, it was close to 1,500 -- among the highest rates for any metro area. ALSO READ: The Best States to be Unemployed 42. South Carolina > Debt per capita: $3,293 (24th lowest) > Budget deficit: 11.1% (23rd largest) > Unemployment: 9.1% (tied-7th highest) > Median household income: $43,107 (9th lowest) > Pct. below poverty line: 18.3% (9th highest) South Carolina ranks poorly in several measures. One in every 60 South Carolina homes were in foreclosure in 2012, and the median household income was just $43,107, both among the worst figures nationwide. The state’s poverty and violent crime rates were also among the highest in the country, and its property crime rate was the highest. South Carolina’s unemployment rate was more than 9% last year, among the worst in the nation. Several of the state’s metropolitan areas, including Myrtle Beach, Sumter, and Florence, had unemployment rates of 10% or greater in 2012. South Carolina is currently pitching Boeing to move jobs there, with Governor Nikki Haley touting her opposition to unions. 43. New Jersey > Debt per capita: $7,265 (5th highest) > Budget deficit: 37.5% (the largest) > Unemployment: 9.5% (tied-4th highest) > Median household income: $69,667 (2nd highest) > Pct. below poverty line: 10.8% (5th lowest) New Jersey’s population is relatively wealthy. The state’s median household income in 2012 was just under $70,000, the second highest in the U.S. Just 10.8% of the population lived below the poverty line that year, among the lowest in the country. Unfortunately, the state ranks poorly by most other measures. While the national job market improved in 2012, New Jersey’s unemployment remained high. Compared to the state’s 2011 unemployment rate of 9.4%, which was 14th worst in the country that year, the 2012 unemployment rate rose to 9.5%, and tied for fourth-worst in the U.S. Also, the state needed to close a deficit of nearly 38% of its total budget in fiscal 2012 -- the largest budget gap that year. State debt amounted to $7,265 per resident in fiscal 2011, nearly double the average
it’s going to work, and for good reason. Memory and CPU are severely constrained on mobile devices compared to regular PC hardware. Apps don’t run in windows, they run on the full screen. So when you leave one app and switch to another in iPhone OS 4, the GUI — the visual interface — is not going to continue updating in the background. What will happen, if the app is updated to support the new OS 4 APIs (which, I expect, all actively-maintained apps will be), is that the app will stay in memory but stop processing. Switch back and it’ll start processing again, right where it left off. Think pause/resume, as opposed to the current iPhone OS model of quit/relaunch. The VOIP and background audio processing examples do not involve the full app continuing to run in the background. The way these things work in iPhone OS 4 is, more or less, that the app registers with the system for what specific things it wants to do in the background. When the user leaves one app for another, the app that is being put into the background receives an event from the OS telling it that it is about to be paused, and at this point it has a chance to store its state, ask for time in the background to complete a task like a file upload, and register specific threads that will continue performing specific lightweight tasks like audio playback. Take Pandora for example. When in the background, what will be running is a faceless (no UI) thread that just streams audio. Only when you re-activate Pandora — tap its icon to open the full app — will the entire app start running again. When the system is running low on memory, it will automatically quit the least-recently used app that is paused in the background. Users should not notice this, except that when next they go back to such an app that has been reaped by the system to reclaim its memory, it might take a few moments longer for the app to be ready, and it will be like today, where the app itself will be responsible for restoring context. And, thus, apps still must be written in a way that assumes they might be shut down by the system with only a few moments notice. The result is that switching between two or three recently used apps will feel very snappy. Users do not have to think about or even be aware of concepts like launching and quitting. Those are implementation details. They just have to think about opening, or perhaps better put, going to one app at a time that will take up the full screen. Sort of like how you go to a web site — you go to apps on the iPhone. And, now, for apps like Skype and Pandora, users can think about apps that can continue to do stuff (play audio, receive incoming VOIP calls) even when they’re not open. There is nothing about the new iPhone OS 4 multitasking that a user must learn. They might just notice that “switching back” to recently used apps, via the same old home screen icons, is snappier. For the most part, using background-capable third-party apps will be just like using the background-capable system apps from Apple. It’s an efficient, clever way of making switching more useful and quicker. It’s also very much like the “multitasking” system Android has had in place all along. My understanding of how multitasking works on Android is that it’s pretty much like what I described above for iPhone OS 4: GUIs do not continue to update (and consume CPU time) in the background, but apps stay in memory when you switch from one to another, until the system runs low on memory, at which point it starts automatically and silently quitting the least-recently used ones. Background Android apps can register faceless threads to “do stuff”, like play audio. I don’t think such background threads on Android are limited to specific things like audio playback and VOIP as they are on iPhone OS 4.0, but Android’s multitasking model is far more like what Apple just announced for iPhone OS 4 than it is to a traditional PC OS like Mac OS X or Windows. One neat feature of Android is a listing in its Settings app that shows you where your battery life has been consumed since your last charge. In my use of a Nexus One, very little is consumed by apps in the background. Battery life on the Nexus One is consumed mostly by the display and by the wireless networking. I suspect that’s largely true for the iPhone from version 1-3, and will continue to be true with iPhone OS 4. Like copy-and-paste, it was inevitable that Apple would add multitasking to iPhone OS eventually. Whether it was always planned for this year I do not know, but once Android became Apple enemy number one, multitasking became a must-have catch-up feature. Adding it now takes away the first item on the Android-vs.-iPhone talking points list. (And despite its similarities to Android’s model, Apple is, of course, pitching it as original and innovative.) As for why the iPhone 3G and second-generation iPod Touch don’t get multitasking with iPhone OS 4, that’s easy — those machines only have 128 MB of RAM. The 3GS and third-generation Touch both have 256. (The 8 GB iPod Touch still being sold today is like the iPhone 3G — second-generation hardware. It will not get multitasking with iPhone OS 4.) “Paused” apps on iPhone OS 4 are still resident in memory, so there’s just no way it would work with only 128 MB total (some of which, remember, goes to the system itself). The CPUs in the 3GS and latest iPod Touch are faster too, and that’s a factor, but I believe RAM is the central reason. iAds and Google Ever since the Apple-Google rivalry turned into a war, there’s been increased speculation that Apple might launch its own search engine. The thinking is simple. If Apple wants to go to war with Google, then they’ll be tempted to go after Google’s crown jewels — search. Search is still and may well always remain Google’s most popular service. But Google doesn’t make money from search. They make money from advertising. If you want to fuck with Google, you go after advertising revenue.3 Now, it’s true that much — most? — of Google’s ad revenue comes from ads that are displayed alongside search results. Google search generates a tremendous amount of ad revenue. But that’s last decade’s battle. It doesn’t make much sense for Apple to take on Google in search, given Google’s tremendous lead in the space and Apple’s utter lack of expertise in the field. It takes longer for Mac OS X’s Spotlight to search my MacBook Pro’s hard disk than for Google to search its index of the entire web. The war for search is old. Where’s the next battlefield for advertising? Mobile devices is one guess — a guess shared by Google and Apple. And here’s a field where Apple is ahead, not behind. Again, just like with multitasking, the idea that Apple would build support for advertising into iPhone OS is obvious, something that I suspect they might have pursued sooner or later even if Android did not exist. There’s a tremendous amount of money at stake. Now that Android is considered the number one threat to the iPhone, though, mobile advertising became an immediate priority. Jobs’s pitch for iAds during the event yesterday wasn’t even coy about it being a fuck-you to Google. He emphasized first the idea that on mobile, unlike the desktop, search is not a good venue for advertising. The idea being that on the iPhone, people aren’t searching, they’re using apps, and therefore the prime space for ads on mobile devices is right there inside apps. I’m not arguing whether Jobs is correct about search not being good for ads on mobile — I don’t know — but clearly, when he says “search”, he means “Google search”. So that’s knock one against Google. Jobs then showed examples of iAds — rich, cinematic, interactive software ads. They look like native iPhone software, but they’re written in straight HTML5 (so it’s a bonus fuck-you, to Adobe). The word Jobs used repeatedly was emotion. They’re intended to be about design and feeling. It’s about a venue for advertising that can feel like good TV commercials and full-page magazine ads. That’s knock two against Google. Google ads may well be effective, but they are not emotional. Consider the Toy Story 3 iAd Jobs demoed. What kind of ad through Google could compare to that? There’s a solid slice of the DF audience that firmly believes that all advertising is contemptible bullshit. They’ve already skipped to the end of this article. Some advertising, no matter the medium — TV, newspaper, magazine — is junk. But some is art. Commercial art, of course, but art nonetheless. Online advertising — mobile or not — has been largely devoid of this caliber of advertising. iAds is Apple’s attempt to enable high-caliber ads for mobile. Jobs seemed more enthusiastic about iAds than anything else in the show yesterday. So the anti-Google message with iAds was two-fold: first, search isn’t good for mobile ads; and second, Google — logical, engineering-driven Google — will never provide an ad platform for emotional advertising like design-driven Apple can. Jobs’s iAds pitch was not directed to consumers. It was directed to creatives in the ad industry — and creative developers who want something better than text ads inside their apps. MiscellanyThis article is over 3 years old Nobel prize winner and girls’ education advocate, who survived Taliban attempt to kill her, criticises Republican’s call to ban Muslims entering US The Nobel prize winner Malala Yousafzai has condemned Donald Trump’s views on Muslims as she attended a sombre ceremony to remember the 134 children killed in a Taliban attack on a Pakistani school a year ago. Peshawar school attack: one year on 'the country is changed completely' Read more “Well that’s really tragic that you hear these comments which are full of hatred, full of this ideology of being discriminative towards others,” said Malala, who lives in the UK, in response to recent comments by the US Republican presidential candidate. Trump has been heavily criticised for calling for a ban on all Muslims entering the US after a Muslim husband and wife shot and killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California, in an incident classified as a terrorist act. Speaking at the ceremony in Birmingham, Malala’s father Ziauddin Yousafzai also criticised Trump’s comments. “It will be very unfair, very unjust that we associate 1.6 billion with a few terrorist organisations,” he said, referring to the number of Muslims worldwide. The event was organised by peace prize winner Malala and her family. Malala was shot in the head by the Taliban in 2012 after she had publicly advocated education for girls. On 16 December 2014 nine extremists scaled the walls of an army-run school in the north-western Pakistani city of Peshawar, throwing grenades and opening fire on terrified children and teachers. “There are these terrorist attacks happening, for example what happened in Paris or what happened in Peshawar a year ago,” Malala said, referring to last month’s Islamic State attack in Paris that killed 130 people. “If we want to end terrorism we need to bring quality education so we defeat the mindset of the terrorism mentality and of hatred.”BEIJING (Reuters) - Forty five years before ambitious Chinese politician Bo Xilai fell from power accused of flirting with Cultural Revolution extremism, he stood as a teenager in front of a baying crowd that accused him of defying Mao Zedong’s campaign. China's former Chongqing Municipality Communist Party Secretary Bo Xilai attends a session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) of the Chongqing Municipal Committee, in Chongqing municipality, January 26, 2008. REUTERS/Stringer Bo’s divisive rise and downfall has kindled debate about how the chaotic Cultural Revolution (1966-76) shaped him and his generation, which will assume power at a ruling Communist Party congress later this year. At the start of the Cultural Revolution, the man at the centre of China’s worst political scandal in decades was a student at the Number Four High School in Beijing, an elite cradle for “princelings”, the sons of Communist leaders who had risen to power with Mao. The school became a crucible for conflicts unleashed with Mao’s call to rebel in the name of his unyielding vision of communism. The era paralyzed the country politically, triggering social upheaval and economic malaise. One day in 1967, Bo and two brothers were paraded at the school by an angry group of student “Red Guards”, and accused of resisting the Cultural Revolution just as their father, Vice Premier Bo Yibo, had been toppled along with dozens of Mao’s former comrades and accused of betraying their leader. Their persecutors twisted their arms behind them and pressed their heads nearly to the ground while pulling back their hair to expose their faces, Duan Ruoshi, a fellow student at the Number Four school, wrote in a memoir published last year. “Despite the shouts of condemnation from all sides, Bo Yibo’s sons exuded defiance and twisted their bodies in defiance against their oppressors,” Duan wrote in the memoir published by “Remembrance”, an online magazine about the Cultural Revolution. The ordeal was a lesson for Bo in the capricious currents of Communist Party power, which only a few months before seemed to promise him and other princelings a bright future as inheritors of the Chinese revolution. Now the effects of the Cultural Revolution on Bo and his generation are in question. In mid-March, Bo, who had ambitions to be elevated this year to China’s top decision making body, was dismissed from his post as party secretary of Chongqing, a crowded municipality in southwest China. Critics, including Premier Wen Jiabao, have suggested that Bo, 62, flirted with reviving the extremes of the Cultural Revolution, a decade of zealotry and violence etched in the memories of tens of millions of Chinese. Yet the era was a formative one for many Chinese leaders now poised to rise to power in a Communist Party leadership transition later this year. President Hu Jintao is due to retire as party leader and hand power to a generation including many leaders who were Red Guards - student-militants fighting for Mao’s vision of a communism purged of compromise. At many schools, gangs of the loosely organized Red Guards marched into a vacuum of authority in the summer of 1966, when officials were toppled and police retreated. Across Beijing in August and September that year, nearly 1,800 people died in attacks instigated by Cultural Revolution radicals, according to official estimates published in 1980. A Reuters investigation based on interviews with 10 former students and recent memoirs from the Number Four school shows that Bo, his brothers and many fellow princelings experienced the Cultural Revolution as both enforcers and victims of Mao’s wrath - a double legacy key to understanding its influence. “They experienced both attacking others and being attacked by others, and then counter-attacking. Their role underwent a massive reversal,” said Zhu Jingwen, another student at the Number Four school during the Cultural Revolution. Some see parallels between what Bo did or saw at his school and his controversial policies in Chongqing, where he encouraged “red” choirs exuding nostalgia for Mao’s time and an anti-crime gang crackdown that critics said revived elements of Maoist mobilization which trampled on legal protections. “Bo Xilai is one example of the effects of growing up in the Cultural Revolution,” said Yang Fan, a professor at the University of Political Science and Law who was a student at Number Four at that time and knew the Bo boys. “He’s the negative side of that experience,” said Yang. THE ATTACKERS ARE ATTACKED Many princelings who studied at the Number Four school in the 1960s remain powerful in politics or business. They include Chen Yuan, president of the China Development Bank; Yu Zhengsheng, the party chief of Shanghai; and Liu Yuan, a military commander who stayed close to Bo. The Cultural Revolution-era elite alumni of Number Four are part of a generation marked by chaos that has made them less conformist than their predecessors. While Bo’s brash ambition was rare among Chinese politicians, his sense of destiny and pragmatism are seen by some as shared princeling traits. “Overall, I think, their experience has made them more independent-minded and less trusting of central authority,” Yin Hongbiao, a student at Number Four at the start of the Cultural Revolution, said of politicians from Bo’s generation. “At a time when they should have been studying, they were embroiled in political turmoil,” said Yin, who is now an historian of the Cultural Revolution at Peking University. At Number Four and other elite high schools, children of party officials were the core of students who threw themselves into Mao’s initial movement and formed gangs of “Red Guards”. The Number Four students paraded teachers around the sports ground. Some mocked students lacking their “red” revolutionary pedigrees as “bastards.” They built a jail, with a slogan written in blood on one of its walls, “Long live red terror”. Yet princelings often became victims of the next phase of the Cultural Revolution, when Mao turned on their parents. Bo’s father was toppled. His mother killed herself in the hands of Red Guard radicals. Bo and two brothers spent years in jail. “They experienced the Cultural Revolution from the very top to the very bottom,” said Zhu, the former student, who is now a law professor at Renmin University in Beijing. “But I don’t think they ever lost their belief that they are privileged and deserve to have power,” he added. “There was never any reflection on their misdeeds, they chose to dwell on only their own suffering.” THE RED AND THE BLACK Fighting for his political survival in March this year, Bo challenged opponents of his campaign against organized crime by quoting a poem from the first years of the Cultural Revolution. “We’ll dare to fight for the high-ground with these devils. We’ll never give an inch to the overlords,” Bo told a news conference at China’s parliament, citing words from a verse that in the mid-1960s was widely but wrongly believed to be by Mao. Those words recalled an era when a young Bo and other students wore spare blue and green clothes at Number Four, a collection of squat brick buildings near the walled Zhongnanhai compound where Communist Party leaders worked and often lived. Another large group of students included children of intellectuals, professionals and engineers, some of whom had worked under the Nationalist government before 1949. “Number Four was special among Beijing schools because of the number of cadre children, so the school students formed into two camps,” said Wang Zu’e, a former student and Red Guard at the Number Four school who became a Beijing government official. As Mao placed growing emphasis on ideological struggle and class into the mid-1960s, “children of senior cadres began to feel like they were different from the rest of us and began to enjoy more privileges and higher status”, said Yang Baikui, a former student at Number Four whose father was a translator. Nowadays the widespread impression of the Cultural Revolution is a convulsive revolt against all authority. Initially, however, its most fervent supporters in high schools were the children of officials, who saw Mao’s call as a test of their mettle, said former Number Four students and staff. “At the start, to become a Red Guard, you virtually had to have a red family background,” said Zhou Xiaozheng, a former Number Four student who is now a professor of sociology at Renmin University in Beijing. At the school from June 1966, fervent students turned on teachers and the principal, accusing them of hiding “bad” and “reactionary” class backgrounds and failing to heed Mao’s demands. They searched homes and patrolled the streets, forcing youths to get rid of John F. Kennedy-style haircuts, sharp shoes, denim trousers and other signs of deviance, recalled former student Yin. The sense among officials’ children that they boasted proud revolutionary pedigrees - and futures - passed from their fathers inspired a slogan that spread among the children of officials at Number Four and other high schools. “If the father is hero, the son is a real man. If the father is a reactionary, the son is a bastard,” ran the slogan painted on a wall at the Number Four school, former students said. On August 4, 1966, students paraded the 20 or so teachers around the school sports ground, the victims’ heads bowed and weighed down with high “witch” hats and placards that declared them to be “cow-ghosts and snake-demons” - the phrase used to describe people deemed beyond the revolutionary pale. “Their clothes were spattered with ink, and their faces showed scars from beatings,” ex-student Duan Ruoshi wrote. “LONG LIVE RED TERROR” In the middle of this uproar, Bo Xilai was a shy, gangly boy squeezed between two lively brothers, schoolmates recalled. His older brother, Bo Xiyong, was a star athlete who became a deputy head of the school’s Cultural Revolution committee. His younger brother, Bo Xicheng, was a boisterous junior secondary student. Bo Xilai “was the shy one among the Bo family boys”, said Yang Fan, the professor and former schoolmate, who later kept in touch with Bo’s brothers. “His face would go red when he spoke.” “He was there as an old Red Guard, but he followed others, including his big brother,” a former official who grew up as a near neighbor to Bo’s home. The ex-official spoke on condition of anonymity. “Old Red Guard” is the term for the first wave of such activists, mostly from politically privileged families. But Bo Xilai was no mere bystander, said Song Yongyi, a historian of the Cultural Revolution who works as a librarian at California State University in Los Angeles. Bo joined in the rallies and home searches that spread in 1966, said Song, citing an interview with a classmate of Bo. “One day they had an argument about family background, or the blood lineage theory, and Bo Xilai slapped him on the face two times, and also Bo Xilai called him a son of a bitch,” said Song, using the phrase common among “red” students to disparage students from “bad” class backgrounds. At Number Four, the Red Guards turned a teachers’ canteen into a jail, or “labor re-education team”, to hold teachers deemed foes of the revolution, and then “riff-raff” and “counter-revolutionaries” rounded up from nearby neighborhoods. Some ex-students from Number Four take pride in pointing out that none of the school’s teachers were killed, and students rarely brutalized each other, unlike at other schools. But four Number Four teachers killed themselves, according to the memoirs of Wang Xingguo, an ex-teacher, published by “Remembrance.” Two or three people detained from outside the school died in its jail, said former students. Some of the young guards used blood to write “Long live red terror!” on one of the jail walls, and inside they used thick belts to whip inmates, one of the students who was in charge, Liu Dong, wrote in an essay for “Remembrance”. “The jail reeked from blood,” said Zhu, the law professor at Renmin University. “There were some things done there that were unforgivable. People had skin flayed off their backs so the bones showed.” BO’S FIRST DOWNFALL As Mao’s campaign escalated, however, Bo and other princeling students experienced what it was like to be a victim. Mao had become convinced that top officials, including President Liu Shaoqi, the officer Liu Yuan’s father, were seeking to hobble the Cultural Revolution. Students from “bad” class backgrounds, spurned and criticized during the first months of the Cultural Revolution, now had their chance to counter-attack. By 1967, Bo Xilai’s family was engulfed in Mao’s fury. His father, Bo Yibo, was a veteran of the revolution who after 1949 took up a job as a senior financial official. On January 1, 1967, Bo Yibo was seized by Red Guards while he was in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou and taken back to Beijing where he was jailed for eight years. Bo Yibo’s wife, Hu Ming, was taken back on another train two weeks later but died before she arrived. An official account said she “committed suicide for fear of punishment”, said Warren Sun, an historian at Monash University in Australia. Since Bo Xilai’s downfall, some online accounts have repeated allegations that he beat his ousted father in a bid to protect himself. But former Number Four students, including several critical of Bo, said they doubted the story was true. Glimpses of Bo and his siblings in 1967 suggest a rootless existence on the margins. His older brother Xiyong and younger brother Xicheng were caught after stealing a car and colliding with a mule, said Yang Baipeng, a former schoolmate. Bo Xilai was caught stealing a book from a store on Beijing’s main shopping street, according to “Memories of the Storm”, a collection of memoirs about the Number Four school during the Cultural Revolution published in Hong Kong this year. In 1967, radicals at the Number Four school rounded up Bo, his brothers and other sons of officials, said Yang Baikui, a former student and a brother of Yang Baipeng. “They were targets not just because of what they did, but because of who their fathers were,” said Yang Baikui. “The struggle meeting went on for two or three hours. They weren’t hit, but we shouted slogans and demanded that they admit their errors.” In late 1967, Bo Xilai and two of his brothers were jailed, and later sent to Camp 789, a prison for children of disgraced senior officials. They were released in 1972, and Bo later became a worker. He now risks another stint in jail. He was suspended from the party’s top ranks in April, when his wife Gu Kailai was named as a suspect in the murder of Briton Neil Heywood, a long-time family friend. Both Bo and Gu could later face trial. Related Coverage Cambodia says Frenchman linked to Bo Xilai scandal won't be extradited After Bo’s dismissal, his wife’s sister told friends not to worry about him, said a retired academic who said she overheard their comments at a funeral in March of a fellow princeling. “Don’t worry about Bo Xilai, he’s been through much worse than this,” the academic said, citing the sister’s words. “He’s been through the Cultural Revolution. This is nothing.” (This story is refiled to fix typo in the fourth paragraph)JunkkaGom Profile Joined August 2010 Korea (South) 854 Posts Last Edited: 2011-04-27 11:53:21 #1 You need pdo viewer to view the plans. [Marauder] [Wraith] [Immortal] [Battle Cruiser] [Banshee] [Siege Tank] Plan download link Banshee ttp://imgur.com/z3DGz.jpg[/img][/url] Marauder http://paper101.tistory.com/attachment/[email protected] Battle Cruiser http://paper101.tistory.com/attachment/[email protected] Immortal http://paper101.tistory.com/attachment/[email protected] Wraith-red http://paper101.tistory.com/attachment/[email protected] Wraith-blue http://paper101.tistory.com/attachment/[email protected] Siege Tank http://blog.naver.com/PostThumbnailView.nhn?blogId=ddong5678&logNo=80125592676&categoryNo=61&parentCategoryNo=# and press 첨부파일 on top right Hi. I found some epic pictures of paper models of units in Starcraft, and thought I would share them with everyone at TL. They are made by blogger named 콘스타블(Constable) and you can download the plans at his blog : http://poppaper.net/80123692028 You need pdo viewer to view the plans.[Marauder][Wraith][Immortal][Battle Cruiser][Banshee][Siege Tank]Plan download linkBanshee http://paper101.tistory.com/attachment/[email protected] ttp://imgur.com/z3DGz.jpg[/img][/url]MarauderBattle CruiserImmortalWraith-redWraith-blueSiege Tankand press 첨부파일 on top right Workload overwhelming. It is a good day to work aksfjh Profile Joined November 2010 United States 4847 Posts #2 That's pretty sweet. If only all my time wasn't being spent playing SC2... =P Dakkas Profile Joined October 2010 2548 Posts #3 Where are the paper models? All I see are the 3D models JunkkaGom Profile Joined August 2010 Korea (South) 854 Posts #4 On April 27 2011 17:22 Dakkas wrote: Where are the paper models? All I see are the 3D models lol I thought so too when I first saw them. lol I thought so too when I first saw them. Workload overwhelming. It is a good day to work Defacer Profile Blog Joined October 2010 Canada 5051 Posts #5 What. The. Fuck. Igaryu85 Profile Joined November 2010 Germany 195 Posts Last Edited: 2011-04-27 08:26:44 #6 You can see the marauder is paper and the banshee is standing on a pole but some really look great;) All look great;) but some can be reckognized as paper;) Kollapse Profile Joined April 2010 United States 125 Posts #7 Wow O.o Wow, so cool. Thanks for sharing. Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see. MrSexington Profile Blog Joined July 2010 United States 1767 Posts #8 Uh oh. Looks like Zoe has competition. onlinerobbe Profile Joined August 2010 Germany 546 Posts #9 On April 27 2011 17:22 Dakkas wrote: Where are the paper models? All I see are the 3D models those ARE the paper models^^ really good, thanks for linking those ARE the paper models^^really good, thanks for linking ohayo- on afk-op teamliquid \| tuturuuuu! mayushi desu - 유인나, 이지은 사랑 (멍 지효 <3 ) TBO Profile Joined September 2009 Germany 1347 Posts #10 The Banshee looks outstanding, the others are all very good too but the Banshee is spectacular Iplaythings Profile Blog Joined August 2009 Denmark 7751 Posts #11 On April 27 2011 17:22 Dakkas wrote: Where are the paper models? All I see are the 3D models Seriously, cant see the paper at all. Amazing, you have any videos of the folding of them? Would be so amazing to watch Seriously, cant see the paper at all.Amazing, you have any videos of the folding of them? Would be so amazing to watch In the woods, there lurks.. ihasaKAROT Profile Blog Joined November 2010 Netherlands 3502 Posts #12 My fingers already hurt thinking about the fidling with paperfolding KCCO! gn1k Profile Joined July 2010 United States 441 Posts #13 Thank you John. Amazing stuff. It looks like they printed out the textures used by the game and figured out how to fold them up. Creator of Street Empires and APM TD JunkkaGom Profile Joined August 2010 Korea (South) 854 Posts #14 On April 27 2011 17:28 Iplaythings wrote: Show nested quote + On April 27 2011 17:22 Dakkas wrote: Where are the paper models? All I see are the 3D models Seriously, cant see the paper at all. Amazing, you have any videos of the folding of them? Would be so amazing to watch Seriously, cant see the paper at all.Amazing, you have any videos of the folding of them? Would be so amazing to watch I couldn't find video of making, but here's a picture from banshee making Also, the immortal model is at our studio I couldn't find video of making, but here's a picture from banshee makingAlso, the immortal model is at our studio Workload overwhelming. It is a good day to work Mikilatov Profile Blog Joined May 2008 United States 3897 Posts #15 These are absolutely insane. Wish I had the time/motivation to make one. ♥ I used to lasso the shit out of your tournaments =( ♥ \| Much is my hero. \| zizi yO~ \| Be Nice, TL. SmoKim Profile Joined March 2010 Denmark 9999 Posts #16! holy fuck, that looks sick!great job whoever did this "LOL I have 202 supply right now (3 minutes later)..."LOL NOW I HAVE 220 SUPPLY SUP?!?!?" - Mondragon Chaosvuistje Profile Joined April 2010 Netherlands 2560 Posts #17 On April 27 2011 17:31 JunkkaGom wrote: Show nested quote + On April 27 2011 17:28 Iplaythings wrote: On April 27 2011 17:22 Dakkas wrote: Where are the paper models? All I see are the 3D models Seriously, cant see the paper at all. Amazing, you have any videos of the folding of them? Would be so amazing to watch Seriously, cant see the paper at all.Amazing, you have any videos of the folding of them? Would be so amazing to watch I couldn't find video of making, but here's a picture from banshee making Also, the immortal model is at our studio I couldn't find video of making, but here's a picture from banshee makingAlso, the immortal model is at our studio Any possible way to get that immortal model near tasteosis today? Really impressed by these, I wish my korean was better so i could navigate that blog better. Any possible way to get that immortal model near tasteosis today?Really impressed by these, I wish my korean was better so i could navigate that blog better. Follow me on @raamedia, updates on good TL threads and SC2 news. And also webdevelopment ^^ JohnQPublic Profile Joined April 2010 United States 117 Posts Last Edited: 2011-04-27 08:38:51 #18 Siegetank He did a siege tank one too that may be the most impressive. Anyways thanks for sharing this we don't get a lot of korean community information especially about fan made things like this so if you ever see anything similar I know that I and the rest of TL would love to see it. non sum qualis eram Azzur Profile Blog Joined July 2010 Australia 5901 Posts #20 Would the English casters be able to show them to the audience? That would be awesome! 1 2 3 4 5 15 16 17 Next Alloriginally posted on 05/06. latest update on 05/20 @4:40 p.m. (pdt). ten new links + one tweet from today at bottom of first section. click here to go directly to them. _____ i thought i’d compile a festival of links to reviews/commentaries/blogposts/tweets/etc. related to nicholas wade‘s new book A Troublesome Inheritance: Genes, Race and Human History. i’ll keep adding to this list as the week goes forward. (keep in mind, though, that’s there’s more to human biodiversity than just racial differences…): – “Racism and discrimination are wrong as a matter of principle.” – nicholas wade in A Troublesome Inheritance. – quote from nicholas wade from this interview: “I think it would be only to the good if we understood what part of our behavior had a genetic component, ’cause then we could focus our efforts, to the extent it might be relevant, on the remedial efforts that would reduce inequities.” – read an excerpt at penguin books: New Nonfiction: A Troublesome Inheritance: Genes, Race, and Human History by Nicholas Wade. – The Liberal Creationists from steve sailer – “To Wade, race isn’t just skin deep. In fact, he finds the visual differences between races less significant than the behavioral. Evolution’s strategy for adapting to radically different environments is to ‘keep the human body much the same but change the social behavior….’ Wade observes: ‘African populations have not gone through the same Malthusian wringer that shaped the behavior of the European and East Asian populations. Between 1200 and 1800, the English, adapting to the harsh pressures of an intense agrarian economy, became less violent, more literate and more willing to save for the future. In Africa, population pressure has long been much lower than in Europe and Asia….’ European cultures tried to keep population below the famine level by inculcating the sexual restraint and romantic choosiness conducive to relatively late marriages, while East Asian cultures cultivated grinding work ethics. In most of tropical Africa, however, the infectious disease burden was so lethal that dense populations could not be achieved due to epidemics. So the population could not form cities, nor even fully farm the countryside. The big danger in Africa was not Malthusian overpopulation, but underpopulation, which may account for how sexualized their cultures are. Not surprisingly, each continent’s culture seems to have bred people befitting its environment, and their traits live on in their descendants in modern America.” – see also Charles Murray on Nicholas Wade’s “A Troublesome Inheritance” and “A Couple of Wild-Eyed Wackos: Me and the NYT” from steve sailer. – John Derbyshire On Nicholas Wade’s A TROUBLESOME INHERITANCE – A Small, But Significant, Step For Race Realism – “In his new book, A Troublesome Inheritance: Genes,
to make this class keep a reference to the defer value we need to: export abstract class AbstractRoute implements RouteDefinition { name : string ; useAsDefault : boolean ; path : string ; regex : string ; serializer : RegexSerializer ; data : {[ key : string ] : any }; defer : Defer ; constructor ({ name, useAsDefault, path, regex, serializer, data, defer } : RouteDefinition ) { this. name = name ; this. useAsDefault = useAsDefault ; this. path = path ; this. regex = regex ; this. serializer = serializer ; this. data = data ; // It went through the normalizer this. defer = defer ; } } The only three differences from the original implementation here are: We declare one more property of the class called defer. . In the destructuring in the constructor we get one more property from the passed object, called defer. we get one more property from the passed object, called. We assign the value passed by the defer variable to the defer property of the route. The rest of the changes we need to make are in the Route and AsyncRoute classes, were we should to pass the defer property to the base constructor call. Step 4 Now, first add a _defer property to the RouteRule class like this: export class RouteRule implements AbstractRule { //... constructor ( private _routePath : RoutePath, public handler : RouteHandler, private _routeName : string, private _defer : Defer ) { this. specificity = this. _routePath. specificity ; this. hash = this. _routePath. hash ; this. terminal = this. _routePath. terminal ; } //... } We need to do the same for the AsyncRoute. From the diagram above we can notice that the route definition objects get translated to route rules. In order to preserve the defer definition object in the rules we need to do the following: In rule_set.ts include the route’s defer property in the RouteRule instantiation process: //... let newRule = new RouteRule ( routePath, handler, config. name, config. defer ); //... The RouteRule class has a private _getInstruction method, which based on the state of the RouteRule instance and passed arguments returns an instruction. We need to update its implementation to: private _getInstruction ( urlPath : string, urlParams : string [], params : {[ key : string ] : any }) : ComponentInstruction { if ( isBlank ( this. handler. componentType )) { throw new BaseException ( `Tried to get instruction before the type was loaded.` ); } var hashKey = urlPath + '?' + urlParams. join ( '&' ); if ( this. _cache. has ( hashKey )) { return this. _cache. get ( hashKey ); } var instruction = new ComponentInstruction ( urlPath, urlParams, this. handler. data, this. handler. componentType, this. terminal, this. specificity, params, this. _routeName, this. _defer ); this. _cache. set ( hashKey, instruction ); return instruction ; } We’re done with most of the work! Step 5 The final, and the most exciting step is this one! In order to render the routing component once the associated with it data is resolved, we need to update the router-outlet directive. Open the file router_outlet.ts and take a look at the activate method: //... activate ( nextInstruction : ComponentInstruction ) : Promise < any > { var previousInstruction = this. _currentInstruction ; this. _currentInstruction = nextInstruction ; var componentType = nextInstruction. componentType ; var childRouter = this. _parentRouter. childRouter ( componentType ); var providers = ReflectiveInjector. resolve ([ provide ( RouteData, { useValue : nextInstruction. routeData }), provide ( RouteParams, { useValue : new RouteParams ( nextInstruction. params )}), provide ( routerMod. Router, { useValue : childRouter }) ]); this. _componentRef = this. _loader. loadNextToLocation ( componentType, this. _viewContainerRef, providers ); return this. _componentRef. then (( componentRef ) => { this. activateEvents. emit ( componentRef. instance ); if ( hasLifecycleHook ( hookMod. routerOnActivate, componentType )) { return this. _componentRef. then ( ( ref : ComponentRef < any > ) => ( < OnActivate > ref. instance ). routerOnActivate ( nextInstruction, previousInstruction )); } else { return componentRef ; } }); } //... The activate method accepts an instruction and renders the component associated with it once it gets available (i.e. its template is loaded, etc.). Notice that inside of the method is created a custom set of providers which include the RouteData associated with the given route, as well as RouteParams and the Router. After that the activate method loads the target component next to the router-outlet directive. It does this with the DynamicComponentLoader by taking all the defined above providers plus all the providers which reside in the _viewContainerRef (for a reference take a look here). Now we can use the defer property of the nextInstruction which is accessible via: const defer = nextInstruction. defer ; In order to invoke the resolve method of the defer object in the context of the current injector (which includes providers for RouteData and RouteParams ) we can: //... var commonProviders = [ provide ( RouteData, { useValue : nextInstruction. routeData }), provide ( RouteParams, { useValue : new RouteParams ( nextInstruction. params )}), provide ( routerMod. Router, { useValue : childRouter }) ]; var tokens = Object. keys ( defer ); var localProviders = tokens. map (( token : string ) => { var current = defer [ token ]; return provide ( token, { useFactory : current. resolve, deps : current. deps }); }); var providers = ReflectiveInjector. resolve ( commonProviders. concat ( localProviders )); var parentInjector = this. _viewContainerRef. parentInjector ; var injector = ReflectiveInjector. fromResolvedProviders ( providers, parentInjector ); //... This way we create an injector which has all providers from the _viewContainerRef (which are all the providers visible at this position of the component tree), as well as all the local ones. In order to instantiate all the providers associated with the keys in the defer object we can: var deferPromises = tokens. map (( token : string ) => injector. get ( token )) …which will return an array of promises. We can wait for all promises to be resolved by using Promise.all. Once the promise returned by Promise.all is resolved we are supposed to activate the component so in the end we’ll have: //... return deferPromises. then (( data ) => { localProviders = tokens. map (( token : string, idx : number ) => { return provide ( token, { useValue : data [ idx ] }); }); var deferResolvedProviders = ReflectiveInjector. resolve ( commonProviders. concat ( localProviders )); this. _componentRef = this. _loader. loadNextToLocation ( componentType, this. _viewContainerRef, deferResolvedProviders ); return this. _componentRef. then (( componentRef ) => { this. activateEvents. emit ( componentRef. instance ); if ( hasLifecycleHook ( hookMod. routerOnActivate, componentType )) { return this. _componentRef. then ( ( ref : ComponentRef < any > ) => ( < OnActivate > ref. instance ). routerOnActivate ( nextInstruction, previousInstruction )); } else { return componentRef ; } }); }, ( e ) => { throw e ; }); If the promise gets rejected we throw the error gotten from it. An important thing to notice is that we invoke the loadNextToLocation method with different set of providers. To the keys used in the defer object we associate values instead of factories. These are the values gotten from the resolved promises returned by the factories. We don’t want the users of our router to be able to inject the promises in the constructors of their components, but only the data that they were resolved to. How to use? You can install the modified router using: npm i git://github.com/mgechev/ng2-router.git#dist For a project which uses the modified router take a look at the following repository. Conclusion This article was mostly for learning purposes. The provided solution is something that we use in our Angular 2 application but only until we get this feature implemented by the newest Angular 2 router itself. I would not recommend you to introduce this modified version of the deprecated Angular 2 router as dependency of your project.Amid the clamor this past year surrounding the crisis in the humanities, the voices of two groups—colleges and professors—have dominated the debate. Some say the humanities are saving students; others say humanities students are wasting their time and money on their degrees. Only occasionally mentioned in those arguments are the students themselves. So what do students have to say? Not much, so far—at least not publicly. Yet they face, on a personal level, the same economic and intellectual questions that colleges are now confronting: As the cost of an undergraduate education soars, does it make sense to invest one's future in the humanities? Does a humanities degree pay off, one way or another? Three years ago, we were all freshmen in Stanford University's Structured Liberal Education program, a yearlong residential course that surveys the world's most important works of literature, art, theology, philosophy, and history. From there, each of us went on to major in some humanistic discipline. Now we are seniors, and with our eyes finally up from all the books, we face the specter of life after graduation. What have we gained? What will we take with us when we leave? What is a major in the humanities worth? Should we measure worth by career utility or by some other value—cognitive, aesthetic, moral? By our skills or by our knowledge? No doubt many students can attack those questions and reach the same breadth of benefits outside the humanities. At Stanford, many of our classmates are scientists, social scientists, and engineers, and we have great respect for and interest in their studies—not only for their work's clear practical applications but also for the ways in which those students grapple with the world. We argue that our education is just as significant, and just as irreplaceable, as theirs. Alex Romanczuk, major in comparative literature and mathematics: I've derived no tangible benefits from my study of comparative literature. I have no intention of pursuing a graduate degree in the subject, and no employer will ever hire me because of my knowledge of early 20th-century German poetry. Hegel's dialectic won't feed a hungry child, and pretending to understand Finnegans Wake won't somehow give me the moral power to stop the evil scientists from unleashing their killer robots. To think so is dangerous, incorrect, and insulting. A comp-lit degree is really quite useless, which is exactly what I find so appealing. Literature is beautiful, and even if it is nothing more, I study literature because of an insatiable desire to expose myself to beauty. I enjoy the moments of stillness that that beauty induces. I enjoy listening to myself in those moments. Is dedicating 65 units of my Stanford career to cultivating stillness an arrogant, privileged, and irresponsible thing to do? Maybe. But it sure makes it easier to do those problem sets. You give to society what you gather in solitude. I've never understood why there's a tension between those who study useful things and those who study beautiful things. We can and should study both. Advertisement Miles Osgood, major in English and minor in classics: The stories are true: The closer I get to graduation—to an honors B.A. in English—the more I'm asked, "What are you going to do with that?" What bothers me about the question is not its wry concern for my working future, or even its implied dismissal of my academic past. What bothers me (honestly) is that it's always the same question, word for word. The language of our world—where the Internet provides our reading, television our theater, and advertising our art—has grown increasingly dependent on stock phrases. I read, write, and study literature in large part because its more careful language can order this world of chance events into scenes and narratives of heightened form and significance. Our trite, repeated lines order the world too, but only by flattening it. Still, just as any red-blooded English major should bristle at the canned question above, any cold-blooded English major might still take a closer look at the contents. I have no doubt that I'll find something "to do" with the skills I've acquired. Just like any other humanities student, I routinely condense hundreds of pages to their salient points of interest for a given subject, problem, or context. Every weekday, I debate the details of projects and their surrounding arguments in a conference setting. I write clearly and persuasively. But behind the shadow of "doing," unemphasized in the question's inflection, is that far more telling verb, "going." This is the central question at hand: Should we judge the success of our university educations for what we are "going to" next, or for what we've become? When I look at my final transcript in June, I won't be looking at a résumé. I'll be looking at the classes that taught me who to be, what to want, and why it matters. Some college students pick their majors having planned from the start what they're "going to do with that," but English is not a "that," and that's why I picked it. Gregory Hertz, philosophy major: Throughout my life, people have tried to convince me to stop thinking—but they offer reasons. People think that philosophy is not relevant—but they have philosophies of their own that determine their emotions and actions. Thinking shapes our experience of the world, and philosophy is just high-quality, high-quantity thinking. When we do anything, we would be wise to ask why we are doing it. People think that philosophy doesn't offer answers. Answerless questions shouldn't be ignored. They should be shown to contain false assumptions, or why they are beyond human cognition. We confront the baffling: Why is there something rather than nothing? Why is that something this, and not something else? Advertisement What could be more interesting than those questions? Jackie Basu, history major and classics minor: Am I living the right life? Nietzsche framed that seemingly simple question with a thought experiment: If you were told that you would spend the rest of time repeating this life again, exactly as it was, how would you react? Would you be content or terrified? After all, a "good life" could be one of little risk, maximal comfort, and minimal pain—certainly pleasant enough to repeat. A risk-taking life, though more glorious, is also more uncertain: Spills are an inevitable cost of striving. Is it worth taking those falls and bruises for all eternity? Entering the university as a published scientist, I was on a well-marked path to a reassuringly risk-free career. However, somewhere along the line, a new set of questions presented itself, quietly at first, then insistently: questions from the global community relating to collective action, the rule of law, rhetoric, state-building, and state failure. Pursuing them, I could still process data and deduce paradigms, but my data set turned textual, deriving from history, literature, philosophy, and the classics. The end point of my study is not clear; no laboratory awaits me after I graduate. That is the inherent challenge of the humanities life: demonstrating the pragmatic, productive value of my work. I do know, however, that the methods of analysis I've honed will be the tools I bring to bear upon my undergraduate honors thesis. Most importantly, I know that I have taken the courageous path toward the striving life. Though I lost the security of a predetermined career, I've gained the freedom to mold myself a new one. This is a life I am proud of, that I claim as my own. And when Nietzsche tells me to do it again, ad infinitum, I will certainly stand by my choice. Julian Kusnadi, philosophy and religious-studies major and human-biology minor: Anyone committed to the authority of human rationality ought also to concede its limits at an individual level. From the relatively modest admission that any individual human mind has limits, two categories emerge: what one can rationally explain and what one cannot. The existence of the latter compels many people to turn—upwards, inwards, or nowhere in particular—to the transcendent in their search for a different authoritative system that can make sense of the unexplained. Religion generally intends to use rationally accessible language and concepts. However, I argue that religion's indisputable appeal and near omnipresence in recorded history come from the spaces in between what reason understands. Poetry and music use conventional words and sounds to create profound experiences; those experiences can be rationally explained at a conventional level, but to do so misses the point of poetry and music. In the same way, it would be reductionist to explain religion exclusively through its constituent, rationally explainable parts. Even in a modern world enamored with rationality, individual and global conflicts that may have rationally explainable motivations—political or economic ones, for example—often involve religious dimensions. Familiar, rational words and arguments may be used to explain religious belief, but if religion essentially involves that which transcends rationality, justifications based on religious belief are likewise not exclusively limited to what reason can explain. The stakes of religious belief are ultimate, and the convictions that these stakes inspire become justifications for individual and collective actions. Given the powerful force and pervasiveness of religious conviction, especially with its foundation outside rationality, we should hardly be surprised to find religion embedded in modern global issues. Addressing the profound issues raised in religious studies may, indeed, be of similarly ultimate consequence for the future of our modern global village. Surely those stakes warrant the humble, humanistic study of what essentially lies beyond reason's authority. Karmia Cao, English major with a concentration in creative writing: The week I declared my major in creative writing, an old friend told me that she had purchased a gift for me: a button pin that reads, "I majored in English. Would you like some fries with that?" Yet I have found creative writing to be a sanctuary in the humanities, an observatory of the human conscious. In my studies the objectives are not, as the pin from my friend suggests, to view the world with hypercritical eyes, affect a petty-witty or inaccessible style, or brace oneself for a life of mismatched, unsatisfactory careers. I am a student of the humanities because I stand by what G.K. Chesterton foresaw as the "cult of progress," in which misguided societies stumble down a dangerously futuristic road while wearing blinders that exclude a vision for self-knowledge, ethics, history, cultural understanding, and the excavation of the resource-rich human mind. Though I admit that not having a formulaic, secure career trajectory can be daunting, I am also reminded that the science of "the more"—more convenience, more speed—is hollow and hollowing without cognizance and interpretation. What we do springs forth from who we are. I study the humanities to become a cartographer of histories, a physician of social inequity, and a rocketeer of cultural fluidity. To stand truly independent and informed. And if I succeed, I will leave that button on my mantelpiece. And ketchup beside.We're into Day 5 and the pledges are already well over 65% of the target. We were slightly overwhelmed with messages and questions and are only now catching up - apologies if we haven't replied to you yet - please don't think that it's because we don't care. We grabbed Charles to give a quick update. Although still cautious, with some way still to go, he did address some of the questions about possible stretch goals, if we are fortunate enough to exceed our target. But in particular we want to hear what you would want if we do go over our goal. What would you like to see in the game? What would you like more of? Locations? Characters? Puzzles? Easter Eggs? Perhaps you would like to see the game released on console? More languages? Please leave a comment on this update - we will go through them really carefully and publish a list if we get close to our target. Many thanks to Georg, a fan who compiled and sent us a list of feedback from fans. The main comments were that most of you want the original point-and-click Broken Sword experience, with death sequence, overworld maps, and of course a colourful cast of characters! It's just was well that this totally encapsulates our vision for Broken Sword: the Serpent's Curse. And finally, we just want to say: Thanks a bunch guys! Without you none of this would be possible. The fact that Broken Sword: the Serpent's Curse has been received with such passion and enthusiasm is incredible, and we really can't wait to deliver an amazing game for you and with you!In its 10th season, the Canadian Women's Hockey League is getting assists from the NHL in the form of bricks and mortar. Sunday's Clarkson Cup in Ottawa's Canadian Tire Centre between the defending champion Calgary Inferno and Les Canadiennes de Montreal will be the third CWHL game played in an NHL arena this season. The league held its all-star game in Toronto's Air Canada Centre in February. Les Canadiennes edged the Inferno 1-0 in the first ever CWHL game played in Montreal's Bell Centre on Dec. 10. The NHL teams in those markets do more than just provide the building, according to Inferno defenceman Meaghan Mikkelson-Reid. "They lend us their support staff as well, so we're not only playing in an NHL facility, but we're kind of treated like NHL players too, which is really amazing for us," Mikkelson-Reid told The Canadian Press. "I think a big piece of that is the marketing, advertising and the social media. All that support they give us is a huge piece of it." NHLPA a sponsor It's a widespread belief in the women's hockey community that they need the NHL's help to get to their hockey nirvana — a league in which women get paid to play. The CWHL also added the NHL Players' Association, which has been providing human resources advice, as a sponsor this season. Tapping into the NHL experience and expertise is a no-brainer, says CWHL commissioner Brenda Andrews. "Absolutely it's important because they're 100 years old," Andress said. "They've got a lot of lessons to share with us." Andress says the CWHL's budget has gone from $100,000 in its infancy to $2.2 million now. While the players aren't paid, the league covers their travel expenses and health insurance and pays for their ice time, coaching staffs, general managers and athletic therapists. The league now provides $45,000 in bonus money doled out to the Clarkson Cup champions, the regular-season championship and the season's individual award winners. "This year we gave mental health training to all our players, all our therapists and all our coaches," Andress said. "No, we don't pay our players in one aspect, but we take care of our players." Many women in the five-team league work while juggling the on- and off-ice demands of playing hockey at a high level. Andress continues to adhere to a business plan of slow-and-steady growth. The rival U.S.-based NWHL that does pay players cut salaries in half in its second year of operation. "Does it take pressure off me because the NWHL slashed their salaries? No. Did it surprise me? No," Andress said. "Off course I want to pay the players. That's why I started to build a business plan. I totally believe women are worth being paid. Myself, the board and the staff that work here, we do everything we can to make that dream come true. "There's no short cut to success. We're exactly where we should be after 10 years. Most people didn't think we would be here. In most sports, women's organizations professionally, they've tried and failed. They've failed because of lack of fans, lack of sponsorship." The Inferno downed Les Canadiennes 8-3 in front of an announced crowd of 4,082 to win last year's Clarkson Cup at the Canadian Tire Centre, which was the first played on NHL ice. All-star game drew 8,100 fans The CWHL had a two-year agreement with the Senators to play their championship game there. Andress would not say whether that agreement had been renewed. The Bell Centre regular-season game drew 6,000, while this year's all-star game attracted 8,100 to the ACC. On television, last year's Clarkson Cup and the 2017 all-star game both averaged 89,000 viewers, according to Sportsnet. The 2017 Clarkson Cup features the Inferno laden with eight players named to Canada's team for the upcoming women's world championship. Les Canadiennes don't have as many, but they do have Canadian captain Marie-Philip Poulin. "For me, personally going into the Clarkson Cup last year, I'd won an NCAA title, a world championship, an Olympic medal, but things didn't kind of seem complete for me, in terms of winning the complete package without the Clarkson Cup," Mikkelson-Reid said. "In your career, it's something you want to accomplish. It's pretty cool we have something to play for like that now with our league."The body of a young woman found Tuesday buried in a shallow grave in Baltimore's Leakin Park was identified yesterday as an 18-year-old Woodlawn Senior High School student who disappeared nearly four weeks ago. Hae Min Lee was last seen Jan. 13 driving away from the Baltimore County school in a gray 1998 Nissan Sentra, on her way to get her 6-year-old niece and go to work at a LensCrafters store. "We thought she would come back," said her uncle Tae Soo Kim. Baltimore police said a man out walking found the grave, which was about 100 feet off Franklintown Road in the secluded West Baltimore park -- about a mile from Woodlawn High. Police said they did not know how or where Lee died. She had no obvious signs of trauma, and the medical examiner's office said yesterday that a determination on the cause of death was pending further tests. Police said they are investigating the case as a homicide because of how and where her body was found. Detectives spent yesterday trying to track Lee's movements from the time she left school about 3 p.m. Her car, with Maryland license plate FSV 645, is missing. Authorities would not say whether they are investigating a link between Lee's death and last year's strangulation of Jada Denita Lambert, an 18-year-old Woodlawn woman whose body was found in May in a stream in Northeast Baltimore. Lambert disappeared while driving to work at Mondawmin Mall. No arrest has been made in the case. Lee's family, gathered yesterday at their home in the 7300 block of Rockridge Road, remembered a scholar and an athlete who emigrated from Korea with her mother and brother seven years ago. Kim said Lee's father remained in Korea when his family left and never maintained contact with the family. Lee was a member of her school's lacrosse and field hockey teams and manager of the wrestling team. She had aspired to be an optician. She had plane tickets to France and had been scheduled to leave today. James Wilson, Woodlawn High's principal, described Lee as "quiet and popular. She was a very warm type of person, well-liked by all the students." Pub Date: 2/12/99June 13th, 2012 ---- 2 ±±±± 1 ±±±± 0 ±±±± 1 ±±±± 2 ++++ [Welcome, National Newswatch readers!] Today as the nation's capital focuses on the first in a series of votes on the government's budgetary, economic, and kitchen sink policy, another set of votes will be taken on the future of one of the historic players in Canada's political party system. It's the day the leadership of the Liberal Party sets down the rules by which the new Leader will be selected. The Ottawa bubble is focused on two major storylines in that regard – whether Bob Rae can run, and whether Justin Trudeau will (or should) – but many other issues must be decided, any of which could have an impact on the party's chances of rebuilding and moving forward. The Liberals arrive at the point of choosing a Leader in a very different set of circumstances than the NDP, and somewhat different from the Bloc Québécois. Like the Bloc, their leader resigned in the immediate wake of a surprisingly poor showing in the May 2011 election, though had both their fortunes unfolded differently, Michael Ignatieff probably had a little more shelf-life as leader than did Gilles Duceppe. This means that several potential Bloc leadership candidates had already been testing the waters, building a platform and team, and getting ready for a possible leadership run by the time of Duceppe's exit, and that party had a fairly clear process for picking his replacement. Though a minority preferred a longer renewal and decision-making timeline, the Bloc's braintrust settled on a quick leadership race, which featured a smaller subset of the original likely candidates, but a set of them ready to go, regardless. A caucus elder was the obvious choice for interim leader, he led in the interim which was mercifully short, and once the decision was made everyone just got on with it. The Liberals, by contrast, opted to try and cure themselves of repetitive leaderitis, and thus took a longer period of reflection (which would have also afforded any potential candidates sufficient time to assess the competitive landscape and do the necessary prep work to help them make a good decision when the time came). Either way, both of those parties will have arrived at leadership launch day with some pretty well-formed leadership campaigns ready to go. That was not the case for the NDP, many of whose potential leadership candidates were expecting a race as many as four years down the road, and who were thus still assembling their campaigns on the fly behind the scenes after the campaign officially launched. While the media called the race long and tedious, much of the groundwork usually laid months and years in advance was now taking place in real time, and the obvious deficiencies of each candidate were often left unremedied for lack of time to fully address them. In reality, the NDP didn't have much choice in the matter, as they needed to move to a race fairly quickly given the other circumstances, but it did lead to a campaign somewhat lacking in full-on policy development in a number of cases, and candidates who needed some more experience in a number of key skills. This, I believe, leads to the first lesson the Liberals should learn from the recent NDP Leadership Race: 1. Take the time truly required to ensure that a good number of potential candidates are ready to put their best foot forward in a leadership campaign. In fact, there are a number of Liberal leadership candidates who have already been travelling to party events across the country, and have campaign teams in various states of readiness. They aren't always the names you hear in Ottawa, but if I was one of those candidates, the Hy's summer patio would be one of my last campaign stops, not one of the early ones, at this stage of the game. A related issue is getting the incentives right for the appropriate balance between facilitating new blood to run, and not hampering substantive debate between the candidates. Just ask the NDP how difficult it was to get the 9-candidate debate formats right in order to please multiple interests (party members, the media, live broadcasters, leadership candidates, local organizers, etc.). A fully regionally, generationally, linguistically, and visibly diverse group of candidates is also a large group of candidates. And there's only so much you can say of substance in 30-second answers. Hence the next lesson: 2. Make sure the entry rules enable a true and fulsome debate between a set of viable and well-prepared candidates. Part of what many NDP members pushed the party executive to do was set the rules so as to give them a wide range of choices. In particular, they wanted Mr. Mulcair's candidacy to be viable, which meant giving the party's Quebec section time to catch up in membership work with the rest of the country. In the end, it's not clear the extra time did accomplish that to the extent they hoped for in Quebec, I've argued elsewhere. Perhaps human nature needing a deadline would have accomplished the same work in less time, who knows. But this emphasizes another lesson. 3. Design the process in a way that will help build the party on a long-term basis. I wonder if the new Supporter category is going to do this for the Liberals. To me, you want people with at least some stake in the outcome making the decisions if they're going to be good ones, and no membership fee = potentially no stake. Of course, all Canadians have a stake in the outcome of electios, but picking the person who will make all the key strategic and resource allocation decisions of a political party in order to help that party win actual seats entails a very different set of intermediate stakes – the kind that riding activists and party election volunteers are much more attuned to. The Supporter category does have the benefits of (a) being something new, and (b) allowing the party to harvest email addresses of its universe of likely supporters in the next election, so it's not without some merit. On the other hand, I wonder if Liberal Party elders have fully absorbed how potentially disruptive it could be to their party's infrastructure to have a swarm of minimally committed social media denizens vote and run, leaving the party with a leader having little institutional mandate to undertake the reforms they know have to come next. And speaking of next steps … 4. Make sure the race itself doesn't hobble the party in what it needs to do afterwards. So much money (not by their standards at the time, mind you, but in light of subsequent financial demands) was spent on the 2006 Liberal leadership race on things like salaries and hospitality suites and who knows what other luxuries, that the cupboard was bare amongst party donors by the time a major TV ad buy was needed to respond to the Conservatives. And some candidates are still struggling to pay off those debts. The spending limit has to reflect the party's new circumstances. The Liberals need to find a leader who can maximize the value of every campaign dollar now, because that's the kind of leader they'll need in 2015. Another aspect of this lesson is to ensure that all candidates and their teams believe they've been treated fairly, and that all eligible voters (members and "Supporters") feel they've had a fair opportunity to participate and cast their ballots. The contest has to be run by a group of party elders with no other interests than the long-term best interests of the whole organization. High penalties should be levied for hijinks and trying to skirt the rules, and some of the crazy membership rules (you can only get xx number of forms at a time, and only if you have a friend in the department and stand on your head while juggling, etc., etc.) need to be tossed in favour of a system where any Canadian who wants to can join up, and each of the leadeship contestants can have fair and equal access to that new voter. And create a culture that will reward collaboration after the race, rather than exacerbate divisions. This leads me to the last lesson for the party: 5. Plan for the long-term, focus on what matters, and don't sweat the small stuff so much. The amount of fuss about an interim leader having some advantage through extra Question Period profile or travel time is out of all proportion to the actual benefit, and overlooks the associated risks for that individual now having a record as well. Every candidate is going to have some inherent advantages and acquired shortcomings before this is all over. It doesn't matter. Also, as Interim Leader, that person was never supposed to make party policy, nor could they be expected to out-poll a honeymooning competitor, or move mountains either for that matter. The leadership process now is supposed to allow the party to pick the best leader for the next task at hand. Focus on that. Equally, the next interim leader does not need to win every news cycle in Twitterdom. No-one will remember that in a year's time. And any party preference polls taken during the leadership race are purely hypothetical, as will be the ones that test various leadership candidates' names against the current Prime Minister or NDP Leader. Plus, if the GOP primaries were anything to go by, in a large slate, each contestant is going to go through a honeymoon followed by a brutal vetting, so don't count any chickens before they've fully hatched. Whoever is elected leader will need to have and share a long-term vision for the party, and curb its tendency to manage only to the daily Ottawa news cycle. They will need the trust of the members and a mandate to take the difficult decisions. Twitter stardom may or may not help in all this, but gravitas or down-home common sense might do the job just as well. As for some of the mechanical details, if the Liberals are going to use online voting, they will be at less risk of a serious Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack if it's used only for advanced voting, or is not constrained to short voting windows while on live TV. If it's high profile and time-limited on the other hand, it's an irresistable target for the parents' basement nerd disrupter squads. While we're at it, it's not only the Liberals who have some lessons to learn, but the rest of us when following the race. Here are some of the pointers I've taken away; The Ottawa media will crown someone as a front-runner who they know and/or think their audiences already know. For this reason, carrying the mantle of the early "front-runner" is not always all it's cracked up to be. A good idea and a clear message about it can vault an underestimated candidate into the final consideration set, ahead of many other more familiar names. One member-one vote races require organization to win, but organization alone is not sufficient to win them. Regardless of how many other things a candidate does well, it will be One Big Thing that trips them up in the end, and that one big thing is usually knowable or guessable in the first week or so. It can be hard to tell the difference between a Game Changer and a Hail Mary Pass when you're in the thick of a campaign, but it's obvious to pretty much everyone else on the outside eventually. Are there any other lessons you think can be drawn from recent experience?When you hear the word ‘Afghanistan,’ you probably don’t think of a vibrant and important music tradition. But if world travel
’8 with a 6’11 wingspan, Tatum is capable of bullying smaller defenders near the basket. He also proved can be a spot-up shooter by canning 40 three-pointers at a 34.2 percent clip as a freshman. He comes with a level of polish that is rarely seen in a 19-year-old scorer: His footwork is already at an NBA level, he’s great in the post, and he shot 85 percent on free throws. The case for passing on him Like many young players, Tatum needs to improve his decision making and feel for the game. He finished the year with 62 assists against 76 turnovers. Ultimately, his ceiling will be determined by whether he can make the players around him better. Right now, there’s reason to be skeptical. When the ball comes into Tatum, it usually sticks. The Sixers have no time for that with a budding superstar in Joel Embiid who needs his shots. Since Simmons is already expected to command ball-handling responsibilities, the Sixers can’t afford to have another player on the floor who holds the ball. Tatum is a good athlete, but not a great one. He’s a good shooter, but not a knockdown one from three. His best work often comes in the mid-post, a spot on the floor that feels antiqued in the modern game. From the outside, there’s a lot to like about Tatum’s go-to scoring ability. Look closer and you might find some cause for concern. Josh Jackson, SG/SF, Kansas The case for taking him To me, Jackson is the best player available. He’s a two-way wing who can handle and pass the ball, score as a slasher, and defend multiple positions. He’s also a great athlete who would thrive getting out in transition next to Simmons. What Jackson might lack in go-to scoring ability, he makes up for by mastering the little things. He’s considered the most competitive player in this draft class. He’s an excellent rebounder at his position. He’s also an unselfish player who impressed with his passing ability this year. The case for passing on him Jackson’s biggest question mark is his jump shot. That may appear to be unfair for a player who closed the season on a hot streak to finish as a 37.8 percent three-point shooter. The bigger issue is that Jackson only made 56.6 percent of his free throws. He has a low release point and the ball simply doesn’t look natural coming out of his hands. For the Sixers, this is a huge problem. Simmons is a great passer, but he’s also a non-shooter. The idea is to surround him with as many shooters as possible. Right now, Jackson projects to be average-at-best as a shooter. NBA teams will have to investigate a troubling episode where he allegedly attacked a teammate’s ex-girlfriend’s car. De’Aaron Fox, PG, Kentucky The case for taking him Fox made the ultimate case for his draft stock when he torched Lonzo Ball and UCLA in the Sweet 16 for 39 points on 20 shots. It was a dominant display that showcased his elite speed, finishing ability around the rim, and tenacity at both ends of the court. The book on Fox is out: He’s a good playmaker, a willing defender, and he might be the fastest player in the NBA the moment he plays his first game. There’s only one problem. The case for passing on him Fox really struggles with his jump shot. He only made 17 threes on the year at a 24.7 percent clip. He showed signs of good form at the free throw line — where he made 73.6 percent of his attempts — but there’s no doubt NBA teams are going to play off him and dare him to shoot early in his career. Putting a non-shooter at point guard is a big issue for any team in the modern NBA. It’s especially worrisome for the Sixers. Philly already has a primary ball handler who can’t shoot in Simmons. At this point, the Sixers need shooters and spacers more than another ball handler. Malik Monk, SG, Kentucky The case for taking him Monk looks like exactly what the Sixers need. He’s an elite athlete at shooting guard who can hit threes all over the floor. Monk’s jump shot is his biggest weapon. He hit 104 threes at a 39.7 percent clip at Kentucky and had 14 games where he hit at least four three-pointers. His most memorable performance in December came against eventual national champion North Carolina, when he erupted for 47 points on 8-of-12 shooting from deep. Monk is also explosive in the open floor and where he and Simmons could make a living running in transition. He also appears to have some unearthed potential as a playmaker. On paper, this appears to be the best fit, yet most people think it would be a reach. The case for passing on him If Monk isn’t hitting jump shots, it’s fair to wonder just how much he’s capable of contributing. He’s going to be small for an off-guard at 6’3 with a proportional wingspan. Teams are going to attack him defensively and force him to hold his own. There are people who only see Monk as a streaky shooter and scorer. With the third overall pick, the Sixers might be looking for a more complete player. Jonathan Isaac, F, Florida State The case for taking him Isaac is all tools and upside. He can play either forward spot at 6’10 with the quickness to defend the perimeter and the size to help protect the rim. He hit 31 threes at a 34.8 percent clip. He’s also an unselfish player who had no trouble carving out a role on a talented Florida State this year. Isaac should provide immediate value with his defense while the skill portion of his game gains refinement. Philly would have an obscene amount of size and athleticism up front if it takes Isaac and he reaches his potential. The case for passing on him Isaac should be able to handle minutes at the three, but his best position in the NBA is probably going to be the four. That’s where his speed will be a mismatch problem for opponents and the spot where he could settle for being a capable shooter rather than a great one. The Sixers already have a couple forwards like that in Ben Simmons and Dario Saric, so while Isaac’s upside could be huge, his fit is questionable. The verdict Josh Jackson Malik Monk Jayson Tatum Jonathan Isaac De’Aaron Fox Jackson is hard to pass on simply because he brings so much to the table. Philly can still find enough spacing by targeting a three-and-D point guard and a stroker at the opposite wing. A core of Embiid-Simmons-Jackson (and Saric!) would be versatile, athletic, and able to shine on both ends. If there’s any franchise that knows how important the best player available vs. fit debate is, it’s the Sixers. They went with the best player available in 2015 with the third pick and wound up with Jahlil Okafor. That hasn’t panned out for either party. With Embiid and Simmons, the Sixers don’t plan on being in the lottery for long. They need to make this pick count.GalGun Creator is Disappointed with How the Series is Viewed in the West GalGun: Double Peace has a bit of a reputation outside of Japan. It’s easy to see the game as perverted and sexualized, but a new interview with series creator Aizu Takuya has revealed that he thinks that the perverse aspects of GalGun have been overblown. The more ‘sexualized’ parts of GalGun are supposed to be more of a light-hearted joke than anything more serious. Here’s a key quote from the Digitally Downloaded interview: “When we make these games, the game is made to evoke a sense of baka – it’s a stupid, silly game,” Inti Creates (the developer of GalGun) CEO, Aizu Takuya, said. “That was the main purpose. Yes there were naughty or ecchi parts to it, but that’s not the focus. That is a small part of the overall lighthearted silliness to the game. “It’s disappointing that some people only see it as a game that is perverted, when that’s not even a significant element at all.” Takuya argues that he was sick of gorefest shooters, and wanted something more light-hearted: “We wanted to have a fun shooting game,” Aizu said. “A lot of shooting games have zombies or other things that you need to shoot. So we thought ‘wouldn’t it be funny to replace zombies with cute girls?’ That’s pretty funny and silly. It’s ridiculous, right? “That is the focus of Galgun; to take something negative, or even scary – that you’re shooting zombie or killing things, and turn those same gameplay mechanics into something light, funny and positive. The idea that you’ve got all these hordes of cute girls coming at you and you think ‘oh that’s great’ but in the context of the story, that’s not your goal.” There’s a lot more of the Digitally Downloaded interview to read up on at the link! Do you think GalGun’s more sexual aspects are overblown? [Source: Digitally Downloaded]Here are the results, photos, and replay from the third round of the Oppositelock Forza 6 Vintage Formula 1 Championship at Brands Hatch. In addition, the current points standings are in this post. Finally, I have time to make this post race. And I managed to get some photos! Results Here are the results from the third race of the season. 1st: Corey CC97: Lancia - Ferrari 2nd: mackleroy45: Lotus - Ford 3rd: Rudi srt4: Ferrari 4th: X Mr Plankton X: Lotus - Ford 5th: Alphalead15: Ligier - Cosworth 6th: JA 37 Viggen: Ligier - Porsche 7th: Tellurium132: Ferrari 8th: IXII Wrath IIXI: Panoz - Ford 9th: th4tjoshguy: Lotus - McLaren - Ford 10th: kiwichris1709: McLaren - Ford (DNF) POINTS STANDINGS Here are the current championship standings for both drivers and manufactures. Driver’s Championship 1st: mackleroy45: 61 points 2nd: Corey CC97: 40 points 3rd: Rudi srt4: 35 points 4th: X Mr Plankton X: 26 points 5th: Dr BecKx: 25 points 6th: AreYouCereal: 22 points 7th: Alphalead15: 20 points 8th: Dr CHAIR PHD: 18 points 9th: th4tjoshguy: 17 points 10th: JA 37 Viggen: 10points 11th: TheCowmaster934: 8 points 12th: Tellurium132: 7 points 13th: nichpsu: 6 points 14th: IXII Wrath IIXI: 4 points 15th: admiralCB; kiwichris1709: 2 points Constructor’s Championship 1st: Lotus - Ford: 68 points 2nd: Lancia - Ferrari: 40 points 3rd: Leyton-House - Ford: 22 points 4th: Ligier - Cosworth: 20 points 5th: Red Bull - Nissan: 18 points 6th: Lotus - McLaren - Ford: 17 points 7th: Ferrari: 16 points 8th: McLaren - Ford: 11 points 9th: Ligier - Porsche: 8 points 10th: Panoz - Ford: 4 points 11th: Sauber - Ford: 2 points PHOTOS Advertisement Advertisement Now in the title I had said that I made a schedule change. The date of round 6 at the Nurburgring has been moved to April 8th at 4:30 PM EST. This is for a number of reasons. Firstly, WEC Silverstone is the weekend of the original date. Second, Easter is also that weekend. Lastly, I would have to take my whole setup home that weekend with me if I was to host/attend, which is something I’d rather not do again. If this date change is problematic for a large amount of people, I will move the date back to what it was originally.Calvary Bible Church of Lima Ohio celebrated its 52nd Anniversary yesterday March 25, 2012. It looks as if the church has removed its webpage, here is the Google cache version. Since a church celebrating 52 years is a big deal, it goes without saying that the pastor would choose to have one of the pastors closest friends as a speaker. That special speaker was none other than Ron Williams of Hephzibah House. Ron Williams and Hephzibah House have had allegations of physical, emotional, spiritual abuse which go back 40 years. According to the churches announcement Calvary Baptist Church of Lima Ohio has supported Hephzibah House, Ron Williams and his late wife, Patty for nearly that long. The text below. March 25 — Celebrating CBC’s Fifty-Second We will Welcome Ron Williams of Hephzibah House on March 25th to help us celebrate 52 years of God’s great blessings. We have supported Hephzibah House prayerfully and financially for most of the years of its existence. Dr. Williams left secular social work to establish this ministry when he and his wife saw great need for a residential home for girls who were in great spiritual need. This work has been hated by a very vocal minority who have used the internet for several years to harass and attempt to destroy. God has preserved Dr. Williams in spite of these attacks, and we believe this ministry will continue to be a blessing. Ron Williams is an eloquent speaker, and we know we will his messages in Sunday School and church. We will have an anniversary dinner at 2:00 which will replace our normally scheduled evening times. The afternoon session will also be a PTF meeting for all school parents. The “very vocal minority” consists of over 200 former students and supporters. A core group of former Hephzibah House residents discovered that Ron Williams would be speaking at this Anniversary Celebration on Monday, March 19, 2012. On such short notice four ladies who were within a few hours driving distance showed up to protest. Three were positioned on public property outside the church passed out these fliers. Passing motorists honked their horns in support. Read Ron Williams letter to supporters from after CNN interviews. Then Ron goes and admits to nearly every single one of the former students allegations. Yesterday when the protest was taking place Chuckles received the following update: Just got a little update… (names withheld) #1) Susie Q’s mom *Susie Q1 went in and sat through the morning service…then there was a pot luck, and she’s still there for the afternoon service, which started @ 1:30….so waiting to hear from her after the service….. #2) Susie Q, Protester 2, and Protester 3 are the 3 fabulous ladies outside…the assistant pastor came out this morning all sweet and asked them what they were doing…he chit chatted with them being all nice…he listened to them talk, and then he asked for a flyer…he went back inside with it (p.s. the girls videotaped all of this apparently)….. #3) assistant pastor comes out a bit later …he asked them to stop protesting b/c there are so many honking horns that it is distracting their church service. He also asked the 3 ladies for their names, and if he could take their pictures, they told him NOPE! He wanted to obviously take that info in to Ron, but they wouldn’t allow him!!!! Later: The assistant pastor came out one more time and was trying to get license plate numbers etc. and this time he’s not being such a nice guy… After this the police were called. Since the protesters were peaceful and on public property the police told the assistant pastor that the protesters would remain. The protesters were informed that the church would be calling its attorney. Good luck with that, boys. A local news reporter came out and interviewed the protesters. When he went to interview Ron Williams, he hid, or ran (left.) Further…. The pastor of Calvary Bible Church of Lima Ohio is David Keith Hamblen. D. Keith Hamblen is a Bob Jones University graduate. He also was a team leader at the Wilds at one point. The Hamblen family is related to Bob Jones University royalty, the Stratton family. Stratton Hall. According to sources D. Keith Hamblen is a cousin of former Clearwater Christian College president, Dick Stratton. Dick was at one time rumored to have been in the running to be the Vice President of Bob Jones University prior to accepting the position at Clearwater. The Hamlin family are also related to Lonnie Polson. To say his family is quite connected at BJU would be an understatement. The radio station (WMUU) owned by Gospel Fellowship Association (BJU’s mission board) aired Ron Williams/Hephzibah House for many years. WMUU was petitioned for years to remove Ron Williams from its program line-up but refused. Within hours of having been contacted by CNN producers, WMUU finally removed the program from its program line-up but continues to air Lester Roloff’s Family Altar program five times per day Monday-Friday. Update as of 5pm: Looks like Calvary Bible Church website is back up.One of our loyal PhoneArena readers has sent us a leaked memo meant for Sprint reps. According to the document, on August 26th Sprint is ending two-year contracts as an option for new customers and current subscribers upgrading or adding a new line. Instead, Sprint recommends that reps try to get customers to sign up for leasing or monthly installment plans.In its memo, Sprint points out that two-year contracts are also no longer available from the competition except for Verizon. Big Red still offers the two-year pacts for upgrades. The nation's fourth largest carrier also included a chart that shows the difference between leasing and paying monthly for a device. With the former, Sprint is still the owner of the phone, but early upgrades are included and allowed after 12-monthly payments. With the installment plans, the customer owns the phone but has to pay $5 a month extra for the right to exercise an early upgrade.The end of two-year contracts appears to be related to Sprint's retail stores only. In the memo, the carrier writes that if a customer is going to walk away from Sprint because of the lack of a two-year contract, reps should direct the customer to Sprint.com or Telesales. The two-year pricing is available from those channels.If this memo is legit, Sprint customers who like to conduct their transactions in the retail store will have until August 25th, or a week from this coming Thursday, to put their John Hancock on the dotted line of a Sprint two-year contract. The memo states that this is the final goodbye to two-year contracts for Sprint customers shoppin. Perhaps this time the carrier really means it.Thanks for the tip!Samita Patil did not have her own rifle and could spare only two hours every fortnight for practice, but she bagged a gold medal at the national shooting championship for cops Samita Patil did not have her own rifle and could spare only two hours every fortnight for practice, but she bagged a gold medal at the national shooting championship for cops Interminable police work and lack of wherewithal to buy her own rifle did not stop Constable Samita Hrishikesh Patil, attached to Gamdevi police station, from clinching the gold at the All India Police Shooting Championship hosted by the state. With just two hours of practice every fortnight, Patil, brought pride to the state’s police force at the October tournament, her seniors say. “I had to borrow the weapon from the club where I practise, since the rifle with which I practice costs around Rs 2 lakh and it is beyond my means,” said Patil, who has recently been married. Impressed with her hard-won triumph, a businessman from south Mumbai has now asked to sponsor her rifle. “When Patil came to inform me about the gold medal, a businessman sitting in front of us heard our conversation and offered to finance the rifle for her through his trust. I am glad that she will have her own rifle. Usually shooters without their own weapons are forced to wait for hours at the range for their turn,” said Pradip Lolankar, who was then senior inspector of Gamdevi police station. Gold and dutiful The Mumbai police commissioner has rewarded Patil with Rs 5,000 and a remark of good service in her record. But she says that Lolankar, her reporting officer at the time, has a big role to play in her victory. “He was very cooperative and encouraged me to pursue my hobby. When I told him about the recent victory, he helped me find a sponsor and now I will have a weapon of my own,” she said. Patil, who has been practising shooting since 2006 at Swatantra Veer Savarkar Air Rifle Club in Shivaji Park, entered the police force two years later as a police naik. “I have won several medals till date, and as per the government resolution, I have been promoted with every win. However, the long duty hours take away from my practice time,” Patil said. Her wish is to bag a posting at the Mumbai police force’s sports department as it would help her devote more time for practice. The constable didn’t think she could be a shooter if she hadn’t been part of the shooting contests in her college days, when she stunned everyone with her prowess. “Thankfully, everything fell in place after college. My parents, husband and everyone in the family have been supportive. In fact, my in-laws made sure that I attended practice sessions even when I was too busy,” said Patil. Winner’s streak Samita Patil won the bronze medal in the ‘Gun for Glory’ contest held in the first week of October, which was attended by shooters from across the country. In September 2013, Patil made the department proud by bagging Pune Mahapaur. She won the gold in the Seventh All India Police Shooting Championship in Pune, which saw participation of 463 shooters from the police forces across the country. In the 10-metre event, peep-sight air rifle shoot, Patil had scored 386 out of 400 points.Over the past 15 years, Web-based applications have gradually replaced those based on other networking protocols for everything from personal communications to home electricity meters. But there’s a major shortcoming in the hypertext transfer protocol—HTTP—the system used to communicate over the Web. HTTP was originally designed for serving up simple documents and files to Web browsers, not for complex, real-time interaction. Under the original HTTP protocol, a client, such as a Web browser, must open a connection to a server, make a request, wait for a response, and then close the connection. If the client needs more data, it must open a new connection. It’s like hanging up the phone and redialing after every sentence of a conversation. And if the server has new info for the client, it must wait until the client requests it rather than sending it over instantly. This redundancy chews up bandwidth. Worse, it makes it nearly impossible to keep a Web client stuffed with up-to-the-second information. In some situations, such as financial trading, those lost milliseconds can mean missed opportunities. Web developers have been hacking around HTTP’s limitations for years with programming techniques such as Comet, which delays closing an HTTP connection in order to transmit more data. But what they really want is a connection between client and server that stays open indefinitely and allows both parties to send data back and forth as needed. The nearly-complete HTML5 standard for current and future Web software includes just such a solution, a new protocol called WebSockets. This protocol allows a Web client to create a connection, keep it open as long as it wants, and both send and receive data continuously. Kaazing, a startup based in Mountain View, California, was a leading developer of the WebSockets standard. The company now sells a product that serves as a software gateway, allowing WebSocket connections between existing Web clients—browsers, phones, and desktop software—and the back-end systems to which they connect. CEO Jonas Jacobi, who spent eight years working on Java-based corporate software for Oracle, says WebSocket technology is promising not just because it’s faster, but because it’s cheaper. “It removes the need for a lot of middleware,” he says. “That’s not where companies want to be putting their engineering resources; they want to focus on improving the product they deliver.” So far, Kaazing’s early customers tend to be in the financial sector, where milliseconds count in transactions at banks, hedge funds, exchanges, and private trading firms. The company has partnered with Informatica, a maker of messaging software, to develop a WebSocket-based internal communications system for companies. Mike Pickett, a vice president at Informatica, says the appeal of WebSocket tech is that “it is agnostic to the specific type of [Web] browser—IE, Firefox, Chrome. Developers don’t have to write a specific extension for each browser,” which they often do for workaround solutions. (Currently, Internet Explorer requires an add-on to handle WebSockets.) Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and some other browsers have support built-in. If your browser supports WebSockets, you can watch a demo of financial markets updating several times a second at the bottom of this page. Kaazing’s other early customers tend to be online gambling companies like Unibet. That’s because betting requires up-to-the-second odds, which are hard to provide without a persistent connection. Importantly, WebSockets aren’t exclusive to Kaazing. Google has been an early champion. Besides building the technology into its Chrome browser, the company supports a site that shows developers how to implement it. Ian Hickson, who leads HTML5 specifications for Google, wrote on an Internet Engineering Task Force’s mailing list: “Reducing kilobytes of data to 2 bytes […] and reducing latency from 150 milliseconds to 50 milliseconds is far more than marginal. In fact, these two factors alone are enough to make WebSockets seriously interesting to Google.”Note: WNBA.com’s Race to the MVP, released every Wednesday during the season, is the opinion of this writer and does not reflect the views of the WNBA or its clubs. Archive: Race to MVP, Preseason Like the Week 1 Power Rankings, this week’s Race to the MVP comes with an obvious caveat: It’s not much of a race after just three days of game action. That said, WNBA Tip-Off 2016 presented by Verizon offered a brief glimpse of what’s to come in this 2016 season. In short: star power. With Diana Taurasi and Candace Parker back in action from the jump this season, the Race to the MVP is shaping up to be highly competitive one. Here’s who jumped out of the gates in the opening games: 1. Maya Moore Stats: 24.5 points, 57% FG, 8.0 assists In case you were paying attention to Taurasi’s return, Elena Delle Donne’s encore or Candace Parker’s rousing start (more below), Moore provided an immediate reminder of who ended last season at the top of the game. She followed her 27-point, 10-assist performance in the Opening Night ESPN showdown with the Mercury with a solid 22 points in a win over EDD’s Sky. Other stars might carry a larger load or put up gaudier numbers, but it’s not hard to imagine the Lynx staying atop the league and Moore taking home her second MVP on the strength of her leadership. 2. Elena Delle Donne Stats: 28.0 points, 60% FG, 6.0 rebounds After missing Chicago’s first game due to a stomach virus, Delle Donne returned in MVP form. But her Sky fell short in an early litmus test against the defending champs, vaulting Moore past EDD in these rankings. Moore and Taurasi may be conference rivals, but the Maya vs. Elena debate could heat up even more this summer, especially when it comes to the MVP conversation. 3. Candace Parker Stats: 34.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 3.0 steals Parker became the talk of the opening weekend by picking up where she left off from last year’s historic statistical run. Can the 30-year-old keep it up for a full season? If she can, she will very much work her way back into the mix as the league’s alpha dog, but her team’s success will be key to her MVP campaign. 4. Diana Taurasi Stats: 18.0 points, 6.0 assists The MVP-like performance can wait; Phoenix is just happy to have Diana back on the court. Rebuilding chemistry with her Mercury teammates should be like riding a bike for Taurasi. Once she does that, she’s shown time and time again where she ranks in the game’s pecking order. 5. Tina Charles 24.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists The 2016 regular season began much like the 2015 regular season ended: More wins for the Liberty, and more double-doubles for Charles. New York and its star forward are becoming machine-like in the way they bring it day in and day out. Charles already seems ready to shoulder an even bigger load in the absence of Epiphanny Prince. 6. Sylvia Fowles Stats: 20.5 points, 63% FG, 13.5 rebounds The 2015 Finals MVP has jumped out to a dominant start against two championship contenders. Just like the Fever in the championship series, the Mercury and the Sky — two other title contenders — had no answer for the 6-foot-6 center. If Fowles maintains this level of play, the two-time Defensive Player of the Year deserves to be considered for bigger awards — even if Moore garners many of her votes. 7. Skylar Diggins Stats: DNP Coach Fred Williams and the Wings are wisely taking it slow with Diggins, who is still working her way back from a torn ACL. Perhaps consecutive games on the sideline to start the season serve to temper expectations for the early part of Diggins’ season. Still, she remains on this list because once at full strength, Diggins and the new-look Dallas squad have a chance to be a force in the West. 8. Brittney Griner Stats: 12.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.0 blocks Griner was outdueled by Fowles in the first Lynx-Mercury showdown of the season. Plenty of more matchups between the league’s preeminent centers lie ahead, however, and few players in the league can control a game like Griner when she gets going. 9. Angel McCoughtry Stats: 15.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.0 steals An overtime victory represented a good start for the Dream, even if it did come against the rebuilding Stars. McCoughtry’s focus will be keeping Atlanta afloat and improving on last season’s disappointing 15-19 campaign. 10. Tamika Catchings Stats: 6.0 points, 4.0 rebounds This was surely not the start to her final season that Catchings envisioned. Tamika shot just 2-for-9 in the Fever’s 90-79 loss to the Wings.Rio de Janeiro (CNN) It is one of the most famous stadiums in the world and was a showpiece venue for the Rio Olympics, but six months on from the Summer Games the iconic Maracana looks more ghostly than glitzy. The usual bustle of rowdy football fans is nowhere to be seen. Daily tours to the world-renowned landmark have been suspended and trouble in the area has been on the rise. Violent robberies and vandalism have been reported nearby and, despite the stadium's padlocked gates, a recent break-in led to the loss of expensive equipment and precious memorabilia, including a bust of late journalist Mario Filho, whom the stadium is named after. A series of legal battles and abandonment have left the once glorious Maracana in a state of total decay and as Rio de Janeiro kicks off one of the state's main seasonal cups, it is unclear whether the stadium will be able to host matches for this, or any, upcoming tournament. Artwork from the 2016 Olympic Games can still be seen inside the stadium. Artwork from the 2016 Olympic Games can still be seen inside the stadium. The place where a television set was once positioned inside the stadium. The place where a television set was once positioned inside the stadium. Some of the Maracana's missing seats can be seen abandoned in a storage warehouse inside the stadium. Some of the Maracana's missing seats can be seen abandoned in a storage warehouse inside the stadium. A broken window inside the stadium. Several windows and doors have been broken or damaged. A broken window inside the stadium. Several windows and doors have been broken or damaged. A man cleans one of the entrances to the stadium. A man cleans one of the entrances to the stadium. An abandoned billboard with the Olympic rings can be seen inside the Maracana stadium. An abandoned billboard with the Olympic rings can be seen inside the Maracana stadium. The pitch of the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro, where its turf is dry and worn. The iconic stadium hosted the 2016 Olympic Games, but six months later a series of legal battles and abandonment have left this once glorious venue in a state of total decay. Photographer Joao Pina explored the stadium on assignment for CNN. The pitch of the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro, where its turf is dry and worn. The iconic stadium hosted the 2016 Olympic Games, but six months later a series of legal battles and abandonment have left this once glorious venue in a state of total decay. Photographer Joao Pina explored the stadium on assignment for CNN. Invasion of worms During a recent visit, CNN was able to see the extent of some of the damage. The browning pitch has been invaded by worms, several windows and doors have been broken or damaged and nearly 10% of the stadium's 78,000 seats are missing. "There are things that you can see on the surface that are damaged, like the grass and the seats," Daelcio de Freitas, spokesperson for Maracana SA, the firm responsible for the stadium's upkeep, told CNN. "However, what we are most concerned about is the safety of the people who are coming to Maracana and we need to make sure things, like the stadium's roof, weren't compromised." "This is a temple in Brazil" @JamilChade reflects on the decline of the Maracana stadium with @AmandaDCNN More: https://t.co/24msv88WK9 pic.twitter.com/Sp5t1TGrc8 — CNN Sport (@cnnsport) February 2, 2017 The stadium also had its power cut off last week due to unpaid bills. So just months after hosting the opening and closing ceremonies at last summer's Olympics and Paralympics, wowing viewers and spectators with elaborate pyrotechnics, this famous stadium was plunged into darkness. According to state energy provider Light, the stadium had incurred a debt of nearly three million Brazilian reals ($939, 937). Legal battles Disputes over who is in charge of the stadium involve Maracana SA, the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee and the state of Rio. According to Maracana SA, the state and Rio 2016 violated the original contract signed when the Olympic Committee assumed control last March. It claims the stadium was not returned in the conditions stipulated in the contract. But Rio 2016 has said it was "not responsible" for the problems which are blighting the stadium. Mario Andrada, a spokesperson for Rio 2016, recently told CNN affiliate, TV Record: "(We admit) we need to make some repairs. We know they are our obligation and that we are a bit behind, but these things shouldn't keep the stadium from functioning." Rio 2016 is negotiating the payment of 1.7 million reals ($539.494) -- more than half of what is owed -- to Light. Maracana SA will pay the remainder of the debt, charging some vendors who used the stadium after the Olympics, including organizers of Brazil football great Zico's annual charity match, the last match to be played there back in December. From riches to rags Swedish goalkeeper Kalle Svensson dives to block the ball in front of Brazilian forward Ademir 09 July 1950 during their World Cup final pool match. In addition to hosting the 2016 Olympics and Paralympics, the Maracana was the venue for the finals of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the 2013 Confederations Cup and the 2007 Pan-American Games and has held several concerts and regional football tournaments. Built for the 1950 FIFA World Cup, it hosted the final between Brazil and Uruguay before a crowd of nearly 200,000, making it then the world's largest stadium by capacity. And it was at the Maracana that Brazil's Pele, regarded by many as the greatest footballer in history, became the first player to score 1000 professional goals. Dead grass, 7000 seats torn out - iconic #Maracana stadium in a sorry state after costly reforms for #Brazil #WorldCup and #Olympics pic.twitter.com/ojmK6QCvhb — Shasta Darlington (@ShastaCNN) January 25, 2017 The stadium was shut down for two years and practically rebuilt for the 2014 FIFA World Cup at a cost of more than $500m. But it is now unclear what the landmark stadium's legacy will be. Maracana SA, whose majority shareholder is construction company Odebrecht, is looking to hand over stadium maintenance to interested bidders. According to Maracana SA, they are waiting on the state government to approve the move. Rio's Football Federation is hopeful the final of Guanabara Cup will be held in the stadium, but football officials are unsure whether the stadium will be fully repaired by then or who will be managing one of the country's most beloved venues. Other Olympic venues,
it. We’re an active part of its magick. We’re in the midst of Mercury retrograde, and coming out of a powerful and rare selenelion. Whatever bumps and scrapes we’ve gained, the memo here is to listen to them. Hear their stories–don’t just feel them and emote from the place of the hurt. Realize the revealed hurts are their own life force with a story, healing, and a blessing. The blessing is the emphasis, here–or it can be if we allow it. This is the magick Wunjo brings. Read the detailed Weekly Rune at Patreon. Pin 82 Shares Like this: Like Loading...If you’ve flipped through any fashion blog’s street style slideshow or scrolled through your Instagram Discover page anytime in the past year or so, chances are you’ve stumbled across the above font a couple of times. Maybe you saw Rihanna wearing the matching hoodie and sweatpants combo as she walked out of a restaurant with her nth goblet of wine that week; or maybe you saw one of the several haute couture reworkings of the logo; or maybe you’ve noted its influence on contemporary tour merch. Whichever situation it may be, Thrasher Magazine merch has somehow someway gone from an outsider signifier to the ultimate fashion world insider must-have. We at HYPEBEAST wanted to take a step back and give a bit of context for the typeface and explain how it went from outdated to en vogue and, ultimately, in Vogue. 1 of 2 2 of 2 Typeface designer Roger Excoffon created several notable fonts during his tenure at Marseille’s Fonderie Olive typeface factory, most notably Mistral, Antique Olive and Banco, a bold typeface featuring an all-caps, slightly slanted alphabet, whose appearance emulated those of a confident hand sketching letters with a flat brush. Excoffon did not design a matching lower-case alphabet for the font, leaving the type impactful and resonant. While much of Excoffon’s creative output was hugely influential in the realm of advertising—Antique Olive was used as the official font of Air France up until 2009—Banco, despite its current Fashion Moment, was largely considered retrograde, and as a result was relegated to the windows of butchers and bookshops across Europe. As Modernism took hold, much of Excoffon’s work was pushed to the periphery. To this day, you might stumble upon the bold font being used to hawk goods in hot-dog stands or grocery stores in Russia, where the font has found a home ever since it was translated into Cyrillic in 2000. Despite being popular amongst local businesses, the font fell largely out of favor and the spotlight until it resurfaced on the cover of Bob Marley’s 1974 album Natty Dread, some 20-odd years after the font’s initial creation. Natty Dread is perhaps best known for “Lively Up Yourself” and its timeless live recording of “No Woman, No Cry,” but the album also reintroduced the public to Banco—so much so that the font became nearly synonymous with Caribbean, reggae and Rastafarian cultures in the United States. The type found a niche on reggae record sleeves and dub-plates throughout the ’70s and would’ve gathered dust in record-bins the world over were it not for the launch of Fausto Vitello, Eric Swenson and Kevin Thatcher’s Thrasher Magazine in 1981. 1 of 4 2 of 4 3 of 4 4 of 4 Thrasher is basically skateboarding’s Bible: editorially speaking, its voice has always been by skaters for skaters, caring little for the acceptance and understanding of outsiders; current editor-in-chief Jake Phelps has built the publication’s reputation on its honesty and unmerciful coverage of the subculture and all of its surrounding ephemera. Aside from skateboarding, Thrasher has always held reggae, dub and marijuana culture close to its chest as inspirations, so the use of Banco on its masthead makes sense. But once the magazine found its cultural legs in the West Coast skate scene and beyond, the font was quickly disambiguated from its island roots and re-contextualized as a symbol and signifier of skate culture and all that it stood for. Thrasher has since collaborated with brands like HUF, Diamond Supply Co. and Supreme in reimagining the logo, while artists like Neckface and Mark “The Gonz” Gonzales have offered their own takes on the iconic typeface on magazine covers throughout the years. The flaming version of the logo so coveted by fashion insiders and influencers is reserved for the publication’s annual year-end photo roundup—also known as the TH1RT3EN issue— since 2002. Thrasher merch has traditionally been a beloved uniform for neighborhood skate-rats the world over. Nowadays, though, it seems like every designer, model, blogger, and/or influencer has offered their own interpretation of the gear in a casual nod toward skate culture without the commitment of learning how to kickflip or scuffing up a pair of Half Cabs. Vetements literally and figuratively elevated the font by transplanting the logo from the chest to the shoulders on an oversized, $1,000 USD hoodie; Russian designer and skate culture admirer Gosha Rubchinskiy offered his own take on the logo; Raf Simons’ favorite skateshop, Vier, plastered a flaming Antwerp on the chest-plate of menswear bloggers nerdy enough to read Raf Simons interviews on their days off. With its dying breath, even the late menswear cabal, Four Pins, pastiched the fashion world’s adoration of the logo on a hoodie. This wave of copycats has not gone unnoticed, however. One need look no further than Vogue‘s Skate Week—a skin-deep celebration of outsider culture by a notoriously classist publication—for proof of the trend’s scope and impact in the fashion sphere. Skate Week drew furious kickback from the skate community; many felt that its skin-deep appreciation verged on appropriation and glossed over much of what makes skateboarding a thriving subculture and community. And it doesn’t stop at magazines: artists and fans like Tiësto and Carly Rae Jepsen—hardly known for their skate affiliations—have offered their own takes on the “Skate Tee,” often to ridicule and embarrassment. Tiësto was eventually forced to take down his skate tee after getting meme’d into oblivion. From the pictures below, it’s hard to tell if art is imitating life or vice versa any more. When asked about fashion’s current fixation on skate culture, adidas team rider Lucas Puig noted that it’s a double-edged sword: “On one hand, I hate it because I started skating because it was really different from everything else… Now you see every brand doing this and it’s like, ‘Fuck…c’mon, I live this…’ On the other side, it’s good for the mainstream. Maybe it’ll open some doors for the business and get some more money put into skating.” Jake Phelps has a much blunter opinion: “It’s corny as shit.” And he has a point: skaters have the right to be mad that fashion—a culture built on exclusivity—should take bits and pieces from a subculture so close to the street and price it upwards of $200 or $900 USD without having the stones to throw themselves down a 25-set. Hell, that Racked piece that quoted Phelps referred to him as “Jeff Phelps,” showing just how half-hearted fashion mags have been in their endorsements and research. Skateboarding as a subculture has always detested poseurs, after all. In the end, it appears that skate merch (and Thrasher merch in particular) has gone the way of vintage band tees: sure, you might not be able to name any members of Rush or Exodus or the last Skater of the Year, but it’s a fire piece, and it speaks to a passive appreciation and support of a subculture and aesthetic. And if wearing a Thrasher hoodie (or a Gosha hoodie or a Vetements hoodie) could potentially put one kid onto skateboarding, it would all be worth it. But whatever you do, please don’t mall-grab.The alt-right's demographic nightmare By Scott Sumner There is a growing strand of conservative thought that worries about demographic change, especially changes triggered by immigration. The percentage of Americans who are non-Hispanic white is projected to fall from 62.2% in 2014 to only 43.6% in 2060. Some conservatives seem to have two worries: 1. A growing minority population, especially Hispanics, will lead to American becoming poorer, more like a third world country. 2. Non-whites are more likely to support socialist-type spending programs, partly because they are poorer, and partly because they lack the Anglo-Saxon cultural tradition of loving liberty. I don’t wish to discuss the validity of those worries, other than to say that I don’t share this anxiety over demographic change. Instead I’d like to explore what America will look like in 2060. Below I provide the projections from the Census Bureau. Unfortunately there was some double counting, as Hispanic non-whites were counted twice in the data, leading to the percentages adding up to a bit more than 100%. Thus only the total Hispanic and the non-Hispanic white figures are accurate. I adjusted the other figures based on what we know today about the share of non-whites who are also Hispanic. In parentheses I’ve added the unadjusted figures, which as I said add up to more than 100%. Fortunately, none of my later claims will hinge on the accuracy of these adjustments: Non-Hispanic whites 43.6% Hispanics ———– 28.6% Blacks ————– 13.3% (14.3%) Asians ————– 9.0% (9.3%) Multirace ———– 4.6% (6.2%) Other ————– 0.9% (1.5%) So that’s the horror story that we are all supposed to fear. Then I looked for a state that had some similar demographics right now, to get a sense of what it would be like to live in this sort of dystopian nightmare. And I found one—Texas! Indeed the Lone Star state is even “worse” from a neo-reactionary perspective: Non Hispanic whites 43.5% Hispanics ———– 38.6% Blacks ————– 11.7% Asians ————– 4.4% Multirace ———– 1.3% Other ————– 0.4% The non-Hispanic white share is almost identical to America in 2060. But the Hispanic share is actually much higher today in Texas than it will be in America in 2060. In contrast, the Asian share in Texas today is only half as large as expected in America in 2060. Why do I say this is “worse”? Because many of the people who complain about demographic change seem particularly worried about the growing Hispanic population. I even recall one “alt-right” type who referred to them as “rapists and drug dealers”. In contrast, they often single out Asians as a “model minority” that has been quite successful in America. Whatever you think of these demographic characterizations, one thing is clear; from a neo-reactionary perspective, the Texas of 2014 is even worse than the America of 2060. I hope that by now you see the problem, or indeed the two problems: 1. Neoreactionaries seem to think the America of 2060 will be a particularly inhospitable place for white people. And yet white folks are moving to Texas in droves. Indeed the only other state that comes close (in terms of absolute population growth) is Florida, which also has lots of blacks and Hispanics (but not very many Asians). The Texas economy is also highly successful. Even during the oil bust, people continue to move to Texas and its population continues to grow rapidly, up by nearly a half million (almost 2%) in the most recent year (mid-2014 to mid-2015). The unemployment rate is only 4.2%, close to the 4.0% considered optimal by Bernie Sanders. And this was accomplished despite the hemorrhaging of oil jobs. 2. In electoral terms, Texas is a fairly conservative, small government state. So there you have it. The alt-right’s looming demographic nightmare is best represented by Texas, a state that is economically quite successful, draws in lots of white migrants from other states, and votes conservative. I wonder what their ideal state looks like? Maybe West Virginia, which is America’s least Hispanic state: What about going further out than 2060? My response would be that no one knows what the distant future will look like. The Anglo-Saxon worries about Irish immigrants in the 1800s look ridiculous today. I’m not denying that demographics matter to some extent; I do believe that cultural differences can be important. I just think the worries about America are absurdly overdone. We’ll be fine. And if we aren’t, it won’t be due to demographics.I received in my email a copy of a “letter of solidarity” circulating amongst employees in the Masters of Social Work Department at California State University, Northridge (“CSUN”), a California taxpayer-funded institution that also receives federal tax dollars. In this solidarity letter, department members indict the entire American system for the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, as well as for the death and suffering of all other victim classes in America. This apocalyptic, anti-American mindset begins with the cover letter accompanying the email: From: Chavez, Naomi [XXXX@XXXX] Sent: Friday, December 19, 2014 11:29 AM To: Chavez, Naomi Subject: IPT and Letter of Solidarity Please reply directly to Jose Paez [XXXX@XXXX] Attached please find the CSUN MSW Department Letter of Solidarity. Our attempt was to adequately capture the feelings of outrage, frustration, humiliation, shame and pain experienced by so many communities for so many generations without access to true justice or healing. Our letter builds from the work of Portland State University, Simmons College, and Smith College; joins the growing number of schools/departments that have made a public statement; and upholds our obligation as social workers to speak out against social injustices. Our letter uses settler colonialism as a main lens and framework of analysis to interpret the current state of affairs within a historical context. We have addressed the historical traumas and provided evidence/examples of the intersecting oppressive forces which create the space for the persistent forms of state sanctioned violence we see today. We have created a brief yet thorough list of action items to hold us accountable. If you have a chance, please take a moment to read this letter. We would like to gather and add as many signatures to this letter as possible. We are posting the letter to our Dept. website today–Friday (12/19). We also plan to email this document to President Harrison, as well as to our students. If you’d like your name to be added to this letter, please email José Paez (XXXX@XXXX) directly today (12/19) and he’ll add your name. If you miss the deadline, but would still like to be added, please email José and he’ll make sure you get added to the letter. Please let us know if you have any questions. José Miguel Paez, LCSW CSUN MSW Department 18111 Nordhoff Street Northridge, Ca. 91330-8226 818 [XXX-XXXX] XXXX@XXXX That cant-filled email is just a mild prelude. To fully appreciate how an American university can write in language that, barring 21st century updates for gays and transgenders, almost perfectly replicates anti-American tirades emanating from Moscow during the height of the Cold War, you have to read the actual “Letter of Solidarity” (click on images to enlarge): Not only does the letter consist entirely of turgid, Marxist academic writing (which sees the authors expressing solidarity with “Victims of interlocking forms of oppression including racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and classism”), it refers to a factual universe unrelated to any reality outside of the fevered halls of academia. For example, I strongly suspect that both Garner and Brown would have been surprised to find themselves lumped in with gays, women, transsexuals, and Hispanic immigrants responsible for taking jobs blacks once held. To their minds — and, no doubt, to the minds of the black communities running riot all over America — there is no comparison between black oppression and any oppression visited on all the other people on that list. That’s especially true for those victims of sex and gender-related “isms.” American blacks are, after all, profoundly homophobic. After this preliminary throat-clearing about all the victims of this cruel, cruel American world, the letter gets to its main point: It is a sweeping indictment of an irreparably tainted political, social, and legal system that has its origins in white patriarchal colonialism: We acknowledge that the above-‐mentioned cases illustrate the evolution of our legal institutions to uphold racial, gender, class, and sexual orientation hierarchies. We recognize that our legal system was designed within the context of settler colonialism; that it continues to disempower, segregate, and eradicate specific communities and people, while retaining privilege for white, middle class, heteronormative, Christian families. To support this scathing ideological charge against America, the letter proceeds to specifics. These specifics sound like facts, but are in fact so twisted and perverted that they have all the reality of a fun-house mirror. I’ve set forth each “fact,” followed by a note about inaccuracies or irrational lines of thinking: [1] This is evidenced by the epidemics of mass incarceration and deportation [Note: It’s unclear what “epidemics of mass incarcertation” exercise the letter’s signatories. What’s certain is that Obama’s administration has tried to halt deportations despite the fact that it is obligated by law to remove people who are in the country illegally, and that deportation numbers have dropped dramatically.]; [2] the overrepresentation of youth of color and LGBTQ youth within child welfare and juvenile justice systems [Note: This is tragic and true — and no doubt arises from the fact that children of color come disproportionately from single mother homes, with the absence of a father a clear indicator of both child poverty and criminality. LGBTQ youth belong to a demographic that consistently rates higher in drug use and alcoholism (despite record acceptance of homosexuality amongst the peers of gay youth), two activities that often result in imprisoned young people. In other words, the high incarceration rates arise not because the criminal system is cruel but because the social systems in which these young people live are cruel.]; [3] disparate health outcomes and accessibility to healthcare [Note: As just one article from the thousands available on the internet indicates, while it’s tempting to blame a discriminatory system for different health outcomes, the problems of disparate outcomes run deeper, touching upon lifestyle choices (e.g., unprotected sex, cigarette smoking, unhealthy diets due to cultural mores); employment options (e.g., more dangerous construction jobs for young Hispanic men); cultural dependence on non-effective faux-medical options; language barriers; etc.]; [4] Stop and Frisk and other policing tactics used to intimidate and harass [Note: Stop and Frisk, by stopping petty crime before it becomes major crime, has probably saved more minority lives than just about any other program in America. It is a sad truth that those getting stopped and frisked are themselves minorities, but at least they’re not preying on their own community.]; [5] racial and religious profiling at borders and within communities of color [Note: Without digging up citations for this, I can state with some certainty that, at our Southern border, we’re not getting a lot of blonde, blue-eyed Swedish youth trying to cross into this country illegally. Instead, those sneaking across our borders are darker-skinned Hispanics and the occasional fanatical Muslim. In the real world, as opposed to the magical Marxist world, profiling for fair-skinned Christians or Jews would be delusional, not practical.]; [6] murder of transgender people, especially those of color [Note: It appears that transgender people have a horrifically high murder rate, and this is a tragedy. People with insufficiently controlled lizard brains (you know, the primitive part of the brain that behaves atavistically) react very badly to transgender people. I’m not sure how this works as an indictment of the police or even of our government and social systems, given that our government, our social systems, and our police all work to prevent these murders, not encourage them.]; [7] heightened rates of sexual assault and racialized forms of sexual harassment perpetrated against women of color [Note: Contrary to what’s implied in this clause, which lacks a subject noun, black women are not raped by those “white, middle class, heteronormative, Christian” men that the Letter’s signatories hate so much. They are overwhelmingly raped by black men.]; [8] normalization of militarized police forces specifically in the lowest income neighborhoods [Note: I’m not happy with our increasingly militarized police either, since it has the tendency to create in police the mindset that, rather than being the public’s servants, they are its masters. On the other hand, of late police have had good reason to go into some neighborhoods armed for battle]; and [9] failure to indict police officers who are captured on video killing unarmed persons [Note: This is probably a reference to Garner, a morbidly obese man who was videotaped in a non-fatal headlock, as opposed to a “chokehold,” and who died later because of a heart attack. In other words, facts and hysteria do not match.]. The people who view American through this grim, factually twisted prism are utterly blind to the fact that, in principle since its founding and in practice for much of the 20th century, America has been a country predicated on individual freedom. When those freedoms have been denied, that denial has come about because of too much government control — as in the antebellum and Jim Crow south, for example, both of which represented the foul apex of American state control over individual liberties — not because of too little government control. Individuals can behave stupidly and meanly, but the real problems begin when government takes sides — and government always takes sides because, no matter the action it takes, some will benefit and some will not. Worse than sad, though, is the fact that this unwholesome, perverse world view is internalized by and emanates from people who have significant control over young minds. After all, the signatories to this document are teachers in CSUN’s Department of Social Work. Whether they teach students who take a casual class to fulfill some sort of requirement or students who are majoring in social work, the department has at some time access to a large percentage of a student body numbering about 38,000 students annually. Of those 38,000 students, each one who comes through the doors of the Department of Social Work is exposed to this unfiltered anti-American, anti-white, anti-male, anti-Christian doctrine. Each student’s grades is dependent upon his or her ability to remember and regurgitate this toxic Leftist ideology. Once credentialed, these students then spread throughout America’s schools and social institutions, carrying this dark, hate-filled, self-victimized vision with them wherever they go. They are carriers of a deadly social worldview, just as surely as Typhoid Mary was a carrier of a deadly disease. Share this: Email Facebook TwitterIt is this effort to preserve the personal basis of reality which forms the main stress of Zhivago's experience—an effort always secured in a radiantly intense feeling for nature. One of the loveliest episodes in the novel occurs when Zhivago and his family, to avoid starvation during the civil war, decide to leave Moscow. They take a long journey eastward, and at one point their train becomes stalled in drifts of snow. For three days the passengers work in the open, helping to clear the tracks. A light of joy comes over them, a feeling of gratification for this gift: "The days were dear and frosty, and the shifts were short because there were not enough shovels. It was sheer pleasure." Somewhat earlier in the book Zhivago reflects upon his life while traveling homeward from the First World War: Three years of changes, moves, uncertainties upheavals; the war, the revolution; scenes of destruction, scenes of death, shelling, blown-up bridges, fires, ruins—all this suddenly turned into a huge, empty, meaningless space. The first real event since the long interruption was this trip... the fact that he was approaching his home, which was intact, which still existed, and in which every stone was dear to him. This was real life, meaningful experience, the actual goal of all guests, this was what art aimed at—homecoming, return to one's family, to oneself, to true existence. The novel begins with a series of dipped vignettes of pre-revolutionary Russia, apparently meant to suggest a Tolstoyan breadth and luxuriousness of treatment. A few of these vignettes seem hurried and schematic in effect, but many of them are brilliantly evocative, quick and sharp glimpses of another Russia. But which Russia: the Russia of the Czars or of War and Peace, the country Pasternak remembers from his youth or the marvellous landscape of Tolstoy's imagination? The alternative, of course, is a false one, and I raise it merely to indicate the presence of a real problem. For in the mind of a writer like Pasternak, historical reality and literary heritage must by now be inseparable: the old Russia is the Russia both of the Czars and of Tolstoy. And as he recreates it stroke by stroke, Pasternak seems intense upon suggesting that no matter what attitude one takes toward the past, it cannot be understood in terms of imposed political clichés. He is any case, rigorously objective in his treatment. He portrays both a vibrant Christmas party among the liberal intelligentsia and a bitter strike among railroad workers; he focuses upon moments of free discussion and spontaneous talk such as would make some contemporary Russian readers feel envious and then upon moments of gross inhumanity that would make them think it pointless even to consider turning back the wheel of history. Pasternak accepts the unavoidability, perhaps even the legitimacy of the revolution, and he evokes the past not to indulge in nostalgia but to insist upon the continuity of human life. Once, however, the narrative reaches the Bolshevik revolution, the Tolstoyan richness and complexity promised at the beginning are not fully realized. Partly this is due to Pasternak's inexperience as a novelist: he burdens himself with more preparations than he needs and throughout the book one is aware of occasional brave efforts to tie loose ends together. But mainly the trouble is due to a crucial difference between Tolstoy's and Pasternak's situations. Soaring to an incomparable zest and vitality, Tolstoy could break past the social limits of his world—a world neither wholly free nor, like Pasternak's, wholly unfree—and communicate the sheer delight of consciousness. Pasternak also desires joy as a token of man's gratitude for existence; his characters reach for it eagerly and pathetically; but the Russia of his novel is too grey, too grim for a prolonged release of the Tolstoyan ethos. As a writer of the highest intelligence, Pasternak must have known this; and it is at least possible he also realized that the very difficulties he would encounter in adapting the Tolstoyan novel to contemporary Russia would help reveal both the direction of his yearning and the constrictions of reality. It is Pasternak's capacity for holding in balance these two elements—the direction of his yearning and the constrictions of reality—that accounts for the poise and strength of the novel. Like most great Russian writers, he has the gift for making ideas seem a natural part of human experience, though what matters in this novel is not a Dostoevskian clash of ideology and dialectic but Zhivago's sustained effort, amounting to a kind of heroism, to preserve his capacity for the life of contemplation. Zhigavo’s ideas, it seems fair to assume, are in large measure Pasternak's, and as they emerge in the book, subtly modulated by the movement of portrayed events, it becomes clear that the central point of view can be described as a kind of primitive Christianity, profoundly heterodox and utterly alien to all dogmas and institutions. I would agree with the remark of Mr. Max Hayward, Pasternak's English translator, that Zhivago's Christianity "would be acceptable to many agnostics." Acceptable not merely because of its ethical purity but because it demands to be understood as a historically-determined response to the airless world of Soviet conformity. In such a world the idea of Christ—even more so, the image of Christ facing his death alone—must take on implications quite different from those it usually has in the West. Zhivago's uncle, his intellectual guide, suggests these in an early passage: What you don't understand is that it is possible to be an atheist, it is possible not to know whether God exists, or why, and yet believe... that history as we know it began with Christ.... Now what is history? It is the centuries of the systematic exploration of the riddle of death, with a view to overcoming death. That's why people discover mathematical infinity and electromagnetic waves, that's why they write symphonies. Now you can't advance in this direction without a certain faith. You can't make such discoveries without spiritual equipment. And the basic elements of this equipment are in the Gospels. What are they? To begin with, love of one's neighbor, which is the supreme form of vital energy. And then the two basic ideas of modem man—without them he is unthinkable—the idea of free personality and the idea of life as sacrifice. Together with this version of Christianity, Zhivago soon develops a personal attitude toward Marxism—an attitude, I should say, much more complex than is likely to be noted by American reviewers seeking points for the Cold War. Zhivago cannot help but honor the early Bolsheviks, if only because they did give themselves to "the idea of life as sacrifice." His enthusiasm for the revolution dies quickly, but even then he does not condemn it. He is more severe: he judges it. Unavoidably Zhivago also absorbs some elements of the Marxist political outlook, though he never accepts its claims for the primacy of politics. Indeed, his rejection of Marxism is not essentially a political one. He rejects it because he comes to despise the arrogance of the totalitarian "vanguard," its manipulative view of man, in short, its contempt for the second "basic ideal of modern man... the ideal of free personality": Marxism a science? [says Zhivago during a discussion on a train in Siberia] Well, it's taking a risk, to say the least, to argue about that with a man one hardly knows. However—Marxism is too uncertain of its ground to be a science. Sciences are more balanced, more objective. I don't know a movement more self-centered and further removed from the facts than Marxism. Everyone is worried only about proving himself in practical matters, and as for the men in power, they are so anxious to establish the myth of their infallibility, that they do their utmost to ignore the truth. Still more withering is Zhivago's judgment of the Soviet intelligentsia: Men who are not free... always idealize their bondage. So it was in the Middle Ages, and later the Jesuits always exploited this human trait. Zhivago could not bear the political mysticism of the Soviet intelligentsia, though it was the very thing they regarded as their highest achievement. Such statements are plain enough, and their significance can hardly be lost upon the powers in Moscow; but it must quickly be added that in the context of the novel they are much less abrupt and declamatory than they seem in isolation. Pasternak is so sensitive toward his own characters, so free from any intention to flourish ideologies, that the novel is never in danger of becoming a mere tract. The spectacle of Zhivago trying to reflect upon the catastrophe of his time is always more interesting than the substance of his reflections. His ideas are neither original nor beyond dispute, but as he experiences them and struggles to articulate them, they take on an enormous dignity and power. If ever a man may be said to have earned his ideas, it is Yuri Zhivago. Zhivago's opinions reflect the direction of Pasternak's yearning, the long-suppressed bias of his mind; but there is, in the novel itself, more than enough counter-weight of objective presentation. Pasternak is extremely skillful at making us aware of vast historical forces rumbling behind the lives of his central figures. The Bolshevik revolution is never pictured frontally, but a series of incidents, some of them no more than a page or two in length, keep the sense of catastrophe and upheaval constantly before us—Zhivago fumbling to light an old stove during an icy Moscow winter while in the nearby streets men are shooting at each other, a callow young Menshevik "heartening" Russian troops with democratic rhetoric and meeting an ungainly death as his reward, a veteran Social Revolutionary pouring bile over the Communist leaders, a partisan commander in Siberia fighting desperately against the White armies. And as Zhivago finds himself caught up by social currents too strong for any man to resist, we remember once again Tolstoy's concern with the relationship between historical event and personal life. Once Pasternak reaches the revolutionary period, the novel becomes a kind of spiritual biography, still rich in social references but primarily the record of a mind struggling for survival. What now matters most is the personal fate of Zhivago and his relationships with two other characters, Lara, the woman who is to be the love of his life, and Strelnikov, a partisan leader who exemplifies all of the ruthless revolutionary will that Zhivago lacks. Zhivago himself may be seen as representative of those Russian intellectuals who accepted the revolution but were never absorbed into the Communist apparatus. That he is both a skillful doctor and a sensitive poet strengthens one's impression that Pasternak means him to be something more than an individual figure. He speaks for those writers, artists and scientists who have been consigned to a state of permanent inferiority because they do not belong to the “vanguard” party. His sufferings are their sufferings, and his gradual estrangement from the regime, an estrangement that has little to do with politics, may well be shared by at least some of them. Zhivago embodies that which, in Pasternak’s view, man is forbidden to give to the state. Mr. Hayward reports that Pasternak has apparently referred to Turgenev’s Rudin as a distant literary ancestor of Zhivago. Any such remark by a writer like Pasternak has its obvious fascination and one would like very much to know exactly what he had in mind; but my own impression, for what it may be worth, is that the differences between the two characters are more striking than the similarities. Rudin, the man of the 1840’s, is a figure of shapeless enthusiasms that fail to congeal into specific convictions; he is the classical example of the man who cannot realize in action the vaguely revolutionary ideas that fire his mind. Zhivago, by contrast, is a man rarely given to large public enthusiasms; he fails to achieve his ends not because he is inherently weak but because the conditions of life are simply too much for him. Yet, unlike Rudin, he has a genuine "gift for life," and despite the repeated collapse of his enterprises he brings a sense of purpose and exaltation to the lives of those who are closest to him. There is a key passage in his journal which would probably have struck Rudin as the essence of philistinism but which takes on an entirely different cast in 20th Century Russia: Only the familiar transformed by genius is truly great. The best object lesson in this is Pushkin. His works are one great hymn to honest labor, duty, everyday life! Today, "bourgeois" and "petty bourgeois" have become terms of abuse, but Pushkin forestalled the implied criticism.... In Onegin's Travels we read: "Now my ideal is the housewife. My greatest wish, a quiet life and a big bowl of cabbage soup." There is undoubtedly a side of Pasternak, perhaps the dominant side, which shares in these sentiments; but it is a tribute to his utter freedom from literary vanity that he remorselessly shows how Zhivago’s quest for “a quiet life” leads to repeated failures and catastrophes. For Zhivago’s desire for “a big bowl of cabbage soup” indicates—to twist a sardonic phrase of Trotsky’s—that he did not choose the right century in which to be born. The novel reaches a climax of exaltation with a section of some twenty pages that seem to me one of the greatest pieces of imaginative prose written in our time. Zhivago and Lara, who have been living in a Siberian town during the period of War Communism, begin to sense that their arrest is imminent: not because they speak any words of sedition (Zhivago has, in fact, recently returned from a period of enforced service as doctor to a band of Red partisans) but simply because they ignore the slogans of the moment and choose their own path in life. They decide to run off to Varykino, an abandoned farm, where they may find a few moments of freedom and peace. Zhivago speaks: But about Varykino. To go to that wilderness in winter, without food, without strength or hope—it's utter madness. But why not, my love! Let's be mad, if there is nothing but madness left to us.... Our days are really numbered. So at least let us take advantage of them in our own way. Let us use them up saying goodbye to life.... We'll say goodbye to everything we hold dear, to the way we look at things, to the way we've dreamed of living and to what our conscience has taught us....We'll speak to one another once again the secret words we speak at night, great and pacific like the name of the Asian ocean. From this point on, the prose soars to a severe and tragic gravity; every detail of life takes on the tokens of sanctity; and while reading these pages, one feels that one is witnessing a terrible apocalypse. Begun as a portrait of Russia, the novel ends as a love story told with the force and purity of the greatest Russian fiction; yet its
is a blunt instrument solution,” Wood told The Post. “You’re not going to knock out criminal gangs with military force. It has to be institutional reform.” One of Trump’s remarks from the call particularly incensed Wood — that perhaps Mexico’s military is “afraid” of drug traffickers. “It’s extraordinarily disrespectful to a military that has done this job reluctantly,” Wood said. The military has suffered more than 500 deaths in the drug war since 2006, according to a government report through July, many at the hands of weapons trafficked from the United States that feed the conflict in a country where most gun sales are outlawed. The Post obtained transcripts of President Trump's January 2017 phone conversations with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. (The Washington Post) While Washington works through fraught relations, military and defense officials at the lower levels are continuing to build on positive experiences, he said, though that does not mean a relationship built from political decisions will necessarily survive political attacks, Wood said. There is “definitely a threat” of security cooperation fraying, he said. “But part of the message on the Mexican side is: there is a lot on the line here.” Read more: 8 jaw-dropping lines from Trump’s phone calls with Mexico and Australia Trump berated Australia’s prime minister over a refugee policy he barely understoodLunch, my leftover meal from the night before…usually. Not this time. I went with a classic soup and salad for lunch. Gumbo soup (which is really where I put the work) and the spring salad (I just bought a bag) to be exact. I decided to make the gumbo from scratch, so that means peeling some raw shrimp and making a stock first. Then carefully making a roux and putting it all together. I think the stock really gives it the extra flavor, if you have the time and patience to peel lots of shrimp, I suggest doing it this way. Bonus I added scallops cause they were on sale, but really, I’m sure you can add whatever seafood you feel like, or the usual chicken and/or andouille sausage. INGREDIENTS For Stock shells from 1 1/2 pound shrimp 5 quarts water 4 carrots, sliced 4 onions, quartered 1/2 bunch celery, sliced 2 bay leaves 8 cloves garlic 1 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 tablespoon dried basil 2 teaspoons dried thyme For Gumbo 4 ounces vegetable oil 4 ounces all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons minced garlic 2 cups yellow onions, chopped 1 cup green bell peppers, chopped 1 cup celery, chopped 1 tablespoon kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 3 bay leaves 1.5 quart stock 1 1/2 pounds raw, whole, head-on medium-sized (31-50 count) shrimp 1 pound lump crabmeat INSTRUCTIONS For Stock 1. In an 8-quart pot, combine water, carrots, onions, celery, bay leaves, garlic, parsley, cloves, pepper, basil, thyme and shrimp shells. Bring slowly to a boil. 2. Reduce heat, and cook 5 to 7 hours. Replace water as needed, 2 or 3 times, by pouring more water down the inside of the pot. 3. Remove stock from heat, and strain. Press all liquid from the shells and vegetables, then discard them. Return liquid to heat, and reduce to 2 to 3 quarts, or to taste. For Gumbo 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 2. Place the vegetable oil and flour into a 5 to 6-quart cast iron Dutch oven and whisk together to combine. Place on the middle shelf of the oven, uncovered, and bake for 1 1/2 hours, whisking 2 to 3 times throughout the cooking process. 3. Once the roux is done, carefully remove it from the oven and set over medium-high heat. Gently add the onions, celery, green peppers and garlic and cook, moving constantly for 7 to 8 minutes or until the onions begin to turn translucent. 4. Add the salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and bay leaves and stir to combine. 5. Gradually add the shrimp broth while whisking continually. Decrease the heat to low, cover and cook for 35 minutes. 6. Turn off the heat, add the shrimp and crab meat and stir to combine. AdvertisementsPLOSBLOGS Editor’s Note: From time to time we feature “first person” blog posts by PLOS journal authors, particularly when their newly published findings provide insights of interest beyond the research discipline they work in, and offer information of potential value to other PLOSBLOGS readers, including clinicians, policymakers, science writers and, in this case, autistic people. [Featured image above: “The Outsider” by Donna Williams CCBY ] A guest post by Morton Ann Gernsbacher, PhD. A well-worn adage reminds us that “context is everything.” And for decades psychologists have known that context matters when assessing people’s personality traits. For example, if people are asked on a personality questionnaire if they like to be alone, they’ll respond differently if they think the context for being alone is while they’re working versus while they’re socializing. If people are asked if they have difficulty speaking in front of a group, they’ll respond differently depending on what size group is specified. In a recent experiment published in PLoS ONE, my collaborators, Jennifer Stevenson and Sebastian Dern, and I demonstrated that context also matters when assessing autistic traits.* Previously, we’d noticed that questionnaires that assess autistic traits often lack context. For example, on one questionnaire, respondents are asked whether they like being around other people, whether they enjoy chatting with people, whether people have to talk them into trying new things, and the like. But for none of these items is the type of people contextualized. Are they similar to or different from the person being assessed? For example, are the other people the respondent likes to be around other autistic people or other non-autistic people? We know that being around people who are similar to oneself usually makes it easier to socialize, communicate, and be considered more ‘normal.’ We predicted that would also be the case for autistic and non-autistic persons. Therefore, in our experiment, we manipulated the context of the items on an autistic traits questionnaire (the Broad Autism Phenotype Questionnaire). Rather than presenting each item in its original, un-contextualized form (e.g., “I like being around other people”) we presented each item contextualized as “with autistic people” (e.g., “I like being around other autistic people”) or “with non-autistic people” (e.g., “I like being around other non-autistic people”). We collected data from 124 autistic and 124 non-autistic adult participants who were matched for their age, sex, gender, and parental education. We predicted, and we found, that autistic participants report having fewer autistic traits (i.e., less difficulty interacting and communicating) when the items are contextualized as “with autistic persons” than when the items are contextualized as “with non-autistic persons.” For non-autistic participants, we predicted and we found just the opposite: They report having more autistic traits (i.e., more difficulty interacting and communicating) when the items are contextualized as “with autistic persons” than when the items are contextualized as “with non-autistic persons” (leading to a statistically significant interaction, F(1,244)=267.5, p<.001, h2 p =.523). Thus, our experiment demonstrates the importance of context when assessing autistic traits. Reference Group Also Matters For decades psychologists have also known that, in addition to context, reference group matters when assessing personality traits. In fact, some psychologists argue that we can only appraise our own personality and behavior in the context of a reference group. For example, men rate themselves as more caring when they rate themselves according to other men than when they rate themselves according to women. Women rate themselves as less caring when they rate themselves according to other women rather than according to men. Canadians rate themselves as less direct in their conversations if the reference group is other Canadians rather than Japanese, and for Japanese it’s the opposite. However, just like they lack context, most items on autistic trait questionnaires also lack reference groups. For example, on one questionnaire, respondents are asked whether they behave in ways that seem strange or bizarre and whether they’re regarded by others as odd or weird. But according to whom? Who should the respondents consider when they assess whether they’re regarded as odd or weird? Autistic people or non-autistic people? And does it make a difference? Our second experiment answered these questions. We manipulated the reference group of the items on another autistic traits questionnaire (the Social Responsiveness Scale). We presented each item with an “according to autistic people” reference group, an “according to non-autistic people” reference group, or a self-reference group, “I think.” We collected data from 82 autistic and 82 non-autistic adult participants who were matched for their age, sex, gender, and parental education. We predicted, and we found, that autistic participants report having fewer autistic traits when the reference group is other autistic people (e.g., “According to autistic people, I behave in ways that seem strange or bizarre”). Autistic participants report having more autistic traits when the reference group is non-autistic people (e.g., “According to non-autistic people, I behave in ways that seem strange or bizarre”), and autistic participants report having a medium amount of autistic traits when the reference group is themselves (“I think that I behave in ways that seem strange or bizarre”). But non-autistic participants seem impervious to reference group. They report having the same degree of autistic traits regardless of the reference group (leading to a statistically significant interaction, F(2,160)=94.38, p<.001, h2 p =.541, although not the interaction we predicted). One explanation is that the particular autistic trait questionnaire we used in this study (the Social Responsiveness Scale), although frequently administered to non-autistic persons, is couched in such severe phrasing that non-autistic persons’ responses are too bound to the floor to show any effects of our manipulation. Practical Applications What are the practical applications of our study? Our data demonstrate that both autistic and non-autistic people’s degree of autistic traits — their difficulty interacting and communicating with other people — are contextually specific. Both groups can more easily interact and communicate with people more like themselves than people less like themselves. Although this finding is consistent with other social psychological research, it was important for us to demonstrate in the domain of autistic traits. Context matters not only for accurately assessing autistic traits but also for designing environments that enable autistic persons to optimally interact and communicate. *We purposely use identity-first terms (e.g., “autistic traits” and “autistic participants”) rather than person-first terms (“autism-related traits” and “participants with autism”) because identify-first language is recommended by psychologists, preferred by autistic people, and less prone to stigma. Dr. Gernsbacher is the Vilas Research and Sir Frederic Bartlett Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her laboratory explores cognitive neuroscience, human communication, and attention.Milan Lalkovic has insisted he can show his true colours at Pompey next season. The former Chelsea man moved to Fratton Park last summer but was sent out on loan to Ross County for the second half of the season. Blues fans have discussed on Facebook page Portsmouth FC – The News and portsmouth.co.uk if Lalkovic should be given a fair crack of the whip under Kenny Jackett. Here’s what they had to say... Barry Taylor Every player should start with a clean slate. I am fed up with players being shipped out only for them to come back and play well against us, even score goals against us. There is not enough time given to players to settle in, same goes with managers. Give Jackett at least two seasons to prove himself. John Fleming Why was he signed if he’s not a talented lad? Give him a go, he made a commitment by signing for the club. We’ve had players that haven’t performed for a season and they get contract extensions! Neal Dobson Yes, definitely thought the times he played at start of season he showed some quality and with over 100 appearances in League One, he will flourish next season if given a chance. blue walter I thought that Lalkovic deserved a better run last season but was not given a fair chance. The games I saw him play, I thought he done well. I see him as a direct choice between him and Kyle Bennett. I think Lalkovic is the better in the forward positions and can beat players with trickery and pace. He gets crosses in quicker than Bennett and is probably the nearest thing to an old-fashioned winger. STUMPYS4141 Lalkovic has a bit to prove so things should be exciting. By what he is saying and the amount of games he has played in this division, we should be confident of a good season but not over confident. Rex Ace He could learn a lot from Bennett. As frustrating as Kyle is running into cul-de-sacs and losing the ball, he puts in the hard yards to get the ball back – something that Lalkovic will have to do as minimum to have even a dogs chance of making the match-day squad.[np_storybar title=”Watch NASA animation of the giant ice fracture” link=”#1″] [/np_storybar] The ice in Canada’s western Arctic ripped open in a massive “fracturing event” this spring that spread like a wave across 1,000 kilometres of the Beaufort Sea. Huge leads of water – some more than 500 kilometres long and as much as 70 kilometres across – opened up from Alaska to Canada’s Arctic islands as the massive ice sheet cracked as it was pushed around by strong winds and currents. “It took just seven days for the fractures to progress across the entire area from west to east,” said Trudy Wohlleben, senior ice forecaster at the Canadian Ice Service. She said it was “spectacular” to watch from Ottawa, where she and her colleagues track the ice with satellites. While ice fracturing is common in the Beaufort, few “events” have sprawled across such a large area so quickly or produced cracks as long and wide as those seen this spring, according to NASA Earth’s Observatory, which features the fractures this week. Wohlleben noted that there was a similar event in last spring, and says both were related to way the ice, which moves in a clock-wise direction in the Beaufort, can suddenly start and stop moving depending on the weather conditions. This year the ice in the Beaufort Sea had essentially stopped moving for the first three weeks of February, Wohlleben said. “Rapid ice drift then began in the southwest section of the Beaufort Sea around Feb. 20, initiating the first fractures in that area,” she says. The fracturing “then quickly spread eastward to encompass the entire Beaufort Sea by the end of February.” She said temperatures are so frigid in the Arctic that the open water began refreezing as soon as the ice stopped moving. But the new ice will be much thinner – about 30 to 70 centimetres thick – than ice that has been growing all winter and is now more than a metre thick. Older multi-year ice can be several metres thick. Scientists suggests the extensive fracturing this year may be linked to the way the Beaufort was covered almost completely by first-year ice that formed after the record summer Arctic ice melts in 2012. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=KXjb6MRj_5U “This ice is thinner and weaker than the older, multi-year ice, so it responds more readily to winds and is more easily broken up,” said Walt Meier, of the U.S. National Snow & Ice Data Center. Wohlleben agreed the fact that there is less multi-year ice in the southern Beaufort may have played a role in the rapidness and extent of fracturing this spring. But she cautions that “is still just a theory, not yet a proven fact.” She said it is will be interesting to see what becomes of the Arctic ice this summer. The 2012 record was widely seen as ominous evidence of the climate change warming the planet. “Everyone will be wondering if we beat the record again this year,” says Wohlleben.Updates: Wikileaks Film titled The Fifth Estate Is A Propaganda Piece Against the Disclosures of Wikileaks Wikileaks Film titled MediaStan Is Produced By Julian Assange —- 50th Anniversary of the Kennedy Assassination – Zachary Sklar, Screenwriter of the Film: JFK November 22, 2013 will mark the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. More than 600 books have been written on this national tragedy and yet the implausible explanations the Warren Commission report put forward remain as the official story. We’re joined today by Zachary Sklar to discuss some of those challenges and his work investigating those involved in the planning and covering up of assassinations. Zach Sklar: The Warren Commission was a creature appointed by Lyndon Johnson. He persuaded Earl Warren to head this commission against his wishes. He was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court at the time. To bolster him on the commission, the one who did most of the work and guided the findings was Alan Dulles, former CIA directory. A man who’d been fired by John Kennedy after the Bay of Pigs invasion. The other one who was on it was Gerald Ford of course. So, there was a dissenting group of southern Congress people who really didn’t have much power. Ultimately, the power was with Alan Dulles. The CIA had overthrown Mossadegh in Iran, Arbenz in Guatemala, not only overthrowing governments but assassinating leaders. The commission report – that conclusion was decided upon and then they had to come up with some reasons to support it. The reasons were designed by Arlen Specter. He was a staff lawyer at the time and later a Senator from Pennsylvania. He came up with the Magic Bullet Theory. . Because the Zapruder film came out with the time frame of 5.62 seconds and there were 3 bullets during that time frame, all the wounds in John Kennedy and John Connelly. Lee Oswald was given a paraffin test the day of his arrest. It was negative. It had proven he’d not fired a rifle that day. According to the Marines, Oswald was a mediocre marksman at best. The rifle that he was supposed to have used... if you ask any rifle dealer what the worst rifle, the least accurate rifle you could ever come up with they would tell you its the Mannlicher-Carcano. It’s called the humanitarian rifle by the Italians. All this should’ve been put to rest in 1979 when the House Select Committee on Assassinations investigated and came up with acoustical evidence from a police dictabelt recording and found that there was a 4th shot. If there was a 4th shot, there had to have been a second shooter. If there was a second shooter, there had to have been a conspiracy. Kennedy was well aware that the anti-Communist ideology of the cold warriors was fundamentally flawed. The whole domino theory is fundamentally flawed. After he was killed, very quickly, his (Kennedy’s) policies were reversed by Lyndon Johnson. The fact is that 4 days after he was killed Lyndon Johnson issued National Security Action Memorandum 273 which reversed Kennedy’s order and actually ok’s US military operations in Vietnam. On the very day he was assassinated Kennedy had sent a liaison to Cuba, to negotiate with Fidel Castro. At the top of the list are the leaders of the CIA. You have to understand that the Cold War had gone on for a long time, and people made careers, peoples’ livelihoods depended on the Cold War continuing. Big defense contracts depended on it. A lot of people had the motivation to kill Kennedy. Guest – Zachary Sklar, Oscar-nominated co-screenwriter of Oliver Stone’s film JFK, and author of the book JFK: The Book of the Film. He’s a journalist, and a professor at the Columbia School of Journalism. He was also a contributor to The Lies of Our Times, a monthly journal dedicated to exposing the truth behind the mainstream media. Zach collaborated with director Oliver Stone on the screenplay of the movie “JFK” and was editor of Jim Garrison’s book “On the Trail of the Assassins.” —– Lawyers You’ll Like: Attorney Bill Schapp Attorney William Schaap graduated from the University of Chicago Law School in 1964 and has been a practicing lawyer since. Bill specialized in military law and practiced in Asia and Europe. He later became the editor in chief of the Military Law Reporter in Washington for a number of years. In the 70’s and 80’s he was a staff counsel of the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York City. In the late 80s, he was an adjunct professor at John J. College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York where he taught courses on propaganda and disinformation. Attorney William Schapp: One of first cases at this big Wall Street firm, they had some outside counsel working on it, one of whom was David Lubel, and Dave Lubel who had I think been a recruiter for the Communist Party in his youth, was always good at spotting somebody who was always worth recruiting and he started to tell me there was this convention of this lawyers group. It was this 1967 Lawyers Guild Convention in New York. He dragged me to one event, I met Bill Kunstler, I met Arthur Kinoy, I met Victor Rabbinowitz. I’d been on Wall Street for a year or two, I said I didn’t know there were lawyers like this. I joined the same day and met Bernadine Dorhn and a few weeks she called me and said we need your help. She said you gotta defend a bunch of Columbia students. The next thing I knew the riot started at Columbia and she said you have to go down there and defend them. I signed up to be staff counsel on the National Lawyers Guild Military Law Project in Okinawa, Japan. When you work overseas in that kind of a climate with the military you learn a lot fast about American imperialism. Once you learn that, you learn about the CIA. That led us to originally working on Counter Spy magazine and then on Covert Action Magazine. The original purpose was to expose the CIA. We worked with Lou Wolf who is an expert in uncovering CIA agents in US embassies, not through any classified documents but because if you knew how to read the paperwork and State Department things, you could tell who are the “ringers.” We were so successful that Congress passed a law against us. Our goal was to make these people ineffective because the only way most CIA could work, particularly the ones that were assigned to an embassy was to have to pretend to be something else. They were all third assistant political secretaries and those were all phony things. Their job was to finagle their way into various community organizations in whatever foreign capital they were posted to recruit people to turn against their own countries and become traitors to their own countries, to become spies for the U.S. We thought if we identified these people, it might make their job a little bit harder, which it did. Of course, the problem with that is the government said we were trying to get them killed which we weren’t trying to do and nobody we did expose ever did get killed. He (Philip Agee) had been an adviser to Counter Spy. Counter Spy folded when Welch got killed, cause the pressure was too much and started Covert Action Quarterly. He was not the person discovering who the under cover people were, Lou Wolf was doing that. Phil wrote articles for us in every issue and we worked very closely with him. Once you start exposing these things, they really don’t have any defense. They tried to catch us in something phony. We would get tips that would turn out to be CIA trying to get us to print some story that wasn’t true so they could then discredit us. We had more interference from the government when we were doing military law work, before Covert Action Quarterly. They would plant bugs in our attic in Okinawa, things like that. The Intelligence Identity Protection Act has 2 parts. One makes it a crime for someone in the government who has classified information to reveal someone’s identity. The second part makes it a crime to reveal the identity of someone you did not learn from classified information or you position. (But if you were in the business of exposing these people...) Regarding his newsletter The Lies of Our Times – It was in the 90s, from 1990 to 1995 I think. To a certain extent, the abuses we were crying about got a little bit less over time because that’s sometimes the helpful result of that kind of exposure. We were just tired of people thinking that if it was in the New York Times it must be true. The fact is that those people lie all the time. I think we’ve gotten to a point where people recognize that the government lies to them and that there’s an awful lot that goes on that they don’t know. Guest – Attorney William Schapp graduated from the University of Chicago Law School in 1964 and has been a practicing lawyer since. Bill specialized in military law and practiced in Asia and Europe. He later became the editor in chief of the Military Law Reporter in Washington for a number of years. In the 70’s and 80’s he was a staff counsel of the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York City. In the late 80s, he was an adjunct professor at John J. College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York where he taught courses on propaganda and disinformation. In addition to being a practicing lawyer, Bill was a journalist, publisher and a writer specializing in intelligence as it relates to media. He was the co-publisher of a magazine called the Covert Action Quarterly for more than 20 years. He also published a magazine on propaganda and disinformation titled Lies Of Our Times. Attorney Bill Schapp has written numerous articles and edited many books on the topic of media and intelligence. ——————————————————————Kurtis "Kurt" Loder (born May 5, 1945) is an American film critic, author, columnist, and television personality. [1] He served in the 1980s as editor at Rolling Stone, during a tenure that Reason later called "legendary". [2] He has contributed to articles in Reason, Esquire, Details, New York, and Time. [1] He has also made cameos on several films and television series. [1] He is best known for his role at MTV News since the 1980s and for appearing in other MTV-related television specials. [3] He has hosted the SiriusXM radio show True Stories since 2016. [4] Loder stated that he "just fell into" his field, elaborating that his "entire journalism background is four weeks... That's it. Nothing else. You can learn journalism in four weeks. It's not an overcomplicated thing. It's very, very simple."[6] Loder lived in Europe for the next several years, doing what he later called "scandal sheet" "yellow journalism."[6] He returned home to New Jersey at the end of 1972 and worked with a local newspaper and then an Ocean City-based magazine run by the sister of the city's famous writer Gay Talese. He left in the summer of 1976 to work with a free Long Island rock weekly called Good Times. He received about $200 a week.[3] After meeting a fellow "music geek," David Fricke, "the two of us began driving into Manhattan virtually every night to wallow in the flourishing punk rock scene at CBGB's, Max's, etc. This was, fortunately, cool with the wives. I mean, we'd still be sitting upright at four in the morning through fist fights, mass nod-outs, and sets by bands with names like Blinding Headache, played to audiences of three people, of which we'd be two-thirds. I don't think I can quite convey how great days those were".[3] They both joined Circus in 1978 and moved to Manhattan. Loder went on to become one of its official editors. The staff had a fun, relaxed atmosphere and considered the magazine to be second or third tier. Loder later said that "Whatever was said to be 'happening' in commercial pop music was... on the cover of Circus. Disco? Run with it. Shirtless teen popsters? Put 'em on the cover... a, shall we say, ardent enthusiasm for pix of nubile youths. Metal, of course, was really the mag's meat." He also remarked that "it was a foregone conclusion that writing of any technical ambition, about new acts of any real excitement or interest, would make it in the mag only by the sheerest accident." Loder briefly experimented with inhalant-based drugs at Circus; he stopped after experiencing a "gushing" nosebleed without any feeling left in his face.[3] Loder started a nine-year run at Rolling Stone in May 1979. RockCritics.com has called him "one of Rolling Stone's most talented and prolific feature writers."[3] Reason has called his tenure "legendary."[2] While at Rolling Stone, Loder co-authored singer Tina Turner's 1986 autobiography I, Tina. He then contributed to the screenplay adaptation for the film What's Love Got to Do with It.[1] Loder joined MTV in 1987 as the host of their flagship music news program, The Week in Rock.[1] It was later expanded and renamed to MTV News in which he was an anchor and correspondent.[1] Loder was one of the first to break the news of Kurt Cobain's death; he interrupted regular programming to inform viewers that Cobain was found dead.[7] Loder authored a 1990 collection of his Rolling Stone work called Bat Chain Puller.[1] Loder has guest-starred as himself on Kenan & Kel, The "That 90s Show" episode of The Simpsons, Girlfriends, Duckman, Saturday Night Live, and Portlandia.[1] He has appeared in several films. He was also parodied in the South Park episode "Timmy 2000".[1] In 2011, St. Martin's Press published Loder's The Good, the Bad and the Godawful: 21st-Century Movie Reviews, which collected his film reviews from MTV.com and Reason.com. In 2016, Loder began hosting the music-based radio talk show True Stories on SiriusXM.[4]A lot of people want a Squirrel Girl movie and they are wrong! WRONG! In my learned, expert opinion, Squirrel Girl wouldn't work as a leading character in a movie - she's best when her unique qualities are being contrasted with others around her, especially more traditional superheroes. Also a movie would necessitate some sort of a big threat, which is not when I think Squirrel Girl is at her best, especially since the character's joke premise is largely that she's literally undefeatable. Seriously, she took out Thanos. But put Squirrel Girl on a team? And put that team on TV show where the emphasis is on character interactions? And make that show a comedy? You've already sold me. Now Marvel has to sell a network; they're shopping around a new show called New Warriors, and it stars Squirrel Girl. TV Line, who broke the news, says that it's a half hour comedy. Perfect! TV Line also says that the show is about a 'junior version of The Avengers,' which doesn't quite sound right to me - there is a team called Young Avengers, after all. But maybe TV can't use the Avengers name at all, and so they have to take the Young Avengers and call them The New Warriors? It's hard to say, as TV Line doesn't have the names of the other teenage heroes on the team, and Squirrel Girl was never on either team. I love both the Young Avengers and The New Warriors, but I really love The New Warriors. I was always a fan of their original leader, Night Thrasher, a rich kid who saw his parents killed before his eyes and went on to become a skateboarding vigilante. Oh, and he just happened to be black, and the idea of a black skateboarding superhero feels pretty current in the world of Odd Future. At one point The New Warriors were on their own reality show (that ended in tragedy when member Speedball blew up a school and killed 600 people. Leave that out of the comedy show), and that would be a pretty good premise for a half hour comedy. Sort of The Office with superheroes. If it's actually Young Avengers? That book was way more soap operatic than The New Warriors, which never really had a true cohesive focus past the first volume. I would do Young Avengers in the style of a CW show, not as a half hour comedy. Whatever the case, it looks like TV has the rights to Squirrel Girl, so all your Anna Kendrick fancasting (which is bad fancasting. Read some Squirrel Girl stories and see why Kendrick is so so so so wrong for the role. It's Felicia Day's part to turn down) is out the window. Who will get the show? Nobody knows, but TV Line says it's being shopped to networks AND streaming - could this be the next Amazon pilot?Since his election in 2008, many on the right have believed that the news media — with the exceptions of Fox News and The Wall Street Journal — are President Barack Obama’s sycophants. Since his election in 2008, many on the right have believed that the news media — with the exceptions of Fox News and The Wall Street Journal — are President Barack Obama’s sycophants. Yet the casual observer might have missed that Obama’s relationship with the supposed liberal media often has been rocky. That’s chiefly because Obama and his national security advisers have reiterated the disdain for reporters that for White House occupants stretches back to Richard Nixon. In The Atlantic in August 2014, Jon Marshall, a journalism professor at Northwestern University, noted, “Nixon’s way of handling the press has prevailed in American politics. Intimidating journalists, avoiding White House reporters, staging events for television — now common presidential practices — were all originally Nixonian tactics.” We can cite three recent examples of such behavior exhibited by Obama and his staff. In May 2013, The Associated Press announced that then-Attorney General Eric Holder’s Justice Department had subpoenaed from telecommunications companies the home and cellphone records of 20 AP reporters. The purpose was to learn who leaked information to the AP. That same month The Washington Post reported that Holder had declared Fox News reporter James Rosen a “criminal co-conspirator” in endorsing search warrants to obtain Rosen’s emails. Holder wanted those, and had ordered the FBI to monitor Rosen’s visits to the State Department, in suspecting a government contractor of having leaked to Rosen classified information. Finally, in January, the Justice Department announced that it would abandon a six-year crusade, which included threats of prison time, to force James Risen of The New York Times to reveal who conveyed confidential information about a Clinton administration CIA operation targeting Iran that Risen had included in a book he authored in 2006. Last month it came to light that Defense Secretary Ashton Carter recently issued guidelines that said journalists in war zones, who generally are civilians, also may be “members of the armed forces, persons authorized to accompany the armed forces, or unprivileged belligerents” — which is the term the Obama administration has substituted for what the Bush administration called “unlawful enemy combatants” — that is, terrorists. Journalism outlets complained that reporters were too easily being lumped in with terrorists. The Pentagon replied that the term was being misunderstood, that they just wanted to inform military commanders that spies or terrorists sometimes can pose as reporters. As the Committee to Protect Journalists has noted, the term is so loosely defined that military leaders could easily cite it to “detain journalists without charge, and without any apparent need to show evidence or bring a suspect to trial.” The Pentagon’s solution is worse: it suggests reporters could offer their stories to “relevant authorities” for review so as to “not reveal sensitive information to the enemy.” The choice is thus detention with no legal protections, or outright censorship. We understand the Pentagon’s concern with safeguarding the lives of American soldiers. Yet Obama’s record on dealing with the media is not good, and his desire to plumb leaks, withhold information, or obfuscate might even make Nixon in the afterlife cringe. We don’t want to see any troops injured or killed by what a journalist reports, but the fog of war too often conceals the truth — which, it has been said, is the first casualty. Carter and the Pentagon hierarchy should revise this language, if not scrap it, to ensure the American people are not denied the fullest picture of combat and to adhere with our constitutional protections of the media.Historical information about the Mental Patients Union, formed in London in 1973 to oppose psychiatric oppression, written by Past Tense. The Mental Patients Union (MPU), in the early 1970s, could probably be seen as the first service user involvement movement. Founder member Andrew Roberts described the Union’s genesis: “The idea of a Mental Patients Union was first developed by a small group of mental patients and supporters back in December 1972. A pamphlet was produced — which came to be known as the Fish Pamphlet (it had a picture of a fish struggling on a hook on the cover) — that was strongly Marxist in its analysis. Its argument was that psychiatry was a form of social control of the working classes in a capitalist state, and that the psychiatrist was the “high priest” of technological society, exorcising the “devils” of social distress through electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), lobotomy and medication. The thinking was that, in the same way that workers formed trade unions, mental patients also needed a union to fight for their rights against political oppression and social control. There were six of us involved in setting up the union: Liz Durkin, Brian Douieb, Lesley Mitchell, Eric Irwin, me and my partner Valerie Argent, but only Eric, Valerie and I were mental patients. Valerie and I were mainly focused on forming the union. We didn’t participate in the political analysis, or sign the Fish Pamphlet. The group planned to hold its first public meeting at Paddington day hospital, where Liz had been a social worker. She had been making contact with the press to promote the cause for a Mental Patients Union. The idea of the union caught the fancy of Radio 4
those of you who got Hatoful Boyfriend on your PS4 or Vita, how is the Tohri storyline? And for those of you who haven’t played this game yet… what are you waiting for? Like this post? Tell your friends!And if you want posts like this delivered straight to your inbox, enter your email in the box below to subscribe!LAS VEGAS – There's a curious thing happening in the smartphone space at this year's CES. Two Windows Phone devices – the HTC Titan II and the Nokia Lumia 900 – are the most hyped, talked-about phones at the show. Yeah, that's right: Windows Phones. [bug id="ces2012"]This could be a good sign for Microsoft, whose critically acclaimed OS has had a hell of a time trying to make an impression with smartphone users. “The past year has really been the whole push to build what clearly can be the strong third ecosystem in the smartphone market, with a very differentiated point of view,” said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer at the Nokia keynote this week. Indeed, with the launch of these new Windows Phone handsets, the push has apparently paid off. Headlines like "Why Windows Phone is Making Waves at CES" and "How Nokia’s Lumia 900 Windows Phone Won CES Before It Even Started" are key indicators of the excitement surrounding Windows Phone's big leap into relevance in the smartphone market. Before the show even started, Nokia's next-gen Lumia handset, in particular, was on the receiving end of a tremendous amount of anticipation and praise. And for good reason. Until now, Windows Phones were behind the times, specs-wise. Several late 2011 models skimped on things like 4G and front-facing cameras, features we've come to expect in pretty much every smartphone that debuts. Enter the Titan II and Lumia 900. They're 4G LTE phones on AT&T, and pack top-of-the-line features. LTE 4G capability started picking up buzz at CES 2011, but this year it has become the standard that everyone wants in a data-munching smartphone. AT&T is rapidly deploying its 4G network across the U.S., playing catch-up to other carriers like Verizon, which already has a broad LTE network in place as well as a well-established lineup of compatible devices. However, until now, 4G LTE has primarily been limited to Android devices. Now Windows Phone handsets offer a second OS option for LTE data service, along with another major selling point: consistency. Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com Windows Phone versus Android OS Unlike Android – a platform that allows manufacturers and carriers more customization liberties than they know what to do with – the Windows Phone experience is designed to remain essentially identical from handset to handset. OEMs and carriers still have the ability to add a few of their own touches to Windows Phone devices, but they're limited in the ways they can do that. And that's a good thing. Microsoft senior product manager Greg Sullivan said manufacturers can primarily add customization at the app level, pinning apps as Live Tiles to the Window Phone homescreen. On the HTC Titan II, HTC added a Live Tile called HTC Hub, which aggregates feeds for stocks, news and weather in a single place. And for the camera, HTC extended Windows Phone's core functionality with features like panorama mode and auto fix. Bad-ass cameras are a key trend in savvy smartphone differentiation. We're seeing lots of 8-megapixel models, a number of 12-megapixel handsets, and get this: The Titan II has a rear-facing 16-megapixel camera. This is the sort of thing we've been waiting to see from Windows Phones. But what about Ice Cream Sandwich, otherwise known as Android 4.0? Shouldn't that be a big focus of smartphones at CES, like Android 2.3, Gingerbread, was last year? "I think the excitement around ICS is really for developers to be able to craft apps that go seamlessly across phone and tablet," Forrester analyst Charles Golvin says. The Samsung Galaxy Note (which is arguably a tablet, given its size) and the Sony Xperia S and Arc are notable Android announcements, but reek with a bit of, well, "we've seen this story before." We've been seeing Android smartphones with big, beautiful screens, high-power multi-core processors, and impressive cameras since last year. They're all nice, yes. But they don't scream innovation. In most ways, Windows Phone is playing catch up. But for those of us who deal with smartphone news and technology on a daily basis, it's exciting to see a new player enter the game in earnest. A major reason for that excitement is Microsoft's and Nokia's Windows Phone product synergy. Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com Microsoft and Nokia's partnership Nokia makes great phones. Microsoft has developed a great mobile OS. After announcing a partnership in early 2011, we're finally getting to see the fruits of this collaboration. "There's been a great amount of pent-up demand to see the results of this relationship," Sullivan says. Given Microsoft's tight partnership with Nokia, I asked Sullivan if Nokia phones would end up being the "truest" Windows Phone devices – similar to how Google's Nexus smartphones are the purest implementations of the Android OS. "Because of our different approach, I think every Windows phone is going to be the flagship," Sullivan says. "It's true the Nokia relationship is unique, so we'll see some great collaboration, but we have great collaboration with other partners as well." The Nokia Lumia 710 and 800 are well-made products that run Windows Phone OS swimmingly. But the 800 isn't available yet in the U.S. (indeed, at the Microsoft keynote, the Lumia 800 was announced for Canada but not U.S. markets), and the 710 just went on sale to the public today. By my count, the Nokia Lumia 900 is slightly outshining the HTC Titan II at CES, but only by just a bit. But the two phones do appear to back up Sullivan's "I love all my children equally" affirmation: Each handset appears to stand alone as a potentially stellar product. An F-22 Raptor flies over Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Sept. 21, after a four month stand-down. Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley and Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz recently approved an implementation plan developed by Air Combat Command officials that will allow the F-22 to resume flight operations. The commander of ACC directed a stand-down of the fleet May 3 as a safety precaution, following 12 separate reported incidents where pilots experienced hypoxia-like symptoms. (US Air Force photo/Senior Airman Cynthia Spalding) SrA Cynthia Spalding The road ahead Critics may be smitten, but Microsoft still has work ahead in winning the hearts of consumers. Forrester's Golvin says there are four main things Microsoft needs to tackle to ensure that Windows Phone builds momentum in 2012: significant investments in quality marketing efforts; winning "flagship" positioning with carriers for several devices over the course of the year; offering a range of devices on each carrier network; and convincing salespeople that Windows Phone is just as good as iOS and Android. It looks like Nokia, at least, plans to instigate a heavy marketing campaign to make sure the 900 gets time in the spotlight. CES has never been a completely accurate indicator of what's going to succeed in the year to come. What journalists and bloggers fawn over, consumers may end up shunning in favor of something else. However, with smartphones in recent years, the "most hyped-about" phones have generally ended up faring well with mobile phone buyers. And if that's any indication, Windows Phone stands a good chance of fulfilling our expectations.Don't Be Koi. There's Something Fishy About That Trump-Abe Photo Enlarge this image toggle caption Toru Hanai/AFP/Getty Images Toru Hanai/AFP/Getty Images Perhaps a metaphor for East meets West? The patient, tradition-bound Japanese prime minister contrasted with the brash, abrupt American president. But there is a bit more to the story. As part of a welcoming ceremony, President Trump stopped with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to feed the koi fish at a pond on the grounds of the Akasaka Palace in Tokyo. It's a tradition with foreign dignitaries. In the photo above taken by Agence France-Presse, the two leaders can be seen judiciously spooning out the fish food. But Trump soon appears to lose patience and summarily dumps the entire box of food into the pond, as can be seen in the next image taken by an Associated Press photographer: Enlarge this image toggle caption Andrew Harnik/AP Andrew Harnik/AP The Japan Times writes: "The incident triggered censure on Twitter, with many pointing out that fish cannot consume such a large amount of food at one time. "U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, standing just behind Trump, appeared to break out in laughter at his boss's no-nonsense approach to koi feeding. "But some uncharitable Twitter users were less forgiving, with several writing: 'Trump can't even feed fish right.' " But if you watch a video of the event, it becomes clear that Abe "dumped" his box first. The whole fish-feeding episode begins at about 33 seconds into the video: AFP YouTube Either way, as cultural faux pas by visiting U.S. presidents go, it would be difficult to compete with President George H.W. Bush's "vomit incident" at a state dinner with then Japanese Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa in 1992 or President Barack Obama bowing to Japanese Emperor Akihito during a 2009 visit to Japan, which sparked controversy among conservative critics in the U.S. Upon meeting Akihito, Trump opted for a handshake.December 21, 2008 - President-elect Barack Obama appoints Hillary Clinton, his former election rival, as Secretary of State. The audacious move becomes a symbol of the new president's efforts to unite his deeply-divided country. February 17, 2009 - Mr Obama signs The Recovery and Reinvestment Act, a $787 billion stimulus package that was designed to reignite the US economy and create three and a half million jobs. Supporters say it helped end the recession, critics call it a unaccountable waste of taxpayers’ money. March 30, 2009 - The White House begins the bailout of the American auto industry, forcing out executives and pushing companies into structured bankruptcy in return for government assistance. The bailout is later credited as major reason for Mr Obama’s election success in the Midwest. June 4, 2009 - Mr Obama gives a major speech in Cairo that addresses US-Muslim relations as well as renewing Middle East peace talks. Urging a “new beginning” with the Muslim World, Mr Obama took criticism from the Right, who said he had been “apologising for America”. - September 9, 2009 - During a speech to a joint session of Congress on healthcare reform, Republican congressman Joe Wilson from South Carolina shouts out “You lie!” while Mr Obama is speaking. The outburst symbolises conservatives’ growing rage with the new president. - March 21, 2010 - Mr Obama’s health care bill, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, narrowly passes through after months of fiery debate. It is signature moment for the White House’s quest to reform the American healthcare system. November 2, 2010 - The Republican Party takes control of the House of Representatives at the middle point of President Obama’s first term, ending Democrat control of Washington. The deeply conservative House Republicans vow to block Mr Obama’s agenda. December 22, 2010 - Mr Obama signs legislation repealing the policy that prevented gay and lesbians from serving openly in the US armed forces. - March 19, 2011 - As Libya’s civil war rages, Mr Obama orders the US military to join the international coalition against Col Muammar Gaddafi. American jets and missiles pound regime forces and with months the government is overthrown and Gaddafi is dead. - May 2, 2011 - In a dramatic late-night speech from the White House, Mr Obama announces that US special forces have killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. As Americans cheer in the streets, the president’s sagging approval ratings shoot upwards. - August 5, 2011 - The ratings agency Standard and Poor’s cuts America’s credit rating after a bitter fight in Congress leaves the US just days away from defaulting on its debts. The debt ceiling, the legal amount of money the US can borrow, remains a partisan issue. December 14, 2011 - At an aircraft hangar in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Mr Obama welcomes troops home from a war that claimed 4,484 American lives. Iraq, though sovereign and more stable than when the war began in 2003, still faces an uncertain future. - January 20, 2012 - Mr Obama charms his base by singing a few lines of Reverend Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together” at a fundraiser at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem. The footage is seen around the world and the Obama campaign takes in more than $3 million in a day. - May 9, 2012 - Days after Vice President Joe Biden announced his support for gay marriage, Mr Obama follows suit. Gay activists and supporters hail it as a milestone in the effort to secure marriage equality. - June 28, 2012 - In a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court upholds the legality of Mr Obama healthcare reforms, dashing Republican hopes that the court might strike down the law. The administration now faces the daunting task of implementing the law across the US. <noframe>Twitter: SCOTUSblog - <a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=SCOTUS" target="_blank">#SCOTUS</a> upholds <a href="http://search.twitter.com/search?q=ACA" target="_blank">#ACA</a> individual mandate.</noframe> - November 6, 2012 - Mr Obama wins a second term in the White House after garnering 332 electoral votes to Mitt Romney’s 206. In his acceptance speech he vows that “for the United States of America, the best is yet to come”. - December 14, 2012 - The president receives news of the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, where a gunman shot and killed 20 children and six staff members, spurring him on to introduce new gun control legislation. He later called it the “worst day of my presidency.”By Rochester Rhinos, Sammy Edoung-Biyo scored a goal he’ll remember for the rest of his life. Not only was it his very first professional goal, but a goal in the dying seconds of the match to send the Rhinos to the Fourth Round of the US Open Cup where they will face the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer. Moments after substitute Joe Farrell’s ricocheted shot somehow didn’t go in the net, Antonio Correia made a beautiful tackle that started the game-winning goal. The ball went out to Bradley Kamdem Fewo who launched a perfectly curled 60-yard ball to Jalen Brown who hit a one-time pass near post to Edoung-Biyo who launched his body at the ball, scoring on the diving header and raced to the corner to celebrate with his team as well as fans who ran onto the field. “I had three good opportunities I should have finished, and I just kept working,” said Edoung-Biyo, “I kept looking for it and eventually it got in the back of the net. Hopefully, it becomes a habit.” Sammy is five years removed from his collegiate career and paid his way into the open tryout this past December. After an invitation to the invite-only tryout and lasting throughout preseason, he made the team and has taken full advantage of the opportunity. GPS Omens often played with all 11 men behind the ball and tried to absorb the pressure long enough to get to penalties. The Rhinos dominated with 72% of the possession, and a 21-6 shot advantage. After a very dull first half of action with no shots on goal, Rhinos rookie winger Jalen Brown opened the scoring in the 52nd minute with a beautiful shot from about 20 yards that took a fortunate deflection into the bottom corner for his first professional goal. GPS Omens would answer almost immediately after they were awarded a free kick 20 yards out in prime territory. Keith Caldwell; brother of New England Revolution’s Scott Caldwell, hit a gorgeous strike around the five man wall past Dan Lynd and into the top corner to level the score at 1. The Rhinos would have several chances to win the game, with most coming off of crosses that would sail high. 11 of the 21 Rhinos shots came in extra time, and the 21st shot was the one that mattered most. The Rhinos face FC Cincinnati this Saturday June 3rd before heading to Florida for matches against Orlando City B and Tampa Bay. They’ll then fly back north to face the New England Revolution on June 14th at Providence College. We’ll be selling Zweigles hot dogs for just ONE DOLLAR on Supporters Recognition Night presented by Morgan Communities. General admission tickets for this match vs. FC Cincinnati will be just $8 with premium tickets starting at $15. Use promo code SUPPORTERS on eTix, visit the box office, or call 585-454-KICK!CLOSE Former Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul decried the public corruption case brought in Iowa against three of his 2012 campaign staff members. Grant Rodgers/The Register Buy Photo Ron Paul, left, walks out of the federal courthouse Oct. 14 after testifying in the trial of 2012 campaign aides Jesse Benton and Dimitri Kesari in Des Moines. (Photo: Michael Zamora/The Register)Buy Photo Former Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul said Thursday there was "absolutely" no plot among his campaign staffers to mislead voters ahead of the 2012 Iowa caucuses. Rather, Paul maintains federal prosecutors are spinning a simple error into a sinister conspiracy to win convictions in a public corruption case against three of his former campaign staff, Paul said outside the federal courthouse in Des Moines. He called the case an "overreach" by the U.S. Department of Justice that has wasted "millions" in taxpayer money. “I'm hoping and praying that this trial may be able to put this behind us, because that is the only form of justice that I can see.” Ron Paul "I think our government has purposefully misled the public in pursuing this case and trying to paint something that is extreme and way out of order," Paul said shortly after he testified. "I'm hoping and praying that this trial may be able to put this behind us, because that is the only form of justice that I can see." Testimony from the former Libertarian-leaning U.S. congressman came during the third day of the trial against campaign chairman Jesse Benton, campaign manager John Tate and deputy campaign manager Dimitri Kesari. The three political operatives face a range of charges stemming from accusations that former Iowa state Sen. Kent Sorenson was paid $73,000 to endorse Paul days ahead of the caucuses. Prosecutors contend that the operatives designed a plan to pay Sorenson by filtering the money through a third-party video and audio production company, a move that would keep the lawmaker's name hidden from public campaign expenditure reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. Sorenson had previously served as the Iowa chair for the presidential campaign of then-U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, who publicly accused Sorenson of being plied with cash after he flipped his loyalty to Paul. Among the charges, each man faces counts of conspiracy, causing false records and causing false campaign expenditure reports. In the interview, Paul suggested that the snafu was the fault of a campaign worker who mistakenly mislabeled the payments intended for Sorenson as "audio/visual" expenses in the expenditure reports, a claim made by at least one defense attorney in the trial. He said the Federal Election Commission — it's the federal agency with authority to police campaign finance issues — has shown no interest in using its civil enforcement power in the matter, though the agency received a complaint from a former Bachmann operative in 2014. "If there was an infraction on reporting, the FEC should do something, but they've never investigated," he said. "They've never asked any questions. So, to me it's a total outrage. Taxpayers have spent millions of dollars, and it looks like its a technical thing about filling out a form. (Prosecutors) concocted this extreme theory that doesn't hold water." NEWSLETTERS Get the Breaking News Alert newsletter delivered to your inbox We're sorry, but something went wrong Alerts on breaking news delivered straight to your inbox. Please try again soon, or contact Customer Service at 1-877-424-0225. Delivery: Varies Invalid email address Thank you! You're almost signed up for Breaking News Alert Keep an eye out for an email to confirm your newsletter registration. More newsletters But former FEC attorney Lawrence Noble said Paul is wrong to suggest that no violation happened just because the federal agency has reportedly shown little interest. The agency has been slow to enforce the law in recent years, said Noble, now general counsel for the Campaign Legal Center. The agency is crippled by its system of taking cases based on votes from a six-person commission made up of three Democrats and three Republicans, he said. The center sued the FEC on Friday for turning down cases that Noble believes show clear violations of campaign finance law, he said. "The FEC has developed a real reputation for not enforcing the law," he said. "If there is a complaint filed, it could sit there for a very long time. … You can't read anything into the fact that the FEC has not done anything about it." The trial is also a family affair for Paul, because one of his granddaughters is married to Benton. His vocal support for the three aides came after he sat through a portion of testimony Thursday morning from Karen LoStrocco, an FBI special agent who led the investigation into the payments. Prosecutors showed an email between Benton and Tate hashing out how to respond to Bachmann's bribery allegation after Sorenson's endorsement Dec. 28, 2011. Emails also showed Benton telling journalists that the campaign would not give Sorenson any money. Another email shown to jurors during LoStrocco's testimony featured all three operatives discussing a $25,000 wire transfer that prosecutors argue was intended for Sorenson. Still, Paul responded "absolutely not" when asked by the Register whether he believed the operatives were engaged in a cover-up. The trial is the second in the case, after a trial against Benton and Tate ended with mixed results in October. Paul testified for the prosecution in that case as well, telling jurors that he never put stock in endorsements. Prosecutors argued that the candidate put such a low value on getting endorsements that Benton, Kesari and Tate had to go behind his back to woo Sorenson. Prosecutors subpoenaed Paul to come to Des Moines from Texas to testify Thursday, but told him shortly before proceedings began in the morning that they would not be calling him, he said. Instead, U.S. District Court Judge John Jarvey allowed the operatives' attorneys to call him as a witness for their defense. "It's the government that dragged me up here … and they canceled me," Paul said. Read or Share this story: http://dmreg.co/26yB9FGOkay, honestly, I enjoyed many things about the Harry Potter books. The movies are okay, too. But I just have to say that one thing the books' storylinewas that all-too-critical point where our underdog protagonist assumes his total kickass place and proves that he's got more than enough balls to feed the bad guys their own teeth. For seven books, Hermione Granger had outshown Harry Potter in almost every wizardly way. By the end of Book Six, I was pleading inwardly for a substitute hero from some other story: Raistlin from Dragonlance, the Count of Monte Cristo, Quigley, Jason Bourne, NEO, or just about anyone played by Denzel Washington or Bruce Willis. C'mon, somebody, please step up and just start blowing those Death-Eaters to Hell!But it never really happened, and I got the idea that J.K. Rowling viewed the lethal-weapon-carrying police force of our real world as a negative thing. Frankly, the aurors of the wizarding world should have been walking around with "Avada-Kedavra" wands of their own. As it is, they're firing "Expelliarmus" blanks and shooting "Confudus" cap guns--no wonder that wussy Voldemort is causing so much trouble.And then it hit me. This is the scene I would have liked to see. It even could have waited until the 7th book, if it had been written well enough. After a battle of magic in which Harry beats the shit out of Bellatrix Lestrange (feed that bitch to the dogs, will you?) and confronts Voldemort and the rest of them, feeds them their hearts for lunch and then flogs Voldemort like a kindergartener, he should point that "Master Wand" at snake-nose and say...Harry: "I know what you're thinkin': 'Does he have any power left in that wand, or not?' But, being as this is a.44 Magnum Master Wand, the most powerful spellcasting device in the world and will blow your head clean off, you should be asking yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya', Punk?!"Yeah, I'd have enjoyed the series 50 times as much if that would have happened...Harry Potter is copyright J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. I used some Harry Potter lettering, and a screen-capture from the original Dirty Harry (great movie!) starring the immortal Clint Eastwood. About 10 hours of work.Enjoy!LG Continues its Smartphone Market Share Gains, Growing Nearly a Full Percentage Point Since July RESTON, VA, December 2, 2015 – Comscore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a global media measurement and analytics company, today released data from Comscore MobiLens® and Mobile Metrix®, reporting key trends in the U.S. smartphone industry for October 2015. Apple ranked as the top smartphone manufacturer with 43.3 percent OEM market share, while Google Android led as the #1 smartphone platform with 52.9 percent platform market share. Facebook ranked as the top individual smartphone app. Smartphone OEM Market Share 193.9 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones (77.9 percent mobile market penetration) during the three months ending in October. Apple ranked as the top OEM with 43.3 percent of U.S. smartphone subscribers. Samsung ranked second with 27.9 percent market share (up 0.6 percentage points from July), followed by LG with 9.8 percent (up 0.9 percentage points), Motorola with 5.1 percent (up 0.2 percentage points) and HTC with 3.3 percent. Top Smartphone OEMs 3 Month Avg. Ending Oct. 2015 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Jul. 2015 Total U.S. Smartphone Subscribers Age 13+ Source: Comscore MobiLens Share (%) of Smartphone Subscribers Jul-15 Oct-15 Point Change Total Smartphone Subscribers 100.0% 100.0% N/A Apple 44.2% 43.3% -0.9 Samsung 27.3% 27.9% 0.6 LG 8.7% 9.8% 0.9 Motorola 4.9% 5.1% 0.2 HTC 3.5% 3.3% -0.2 Smartphone Platform Market Share Android ranked as the top smartphone platform in October with 52.9 percent market share (up 1.5 percentage points from July), followed by Apple with 43.3 percent, Microsoft with 2.7 percent and BlackBerry with 1 percent. Symbian did not register a meaningful market share percent in October and will be excluded in future rankings reports. Top Smartphone Platforms 3 Month Avg. Ending Oct. 2015 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Jul. 2015 Total U.S. Smartphone Subscribers Age 13+ Source: Comscore MobiLens Share (%) of Smartphone Subscribers Jul-15 Oct-15 Point Change Total Smartphone Subscribers 100.0% 100.0% N/A Android 51.4% 52.9% 1.5 Apple 44.2% 43.3% -0.9 Microsoft 2.9% 2.7% -0.2 BlackBerry 1.3% 1.0% -0.3 Symbian 0.1% 0.0% -0.1 Top Smartphone Apps Facebook ranked as the top smartphone app, reaching 77.3 percent of the app audience, followed by YouTube (61.2 percent), Facebook Messenger (60 percent) and Google Play (52.6 percent). Top 15 Smartphone Apps October 2015 Total U.S. Smartphone Mobile Media Users, Age 18+ (iOS and Android Platforms) Source: Comscore Mobile Metrix Top 15 Apps % Reach 1 Facebook 77.3% 2 YouTube 61.2% 3 Facebook Messenger 60.0% 4 Google Play 52.6% 5 Google Search 51.1% 6 Google Maps 49.6% 7 Gmail 44.5% 8 Pandora Radio 41.2% 9 Instagram 37.7% 10 Yahoo Stocks 31.7% 11 Apple Music* 30.6% 12 Apple Maps 28.3% 13 Amazon Mobile 27.2% 14 Twitter 25.3% 15 Google Drive 24.9% * “Apple Music,” as it appears in Comscore’s monthly reporting since July, is the same measured entity as the previously named “iTunes Radio/iCloud” that has been reported in past months’ mobile rankings. This entity, now under the new name, is referring to Apple’s native music app, which captures all music activity within that app, including listening via the streaming service, radio service and users’ personally downloaded music libraries. About Comscore Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Reston, Virginia, Comscore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global media measurement and analytics company that makes audiences and advertising more valuable across all the screens that matter. Comscore helps media buyers and sellers understand and make decisions based on how consumers use different media, such as TV, video, mobile, desktop and more. Through its products and services, Comscore helps its more than 2,500 clients understand their audiences, know if their advertising is working, and access data where they want and need it. Please visit www.comscore.com to learn more.Image caption The Agbobloshie e-waste dumping yard in Ghana poses the highest toxic threat, according to the report More than 200 million people around the world are at risk of exposure to toxic waste, a report has concluded. The authors say the large number of people at risk places toxic waste in a similar league to public health threats such as malaria and tuberculosis. The study from the Blacksmith Institute and Green Cross calls for greater efforts to be made to control the problem. The study carried out in more than 3,000 sites in over 49 countries. "It's a serious public health issue that hasn't really been quantified," Dr Jack Caravanos, director of research at the Blacksmith Institute and professor of public health at the City University of New York told the BBC's Tamil Service. The study identified the Agbobloshie dumping yard in Ghana's capital Accra as the place which poses the highest toxic threat to human life. The researchers say that the report has not been hidden from governments, and they are all aware of the issue. Agbobloshie has become a global e-waste dumping yard, causing serious environmental and health issues Dr Caravanos explained. World's Worst Polluted Places Agbogbloshie, Ghana Chernobyl, Ukraine Citarum River, Indonesia Dzershinsk, Russia Hazaribagh, Bangladesh Kabwe, Zambia Kalimantan, Indonesia Matanza Riachuelo, Argentina Niger River Delta, Nigeria Norilsk, Russia Source: Blacksmith Institute/Green Cross The study says that "a range of recovery activities takes place in Agbobloshie, each presenting unique occupational and ecological risks". As the second largest e-waste processing area in West Africa, Ghana annually imports around 215,000 tonnes of second hand consumer electronics from abroad, particularly from Western Europe, and generates another 129,000 tons of e-waste every year. The study warns that that Ghana's e-waste imports will double by 2020. At the Agbobloshie site, the study found the presence of lead in soil at very high levels, posing serious potential health and environment hazards to more than 250,000 people in the vicinity. Chernobyl in Ukraine ranks second in the study, while the Citarum River Basin in Indonesia ranks third. Among the worlds top ten toxic threat sites as listed in the study, Africa, Europe and Asia have three sites respectively and Latin America one. Children at risk The study says that tens of thousands of women and children are at risk due to toxic dumping and environmental pollution. "These are sites that are releasing toxic chemicals into air, water and soil. These are sites where children are particularly at risk and the numbers are rather high. We have not hidden this list from the respective governments and they are all aware of the issue" said Dr Caravanos. He also agrees that the developed nations are part of this problem. Dr Caravanos told the BBC that many westerners buy products without knowing the environmental impact. He said Ghana actively wanted to progress in the IT field and as such started importing used computers from Europe 10 years ago. That had resulted in Agbobloshie becoming a dumping yard for e-waste from Europe. In some places the damage caused to the land is so huge that it cannot be reversed, so the only option is to move people away and seal the contamination. Heavy metals are very difficult to remove from the soil, Dr Caravanos pointed out. While the study sates that India has made significant progress in dealing with pollution issues on a national level, environmentalists and activists disagree with that observation. The World Health Organization, in conjunction with the World Bank, estimates that 23% of the deaths in the developing world are attributable to environmental factors, including pollution, and that environmental risk factors contribute to more than 80% of regularly reported illnesses according to the report.Taipei, Sept. 19 (CNA) The first photos taken by Taiwan's FormoSat-5 satellite were fuzzy and marred by light spots, which were caused by a focusing problem on the satellite's remote sensing instrument (RSI), the designer National Applied Research Laboratories (NARLabs) said Tuesday The NT$5.6 billion (US$186 million) FormoSat-5, which was launched in the United States Aug. 25 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, is designed to capture panchromatic images with a resolution of up to two meters per pixel, and multispectral images with a resolution of four meters per pixel. However, the first images of Earth taken by the RSI were blurry and those of urban areas were marred by light spots, Yu Shiann-jeng (余憲政), deputy chief of NARLabs' National Space Organization (NSPO), confirmed in the wake of local media reports on the issue. Yu said that after days of observation, the NSPO had concluded that there was a problem with the RSI's focusing function and was trying to make some adjustments. Regarding the light spots on the images, he said the NSPO was trying to adjust the position and interior temperature of the satellite, among other measures being taken to solve the problem. The NSPO will also compare the images taken by FormoSat-5 and its predecessor FormoSat-2, using software to improve the former's image resolution, Yu said. Meanwhile, NARLabs Vice President Wu Kuang-chong (吳光鐘) said the initial testing of FormoSat-5 will take time. "The current assessment is that the image adjustment will take about two to three months to complete," he said. FormoSat-5, a 450-kg octagonal shape mini-satellite that is 2.8 meters in height and 1.6 meters in diameter, was designed and built by the NSPO. The satellite's mission is to advance and demonstrate Taiwan's indigenous space technology in the field of remote sensing satellites, to continue to serve global imagery users previously served by FormoSat-2, and to promote domestic space science research, according to the NSPO. FormoSat-5 carries an optical remote sensing payload and a science payload to execute remote sensing missions and perform science research, respectively. (By Huang Li-yun and Elizabeth Hsu) Enditem/pcHOUSTON – A year ago Houston Dynamo president Chris Canetti and vice president Dave Taglarino sat in the McAllen airport watching the US play in the World Cup against Ghana after their first meeting with Lone Star FC about the possibility of stationing a USL side in the Rio Grande Valley. A year later, Canetti is back in the Rio Grande Valley as the year of work culminates with an affiliate agreement that was announced on Wednesday with newly-awarded USL expansion side Rio Grande Valley FC that could set the club on the road to improved player development. “It’s an important and necessary step. A USL franchise is necessary to have a chance to develop young players,” Canetti told MLSsoccer.com. “We’re exciting to work with RGV FC. It’s quality people who know how to operate a franchise. We know our players are going to be well looked after and they’re going to be playing in a top class facility, in a market that’s hungry for soccer and in front of good crowds.” Houston’s agreement is different than others in MLS. Instead of owning and operating the club like the LA Galaxy or Montreal Impact, to name a couple teams who field sides in USL, Houston will only be on the hook for the tactical side. It’s an agreement that is akin to the relationship between a minor and major league baseball club. Lone Star, as they do with the Houston Rockets, will manage and operate the club, including a new stadium, while Houston’s technical staff will select the players and coaching staff. That last part was the goal from the start. Houston has employed the loan options with agreements with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds and Charleston Battery. Those deals allowed the Dynamo to send players to clubs but they had no control over playing time
daile) At their work session last night, the Wilsonville City Council voted to accept a $1.25 million federal grant to perform a feasibility study on the French Prairie Bike-Ped Emergency Bridge over the Willamette River. As we shared last week, this was a crucial step in this project’s evolution and it wasn’t a sure thing. In the end, it seems like the potential bike tourism this bridge would make possible is what made councilors comfortable with voting yes. When the topic of tourism came up at the meeting, Councilor Richard Goddard said that it had changed the conversation about the bridge and allowed him to think about the bridge as a different kind of asset. Council President Celia Nuñez was also supportive of the grant. “[This bridge] gives us an economic development opportunity,” she said, “and allows tourism dollars to pour into the community”. She continued, “if we can be visionary enough to expand transportation options for the city, then that is right on spot.” “We have the potential to make Wilsonville a destination for bike tourism.” — Tim Knapp, Mayor As a strong proponent of the bridge, Mayor Tim Knapp’s comments supported those of Nuñez. “This is an investment in our community in a way that would create an opportunity for economic factors that wouldn’t otherwise come here. We have the potential to make Wilsonville a destination for bike tourism.” To the matter of the unknown details of the bridge, Mayor Knapp believed that the council could not accurately quantify the return: “Let’s see what it looks like after the study.” Councilor Scott Starr pushed the needle in favor of accepting the grant funds when he commented that, “geography is [Wilsonville’s] strength” and that “transportation is at the heart of all of that. I want to leverage our geography.” To councilor Starr, the way forward seemed to be exploring the feasibility of building a bridge for people who bike and walk. Following Starr’s comments, the council members came to consensus and agreed to accept the grant funds for the feasibility study. A healthy crowd turned out. Following the work session, Laurent Rochette, a member of the grassroots Wilsonville-French Prairie Bridge Advisory Committee thanked the city council for its consent to move forward with the bridge feasibility study. Laurent was one of the citizen activists behind the online petition that has so far gathered over 680 signatures. Commenting on the petition, he informed the City Council that around 43% of all respondents were Wilsonville citizens. According to Laurent, “this shows that there is a huge interest [in Wilsonville] for this bridge. The 57% of signatures coming from outside of Wilsonville shows us that people want to come here to walk, [and] to bike. This group of people will spend money in this community that they would not otherwise without a bridge.” Now that the council has agreed to move forward with the feasibility study, it is up to the Committee to continuing building support in Wilsonville, especially amongst the small business community. As Jennifer Johnson of the Wilsonville visitor center put it: “the City and her businesses and residents have to want it.” While there is still a long time to go before a bridge will appear on the banks of the Willamette River, the road forward has officially begun. According to Neamtzu, money for the study will be available in mid-2013 and the report would be completed in 2015. This gives community stakeholders plenty of time to prepare for the next steps and continue to build support for this important project. Thanks to everyone who signed the petition. It’s clear that our voices helped educate city council members. [Editor’s note: Thanks to Patrick Croasdaile for his reporting on this story.] Front Page bicycle tourism, french prairie bridge, wilsonvilleMinimal Perfect Hashing A better way to do perfect hashing for large sets is by Botelho and Ziviani. I don't know if it can be as fast as this, but it scales way better. Their trick: instead of constructing the whole perfect hash function at once, use a normal hash h(key) to split the 200 zillion keys into a zillion buckets with about 200 keys each. For each bucket, use something like the code below to construct a perfect hash function that maps the n keys in that bucket to 0..n-1 uniquely, where n is about 200. In addition, build an offset table with one value per bucket, where the value is the sum of the number of keys in all previous buckets. Then b = h(key), hashValue = offset[b] + perfectHashFunction[b](key) is a minimal perfect hash of the whole 200 zillion keys. All zillion buckets can construct their perfect hash functions in parallel. Perfect hashing guarantees that you get no collisions at all. It is possible when you know exactly what set of keys you are going to be hashing when you design your hash function. It's popular for hashing keywords for compilers. (They ought to be popular for optimizing switch statements.) Minimal perfect hashing guarantees that n keys will map to 0..n-1 with no collisions at all. C code and a sanity test Here is my C code for minimal perfect hashing, plus a test case. The generator is run like so, " perfect -nm < samperf.txt ", and it produces the C files phash.h and phash.c. The sanity test program, which uses the generated hash to hash all the original keys, is run like so, " foo -nm < samperf.txt ". Usage There are options (taken by both perfect and the sanity test): perfect [-{NnIiHhDdAa}{MmPp}{FfSs}] < key.txt Only one of NnIiHhAa may be specified. N is the default. These say how to interpret the keys. The input is always a list of keys, one key per line. N,n Normal mode, key is any string string (default). About 42+6n instructions for an n-byte key, or a 119+7n instructions if there are more than 218 keys. I,i Inline, key is any string, user will do initial hash. The initial hash must be hash = PHASHSALT; for (i=0; i<keylength; ++i) { hash = (hash ^ key[i]) + ((hash<<26)+(hash>>6)); } Note that this can be inlined in any user loop that walks through the key anyways, eliminating the loop overhead. H,h Keys are 4-byte integers in hex in this format: ffffffff In the worst case for up to 8192 keys whose values are all less than 0x10000, the perfect hash is this: hash = key+CONSTANT; hash += (hash>>8); hash ^= (hash<<4); b = (hash >> j) & 7; a = (hash + (hash << k)) >> 29; return a^tab[b];...and it's usually faster than that. Hashing 4 keys takes up to 8 instructions, three take up to 4, two take up to 2, and for one the hash is always "return 0". Switch statements could be compiled as a perfect hash ( perfect -hp < hex.txt ), followed by a jump into a spring table by hash value, followed by a test of the case (since non-case values could have the same hash as a case value). That would be faster than the binary tree of branches currently used by gcc and the Solaris compiler. D,d Decimal. Same as H,h, but decimal instead of hexidecimal. Did I mention this is good for switch statement optimization? For example, the perfect hash for 1,16,256 is hash=((key+(key>>3))&3); and the perfect hash for 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 is hash=(key&7); and the perfect hash for 1,4,9,16,25,36,49 is ub1 tab[] = {0,7,0,2,3,0,3,0}; hash = key^tab[(key<<26)>>29]; A,a An (A,B) pair is supplied in hex in this format: aaaaaaaa bbbbbbbb This mode does nothing but find the values of tab[]. If n is the number of keys and 2i <= n <= 2i+1, then A should be less than 2i if the hash is minimal, otherwise less than 2i+1. The hash is A^tab[B], or A^scramble[tab[B]] if there is a B bigger than 2048. The user must figure out how to generate (A,B). Unlike the other modes, the generator cannot rechoose (A,B) if it has problems, so the user must be prepared to deal with failure in this mode. Unlike other modes, this mode will attempt to increase smax. Parse tables for production rules, or any static sparse tables, could be efficiently compacted using this option. Make B the row and A the column. For parse tables, B would be the state and A would be the ID for the next token. -ap is a good option. B,b Same as A,a, except in decimal not hexidecimal. Only one of MmPp may be specified. M is the default. These say whether to do a minimal perfect hash or just a perfect hash. M,m Minimal perfect hash. Hash values will be in 0..nkeys-1, and every possible hash value will have a matching key. This is the default. The size of tab[] will be 3..8 bits per key. P,p Perfect hash. Hash values will be in 0..n-1, where n the smallest power of 2 greater or equal to the number of keys. The size of tab[] will be 1..4 bits per key. Only one of FfSs may be specified. S is the default. F,f Fast mode. Don't construct the transitive closure. Try to find an initial hash within 10 tries, rather than within 2000 tries. (Transitive closure is used anyways for minimal perfect hashes with tab[] of size 2048 or bigger because you just can't succeed without it.) This will generate a perfect hash in linear time in the number of keys. It will result in tab[] being much bigger than it needs to be. S,s Slow mode. Take more time generating the perfect hash in hopes of making tab[] as small as possible. Examples and Performance Timings were done on a 500mhz Pentium with 128meg RAM, and it's actually the number of cursor blinks not seconds. ispell.txt is a list of English words that comes with EMACS. mill.txt was a million keys where each key was three random 4-byte numbers in hex. tab[] is always an array of 1-byte values. Normally I use a 166mhz machine with 32meg RAM, but a million keys died thrashing virtual memory on that. Usage number of keys Generation time (in seconds) tab[] size minimal? perfect < samperf.txt 58 0 64 yes perfect -p < samperf.txt 58 0 32 no perfect < ispell.txt 38470 11 16384 yes perfect -p < ispell.txt 38470 4 4096 no perfect < mill.txt 1000000 65 524288 yes perfect -p < mill.txt 1000000 100 524288 no Algorithm Initial hash returns (A,B), final hash is A^tab[B] The perfect hash algorithm I use isn't a Pearson hash. My perfect hash algorithm uses an initial hash to find a pair (A,B) for each keyword, then it generates a mapping table tab[] so that A^tab[B] (or A^scramble[tab[B]] ) is unique for each keyword. tab[] is always a power of two. When tab[] has 4096 or more entries, scramble[] is used and tab[] holds 1-byte values. scramble[] is always 256 values (2-byte or 4-byte values depending on the size of hash values). I found the idea of generating (A,B) from the keys in "Practical minimal perfect hash functions for large databases", Fox,Heath, Chen, and Daoud, Communications of the ACM, January 1992. (Dean Inada pointed me to that article shortly after I put code for a Pearson-style hash on my site.) Any specific hash function may or may not produce a distinct (A,B) for each key. There is some probability of success. If the hash is good, the probability of success depends only on the size of the ranges of A and B compared to the number of keys. So the initial hash for this algorithm actually must be a set of independent hash functions ("universal hashing"). Different hashes are tried from the set until one is found which produces distinct (A,B). A probability of success of.5 is easy to achieve, but smaller ranges for B (which imply smaller probabilities of success) require a smaller tab[]. The different input modes use different initial hashes. Normal mode uses my general hash lookup() (42+6n instructions) (or checksum() if there are more than 218 keys). Inline mode requires the user to compute the initial hash themself, preferably as part of tokenizing the key in the first place (to eliminate the loop overhead and the cost of fetching the characters in the key). Hex mode, which takes integer keys, does a brute force search to find how little mixing it can get away with. AB mode gets the (A,B) pairs from the user, giving the user complete control over initial mixing. The final hash is always A^tab[B] or A^scramble[tab[B]]. scramble[] is initialized with random distinct values up to smax, the smallest power of two greater or equal to the number of keys. The trick is to fill in tab[]. Multiple keys may share the same B, so share the same tab[B]. The elements of tab[] are handled in descending order by the number of keys. Spanning Trees and Augmenting Paths Finding values for tab[] such that A^tab[B] causes no collisions is known as the "sparse matrix compression problem", which is NP complete. ("Computers and Intractability, A Guide to the Theory of NP-Completeness", Garey & Johnson, 1979) Like most NP complete problems, there are fast heuristics for getting reasonable (but not optimal) solutions. The heuristic I use involves spanning trees. Spanning trees and augmenting paths (with elements of tab[] as nodes) are used to choose values for tab[b] and to rearrange existing values in tab[] to make room. The element being added is the root of the tree. Spanning trees imply a graph with nodes and edges, right? The nodes are the elements of tab[]. Each element has a list of keys (tab[x] has all the keys with B=x), and needs to be assigned a value (the value for tab[x] when A^tab[B] is computed). Keys are added to the perfect hash one element of tab[] at a time. Each element may contain many keys. For each possible value of tab[x], we see what that value causes the keys to collide with. If the keys collide with keys in only one other element, that defines an edge from the other element pointing back to this element. If the keys collide with nothing, that's a leaf, and the augmenting path follows that leaf along the nodes back to the root. If an augmenting path is found and all the nodes in it have one key apiece, it is guaranteed the augmenting path can be applied. Changing the leaf makes room for its parent's key, and so forth, until room is made for the one key being mapped. (If the element to be mapped has only one key, and there is no restriction on the values of tab[], augmenting paths aren't needed. A value for tab[B] can be chosen that maps that key directly to an open hash value.) If the augmenting path contains nodes with multiple keys, there is no guarantee the agumenting path can be applied. Moving the keys for the leaf will make room for the keys of the parent that collided with that leaf originally, but there is no guarantee that the other keys in the leaf and the parent won't apply. Empirically, this happens a around once per ten minimal perfect hashes generated. There must be code to handle rolling back an augmenting path that runs into this, but it's not worthwhile trying to avoid the problem. A possible strategy for finding a perfect hash is to accept the first value tried for tab[x] that causes tab[x]'s keys to collide with keys in zero other already-mapped elements in tab[]. ("Collide" means this some key in this element has the same hash value as some key in the other element.) This strategy is called "first fit descending" (recall that elements are tried in descending order of number of keys). A second, more sophisticated, strategy would allow the keys of tab[x] to collide with zero or one other elements in tab[]. If it collides with one other element, the problem changes to mapping that one other element. There is no upper bound on the running time of this strategy. The use of spanning trees and augmenting paths is almost as powerful as the second strategy, and it is guaranteed to terminate within O(nn) time (per element mapped). Is it faster or better on average? I don't know. I would guess it is. Spanning trees can ignore already-explored nodes, while the random jumping method doesn't. How much do spanning trees help compared to first fit descending? First consider the case where tab[] values can be anything. Minimal perfect hashes need tab[] 31% bigger and perfect hashes need tab[] 4% bigger (on average) if multikey spanning trees aren't used. Next the case where tab[] values are one of 256 values. Minimal perfect hashes cannot be found at all, and perfect hashes need tab[] 15% bigger on average. It turns out that restricting the size of A in A^tab[B] is also a good way to limit the size of tab[]. Pointers to other implementations of perfect hashing gperf is a perfect hashing package available under the GNU license. The hash it generates is usually slightly faster than mine, but it can't handle anagrams (like if and fi, or tar and art), and it can't handle more than a couple hundred keys. mph (Minimal Perfect Hash) can do perfect hashes, minimal perfect hashes, and order preserving minimal perfect hashes. I haven't looked into it much yet, but it's promising. It's based on a paper by Majewski, who is an expert in academia on the current state of the art of perfect hashes. Its doc starts out "I wrote this for fun...", so download it and see what you can get it to do! Perfect hashing IS fun. Gonnet/Baeza-Yates of Chile have a handbook on the web with a section on perfect hashing. I haven't tested this. Minimal perfect hashing with Pearson hashes A minimal perfect Pearson hash looks like this: hash = 0; for (i=0; i<len; ++i) hash = tab[(hash+key[i])%n]; A minimal perfect hash maps n keys to a range of n elements with no collisions. A perfect hash maps n keys to a range of m elements, m>=n, with no collisions. If perfect hashing is implemented as a special table for Pearson's hash (the usual implementation), minimal perfect hashing is not always possible, with probabilities given in the table below. For example the two binary strings {(0,1),(1,0)} are not perfectly hashed by the table [0,1] or the table [1,0], and those are all the choices available. For sets of 8 or more elements, the chances are negligible that no perfect hash exists, specifically (1-n!/nn)n!. Even if they do exist, finding one may be an intractable problem. Number of elements Chance that no mimimal perfect hash exists 2.25 3.2213773 4.0941787 5.0091061 6.0000137 7.0000000000000003 Although Pearson-style minimal perfect hashings do not always exist, minimal perfect hashes always exist. For example, the hash which stores a sorted table of all keywords, and the location of each keyword is its hash, is a minimal perfect hash of n keywords into 0..n-1. This sorted-table minimal perfect hash might not even be slower than Pearson perfect hashing, since the sorted-table hash must do a comparison per bit of key, while the Pearson hash must do an operation for every character of the key. Zbigniew J. Czech, an academic researcher of perfect hash functions ISAAC and RC4, fast stream ciphers Hash functions for table lookup Ye Olde Catalogue of Boy Scout Skits jenny, generate cross-functional tests Table of ContentsSYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW ("draw on top") BIND_ACCESSIBILITY_SERVICE ("a11y") Scary Things Hackers Can Do to Your Android (Demo) "In particular, we submitted an app requiring these two permissions and containing a non-obfuscated functionality to download and execute arbitrary code (attempting to simulate a clearly malicious behavior): this app got approved after just a few hours (and it is still available on the Google Play Store)." researchers say. Advanced clickjacking attack Unconstrained keystroke recording Stealthy phishing attack Silent installation of a God-mode app (with all permissions enabled) Silent phone unlocking and arbitrary actions (while keeping the screen off) Google Can’t Fix It, At Least Not So Fast "Changing a feature is not like fixing a bug," said Yanick Fratantonio, the paper's first author. "System designers will now have to think more about how seemingly unrelated features could interact. Features do not operate separately on the device." Temporary Mitigation Researchers have discovered a new attack, dubbed 'Cloak and Dagger', that works against all versions of Android, up to version 7.1.2.Cloak and Dagger attack allows hackers to silently take full control of your device and steal private data, including keystrokes, chats, device PIN, online account passwords, OTP passcode, and contacts.The attack doesn't exploit any vulnerability in Android ecosystem; instead, it abuses a pair of legitimate app permissions that is being widely used in popular applications to access certain features on an Android device.Researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology have discovered this attack, who successfully performed it on 20 people and none of them were able to detect any malicious activity.Cloak and Dagger attacks utilise two basic Android permissions:The first permission, known as "draw on top," is a legitimate overlay feature that allows apps to overlap on a device's screen and top of other apps.The second permission, known as "a11y," is designed to help disabled, blind and visually impaired users, allowing them to enter inputs using voice commands, or listen content using screen reader feature.Since the attack does not require any malicious code to perform the trojanized tasks, it becomes easier for hackers to develop and submit a malicious app to Google Play Store without detection.Unfortunately, it’s a known fact that the security mechanisms used by Google are not enough to keep all malware out of its app market.If you are following regular security updates from The Hacker News, you must be better aware of frequent headlines like, "hundreds of apps infected with adware targeting play store users," and "ransomware apps found on play store."Just last month, researchers uncovered several Android apps masqueraded as an innocent "Funny Videos" app on Play Store with over 5,000 downloads but distributed the'BankBot banking Trojan'that steal victims' banking passwords.Here's what the researchers explained how they got on the Google Play Store to perform Cloak & Dagger attacks:Once installed, the researchers say the attacker can perform various malicious activities including:In short, the attackers can secretly take over your Android device and spy on your every activity you do on your phone.Researchers have also provided the video demonstrations of a series of Cloak and Dagger attacks, which will blow your mind, trust me.University researchers have already disclosed this new attack vector to Google but noted that since the issue resides in the way Android OS has been designed, involving two of its standard features that behave as intended, the problem could be difficult to resolve.As we reported earlier, Google gives "SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW" ("draw on top") permission to all applications directly installed from the official Google Play Store since Android Marshmallow (version 6), launched in October 2015.This feature that lets malicious apps hijack a device's screen is one of the most widely exploited methods used by cyber criminals and hackers to trick unwitting Android users into falling victims for malware and phishing scams.However, Google has planned to change its policy in 'Android O,' which is scheduled for release in the 3rd quarter this year.So, users need to wait for a long, long time, as millions of users are still waiting for Android Nougat (N) from their device manufacturers (OEMs).In other words, the majority of smartphone users will continue to be victimised by ransomware, adware and banking Trojans at least for next one year.The easiest way to disable the Cloak and Dagger attacks in Android 7.1.2 is to turn off the "draw on top" permission by heading on to:Settings → Apps → Gear symbol → Special access → Draw over other apps.The universal and easiest way to avoid being hacked is always to download apps from Google Play Store, but only from trusted and verified developers.You are also advised to check app permissions before installing apps. If any app is asking more than what it is meant for, just do not install it.SEINOLE COUNTY, Fla., Sept. 17 (UPI) — A Florida man who shot at George Zimmerman was found guilty of attempted second-degree murder with a firearm Friday. According to the Orlando Sentinel, Matthew Apperson, 27, faces a minimum of 20 years in prison. He was also convicted of aggravated assault with a firearm and shooting into an occupied vehicle in a road rage incident in May 2015. Prosecutors said he fired a single shot toward Zimmerman, who was acquitted after shooting and killing unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin in 2012. Apperson, a paralegal, said Zimmerman flashed a gun first, prompting him to fire the bullet into Zimmerman’s truck. The bullet missed Zimmerman’s face and became lodged in the truck body. CNN reported Zimmerman testified that he was followed by Apperson, who then flashed his lights, honked his horn and pulled alongside him before shooting into his vehicle. Surveillance video from a nearby post office showed Apperson chasing Zimmerman in a car. Assistant State Attorney Stewart Stone argued Apperson failed to meet the standard of self defense because he did not act in a reasonable, prudent or cautious manner prior to firing. Stone also argued Zimmerman’s windows were rolled up and too darkly tinted to see through at the time of the shooting. According to Apperson, the two had a encountered each other in traffic once before on Sept. 9, 2014, when Apperson told Zimmerman he was wrong to kill Martin and said Zimmerman began threatening and following him after they argued from inside their vehicles. “George Zimmerman is no boy scout — I get that, and you get that,” Stone said. “But no matter how you feel about George Zimmerman, he can still be a victim of a crime, and he was in this case.” Apperson’s sentencing is set for Oct. 17, and following the trial Zimmerman’s brother Robert tweeted “Justice for George!”Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley has apparently become the first 2016 presidential candidate to visit a mosque and stand with American Muslims at time of increasingly hateful rhetoric about the religion. “I wanted to be here to be present with you, in solidarity in these challenging times,” O’Malley told the congregation after their mid-day prayers. O’Malley’s campaign says he’s the first candidate to make such a visit since the start of the campaign season last spring. Ibrahim Hooper, the communications director at the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said he believes O’Malley is the only candidate to have visited a mosque during this campaign. The San Bernadino shootings have increased concern about the reach of Islamist terror, and the US political discourse on Islam has turned ugly, with some groups and politicians collapsing the distinction between the religion and radical groups who twist it to their ends. Donald Trump, the businessmen turned surprise Republican presidential front-runner, called for a ban on Muslim immigration to the US due to their ”great hatred” toward Americans. Though some of his rival Republicans have criticized Trump’s position, none have discounted him as a potential nominee in their party. And while the leading Democratic candidates, former secretary of State Hillary Clinton and senator Bernie Sanders, condemned his proposal, neither has held an event with the Muslim community since violence in San Bernadino. “In these times where fear and division is in the air, it is easy for unscrupulous politicians or hate preachers—no nation is immune from the scourge of hate preachers—to turn us upon ourselves,” O’Malley said. ”That sort of language that you hear from Donald Trump is not the language of America’s future…my Muslim neighbors make America strong.” O’Malley spoke at the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) Center in Virginia, just across the Potomac River from his home state of Maryland. His remarks focused on the need to unite Americans across religious and ethnic boundaries in the face of challenges like ISIL, and the important roles played by Muslims in US society. A Muslim veteran, Rasheed Hamdan, also spoke, discussing the more than 5,000 Muslims serving in the US military. Many national security experts have underscored the importance of not dividing Muslims from the rest of the population because it plays into the polarizing ideology promoted by Islamist extremists and creates a more receptive environment for radicalization, while reducing trust between Muslims and law enforcement. The US has traditionally done a better job if integrating Muslim immigrants than European nations, but that performance has been tested by rising nativist rhetoric. O’Malley’s somewhat visionless campaign for the Democratic nomination has not gained traction among voters against Clinton’s apparent inevitability and Sanders’ rise as a left-wing favorite. That he is the only candidate to make a show of support for US Muslims may be a sign that politicians with more to lose see the association as a potential negative. It’s a far cry from President George W. Bush’s visit to a mosque six days after the 9/11 attacks. “The world has never needed America more to act like America than right now,” O’Malley said.If Republicans honor their existing rules of the road this summer, the GOP is already looking at a two-horse race for president. That’s the argument of Sen. Ted Cruz, who says the party’s own convention protocols essentially mean that only he and Republican front-runner Donald Trump can even be considered for the nomination, with third-place candidate John Kasich and dark horse choices like House Speaker Paul D. Ryan already disqualified. With the possibility of a contested convention in Cleveland very much a live option, the rule that has attracted attention, known as Rule 40(b), was adopted at the party’s 2012 convention and requires a candidate to win a majority of delegates in at least eight states to be considered for the nomination. The move angered allies of former Texas Rep. Ron Paul, who felt it was intended to minimize Mr. Paul’s role at the 2012 convention in Tampa and smooth the path for nominee Mitt Romney. While the question of whether the 2012 rule will apply to the 2016 gathering is a matter of sharp dispute, the fact that the debate is on shows the fierce battle for every precious delegate in the increasingly scrambled and unpredictable Republican primary battle. Mr. Cruz argues that at this point, it would be a “terrible idea” for “Washington power brokers” to change the rules because they’re unhappy with the crop of candidates the voters have picked. “Those rules say that in order to be on the ballot, you have to have won eight states. Only two of us will meet that threshold — me and Donald Trump,” Mr. Cruz told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt this week. “Those will be the two names on the ballot. SEE ALSO: Ted Cruz leads Donald Trump by 10 points in Wisconsin: poll “And I think if the Washington dealmakers try to change the rules to cook the books and insert their favorite dealmaker, I think there would rightly be a revolt of the voters,” he said. “We would have had elections in 50 states, and we need to honor the will of the voters and respect what they decide.” Ironically, the rule was originally intended to try to box out anti-establishment candidates like Mr. Trump, said Morton Blackwell, a longtime Republican National Committeeman from Virginia. Mr. Blackwell had unsuccessfully pushed for the rule to be changed prior to the start of the 2016 primary season. But he now says that “it’s too late to change the rules fairly.” “I think it would be potentially disastrous for the party to alienate the huge numbers of Republicans who are not establishment people, and that constitutes the vast majority of the people who participated in these primaries and caucuses,” he said. “It could hurt the party badly, split people, because it’s a very strong point that they would have changed the rules in order to affect who gets nominated.” Mr. Trump is the only candidate who has cleared the threshold so far. Mr. Cruz has won at least eight states, but because of proportionality rules did not win a majority of the delegates in all of them. Ohio Gov. John Kasich, whose lone win in the GOP primary contest came in his home state, said Thursday that the convention rules for 2016 are not yet set in stone, and that the rules committee would make those determinations. “When you’re a delegate at a convention and you have a candidate who beats Hillary Clinton in the last Fox poll by 11 points, and we’re going to say that that guy doesn’t get considered?” Mr. Kasich said on Fox News. “I mean, come on. That’s not going to happen.” Boxing out rivals If any sort of threshold remains in place, that could also box out potential compromise candidates such as Mr. Romney or Mr. Ryan. Mr. Ryan has repeatedly sworn he would not accept the nomination under such a circumstance, and has said that as chairman of the convention he’ll be a neutral arbiter in the proceedings. Randy Evans, a national committeeman from Georgia, said Thursday it’s an open question what will happen with the eight-state threshold, and that much of it will depend on which candidates win in the remaining states. “There are plenty of states left in order to meet the threshold,” Mr. Evans said on CNN. “We’re not going to fix a problem that doesn’t exist. But if we get toward the convention, we’ll have to take a look at it.” A candidate needs 1,237 delegates to clinch the nomination. The latest delegate count, according to the AP, has Mr. Trump with 736, Mr. Cruz with 463, and Mr. Kasich with 143. Reflecting a growing interest in the nitty-gritty of the nominating fight, the Republican National Committee launched a website on Thursday designed to answer questions about the delegate process and how the party adopts its rules for the convention. The 2016 convention rules committee meets about a week before the convention to adopt a package of recommended rules. The committee consists of two delegates from each state and territory, adding up to 112 delegates in total, and a majority of convention delegates ultimately have to adopt the committee’s report. The Trump campaign, which has found itself at times outmaneuvered in state-level delegate battles this spring, is clearly steeling for a potential convention fight. Mr. Trump announced this week he is opening a Washington, D.C.-based office to coordinate his campaign’s work with the RNC, Congress and his convention and delegate operations. He also announced that Paul J. Manafort, who worked on conventions for former Presidents Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, will serve as his campaign’s convention manager. “Paul Manafort and the team I am building bring the needed skill sets to ensure that the will of the Republican voters, not the Washington political establishment, determines who will be the nominee for the Republican Party,” Mr. Trump said. Mr. Trump also huddled with RNC Chairman Reince Priebus in a meeting Thursday in Washington, D.C., with the delegate selection process reportedly a central focus of their private discussions. The new website does not directly address whether the eight-state threshold from 2012 will carry over to 2016, but does note prominently that “the rules of the convention are unique to each convention and voted upon by the delegates.” Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.The Mountain Goats: Damn These Vampires All Eternals Deck, the new album from the Mountain Goats, arrives March 29 on Merge. Frontman John Darnielle recently sat down for a long interview with us about the album's inspirations; read that conversation here. And up above, you can download the album's opener, the darkly low-key "Damn These Vampires", via Stereogum. Around the time the album drops, the band will head out on a tour of North America's Eastern half, with fellow North Carolina band Megafaun opening. We've got those dates below. The Mountain Goats: 03-24 Richmond, VA - The National * 03-25 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club * 03-26 York, PA - Strand-Capitol PAC * 03-28-29 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom * 04-01 Boston, MA - Paradise * 04-02 Ithaca, NY - Castaways * 04-03 Toronto, Ontario - Opera House * 04-05 Chicago, IL - The Vic * 04-06 Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge * 04-07 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse * 04-08 Chapel Hill, NC - Cat's Cradle 04-10 Asheville, NC - The Grey Eagle * 04-11 Columbus, OH - Wexner Center * 04-12 Pittsburgh, PA - Mr. Smalls * 04-15 Philadelphia, PA - Theater of Living Arts *The Walking Dead will be back on the air on Sunday with a midseason premiere that some cast and crew have described as “polarizing.” The episode—written by showrunner Scott M. Gimple and directed by Greg Nicotero—certainly will have a very different feel that may catch some fans off guard. Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman expects there to be plenty of debate about it. “Episode 509 is going to be a fan favorite episode in a lot of ways, and it’s going to be a fan-hated episode in a lot of ways,” says Kirkman, “because it is a somewhat brutal episode. Those are very hard for the audience
.” Another mentioned Clinton’s “so called loss of memory claimed during her FBI questioning about her email server.” Beyond the specific questions, one remarked that “I think that the candidate should be honest with the public about his/her health!” The history of the concussion was concerning: “The public must watch the movie Concussion to realize that such an injury does affect thought process.” A poll of 833 randomly selected registered voters by Gravis Marketing showed that nearly half (49%) were not aware of the “well documented major health issues that Hillary Clinton has.” Nearly three-fourths (74%) were unaware of Bill Clinton’s statement that Hillary suffered a “terrible” concussion requiring “six months of very serious work to get over.” The majority (57%) thought that candidates should release their medical records. “Both physicians and other voters think that health concerns are relevant when choosing a presidential candidate,” states AAPS executive director Jane M. Orient, M.D. “However, more than 40% of physician respondents were unaware of the cerebral sinus thrombosis, and the vast majority of voters were not aware of all of Clinton’s problems or their potential serious long-term implications for cognitive function.” The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) is a national organization representing physicians in virtually all specialties and every state. Founded in 1943, AAPS has the motto “omnia pro aegroto,” which means “all for the patient.”A new report from the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board’s Shale Gas Production Subcommittee is being both praised and denigrated by a range of industry and environmental groups, as well as garnering a range of interpretations from the media. The report, which we wrote about here, was called for by Energy Secretary Stephen Chu in May as a 90-day look at hydraulic fracturing and ways to lessen its environmental impact. The Environmental Defense Fund, whose President Fred Krupp sat on the panel, stressed that the report called for “strong regulation and effective enforcement” in order to ensure the safe and sustainable development of America’s onshore natural gas resources. “The subcommittee’s recommendations won’t solve every problem overnight,” Krupp said. “But if implemented, they would make real progress toward developing this abundant energy source in ways that safeguard public health and the environment. Rigorous, well-designed standards and improved transparency and disclosure can help ensure that shale gas is developed responsibly now and in the future.” Earthworks, a grassroots environmental group, said “the subcommittee’s report was stronger than expected” in its call for immediate actions to measure, monitor and reduce air and water pollution. But Gwen Lachelt, director of Earthworks’ Oil & Gas Accountability Project, said Americans “will not be fully protected until the natural gas industry’s exemptions from key federal environmental laws are removed.” “While today’s report outlines several helpful steps to reduce the environmental costs of natural gas drilling, it is unfortunate that the subcommittee stopped short of calling for the closure of a key loophole in the Safe Drinking Water Act and other environmental laws, leaving communities living amidst the shale gas boom at risk.” said Lachelt. “The subcommittee’s recommendations offer an historic opportunity for the President and our federal agencies to hold the natural gas industry to the highest standards.” Dan Whitten, vice president of strategic communications for America’s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA), said the group was particularly pleased that the study called for a stronger role for the State Review of Oil and Natural Gas Environmental Regulations (STRONGER), a partnership between the EPA and industry to improve oversight at the state level. “The report also reinforces ANGA’s prior commitment to disclosure of hydraulic fracturing fluids through the state-based GWPC registry, FracFocus.org,” Whitten said. Barry Russell, CEO of The Independent Petroleum Association of America, which represents the companies that drill most of the country’ oil and natural gas wells, said the report reaffirms the industry view that the current state and federal regulatory system is effective in protecting the public. “While the Report makes a number of recommendations, these recommendations are largely directed at improving public knowledge about development and enhancing the effectiveness of the current management of shale gas development environmental risks,” he said. “IPAA hopes that the Subcommittee’s efforts will help shift shale gas development discussions toward real issues that need to be addressed.” The American Petroleum Institute, however, was quite a bit more critical of the report. In an interview this morning, API’s Erik Milito said the report didn’t give the industry enough credit for what it is already doing to ensure safe operations, and it didn’t stress the success of the current regulatory regime. He noted that API has already developed best practices for well integrity, for example. Milito also notes the report is incorrect when it says proposed EPA regulations for drilling air quality controls aren’t aimed at a broad enough range of emissions. A panel recommendation to reduce well site emissions by using natural gas-fueled trucks and drilling rigs is also unrealistic and misinformed, Milito says. “If the panel had an industry representative on it might have avoided those kinds of errors,” he said. Milito said claims from environmental groups that the panel had too many ties to industry was “a bit ridiculous.” “You have to recognize that the environmental NGOs had a representative on the panel (NDF’s Fred Krupp),” Milito said. “And you could say anyone has strong ties to the industry if they have a 401(k) or pension plan.” Media coverage of the report was far from identical, likely due to the many recommendations, facets and caveats of the report. E2 Wire’s headline touts the recommendation for disclosing fracking fluids, and even calls the recommendation “likely more controversial” than other calls in the report for more monitoring and sharing of a wide range of data on shale gas development. The Associated Press also led with the idea of frac fluid disclosure but quickly got to the point that there were other more pressing environmental concerns that needed to be addressed. Bloomberg’s story on the report stressed the potential environmental hazards part of the report. The Financial Times focused on a message that the gas industry will continue to face opposition unless it does a better job of addressing the public’s concerns. The committee warned that these “serious environmental impacts … need to be prevented, reduced and, where possible, eliminated as soon as possible”. It added: “Absent effective control, public opposition will grow, thus putting continued production at risk.” And the New York Times’ piece stresses the call for more regulations on the process, while being sure to credit itself for the creation of the panel in the first place. My story on the report was shaped in large part on the two interviews I was able to do with panel members, John Deutch and Stephen Holditch. My conversation with them affirmed an initial impression I had from reading the report: 1. that the recommendations had less to do with hydraulic fracturing itself and more to do with the general procedures of drilling and completions and, 2. that the emissions issues around drilling and production were much greater than industry (and likely regulators) realized. The focus that some news outlets put on frac fluid disclosure recommendation struck me as somewhat irrelevant. It’s been known for years there can be hazardous chemicals in the frac mixes, companies have started to disclose them voluntarily and more states (starting with Texas) are requiring disclosure. When Texas lawmakers require something of the oil and gas industry, it’s pretty safe to say the controversy is nearly over.For NBC the script is twofold: Tell the story of Major League Soccer while building the stature of its NBC Sports Network. Mark Abbott loved this year’s Super Bowl. Not because of Eli Manning’s heroics, but because of what he saw in NBC’s pregame and postgame shows: promotions for Major League Soccer. For Abbott, the president of MLS, feeling proud as a peacock is a mighty fine thing indeed. MLS Commissioner Don Garber (left) and NBC Sports President of Programming Jon Miller announce their television deal last year. The Super Bowl promos marked the start of what network and league executives say will be an aggressive campaign to build the sister NBC Sports Network (formerly known as Versus) with soccer and hockey as the anchor tenants. For MLS, the allure is having not just a new television home, but also the rest of the NBC Universal portfolio, including the flagship NBC over-the-air network. MLS signed with NBC last summer for three years, starting with the 2012 season. Industry sources estimate the deal is worth $10 million annually. Terms call for NBC Sports Network to show 38 regular-season MLS games, with three more shown on NBC, the most on English-language U.S. network television in a decade. Five playoff games, plus four U.S. men’s national games, are also part of the 50-game package, though how those will be divided between NBC Sports Network and NBC remains undetermined. Fox Soccer controlled the portion of the MLS media rights that NBC acquired. ESPN, a league partner since MLS launched in 1996, will air 21 regular-season matches split among ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes, as well as the all-star game and MLS Cup. Univision has Spanish-language rights. All three MLS TV contracts expire after the 2014 season. (TSN has Canadian rights through 2016.) Some significant elements of NBC’s coverage plans still lack details. For play-by-play duties, NBC hired Arlo White, who covered the Premier League for BBC Radio before becoming the voice of the Seattle Sounders. Analysts, likely to be former players, have yet to be announced. Executive producer Sam Flood and Pierre Moossa, an associate producer on “Sunday Night Football,” will set the tone for the telecasts. NBC’s coverage begins March 11 with a match between FC Dallas and the New York Red Bulls. “They will give it its own voice, its own look,” said Jon Miller, president of programming for NBC Sports and NBC Sports Network. “They will be true to the sport. They will take an awful lot of input from the MLS and from soccer fans and from soccer aficionados as to what the fan is really looking for here. It will be much like our NHL coverage: geared towards the fan and making them feel part of the game.” Expect pregame and postgame previews and recaps of about 10 minutes each for all of the matches. Those segments have been built in to the allotted air time for MLS games, the network said. MLS “left money on the table” by accepting NBC’s offer, Miller said. The league did so for good reason, he said, because NBC’s blend of strong storytelling and combination of 20 TV networks and 40 digital networks can give the sport cachet and exposure few can match. Abbott is counting on those benefits. MLS regular-season ratings trends MLS averaged 291,000 viewers for regular-season matches in the 2011 season across ESPN and ESPN2, up 15 percent from an average of 253,000 viewers in 2010. MLS also saw gains on Fox Soccer in the 2011 season, averaging 70,000 viewers for its 27 telecasts, up from 53,000 viewers the previous two seasons. MLS viewership on ESPN/ESPN2 SEASON TELECASTS VIEWERS (000s) 2011 20 291 2010 25 253 2009 26 299 MLS viewership on Fox Soccer SEASON TELECASTS VIEWERS (000s) 2011 27 70 2010 31 53 2009 34 53 Notes: Figures exclude All-Star Game, World Football Challenge matches and friendlies involving MLS teams. Source: SportsBusiness Daily research “The NBC Sports Group is legendary for their story-building,” he said. “You see that in all of the sports properties they have. They’re going to apply that skill and that approach to building people’s awareness of the stars in Major League Soccer.” David Beckham, Landon Donovan and Thierry Henry give NBC a solid foundation of star players, but executives want to help create more household names. Miller mentions the approach used in the network’s long-running Olympics coverage, a signature style of athlete profiles both famous and infamous for gauzy, heart-tugging angles. Executives on both sides hope to increase interest in MLS this summer with not just the style of the Games, but also the substance. NBC Sports Network will show a number of Olympic soccer matches from London, providing a natural tie-in for MLS games. Even better, four to five MLS matches will be immediately preceded by Olympic soccer. Coverage begins March 11 on NBC Sports Network with a match between FC Dallas and the New York Red Bulls. NBC and NBC Sports Network will close the regular season Oct. 27 with a tripleheader. For NBC, adding MLS games satisfies a basic demand for content as the converted Versus begins its push for a broader audience. NBC Sports Network now reaches 76 million homes. ESPN and ESPN2, by comparison, are in just under 100 million homes. “To some degree, it reminds me of the early days of ESPN2 when they virtually built the network with NHL games,” said Mike Trager, a sports media consultant. “I think the NHL and MLS provide NBC with foundation programming until they can access more traditional opportunities that may arise in the future with football, baseball and basketball.” Turnkey Sports Poll The following are results of the Turnkey Sports Poll taken in February. The survey covered more than 1,100 senior-level sports industry executives spanning professional and college sports. In 2012, the NBC family of networks replaces Fox Sports as an MLS television partner. How will this new partnership affect the sport's long-term growth? Major positive effect 20% Minor positive effect 45% No effect 27% Not sure / No response 8% In your opinion, which of the following potential MLS All-Star Game formats would draw the most attention to the event? MLS All-Stars vs. an English Premier League team 55% MLS All-Stars vs. U.S. national team 14% MLS All-Stars divided into two teams (e.g.: East vs. West, U.S. stars vs. international stars, etc.) 13% MLS All-Stars vs. a team from a league other than EPL 3% Not sure / No response 15% Last fall the Columbus Crew, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Columbus Clippers launched a co-promotional marketing campaign. Will other MLS teams pursue similar marketing concepts in 2012? Yes, a handful of teams will go this route 56% No 16% Yes, many teams will go this route 5% Not sure / No response 23% Source:Source: Turnkey Sports & Entertainment in conjunction with SportsBusiness Journal. Turnkey Intelligence specializes in research, measurement and lead generation for brands and properties. Visit www.turnkeyse.com. Last year, NBC expanded its NHL relationship with a 10-year contract extension before pursuing MLS. Having soccer could also help the network cultivate the next generation of its audience. The latest ESPN Sports Poll of American fans found surging interest in pro soccer, particularly among people between the ages of 12 to 24. Miller, the NBC executive, said soccer appeals to a target audience of adults ages 18 to 49, but also resonates with audiences much younger and older. MLS sponsors Adidas and Pepsi are among the likely advertisers on NBC’s various broadcasts, network officials said. Executives declined to discuss rates and sales targets, but said they are pleased with the initial response. In the weeks and months ahead, MLS ads and promotions are planned across the NBC Sports portfolio, including Golf Channel, NBCSports.com and regional sports networks. Five teams (the Philadelphia Union, New England Revolution, San Jose Earthquakes, Chicago Fire and D.C. United) have regular-season TV contracts with Comcast-owned NBC Sports Group RSNs. NBC points to a range of positive business trends as proof the MLS is ready for prime time. Start with a boom of soccer-specific stadiums built or renovated in recent seasons, including Livestrong Sporting Park in Kansas City last year. In May, Houston opens a 22,000-seat, $95 million stadium for the Dynamo. NBC Sports Network will air the first game from the new stadium May 12. Last week, San Jose won approval to build a $60 million, 18,000-seat stadium. Fourteen of the soccer-specific stadiums have naming-rights agreements. In December, BBVA Compass put its name on the Houston stadium, a deal worth a reported $20 million over 10 years. Similarly, all but a handful of the franchises have sold jersey sponsorships. Barbasol shaving cream became the latest addition, recently signing with the Columbus Crew for five years. Last season, attendance across the league increased by 7.2 percent, to 17,872, on average, according to MLS. The league had 18 clubs in 2011. This season Montreal enters as the 19th franchise. Despite the recent gains, NBC’s Miller urges patience. “We feel that it’s going to take some time to build it up,” he said. “We’ve got to get people used to coming to NBC Sports Network to watch soccer, just like we had to with hockey on Versus. Over time, we’ll do a good job and build this brand up.” Erik Spanberg writes for the Charlotte Business Journal, an affiliated publication.TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese office worker Satoshi Tada pays for shopping, wins free food and gets store discounts all by waving his cell phone. A businessman talks on his mobile phone next to a luxury brand at Tokyo's Ginza district October 31, 2008. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao “I use it pretty much every day,” the 25-year-old said. “You can charge money on it right there if needed, and you don’t have to run around trying to find an ATM. You can even get points because it’s linked to credit cards.” The world’s top firms such as Visa Inc and Nokia are still mostly testing phone use for payments, but in Japan, more than 50 million, or about half of all cell phone users, already carry phones capable of serving as wallets. Japan has pioneered not just the technology but also the business models that will pave the way for wallet phones to become a standard payment method in the future. Some 700 million people worldwide are expected to own such phones by 2013. “You can’t deny that having such applications on a phone is convenient, and that will likely be the way that mobile phones are going worldwide,” said JPMorgan Securities analyst Hironobu Sawake in Tokyo. “People always carry cell phones on them, and they would find it useful to have a financial function there.” Success in Japan and in trials abroad have shown that the technology is ready for cell phones to replace credit cards, cash as well as serve as transportation and movie tickets and electronic keys for homes and offices. But there are other hurdles; from breaking the psychological barrier for consumers skeptical about using phones as credit cards, to working out new business models as the lines blur between banks, financial institutions and cell phone companies. Japan is leading the way in this regard. KDDI, for example, is a Japanese telecom operator that has recently set up a bank along with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group. NTT DoCoMo, Japan’s biggest wireless carrier, offers credit cards and lending services as part of a tie up with Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Japan’s third-largest bank. Outside Japan, telecom industry and financial players are still in the midst of working out how the wallet phone payment business would operate, who would get a cut and when. “Traditional financial industry met telcos by going mobile. Now telecom operators want to play a part in that chain. These talks are well under way,” said Gerhard Romen, Director for Strategic Alliances & Partnering at Nokia. The world’s biggest payment card company, Mastercard, said last month it was in talks over commercial launches of phone wallets with several banks, and during the next two years it expects to see substantial activity from retail-focused banks. “Now banks say: I have no doubt in the technology. We need to solve the business model between mobile and payments industries. It’s not a trivial task,” said James Anderson, a Vice President at Mastercard’s mobile business. “There is a very strong consumer pull for this service,” Anderson added. COUPONS Tada, the Tokyo office worker, rarely pulls out his leather wallet these days as his cell phone does the job instead. “For shopping, I use it everywhere I can... and I also use coupons such as Gourmet Navigator Touch wherever possible,” Tada said, citing services at some restaurants that offer coupons and free gifts when customers wave their phones at reader terminals. NTT DoCoMo began the so-called “wallet phone” service in 2004 and rivals KDDI Corp and Softbank Corp have followed suit. Overseas, Nokia also has such phones on the market. Nevertheless, despite Japan’s relative success with payment phones, still only one-third of wallet phone holders use their cells for purchases. Consumers in their 20s and 30s are the main users of wallet phone services. Research shows that once they start using, they tend to use frequently and repeatedly, making it a useful tool for companies to track their customers and shopping habits. “For young people the phone is more important than the card when they leave home,” said Nokia’s Romen. McDonald’s Japan and 7-Eleven convenience stores have been testing mobile discount coupons, and FeliCa Networks, a joint venture of Sony and DoCoMo, have launched a mobile platform for retailers to offer such services. “With many cell phones around and most of them being wallet phones, we cannot ignore them as marketing tools,” McDonald’s Japan spokesman Kazuyuki Hagiwara said. McDonald’s plans to widen its mobile discount coupon offering nationwide next year. EXTRA CHIP The world’s top cell phone maker Nokia has started selling wallet phones, though growth is hampered by costs stemming from an extra chip needed in phones for data security. As a result, Nokia’s near field communications (NFC) version of devices costs far more than regular phones. Near field communications (NFC) enables contactless data transmission at high speed and enables many functions at once such as various electronic money services, keys and coupons. In contrast to Nokia, Japanese makers install Sony Corp’s FeliCa chips in new mobile phones by default, and prices are competitive with other cell phones. Globally, research firm Juniper Research says there will be 700 million NFC-capable phones by 2013, from some 50 million in Japan now, offering major growth for the phone payment industry and the companies that provide the hardware and software. Credit card network Visa is developing an application to allow in-store contactless payments by cell phone for Google Inc’s Android operating system, and UK mobile operator O2 is also testing wallet phones. Security concerns are high among potential users but DoCoMo says a remote-lock system will protect it from being used by other people in case of emergencies. One of the remaining hurdles to attract more wallet phone users is to expand the system network. “It would be so useful if we can use it everywhere. For now we don’t know where we can use it and we have to carry both a phone and a wallet,” UBS Securities analyst Makio Inui said. “If we can spend a day with just with a phone, that would be big.”Share But how do we make those holograms that show up as a 3D overlay of the real world? Microsoft has been making them for a while, so it’s got the process down and it’s released a video showing us just how it does it. What’s immediately impressive about the video capture, is how smooth it is. This is no Kinect-like system with heavily aliased or wobbly edges, this is a true 3D video recording. Of course that’s because the camera set up would make the Matrix’ bullet-time rigs look pedestrian. There’s a total of 106 cameras in use to capture the footage, while the subject (in this case, performers) stands in front of green screens to allow the background to be digitally removed. What follows is a series of software steps that judge the distance between the performers and the cameras and the topology of their bodies and clothing, with successive steps making for more detailed and noise-free reproductions. Optimizations, that decide where the most detail is required, allow all of this to happen without the need for any major graphical overhead. Key frames are also used to further compress the mesh motion and textures, without sacrificing quality. The end result is fully 3D scanned and rendered video, that could be used with Hololens, or potentially VR as well, opening up many exciting opportunities. What kinds of ways can you see this sort of technology being used in the future?Honeyguides (family Indicatoridae) are a near passerine bird species of the order Piciformes. They are also known as indicator birds, or honey birds, although the latter term is also used more narrowly to refer to species of the genus Prodotiscus. They have an Old World tropical distribution, with the greatest number of species in Africa and two in Asia. These birds are best known for their interaction with humans. Honeyguides are noted and named for one or two species that will deliberately lead humans (but, contrary to popular claims, not honey badgers) directly to bee colonies, so that they can feast on the grubs and beeswax that are left behind. Description [ edit ] Most honeyguides are dull-colored, though some have bright yellow coloring in the plumage. All have light outer tail feathers, which are white in all the African species. They are among the few birds that feed regularly on wax—beeswax in most species, and presumably the waxy secretions of scale insects in the genus Prodotiscus and to a lesser extent in Melignomon and the smaller species of Indicator. They also feed on waxworms which are the larvae of the waxmoth Galleria mellonella, on bee colonies, and on flying and crawling insects, spiders, and occasional fruits. Many species join mixed-species feeding flocks. Behavior [ edit ] Guiding [ edit ] Honeyguides are named for a remarkable habit seen in one or two species: guiding humans to bee colonies. Once the hive is open and the honey is taken, the bird feeds on the remaining larvae and wax. This behavior is well studied in the greater honeyguide; some authorities (following Friedmann, 1955) state that it also occurs in the scaly-throated honeyguide, while others disagree (Short and Horne, 2002). Wild honeyguides have demonstrated the capability to understand a human call to accompany them to locate honey.[1] Despite popular belief, no evidence indicates that honeyguides guide the honey badger, though videos about this exist.[2][3] Although most members of the family are not known to recruit "followers" in their quest for wax, they are also referred to as "honeyguides" by linguistic extrapolation. Breeding [ edit ] The breeding behavior of eight species in Indicator and Prodotiscus is known. They are all brood parasites that lay one egg in a nest of another species, laying eggs in series of about five during a period of 5-7 days. Most favor hole-nesting species, often the related barbets and woodpeckers, but Prodotiscus parasitizes cup-nesters such as white-eyes and warblers. Honeyguide nestlings have been known to physically eject their hosts' chicks from the nests and they have needle-sharp hooks on their beaks with which they puncture the hosts' eggs or kill the nestlings.[4] African honeyguide birds are known to lay their eggs in underground nests of other bee-eating bird species. The honeyguide chicks kill the hatchlings of the host using their needle-sharp beaks just after hatching, much as cuckoo hatchlings do. The honeyguide mother ensures her chick hatches first by internally incubating the egg for an extra day before laying it, so that it has a head start in development compared to the hosts' offspring.[5] Species [ edit ] The Indicatoridae contains seventeen species in four genera: FAMILY: INDICATORIDAE References [ edit ]Specialized units formed within the strategic missile forces will operate some of these robots. The first robotic guards unit are likely to become operational in 2017-2018. Ten years from now, about 30 percent of the Russian combat power will consist of remotely-controlled and robotic platforms – this is the goal of an ambitious research and development program pursued by the military and approved by the Russian Military Industrial Committee (MIC). The field of unmanned aerial vehicles and combat robotics has taken off dramatically in the past two years, as the Russians recognized they were way behind the West and China in this field. During this period, Russian military industries have introduced a number of military robots, some of which are already undergoing evaluation at the Military Robotics Laboratory. The new robotic lab was established in 2014. Although some of its projects are futuristic and theoretical at this stage, others are closer to maturity and those addressing specific functions, such as guarding ‘sterile areas’ around ballistic missile bases or mine clearing and combat engineering support, could become operational soon. Specialized units formed within the strategic missile forces will operate some of these robots. The first robotic guards unit are likely to become operational in 2017-2018. An important element in the maturation of robotic systems is setting the standards for robotics in military applications. Threshold requirements set by the MIC robotics group this year include basic combat skills, including movement, navigation, and target definition that enable robots to operate with soldiers. The Russian Army will receive a limited number of combat robots for field evaluation in 2016. Russian developers are working on a variety of robotic platforms. There are small wheeled and tracked mini-robots, carrying reconnaissance payloads with or without machine guns and/or missiles. Others are full-size armored personnel carriers converted into unmanned ground combat vehicles (UGCV), fitted with standard remotely-controlled gun-missile turrets, that clear the way for manned vehicles following at a safe distance behind. One such platform is the robotic BMP-3, equipped with an Epoch turret (mounting a 2A42 30mm. automatic cannon and four Kornet-EM missiles). Other robots utilize dedicated platforms and weapon systems tailored especially for them. These robots often operate in pairs, controlled from a protected command and control vehicle. They can assume a variety of different combat support roles – mine clearing and obstacle breeching, fire support, reconnaissance, and counter IED. The Uran-6 counter-mine robot, a Russian version of the Croatian MV-4 Dok-Ing mine-clearing robot, can detect, identify and destroy mines containing up to 60kg. of TNT. Its companion, the Uran-14, is an obstacle-breeching and fire-fighting robot. Both can be controlled by a dismounted operator or from a vehicle located 1500 meters to the rear. Uran-6 and -14 are slated to enter operational service with active Russian Army units in 2016. The latest, and what appears to be most matured robot, is the Uran-9 model, a tracked combat robot equipped with multiple weapon systems. This vehicle uses a specially-designed turret that mounts a 2A72 automatic cannon and a coaxial 7.62mm. machine gun with associated sights. Ten missiles are also mounted on a separate, collapsible carriage – four 9S120 Ataka guided anti-tank missiles and two 9S846 Strelets triple-missile MANPADS mounts, each carrying three 9K33 Igla. This is an excerpt of the full article, available to subscribers A different robot is the Mobile Autonomous Robotic System (MARS) – an infantry support platform able to carry six fully equipped soldiers or 500kg of combat load for a squad. Powered by a 65hp diesel engine that can also provide battery charging for the squad. The robot can travel up to 200km at a speed of 32 km/h using internal fuel, or 500km with external fuel tank. It is equipped with autonomous navigation system comprising laser scanners, radar and inertial measurement. In development since 2010, the A800 model of MARS can be configured to follow a soldier wearing an active beacon. The control system is compatible with ‘Ratnik’, the Russian soldier system. The robot would follow the soldier while keeping a safe distance as it scans the terrain for obstacles and movement path, and plots its course of action. The robot can also move autonomously, on a specific track to a designated point or follow a preplanned path, to ‘revisit’ specific points of interest, on patrol, performing observation and target acquisition.Young people marching in favour of Europe in Edinburgh. Support for staying in the EU is up from 61 per cent to 65 per cent in the latest Panelbase survey Scots are increasingly keen to remain in the European Union but there is still no sign that it will lead to a surge in support for Scottish independence, according to a new poll. The Panelbase survey for The Sunday Times puts support for staying in the EU up from 61% in January to 65% now. Many voters are pessimistic about the economic consequences of Brexit — 50% think it will leave Scotland’s economy weaker, 24% think it will strengthen it and 26% believe it will make little difference. Enthusiasm for a post-independence Scotland reapplying to return to the EU is muted at 48%, however, while 32% are opposed and 20% favour neither option. Among those who voted against independence in 2014, only 31% would support…This post may contain affiliate links. Read the full disclosure here. Pin 6K 6K Shares Ready to turn your passion into profit? Join EBA creator Ruth Soukup for Build Your Blog Bootcamp, a free series to get your blog up and running. PLUS gain access to a Facebook group for help and feedback. Join the community here. Are you looking for a good place to sell your stuff online? Are you sick of using Craigslist and eBay? If so, Facebook Yard Sales might be the solution you’re looking for! I have tried my hand a few times at selling on Craigslist. I would be bombarded by phone calls and texts the first week. Then I’d have to repeatedly answer a ton of questions. But worst of all, about ninety percent of the people who would call or text weren’t even really interested in what I had to sell. Recently my brother had a handful of higher dollar items that he wanted to sell and asked me if I’d help him out. Since I knew he had paid much less for these items than what he was asking I told him I would do it for a 15% commission. Instead of heading to Craigslist I decided to go to the local Facebook Groups – “the county yard sale” and “buy,sell,trade, guns.” Within moments of posting the items I had two hits. As the day progressed several people had commented on the post or private messaged me. I sold the items the same day. I ended up selling a gun on one of the pages for triple what my brother had paid for it. (He got a good deal.) The other items he sold went at retail prices. I was amazed at how quick and easy it was to make those sales. Why Facebook Yard Sales are Better than Craigslist I don’t plan on heading back to Craigslist any time soon. I see so many more benefits of Facebook Groups, such as yard sales and online garage sales when it comes to selling. Here’s why: People get obsessive with Facebook, checking these groups multiple times a day. So it is great exposure. When an item is commented on it gets sent back up to the top of the feed. You can communicate with people via Private Message rather than getting a ton of phone calls and texts. There are thousands of people in these groups. When you post something all of your friends in the group are notified. If something isn’t selling quickly you can “bump” back up to the top of the feed by commenting on it. People often “tag” friends that they think might be interested in the item in the comments section. You can scan through all the postings and immediately see what type of items are selling the fastest and for the most. (Easy research) How to Sell on Facebook Yardsales In the search bar on Facebook type “yardsale + your county or city name” Click the yard sale, online garage sale or other group page that you want to sell on and click join. An administrator will most likely have to approve your request. This could take up to 24 hours. (See tip below for getting into a closed group.) Upload a photo of the item you want to sell, along with price, description, and pick up terms. Other members in the group can comment on your post or private message you with their offer. Make an agreement and sell it! If your item doesn’t sell quickly comment on your post to send it back to the top of the feed. (You’ll often see people commenting bump, next, or simply adding a period to do this. TIP: If the Facebook yard sale or garage sale group you are interested in says it’s a “closed group” that means you need someone in the group to add you. Post a status update on your Facebook page asking if anyone else is in the group you want to join. Chances are there will be several of your Facebook friends already in that group. They can add you and you’re in! After having such a smooth experience selling on the Facebook Yard Sale, I don’t think I will ever use Craigslist again. Millions of people log onto Facebook every day, I don’t think that you can get better exposure than that! Have you ever sold anything in a Facebook Yard Sale? Good Experiences? Bad Experiences? Let me know in the comments section.Last night we had a rapid response effort after hearing reports that the Malkinites were going to swarm a health care event in Denver where Nancy Pelosi was showing up in support of Jared Polis and Diane DeGette. Square State, ColoradoPol and Pronin2 at DailyKos spread the word and we signed up volunteers to attend the event. Jeralyn Merritt of Talk Left led the Denver residents who went to the rally on short notice. Jeralyn reports on her adventures tonight. Mark S. took videos and uploaded them to us after the event. Notably, he spoke with one 16 year-old who had identified himself to Jeralyn as hailing from Wasilla, Alaska. Mark got a shot of his t-shirt, which had a picture of Obama and the slogan "Hitler gave good speeches, too": He was chanting "read the bill, read the bill." I’m having a hard time believing that kid read the 1000 page bill. Another Limbaugh fan was chanting "tell the truth, tell the truth," claimed that Obama was lying, but was hard pressed to come up with an answer when Mark asked what exactly he was lying about: Johne over at Square State reports that the protesters were bussed in. Today in Florida, a health care rally with Rep. Kathy Castor turned violent. The free thinker teabaggers there were chanting "read the bill" and — wait for it –"tell the truth." Incoming reports from the Donna Edwards, Jay Inslee and Kathy Castor events will be up soon. If anyone else has pictures, videos or a report from an event, remember
to confirm your newsletter registration. More newsletters While he was not allowed to participate in any team functions, he remained in school on a baseball scholarship. He watched the team as a fan. "I came to the games, I supported the guys," he said. "It was painful. Sometimes I would have to leave games early because I would not want to put myself in a place where I was feeling self-pity." He also made frequent, impromptu stops at Corbin's office. "Phil would knock on my door, sit down, and he would tell me where he was in his life and where he was academically," Corbin said. "Then he would get up, shake my hand and leave. He just wanted to say, 'Here I am, this is where I am mentally Coach, got to go, see ya.' I loved those conversations. "Before, there were too many conversations where he couldn't tell me what he was doing. Before, he was fooling me and fooling himself." His grades in school improved, making the Southeastern Conference's All-Academic team in spring 2014. While the team kept playing games, Pfeifer kept learning about himself. "I had something taken away from me that I really, really wanted. But that is what it took for me to change," he said. "Personally, I have always thought of myself as Phil Pfeifer, the baseball player, and I had my identity stripped from me. That made me really, really uncomfortable. At that point, I wanted to do anything to get it back. "But over the course of time, I learned that I was not Phil Pfeifer the baseball player; I was Phil the kid from Knoxville.... Phil and Janet's son, Peggy and Olivia's brother. I'm the kid who likes weird music, likes Italian food. I'm not just the kid on the baseball field." During this evolution, others around him noticed his maturation. Corbin recalled a few dinners in spring 2014 that he and his wife, Maggie, had with Pfeifer and Pfeifer's girlfriend. "Phil was a more mature soul, who wasn't necessary admitting to you that he had figured things out, but was very assuring by what he was saying and how he was going about things, that he was on the right track," Corbin said. "He was very confident in his academics, very confident in his relationship. Never talked about baseball. He just never did. And I really appreciated that." Yet, Pfeifer's ache from not being with the team hit his heart on June 25, 2014. He was on the Vanderbilt football field with friends when they watched a broadcast of the College World Series championship game. As his teammates celebrated the first men's team national championship in Vanderbilt's 141-year history, Pfeifer's year of self-discovery hit a climactic peak. "The past year was hard, and one of the hardest realizations was, selfish as it can be, they did not need me to win a national championship," he said. "But that realization was the best thing for my ego, just to deflate it. It was a bittersweet celebration for me. On one level, they won it. On another level, I wasn't there. I wasn't able to dogpile. It was tough." He rejoined the team for fall practice in September, a year after he last touched a baseball. "Coming back this fall, I was a little worried about him," Vanderbilt pitching coach Scott Brown said. "We weren't sure (his pitching form) was going to come back, but I never doubted him. He got the rust off, went home over (winter) break, regrouped, got some strength back." When the season came, Corbin wasted little time getting him into a game. He pitched the final four innings in the season-opening 4-0 win over Santa Clara. He allowed just one hit and struck out five, combining on a shutout with Carson Fulmer. He spent much of this season pitching in relief. Two weeks ago, Brown and Corbin moved Pfeifer into the team's starting rotation. "There's no doubt that Phil has improved our pitching staff a ton," Fulmer said. "We know we have a good chance to win every time he has the ball in his hand." Making his first start in two years, he dominated Missouri on April 25, striking out 13 batters in seven innings. The NCAA named him its national college pitcher of the week. Last weekend, against Kentucky, he struggled in his second start. Two years ago, a rough outing may have prompted him to turn to alcohol or drugs. This time around, he sought out advice from coaches and teammates on how to improve for his next outing. He gets that opportunity against Florida. "Friday is something that I've been working for a while," he said. "At some point, there was a pretty decent period of time that I thought I would not make it to this point of my college career as a student or as a baseball player. So being able to graduate and to start a baseball game that night, it's spooky." Reach Dave Ammenheuser at 615-259-8352 and on Twitter @NashSportsEd.The duo play Reading on Saturday and Leeds on Sunday, the same day as new friends Metallica Royal Blood have said they’ve got something exciting up their sleeves when it comes to this weekend’s shows at Reading And Leeds Festivals. When asked if there was anything special in store for their sets, frontman Mike Kerr stated: “There is, actually, but I don’t want to give it away!” The band play Reading on Saturday (August 29) and Leeds on Sunday (August 30). Speaking to NME ahead of the gigs, Kerr continued: “We’ve made the production a bit bigger, I can say that. We’re bringing loads of lights, even though it’s going to be daylight. We’ll make our own little sun on the stage.” Though the duo played the festival last year, on the NME/Radio 1 Stage, this will be their first appearance on the event’s Main Stage. “Reading Main Stage resonates with me, because I’ve always wanted to play on it,” said Kerr. “That’s the dream. I even tried to get onto the Main Stage four years ago when it was closed. I snuck in after hours and got a leg up and nearly got on it, but the security pulled me down!” Royal Blood will be playing on the same day as their new friends Metallica. Metallica‘s Lars Ulrich joined Royal Blood live onstage during their gig in San Francisco in April of this year, playing set-closer ‘Out Of The Black’ while the band’s own drummer, Ben Thatcher, stagedived into the crowd. The band first met Ulrich when he attended the group’s San Francisco show last September. As previously reported, after the show Royal Blood were taken to the house from the Mrs Doubtfire film by Ulrich. Now with Metallica in the UK, Kerr told NME he was considering returning the favour and showing him around the band’s hometown. “He’s been a real supporter of our music and our band. If he’s got any spare time I would love to show him around Worthing. I’d probably show him the pier, then I’d take him to Worthing Lido.” Royal Blood released their chart-topping self-titled debut in August 2014. They took home the prize for Best British Group at this year’s Brit Awards and also won Best New Band and Best Live Band at this year’s NME Awards with Austin, Texas. The NME Awards ceremony took place at London’s O2 Academy Brixton in February. https://link.brightcove.com/services/player/?bctid=4081638742001Friday June 30, 2017 06:22 PM Kenneth Johnson, 25, died of cardiac arrest, caused in part by the device but officer acted properly, investigation finds. Reading, PA — In deploying a Taser, police officers are trained to aim center of mass, which essentially means the heart, just as they would if they were using deadly force. That's what a Reading police officer did when he fired his department-issued Taser at an agitated, aggressive man who moments earlier was involved in a domestic assault on April 12 in the 700 block of Pear Street, according to investigators. But instead of temporarily incapacitating Kenneth Johnson, 25, of Reading to give the officer a chance to handcuff him, the normally nonlethal charge caused Johnson to go into cardiac arrest. Johnson was pronounced dead a short time later at Reading Hospital. According to the pathologist who performed the autopsy the next day, Johnson died of sudden cardiac arrest caused by the Taser charge and contributing factors, including a slightly enlarged heart, high blood pressure and his hyper-aroused state. Berks County Coroner Dennis J. Hess ruled Johnson's manner of death to be homicide. District Attorney John T. Adams, at a press conference Friday to announce the findings and rulings, said the officer was justified in his use of force and will not face charges in Johnson's death, which he called an unfortunate incident. Attempts to reach Johnson's family were unsuccessful. Under a policy instituted by Adams, the district attorney's detectives investigate all officer-involved deaths such as shootings. The same policy requires the name of the involved officer or officers be withheld unless the actions of the officer are determined to be unjustified. Adams said that drawing conclusions in the cause of death was a complicated matter, which is why it took more than two months to receive the report from Dr. Supriya Kuruvilla, a Reading Hospital pathologist. Authorities received her report Tuesday. "It is unfortunate that a life was lost, and our condolences go out to the Johnson family," Adams said. "However, we support the actions of the Reading police officer for protecting oneself and the victim of the domestic violence. Additionally, we commend the other assisting officer and EMS personnel in their actions taken to try and save the life of Kenneth Johnson." The officer fired the Taser within 7 feet of Johnson after backing up a few feet, officials said. A Taser's prongs emit electrical current between them to disrupt the central nervous system of the device's target, Hess said during the news conference. The prongs, which are attached to the Taser by electrical cords, are designed to spread apart from one another as they travel toward their target, but because the officer was standing relatively close to Johnson- within 7 feet - the prongs had less opportunity to spread, the coroner said. One prong hit Johnson just above the heart and the other just below the heart, 7 inches away, Hess said. "The current more than likely went right through the heart and that, it's believed, is more than likely what stopped the heart," he said. Hess, a former Reading police officer, said cops are taught to aim center of mass to decrease the chance of missing their target. "It's one of those unfortunate things; you can't tell where they're going to go - one could have been sideways," he said of the Taser's prongs. "Normally, it would just incapacitate you, and I believe he (Johnson) was trying to wipe away the electrical cords from the Taser and tried to pull them off." The officer who deployed the Taser had been placed on paid administrative leave after the incident but has returned to active duty, Adams said. While officers were waiting for emergency personnel to arrive, Johnson began to experience distress and became unresponsive, said Michael J. Gombar, chief county detective. Officers performed CPR on Johnson until an ambulance arrived. Johnson was taken to Reading Hospital, where he died, officials said. Police account of events Detectives gave this further account of the incident: Officers responded to two 9-1-1 calls about 1:45 a.m. from residents in the 700 block of Pear Street who reported a domestic dispute. One of the callers heard a woman crying, and another caller said the woman was being beaten up. The first officer to arrive met the victim, a 31-year-old, who was standing on the sidewalk wearing only an underwear bottom and a bra. She reported that her boyfriend, Johnson, had assaulted her, then ran into their home when he saw police arriving. The woman had visible bruises on her legs and her face was swollen. The victim pointed to a male walking in an alley next to their home and identified him as Johnson. The officer approached Johnson and tried to talk to him about the incident. Johnson became uncooperative and verbally combative. The officer tried to handcuff him, but Johnson swung his arms. Man warned: 'Taser, Taser' The officer gave the standard "Taser, Taser" warning, then fired, causing Johnson to fall. Soon after, Johnson went into distress and was unresponsive. Back-up officers arrived, and police called for an ambulance. Officers performed CPR on Johnson as they waited for medics to arrive. A city ambulance took Johnson to the hospital. An emergency department physician pronounced Johnson dead at 2:46 p.m. Adams said Johnson's lack of cooperation and aggressive actions forced the officer to take the actions that he did. He noted that Tasers are used in similar situations by law enforcement agencies across the country, and it's rare that someone dies from being struck by a Taser. Gombar, immediately after the press conference, said: "The bottom line is this could have been prevented if he only complied. Just comply."NEW YORK (AP) — By former pro tennis star James Blake's account, the man approaching him in 2015 outside his hotel caused no alarm because he looked like an old high school buddy. Blake found out the hard way that it was instead a plainclothes police officer who mistook him for a suspect in a fraud investigation. Two years later, the arrest — captured in a security video showing the officer, without identifying himself, throwing Blake down on the sidewalk and handcuffing him — is the subject of a disciplinary trial at which Blake is expected to testify. Officer James Frascatore this year rejected a deal asking him to forfeit vacation days to resolve New York Police Department internal charges that he used excessive force. An NYPD administrative judge will now hear the case beginning Tuesday and recommend a potentially more severe punishment, including dismissal from the nation's largest police force, to the police commissioner. Frascatore, who denies he did anything wrong, also will take the witness stand. He has been assigned to desk duty pending a decision about his future. The officer "looks forward to correcting the false narrative which has surrounded this case for two years," said his attorney, Stephen Worth. The Blake episode came at a high point of the national debate over police use of force against unarmed black men. The 37-year-old American, once the No. 4 tennis player in the world, is the child of a black father and white mother; Frascatore is white. The NYPD has said that Blake matched a photo of a suspect sought in the case and that race wasn't a factor. But after the video was made public, city and police officials took the unusual step of apologizing and establishing in Blake's name a fellowship aimed at helping people who accuse police of abuses to get full reviews by a police oversight agency. Blake, in his new book about sports and activism, "Ways of Grace," describes going from peacefully waiting for a ride to that year's U.S. Open tennis tournament to finding himself with his "face pressed to the concrete." Fearing he could make things worse by resisting, Blake told himself to cooperate until the officer pulled him up. "This is an absolute mistake," he recalls telling the officer. "You have the wrong person." The half-dozen officers at the scene did little to check out his story until an officer who appeared to be a supervisor showed up several minutes later and let him go, Blake says. Humiliated, his first instinct was to let it go before his wife asked him what he'd do if the same thing happened to her. "That's when I got angry," he writes. Responding to reports of the encounter, the NYPD initially added insult to injury by claiming Blake had only been detained for a couple minutes and was never manhandled or handcuffed, he says. He decided to seek out hotel security, which showed him the video proving he was slammed down and kept cuffed at least 10 minutes. He decided to speak out on "Good Morning America" the next day and to use the book to share his takeaways. "It should not matter that I'm a tennis star... to be treated respectfully and not have my rights taken away from me from law enforcement," he writes. His case, he adds, "speaks to a larger issue in America — the use of excessive force by law enforcement, especially against minorities."This video is no longer available This video was hosted on Vidme, which is no longer in operation. However, you might find this video at one of these links: Video title: #GoldenShowers Debunked (MindSlime) Upload date: January 1 2017 Uploaded by: Slimer Video description: How Sad! The New World Order needed some "leaks" of their own, so they settled on a "Golden Shower"! Look at this you shills! You push this as a legitimate source? Your birth certificate, has layers dude. Pizzagate has more proof! We will need to see more evidence buzzy buzzfeed CIA fake news? CIA so many lies. yes golden shower. GOLDEN SHOWERS! Coke is IT! 420 4everrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Internet rules, new world order drools. #dinosaurmedia #fakery #fakenews #fail #pizzagate #tv #smokeweedeveryday #wikileaks #shills #cia #reddit #internet #politics #dinosaur #pizza #vidme #infowars #memes Peace. Total views: 4,566About 130 people stage a die-in on the floor of the Missouri State Capitol Rotunda in December shortly before the 98th General Assembly began to protest the Ferguson, Mo., shooting of Michael Brown. Missouri's Legislature ended with little action on bills proposed in response to the fatal shooting of Brown by a Ferguson police officer. (Photo11: Don Shrubshell, AP) A new report by Amnesty International that claims all 50 states and the District of Columbia don't meet international standards for the use of lethal force by law enforcement officers has pitted the group against police advocates who argue that departments nationally have clear policies that meet accepted standards. A 41-page report released by Amnesty International on Thursday found that states lack statutes that require officers to use deadly force only as a last resort to protect officers or others against imminent threat of death or serious injury. The report also found that 13 states have laws that don't comply with U.S. constitutional standards and that all states lack specific accountability mechanisms for officer-involved killings, including obligatory reporting that a firearm has been used and prompt, impartial investigations into killings. "Police have a fundamental obligation to protect human life," said Steven Hawkins, executive director of Amnesty International USA. "Deadly force must be reserved as a method of absolute last resort. The fact that absolutely no state laws conform to this standard is deeply disturbing and raises serious human rights concerns." However, at a time when the nation is fixated on claims of police brutality, racial profiling and use of force, law enforcement experts say Amnesty's report is deceiving. They said it fails to mention that virtually all police departments around the country have policies that only allow deadly force as a last resort. They add that a lack of state statutes does not mean that officers aren't held to high standards and that in fact officer involved-killings are thoroughly and objectively investigated. Many of the recommendations made in Amnesty's new report are old ideas that police unions have been working on and have supported for years, says James Pasco, executive director of the National Fraternal Order of Police. "They are criticizing out of ignorance rather than an informed position," Pasco said of Amnesty International. "They would lead you to believe by inference that the United States operates totally without any controls over use of deadly force which is absolutely untrue." DeRay McKesson, an activist and organizer who protested for months in Ferguson, Mo., disagrees vehemently with Pasco's claims and said Thursday's report highlights the systemic problems that are plaguing police departments across the country. He said police unions must be willing to support deep changes in laws governing lethal use of force and the culture of policing to protect lives. "Unions are having a visceral response to being questioned," McKesson said. "For them, it is not about what is right and what is wrong. They are upset that people are asking questions of the way that they do the work. They have forgotten that they are public servants." Hawkins argues that states across the country must change and create laws dealing with lethal force. His group believes state laws are too broad and that state legislatures and Congress should introduce or amend statutes that authorize the use of lethal force. "The use of lethal force by law enforcement officers raises serious human rights concerns, including in regard to the right to life, the right to security of the person, the right to freedom from discrimination and the right to equal protection of the law," says the report, which cites several cases such as Michael Brown's death in Ferguson, Mo. and Eric Garner's death in New York City. Amnesty's report also recommends that the president and Justice Department should create a national commission to review police policies and that Justice Department should publish nationwide statistics on police shootings. Pasco pointed out that the National Fraternal Order of Police and several other police groups have been working with the Justice Department for more than a year and Congress for more than four years to establish the sort of federal police review commission described in Thursday's report. Pasco's group has also publicly come out in support of federally recording all instances where officers kill people as well as all instances where officers are themselves killed or assaulted, he said. Eugene O'Donnell, a former police officer and prosecutor who teaches at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, called the report "disingenuous" because often police departments have much stricter guidelines for their officers than state laws. "Police agencies have often been trailblazers in creating policies that have reined in shootings," he said. "It's disingenuous to suggest that American police have a license to kill and that they are using it out there shooting with carte blanche. Many departments include a reverence for human life." Yet, McKesson offered a different perspective. "The police have been hiding in plain sight," he said. "This report sheds light on just how loose they have been able to be with people's lives." O'Donnell thinks it is unlikely that all 50 states will enact laws dealing with lethal use of force as Amnesty recommends. However, he said, Amnesty's report can create a robust conversation that could possibly lead to data that would allow police departments with troublesome rates of deadly force to change. He also says the country should be concerned with the way U.S. police departments stack up against departments around the world. Pasco stressed that Amnesty's report is misleading and will paint an unjust picture of officers because he doesn't know of one police department that doesn't require officers to use lethal force only as a last resort and only in the face of imminent danger. "Amnesty regrettably, in this case, adds fuels to a fire that responsible people are trying to control and address equitably," Pasco said. Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1LhavYXFrom: Steve Smith [Email him] One of those John Derbyshire "the Talk" moments on Latinos: Lakewood Sheriff Deputy in Critical Condition After Being Beaten by Suspect Frankie Estrada at Lakewood Center Mall Los Cerritos News, August 16, 2014 On Friday, August 15, 2014, at approximately 8:00 PM, Lakewood Deputies responded to 500 Lakewood Center Mall, Lakewood, regarding a Domestic Disturbance Call. While one deputy made initial contact with the female party involved in the incident, the other deputy went in search of the man who was possibly involved. While escorting the man out of the location towards the other deputy, the man unexpectedly turned on the deputy and hit him several times knocking the deputy to the ground and continued his assault with a shod foot. A bystander in the mall witnessing the assault intervened by pushing the suspect away from the deputy. Assisting deputies arrived, and took the suspect into custody without further incident. The deputy was taken to a local hospital where he is being treated for his injuries. He is in critical but stable condition. The suspect, 21-year old Frankie Estrada, was transported to Lakewood Station where he was booked for Attempted Murder on a Peace Officer and is being held in lieu of $1,000,000.00 bail. [More] The Derbyshire rule would be "When observing a "domestic dispute" involving a Latino, never, NEVER intervene, even if you're a police officer." If you do get involved in a "domestic dispute" with a Latino, you may end up beaten badly or dead. Not only will the Latino male assaulting his girlfriend assault you, so will his girlfriend, and any tribal members in the vicinity won’t help you either, they'll most likely clean out your pockets after you're knocked unconscious. By the way, last time I checked the police have the right to shoot you if you assault them, even if you're unarmed, the police are no obligation to "brawl" with thugs nor let them assault others and flee. Or have the rules for assault and self-defense changed? See more letters from Steve Smith. James Fulford writes: Both police and citizens have the right to use lethal force to repel an attack that is life-threatening, whether the assailant has a weapon or not. KTLA, whose video is embedded above, headlines their story Absolutely Violent Attack’ at Lakewood Mall Leaves Deputy With ‘Life-Changing’ Injuries, by Ashley Soley-Cerro, August 16, 2014. Both Darren Wilson and George Zimmerman escaped “life-changing” injuries by firing in self-defense. The life-changing injuries to the Deputy will cause no national commotion, any more than the murder of Mississippi Detective Eric Smith by Jeremy Powell (who seized Smith’s gun, and killed him with it) did. But if Detective Smith had survived the attack, and killed the “unarmed” Powell, it still wouldn’t have got much attention, or provoked any riots—both detective and suspect were black.[Investigators obtain video showing the moment suspect fatally shoots detective, himself inside a police interrogation room, NY Daily News, AP, April 6, 2013 ]Is Kathleen Wynne’s last-ditch appeal to NDP voters working? I spent Monday in the New Democratic stronghold of Toronto-Danforth trying to figure out if the Liberal leader’s plea for a common front against Tim Hudak’s Progressive Conservatives is having any traction. Toronto-Danforth has been an NDP fiefdom provincially for at least 25 years. This election, some past supporters of incumbent Peter Tabuns (right, next to Andrea Horwath) are heeding the Liberals' plea to abandon the NDP. ( Robert Benzie / Toronto Star file photo ) My unscientific survey didn’t produce a definitive answer. For many I talked to, the June 12 election boils down to a choice among evils. Still, three broad themes emerged. First, many NDP voters are sick at heart about the direction their party has taken. Second, that does not mean all are heeding Wynne’s call to abandon the New Democrats and vote Liberal. Article Continued Below Third, some are. For years, this east-end riding has been ground zero for the NDP. Its federal MPs have included former party leader Jack Layton as well as Bob Rae (when he was still a New Democrat). New Democrat MP Craig Scott represents the riding in Ottawa now. Provincially, it has been an NDP fiefdom for at least 25 years. New Democrat Peter Tabuns has held the seat since 2006. In 2011, his margin of victory over the nearest challenger, a Liberal, was 8,693. All of the voters I spoke to this week said they assumed Tabuns will win again handily on Thursday. But still... “I think I’ll vote Liberal,” film technician Nick Jones told me as we talked on the sidewalk. “Not that it will matter. There’s no way you’re going to kill the orange monster in this riding. “But any vote against Hudak is a good vote.” Jones said he usually votes NDP. But not this time. I don’t like (NDP leader Andrea) Horwath very much. I don’t think she has much integrity.” Article Continued Below Farther south, on Logan Ave., retired civil servant Michele DeLorenzo said that for the first time in her life she won’t vote NDP. She plans to cast her ballot for the Liberals instead. “I’m not too impressed by Horwath calling an election without looking at the (Liberal) budget,” DeLorenzo said. “I’m very disillusioned.” On Gillard Ave., writer Frances Share echoed this sentiment. “Ms Horwath lost my support when she voted against the budget,” said Share, who has supported the NDP in the past. This time, she plans to vote Liberal because of Wynne, whom she calls the best leader on offer. “My decision has nothing to do with what the Liberals have been doing and everything to do with what the NDP is doing and has done,” she said. “I’ve voted NDP every election in my life,” land surveyor Paul Kidd told me on his doorstep. “I’ll probably vote Liberal this time... “In this election, Horwath attacks Wynne and lets Hudak off the hook. We’re going to end up with a Hudak government... “The NDP has lost their mind. Completely flipped out.” “If the Conservatives get to power, we’ll never forgive the NDP,” added his wife, visual artist Kim Chan. She plans to spoil her ballot. And on. Retail manager Sean McSweeney voted NDP last time. But this time, he plans to vote Liberal — in order to avoid another minority government. Former teacher Ron Wakelin is an NDP supporter who says he’ll vote Liberal. “I feel someone has to stop Hudak,” he told me. None of this is to suggest a tidal wave against the NDP in Toronto-Danforth. In the war of lawn signs, New Democrat Tabuns is well ahead. On Oakdene Cres., Robert Dinsmore, another retired teacher, plans to vote — as usual — for the New Democrats. “I’m quite happy to have the NDP holding the balance of power,” he said. Anglican minister Jeannie Loughrey, a self-described Liberal-NDP voter, is undecided — although she said recent revelations of the Wynne government’s involvement in bailing out the charity behind the MaRS Discovery District, “gives me pause about the Liberals.” On Langley Ave., construction worker Gus Mantelos says he expects to vote again for New Democrat Tabuns — although he might “throw to the PCs.” “I’d like to see a new face in government. A Hudak minority would be OK. I don’t want Kathleen Wynne. The Liberals have been in there for too long. “It’s time to trim the fat.” Thomas Walkom's column appears Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. Read more about:We all know that guy. The one that "loves" to play infinite combos, and troll his friends. That guys is me. I absolutely love playing combos that at some point continue and continue until they are either dead or will be dead at a certain point. Of course when I saw the opportunity to play an infinite combo in Standard, I jumped at the idea and rushed to borrow the cards from unsuspecting friends at the literal last minute. My local FNM starts at 6:30 PM, and I had decided at 4:00 that I no longer wanted to play my competitive BW Midrange deck. I was able to find all but a few cards, but the combo was still alive. Since her release way back in Gatecrash, people have been trying to break her and make infinite attack steps. While it can be done in Legacy, recently the Inspired keyword gave us the opportunity to try it out in Standard. Let's take a look at the list: One of my rules for creating a deck that has a great synergy or combo that you're trying to aim for, is build it with a backbone. Don't let it be your only win condition, because that sort of thing can be disruptive by a few rightly timed spells. I didn't make this list, but the backbone is definitely there. Nukesaku did a great job with those conditions that I feel are important in deck building. Worst case scenario, you don't have the combo or they've stopped it, and you have a decent Naya Midrange deck on your hands. With tons of planeswalkers to have a bit of board control, and some of the best Naya Creatures at your disposal, even without the combo this deck can do pretty well. First let's take a look at the combo. The Combo: These two cards are the most important to the combo. By itself though, it isn't infinite. The way that this deck goes infinite is to have 2 mana dorks on the field too, and one with the ability to produce red mana. The combo can go off as early as turn 5 in some situations. With 2 mana dorks and a Felhide Spiritbinder on the field, you cast Aurelia, The Warleader. You then attack with Aurelia and Felhide Spiritbinder, and as Aurelias trigger goes on the stack float 2 mana using your dorks. Once Spiritbinder's Inspired trigger goes on the stack after all of your creatures untap, you copy Aurelia. Because of the new Legend rule, you choose the new copy of Aurelia to stay, and the old to be put into the graveyard. That new Aurelia is a new permanent, and can attack and trigger the first time she attacks this turn. See where I am going here? You just keep tapping and untap creatures, making as many different copies of the powerful angel to kill your opponent. Now, it might not happen with just the Felhide Spiritbinder attacking, so other creatures like Stormbreath Dragon or tokens from Xenagos, The Reveler can help it work much faster. The Protection: Like I was saying before, every deck needs a backbone. It needs a way to keep you alive, while you try to win yourself. A few cards were added specifically for that reason. Xenagos, The Reveler is obviously a good card. If it wasn't, why would it be included in almost EVERY G/R list for the past few months? With tons of purposes, he is essential for the long games, and is great card to not overextend with against control. Tons of little Satyrs do work with Aurelia, also. Elspeth, Sun's Champion has a similar purpose. Elspeth wins games. It is as simple as that. This powerful 6 drop walker is included in almost every deck that has mana to cast her, and for good reasons. Supreme Verdict decks rule the world. You know what will set off a U/W player every time he taps out for wrath? Maindeck Boros Charm. Boros Charm is a great way to combat not only wrath effects, but spot removal as well. Sometimes the turn before you go off they will have only one shot at disrupting it. That one shot can be thwarted with Boros Charm in most cases. Worst case scenario? You're giving a Smiter Double Strike or dealing 4 to their face. Games: Since the lands in this deck are a bit expensive and I only own them in paper, I didn't have the opportunity to play this online yet. I did, however, take it to FNM and tested it out. Let's go over what won / lost me those games. 1st Round: 1-2 G/W Aggro Lost because he was super fast out of the gate. The one game I did win, was when I was able to go infinite. Honestly my hands weren't bad any of the games I lost, I just couldn't deal with all the small dudes he had in time for it to make a difference. 2nd Round: 2-1 U/W Control He got the Game 1 no problem. I was super screwed on mana and I had no chance of coming back. I sided in Mistcutters and a million Pithing Needles (I joke it was only 3, even though I saw all three both games.) What really won me the games was a turn 2 Domri Rade in both games. 3rd Round: 1-2 G/R Devotion Honestly didn't have much of a chance to begin with. I almost got game 1, but he ripped a Arbor Colossus and was able to kill my Aurelia in time for him not to die. Second game, I mulligan to 4 with only scrylands to back me up. 4th Round: USA Control 2-0 I honestly didn't have much of a problem with this deck, I didn't overextend and had enough threats for him to have to choose between taking care of the planeswalkers or the creatures both games. Sideboarding and Changes: There are a few obvious cards to include in the sideboard of this deck, but after playing it last Friday here is full list of both sideboard and mainboard. After playing last Friday, I decided that it needed less Elspeths mainboard, and more Domri. Every game I had Domri I ended up winning, plus it helps net creatures faster. Also, I felt land shy at a lot of instances so I added the 4th Sacred Foundry to bring the land count to 24. As far as sideboarding, it's mostly hate for certain cards or matchups. Selesnya Charm is good against every god, and Desecration Demons. It also kills opposing Mistcutters sometimes, and Polukranos, World Eater. Mistcutter Hydra is great against control decks, and Mono Blue Devotion. Revoke Existence and Mizzium Mortars are extra forms of removal for cards we have trouble with, such as Blood Baron or Detention Spheres. Starting this week, One Man's Trash will be moved to PureMTGO for good. As a result, Topping the Charts will be moved from PureMTGO to LegitMTG, and is being published on Thursdays (except for this week, as I have a very funny story about being locked out of my house and unable to write!) if you're interested in still following that series. One Man's Trash is a series where I take cards most people see as bad aka "trash" and build decks with them. These decks normally aren't too competitive, but they are definitely fun. I'm always taking suggestions for cards to build around, so if you want
's have the victim on the witness stand as a zombie!Of course, Ace Attorney has been around for a long time, so what they are looking for are "ideas that build on the fundamentals of the existing works, but are still surprising and fresh". To do so, they also research and analyze all the previous works (not just AA5), go through user reviews etc. "What makes Ace Attoney, Ace Attorney?". "What makes Ace Attorney fun as a game". With a clear picture of the answer in their minds, they eventually decide on the overall theme and concept. Then it's to the next phase.2) Plotting. Here they decide on the overall story of each separate episode. The 'building plans' of the game. Questions they look at here are for example:a) How should the level design be? (i.e. difficulty)b) What will happen when and where, and how does this develop the story?c) Where will we pull the player in and surprise them?Once the plots are ready, they review them within the team, pointing out bottlenecks if present etc. They discuss each episode thoroughly. The discussions take up a lot of time, as they often remained in the meeting rooms until very late at night or stayed cooped up in the meeting room for days. But once the plots are finished, they can go to the next phase.3) Scenario writing. Here the individual talents of each writer come alive. Some are better at coming at a mystery plot, some are better in conversation writing, some better at comedy. That's why the scenario writing isn't finished when the main writer is finished: many lively discussions follow. It's this 'chemical reaction' with the others which helps make the scenarios better. And when the scenarios are finished, there's one more stage to go through.4) Direction (presentation). Because Ace Attorney is a game, direction is also very important. Graphics, music and sound effects all make the scenario come alive. And the more potential a scenario has, the higher levels the direction/presentation can reach. The person responsible for this will probably write about this on the blog.Fukuda describes the AA6 team which makes games in a logical way, with a clear order of thing to do. There is a certain logic to what makes a good scenario. Like how karate has basic 'kata', there are also basic 'kata' to master when writing. So a fun scenario comes from 'logic'. On the other hand, they aren't just mass producing something, but they are aiming to make a unique work. To present the players with a game that is filled with fun and shocks, they also need to hit upon great ideas, and have the passion to make a good game.And has AA6 become a good game? That's for the players to decide. The next entry will be on the release date of the game, and will be done by producer Eshiro.If you’ve ever played QWOP you can understand the appeal of games that are intrinsically badly designed, usually to provide challenge in an otherwise ru rudimentary game. I’m not sure what it is but they seem to trigger the competitive OCD part of my brain, pushing me to master them even though there’s little to be gained since none of the skills gained in these games translate to other titles. They do provide a rather weird sense of enjoyment though, usually when I find a way to beat the system through an emergent property of the game that is, again, due the deliberately bad programming/controls/physics. Surgery Simulator 2013 is yet another title that fits in the “deliberately bad but devilishly fun” genre and I spent some time with it over the past week. Born out of this year’s Global Game Jam Surgery Simulator 2013 started off as a comical heart transplant simulator where you, an unnamed doctor (or are you? It’s never really made clear), must get a new heart in your patient before they run out of blood. Unlike games like Trauma Centre which attempt to recreate the tension of performing medical procedures like this Surgery Simulator instead puts you incontrol of a single hand that you must use to perform all tasks, one that’s incredibly awkward to control. Still you persevere, performing heart transplants, double kidney replacements and even a brain transplant. For a game that was originally created in 48 hours I have to say I was very impressed with the graphics in Surgery Simulator 2013. Granted they’re nothing spectacular but the stylization, almost TF2 like in nature, adds to the overall comedic tone. The level of detail in the environments are also quite astounding with all sorts of stuff you’d expect to see in a reception/surgery and, quite surprisingly, most of them functioning in some way. I have to say I didn’t expect any of the floppy disks to work when I put them in the drive, nor the pen to draw on the paper when I first started mucking around. The premise of Surgery Simulator 2013 is simple: you need to get the new organs in the patient before they run out of blood. This sounds a lot easier than it is as the patient loses blood every time you hack into them and should you be… less careful with where you bash/slash/cut they’ll start to continually lose blood, putting a firm timer on how long you have to complete it. This is made all the more difficult by the controls which aren’t exactly intuitive, especially with the way they interact with the various tools and organs you’ll be working with. Your hand is controlled by a combination of your keyboard and mouse. The A, W, E, R and Space bar keys represent your fingers which works fairly well although I often found my hand getting out of place after a little while. Your hand’s position and rotation are controlled by the mouse with regular mouse movement changing the overall position, depressing the left mouse button dropping your hand down and the right mouse allowing you to rotate your arm and move your wrist. If this sounds confusing it most certainly is and this is where the challenge comes in, mastering these whacky controls in order to perform the correct actions. I thought that since I’d played a little bit of the original game I’d be more than capable of doing the same actions in the full version of Surgery Simulator 2013 but I couldn’t have been more wrong. The original was a little more liberal in what you could accomplish without severely injuring your patient like being able to bust open the entire rib cage with a single, well placed hammer strike. Attempting the same thing in this version seemed to do a lot more harm than good, often resulting in ~10% of their blood disappearing and leaving them bleeding rather quickly. It seems that the best way to complete most surgeries was with a light, precise touch, something I didn’t think was actually possible. So whilst you might be able to accomplish everything by using the power tools to slice and dice your way through and knock organs flying with the hammer should you want to go after any of the numerous achievements you’d be advised to try the light touch and use the scalpel/surgery laser more often. Indeed whilst I might not be at A++ level on any of the surgeries yet I definitely found it a lot easier once I started playing it a little more carefully. There’s also the green syringe on the side which when used on the patient stops any bleeding completely which is a godsend when you’re trying to find out where to cut and failing miserably. If you’re not finding the regular surgeries much of a challenge then there’s the Ambulance Mode which ratches up the difficult level significantly. You’ll get all the same tools however you’ll be constantly bounced around, moving all your tools around and often throwing something onto/into your patient. You can also lose things out the back of the ambulance, including the organ you’re trying to replace. Whilst it’s not impossible it sure is a damn sight harder, especially when the fire extinguisher keeps landing on your patient’s head. For a game that was built in 48 hours then polished over the next few months Surgery Simulator is a surprisingly well done game, expertly capturing the “so bad it’s good” idea with it’s awkward control scheme and rediculous game premise. If you’re someone who likes to master the nigh on impossible then there’s a lot to love in Surgery Simulator 2013 and the myraid of achievements is sure to keep you coming back in the hopes of performing the perfect surgery. It’s certainly not a game for everyone, especially if you can’t stand being frustrated by bad controls, but the hilarity that ensues is most definitely worth the price of admission. Rating: 8.5/10 Surgery Simulator 2013 is available on PC right now for $9.99. Total game time was approximately 2 hours with 29% of the achievements unlocked.Already the most technically-advanced racing game on the planet supporting 12K, second screen apps, and 40+ wheels and peripherals, the world of virtual reality as made possible via the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive now offers players the most immersive and natural perspective of the action ever. “Ever since the announcement of the Oculus Rift and the team getting their hands on one of the early devkits we immediately knew the racing genre was going to be a perfect fit for virtual reality. With players already having an understanding of what it feels like to sit in the driving seat of a car, wheel peripherals already existing that provide a natural driving input, and the nature of racing being one of (hopefully!) forward motion, the ability to now wear a virtual helmet and experience the action through the driver’s eyes is the final piece of the puzzle allowing you to get as close as possible to the real thing.” – Stephen Viljoen, Game DirectorThey are one of the most successful life forms on our planet and they have been around for millions of years. They have evolved into perhaps as many as 400,000 different species and are known by scientists as angiosperms. What are they? If you guessed flowers, you’d be right. Brought to you by There is a place right in Westerly where nature puts on its own flower show; it’s the Avondale Farm Preserve. The preserve is an important grassland habitat that the Westerly Land Trust planted with native plant species in the early 2000’s. These native warm season grasses and wildflowers are beneficial to pollinators like bees and butterflies, and to grassland bird species that may breed in the preserve or rest here during annual migration. The season for summer wildflowers will be here soon and the flowers will be blooming from spring through autumn. I recently met with Kelly Presley, Executive Director of the Westerly Land Trust at the preserve to find out what makes this place so unique. Kelly explained the preserve’s importance and the challenges of managing a grassland habitat. There are two big challenges to managing a grassland habitat. The first is that grasslands are temporary habitats. In the natural world, areas that have no or low vegetation because of fire, wildlife grazing, or other natural causes are quickly colonized by pioneer species such as grasses and wildflowers. Then, through natural succession over time, woody plants and shrubs move in and you have habitat dominated by shrubs. Then trees come in and eventually you have forest. The grassland is gone. So when you’re managing a habitat to keep it at a certain successional period you come up against challenges. The easiest way to maintain grass is to just keep mowing it; farms that produce hay do that. The constant mowing keeps the grassland by preventing woodier plants from getting established. Better management practices for grassland habitats like Avondale Farm Preserve are to not mow every area every year because you want to leave some grasses and other plants standing during the winter to provide cover and food sources for birds. The second big problem is the invasive species. In the early 2000’s, the preserve fields were plowed and seeded with the native plants and since then we’ve been managing it. Originally the preserve was divided into three sections and the mowing was on a three year rotation. So in any one year you only mowed one section, about a third of the preserve, but we found out that mowing an area every three years isn’t frequent enough to keep invasive plant species away. The invasive species include Autumn Olive, Glossy Buckthorn, Japanese Knotweed and Porcelain Berry, among others. As a result, we have consulted with other grassland managers and wildlife conservation groups to develop a new strategy. Last year we began mowing more frequently to try and get the invasive plants under control. We are leaving one area closer to the marsh permanently untouched for wildlife habitat and leave some other sections of the preserve uncut over the winter to provide cover and food as well. I also asked Kelly why this grassland habitat is so important to the birds. Most areas in New England that were open grassland like this have been developed because the land is flat and dry, perfect for construction projects. This has made grassland become a fairly uncommon habitat. One of the goals in managing the preserve is to keep it open grassland habitat for migratory and grassland birds. Grassland birds are very specific in their habitat requirements. The population of grassland birds regionally and in Rhode Island has been and continues to be in decline including the Eastern Meadowlark, Bobolink, and several sparrow species. It’s critical to keep grassland habitat available for these ground nesters. These birds actually nest in the grasses on the ground, using the grass for nest structure and to hide from predators. When you walk the paths may see birds running on the ground which may be young that haven’t fledged yet or parents trying to draw your attention away from the nest location. It’s important that visitors keep their dogs out of the grasses for the nesting season which generally runs from late April through August first. Kelly explained that the Land Trust’s long-range plans include planting pollinator strips around the periphery of the center section to benefit butterflies, bees, and other pollinators. The center grassland area itself may be planted with pollinator-friendly grasses in the future as well. The Land Trust is also looking for volunteers for an ongoing effort to rid the preserve of the invasive species. If you’re into native plants and wildflowers, the preserve really puts on a show this time of year. Early morning walks can produce sightings of deer and many different species of birds. Being a photographer, I think the best time to view the wildflowers is in the late afternoon as the lighting is perfect for photography or painting. When you visit the preserve, your children will like seeing the Icelandic horses and miniature donkeys at the Watch Shade Farm. Just past the farm’s stone wall, take a right onto the perimeter path. This path winds around the preserve and is where you’ll find the best wildflowers. On the opposite side of the preserve, there is a grass parking area at the end of Quail Run with a picnic table. It’s a great place to watch the sunset with some cheese and wine. (Remember, all Westerly Land Trust preserves are carry in/carry out, so take any trash with you when you leave.) So grab your camera and paint brushes or bikes and skateboards and head to the Avondale Farm Preserve. You won’t be disappointed. The Westerly Land Trust’s 7th annual Farm Dinner will be held here on September 9th. The dinner is a great way to support the Land Trust’s conservation efforts. If you would like more information on the Avondale Farm Preserve, reserving seats for the Farm Dinner, or the many other Land Trust activities, you can visit the Westerly Land Trust’s website.Update: The investor conference is still going on and we've got another little encouraging tidbit from the presentation regarding FiM! According to the presentation, Hasbro is looking to invest more cash into MLP:FiM The Movie starting this year and ramping up again in 2016. They mention that it's still a modest budget, but more money is better than less!I guess the extra revenue Hasbro is making from pony is making its way back to the show in some way thankfully! Let's hope this helps make the movie as awesome as possible!And based on the chart, "2017 and beyond" is checked for MLP films. Expect more after EG3 and possibly more pony after the 2017 movie. They ramp up investment in the first movie in 2016, so the following year may be another one entirely.In a little-noticed policy speech this week, America’s top defense official signaled a new direction for the Pentagon’s efforts in battling terrorism. New tactics will include using more special operations forces and drones to conduct small strikes, as well as more partnership with foreign commandos. These are necessary in part because Al Qaeda has been quietly adapting to the growing US offensive against its leadership, senior US military officials warn. “We have slowed the primary cancer,” Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told an audience Tuesday at the Center for a New American Security in Washington, referring to Al Qaeda. “But we know that the cancer has metastasized to other parts of the global body.” The result is that “the Al Qaeda cancer has also adapted to this pressure by becoming even more widely distributed, loosely knit, and geographically dispersed,” Mr. Panetta added. “After being left on the sidelines of the momentous change that swept through the Arab world last year, they are now seeking to take advantage of the transition period to gain new sanctuary, to incite violence, and to sow instability.” This poses a challenge for top Pentagon officials, Panetta acknowledged. One of these will be figuring out how to help small nations fight terrorists on their own soil. Panetta pointed to Libya, where “violent extremists and affiliates of Al Qaeda attacked and killed innocent Americans.” In doing so, he waded into the controversy surrounding the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi. United Nations ambassador Susan Rice has come under sharp criticism from Republican lawmakers for saying in September that the administration had “decimated” Al Qaeda, saying that if that were the case, the consulate would not have been overrun. Panetta for his part stressed in more specific terms that “Al Qaeda’s leadership ranks have been decimated.” This, he said, includes the killing of Al Qaeda’s five top leaders in the past two and a half years. Beyond the Benghazi controversy, Panetta said that the Pentagon will be particularly focused on completing the training of Afghan security forces in the nation where America has been at war for over a decade. US combat forces are scheduled to depart the country in 2014, but first they must “finish the job right,” he added. Get the Monitor Stories you care about delivered to your inbox. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy This in turn will deter extremist forces from trying to once again find a foothold in Afghanistan and to send “a very simple and very powerful message to Al Qaeda, to the Taliban, to the violent extremist groups,” Panetta argued. “We are not going anywhere,” he said. “Our commitment to Afghanistan is long term, and you cannot wait us out.”In the 1960s and 1970s, a huge innovation revolutionised the world’s food supply. The green revolution - a combination of new high-yield crop varieties, mechanisation, chemical fertilisers and pesticides - kept famine at bay by hugely expanding the food supply, even as the world’s population was exploding. The population continues to grow today, but the green revolution’s solutions - heavily reliant on petrochemicals and unsustainable monoculture - won’t keep up with the population unless we are prepared to tolerate huge damage to the environment. Nowhere is this clearer than in the supply of protein - a key element of nutrition. We need a new green revolution. Most of the protein we eat and feed to animals comes from a small handful of sources: soybeans, farmed animals (meat, but also eggs and dairy), and seafood (both wild and farmed). All of these are problematic. Soybeans (pictured) are intensively and unsustainably farmed, with the vast majority of production coming from just three countries (the US, Brazil and Argentina). Animals are nutritious and tasty, but they are an inefficient form of food production, taking more food in - largely soy, as it happens - than they produce. Wild fish is currently caught in volumes that our seas and rivers cannot sustain. And many varieties of farmed fish are reliant on soybeans and wild-caught fish for their feed. We’ve been looking into ideas for possible prizes that could help sustainably provide the world with protein, through innovation in animal feeds, alternative proteins for human nutrition and urban agriculture. The solutions could be pretty radical - feeding powdered maggots to chickens, growing burgers in the lab, urban high-rise farms. We think these areas are fertile ground for challenge prizes that could help bring down barriers to the systemic change that the world’s food supply needs. We’re also doing some more in-depth work into developing and designing prizes in aquaculture just now. Fish farming is an increasingly popular source of protein, particularly in the developing world, and a sector that we’ve been thinking about for a while. We’re working with sustainability charity Forum for the Future and aquaculture experts at the University of Stirling on this project, and we’re increasingly confident that prizes could be a valuable tool here. India and Bangladesh in particular have large fish farming sectors where production could be sustainably increased using new technologies and techniques, with transformative effects on the livelihoods and nutrition of poor, rural communities. Forum for the Future have been doing some interesting work on the future of protein - not just on the production of fish, but on the entire protein system. They’ve just launched their Future of Protein report, part of the Protein Challenge 2040 initiative. It’s well worth a read. Whatever happens, the world’s food production won’t stay the same. The question is what the new green revolution will look like. This post was first published on the Challenge Prize Centre website. Photo: Soybean harvest, courtesy of United Soybean Board (CC-BY)We are a little over a quarter of the way into the 2016 baseball season and the Houston Astros have not quite lived up to expectations. They are currently looking at a 18-28 record and are fresh off getting swept by the Texas Rangers… again. It is hard to give out awards to a team that has struggled as much as they have, but someone has to try. MVP Well this one may come to a surprise to a lot of people, but the man that has done all he can to make this team successful is Jose Altuve. Altuve is currently batting.319/.406/.566 165 wRC+, with 27 extra base hits and 27 RBI. He has swiped 15 bags and has only been caught once. If it were not for Altuve, the Astros may be deeper in the whole than they already are. Best Starter The Astros picked up veteran Doug Fister over the winter and stuck him in the fifth spot of the rotation. So far this year the starting rotation has been as soft as a pillow. Fister has been the one bright spot. The Astros have won Fister’s last five starts and he had a stretch of six straight starts of going at least six innings before the win against Baltimore on Tuesday. Fister is only sporting a 4.12 ERA, but has been constantly lowering it with each outing. Best Reliever Will Harris was very good for the Astros last year. He may be even better this year. Harris has given up only one earned run this season and has a 0.44 ERA. He has not given up a run since his first appearance of the year on April 7th against the Yankees. Biggest Disappointment I was positive that I was going to be writing about Carlos Gomez for this part of the article, but then Dallas Keuchel pitched against the Rangers. This years greatest disappointment is last year’s CY Young award winner. Keuchel has a 5.92 ERA and has a 2-6 record so far this year. I do not believe anyone expected this after how well he pitched last year. In 2015, it was all but guaranteed that the Astros would get a win whenever Keuchel was up on the mound. In 2016, it seems to be the exact opposite. Golden Glove This was a tough one decision. It was either between Carlos Correa or George Springer. With what Springer has done in right field so far this year, look back at the homerun robbery against the White Sox, I give him the edge. Springer has been able to make some great catches in the outfield this season. It is kind of unfair though since he is a center fielder playing right field. Springer has 94 put outs in 99 chances and is sporting a 1.000 fielding percentage. He also has five assists with one double play. Best Attitude This has been a pretty bad start for the Astros, but George Springer always seems to be smiling in the dugout. Springer may be the funniest guy on the team and one can really tell that he loves the game in which he plays. Just the other day he was playing catch with Jake Marisnick while wearing a dinosaur costume. Lets not forget about how he loves to dance. Best Dancer I know many probably believe Springer deserves this one, but I am going with Gary “Windmill” Pettis. No body can ever have a dance move compared to Pettis’ windmill at third base. Pettis has a history of being a very aggressive third base coach, and that has shown a lot this year. He just loves to send people home with his windmill, even if there is only a slight chance of them being safe. Hopefully there is light ahead for this young baseball team. This team certainly has more talent than the 2005 Astros club that came back from a 15-30 start to take the wild card and make it to the World Series. If they can get the pitching solved soon and start getting hits with RISP then they may be able to make some noise in this relatively weak AL West. Follow @ACAllAmericans for quality, up-to-date sports reporting.Waterfox 49.0.3 Release (Windows & Mac) Waterfox 49.0.3 is now available to download. What's new in Waterfox 49.0.3? Updated codebase to Firefox 49.0.2 What's new in Waterfox 49.0.2.1? (Mac Only) Switched to OS X 10.11 SDK to prevent crashes on pre macOS Sierra systems What's new in Waterfox 49.0.2? Removed remaining Mozilla pingback URLs Set minimum supported version for OS X to 10.6 (not guaranteed to run) Fixed ICU reverting back to 56.1, now at 57.1 again Removed graphics from empty snippet box on home page. What's new in Waterfox 49.0.1? Tor browser anonymity features were meant to be in this release but will be pushed back to the next release Windows XP 64-Bit may have issues running the latest version, this is being looked into Updated codebase to Firefox 49.0.1 What features does Waterfox currently have? Disabled Encrypted Media Extensions (EME) Disabled Web Runtime (deprecated as of 2015) Removed Pocket completely Removed all telemetry/data collection being sent back to Mozilla Disabled the 64-Bit NPAPI white-list so that the user can decide what plugins they can run (doesn't make sense for Mozilla to do this as most of their user base probably aren't technically proficient), but it's something Waterfox users are capable of handling. I've also allowed unsigned extensions to run as well as there are still some old extensions people like to use (it's disabled by Mozilla for the same reason as above) Windows XP 64-Bit support ICU updated to 57.1 Removal of Sponsored Tiles on New Tab Page N.B. When using a profile shared by Firefox, sponsored tile and snippet URLs may overwrite default Waterfox settings, enabling them again Automatic updates will be delayed by 24 hours to make sure there aren't any pressing issues before seeding to everyone. Partnership with Ecosia Waterfox has now partnered with Ecosia as a way to raise funds. When using Ecosia, revenue generated from ads helps plant trees and contributes to Waterfox upkeep costs! If you'd like to help support Waterfox while also doing some good in the world, please help us out by using it! As always, head to the Downloads page for the latest versions! Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.Full text of "Christopher Jon Bjerknes The Jewish Genocide of Armenian Christians" Christopher Jon Bjerknes The Jewish Genocide of Armenian Christians Enlarged Second Edition Copyright © 2006, 2007. All Rights Reserved Table of Contents 1 Prehistory of the 1915 Genocide. 1.1 Introduction. 1.2 Jews, Crypto-Jews and Freemasons — The Means. 1.3 The Armenian Holocaust and the Battle of Armageddon — The Opportunity. 1.4 From Herzl to Malcolm, Zionists Betray the Armenians. 1.5 Blotting Out the Armenian Amalekites — The Motive. 2 The Genocidal "Young Turks" Were Zionist Crypto-Jews 2.1 Introduction. 2.2 Jews Foment Wars of Extermination and Genocidal Revolutions..... 2.3 Jewish Bankers Destroyed the Turkish Empire. 2.4 Talaat Pasha, Djavid Bey, Ataturk, Etc., Were Jews. 3 Rothschild, King of the Jews. 3.1 Introduction. 3.2 The Rothschild Plan to Take Palestine. 3.3 Cabalistic Jews Calling Themselves Christian Condition the British to Assist in Their Own Demise — Rothschild Makes an Open Bid to Become the Messiah. 3.4 The "British-Israel" Deceit. 3.5 For Centuries, England is Flooded with Warmongering Zionist Propaganda. 3.6 As a Good Cabalist Jew, David Hartley Conditions Christians to Welcome Martyrdom for the Sake of the Jews. 3.7 Jewish Revolutionaries and Napoleon the Messiah Emancipate the Jews 3.8 Hitler Accomplishes for the Zionists What Napoleon Could Not. 3.9 Zionists Develop a Strategy Which Culminates in the Nazis and the Holocaust as Means to Attain the "Jewish State". 4 Mordecai Manuel Noah 4.1 Introduction.. 4.2 Noah in 1818. 4.3 Noah in 1837. 4.4 Noah in 1844. Notes. Prehistory of the 1915 Genocide 4 1 Prehistory of the 1915 Genocide In conformity with the Jewish plans revealed in The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion in 1905, Jewish leaders met in Masonic lodges in Salonika, Italy, Paris and Vienna, and plotted a coup d' etat against the Sultan of Turkey Abdul Hamid II Jews and crypto-Jewish Donmeh of the Committee for Union and Progress took control of the Turkish Empire in 1909. They had several goals. Their primary objective was to establish a segregated 'Jewish State " in Palestine. They also sought to instigate World War I, to slaughter entire Christian populations, and to destroy the Turkish Empire and supplant Islamic religion and culture with a soulless and cultureless society engineered by Jewish positivists in Vienna, Paris, Italy and Salonika. "It is a well-known fact that the Salonika Committee was formed under Masonic auspices with the help of the Jews and Donmehs, or crypto- Jews of Turkey, whose headquarters are at Salonika, and whose organization took, even under Abdul Hamid, a Masonic form. Jews like Emmanuel Carasso, Salem, Sassun, Fardji, Meslah, and Donmehs or crypto- Jews, like Djavid Bey and the Baldji family, took an influential part both in the organization of the Committee and in the deliberations of its central body at Salonika. These facts, which are known to every Government in Europe, are also known throughout Turkey and the Balkans, where an increasing tendency is noticeable to saddle the Jews and Donmehs with responsibility for the sanguinary blunders which the Committee has made." — Vienna Correspondent for The London Times, "Jews and the Situation in Albania", The London Times, (11 July 1911), p. 5. 1.1 Introduction In 1908 and 1909, the Jewish led and Jewish financed "Committee for Union and Progress" (Ittihadve Terakke) overthrew the Turkish Empire. Zionist Jewish bankers had long sought to destroy the Turkish Empire, which controlled Palestine. These racist Jews sought to take Palestine from its indigenous population and turn it into a segregated "Jewish State" by expelling, or killing off, the native Palestinian population, and supplanting it with colonies of Eastern European Jews. These European Jews were largely of Khazarian, and not Judean, descent. Sir Gerard Lowther, who was Ambassador from the United Kingdom to the 5 The Jewish Genocide of Armenian Christians Ottoman Empire from 1908-1913, exposed this Judeo-Masonic takeover of the Ottoman Empire. He sent numerous letters to the British Foreign Office revealing the fact that the "Young Turk Revolution" was in fact a Jewish takeover led by old Jews and crypto- Jews from Salonika, most all of whom were Freemasons. Ambassador Lowther sent an especially detailed letter to the head of the British Foreign Office, Sir Charles Hardinge, on 29 May 1910, which stated, among many other revealing things, "[T]his new Freemasonry in Turkey, unlike that of England and America, is in great part secret and political, and information on the subject is only obtainable in strict confidence, while those who betray its political secrets seem to stand in fear of the hand of the Mafia. Some days ago a local Mason who divulged the signs of the craft was actually threatened with being sent before the court-martial, sitting in virtue of our state of siege. [*] [T]he Young Turkey movement in Paris was quite separate from and in great part in ignorance of the inner workings of that in Salonica. The latter town has a population of about 140,000, of whom 80,000 are Spanish Jews, and 20,000 of the sect of Sabetai [Z]evi or Crypto-Jews, who externally profess Islamism. Many of the former have in the past acquired Italian nationality and are Freemasons affiliated to Italian lodges. Nathan, the Jewish Lord Mayor of Rome, is high up in Masonry, and the Jewish Premiers Luzzati and Sonnino, and other Jewish senators and deputies, are also, it appears, Masons. [] Emannuele Carasso, a Jewish Mason of Salonica, and now deputy for that town in the Ottoman Chamber, founded there a lodge called 'Macedonia Risorta' in connection with Italian Freemasonry. He appears to have induced the Young Turks, officers and civilians, to adopt Freemasonry with a view to exerting an impalpable Jewish influence over the new dispensation in Turkey[.] [] The inspiration of the movement in Salonica would seem to have been mainly Jewish[.] [] Carasso began to play a big role, including his successful capture of the Balkan Committee, and it was noticed that Jews of all colours, native and foreign, were enthusiastic supporters of the new dispensation, till, as a Turk expressed it, every Hebrew seemed to become a potential spy of the occult Committee, and people began to remark that the movement was rather a Jewish than a Turkish revolution. The Italian Government appointed a Jew and Mason called Primo Levi, who was not in the consular career, as consul-general at Salonica, and Oscar Strauss, who, together with Jacob Schiff, had influenced the American Jews in favour of Jewish immigration into Mesopotamia as opposed to other Territorialist plans and as an extended form of Sionism, was appointed American Ambassador here. [] Carasso was one of the bearers of the message of deposition to Abdul Hamid, who was conveyed to Salonica and confined in the house of Prehistory of the 1915 Genocide 6 the Italian Jewish bankers of the Committee, while a brother of Remzi Bey was set over him as keeper. After the deposition the Jewish papers of Salonica sent up a loud cry of deliverance from 'the oppressor of Israel' who had twice turned a deaf ear to the appeals of Herzl, the Sionist leader, and who, by the imposition of the red passport, like our own Aliens Act, against Polish Jewish immigrants, and otherwise, had thwarted the realisation of the ideals of Sionism in Palestine. The ninth Sionist Congress in December 1909 at Hamburg announced that the divisions in the Jewish world between Territorialists and Sionists, 'as a miracle of the Turkish revolution', had been healed. At the same time Javid Bey, Deputy for Salonica, an exceedingly clever and gifted Crypto-Jew and Freemason, was made Minister of Finance, while Talaat Bey, also a Freemason, became Minister of the Interior. [] Parliament was 'ordered' to pass a very stringent Press Law, and a Salonica Crypto-Jew and Freemason was made 'Directeur du Bureau de la Presse', a post of enormous power, as its holder can suppress a paper for severe 'criticism of the new regime' (dubbed'reaction'), or have the proprietor or editor court-martialled. A semi-inspired Ottoman telegraph agency [] was started under the direction of a Baghdad Jew, and an all but successful attempt was made to appoint a Salonica Jewish lawyer and Mason as adviser to the Ministry of Justice. The Constantinople head branch of the Committee of Union and Progress is also run by a Salonica Crypto-Jew and Mason. Another Salonica Crypto-Jew and Freemason made determined attempts to be appointed 'Prefet', i.e. Lord Mayor, of the capital, but has not yet succeeded in his aim, though Prince Said Ha[lim] an Egyptian Freemason, has become Deputy Mayor. [] [T]he old Ministry of Police was replaced by the 'Surete Publique' controlling the police and gendarmerie, and put in charge of a Salonica Freemason. [] Talaat Bey, the Minister of the Interior, who is of Gipsy descent, and comes from Kirjali, in the Adrianople district, and Javid Bey, the Minister of Finance, who is a Crypto-Jew, are the official manifestations of the occult power of the Committee. They are the only members of the Cabinet who really count, and are also the apex of Freemasonry in Turkey. [*] A Turk described it as a process of 'drugging the latter with Jewish hashish'. From the foregoing or any close inspection of the Young Turkey movement in its present stage, it will appear to be principally Jewish and
In 1901, Galton, Karl Pearson (1857–1936) and Walter F.R. Weldon (1860–1906) founded the Biometrika scientific journal, which promoted biometrics and statistical analysis of heredity. Charles Davenport (1866–1944) was briefly involved in the review. In Race Crossing in Jamaica (1929), he made statistical arguments that biological and cultural degradation followed white and black interbreeding. Davenport was connected to Nazi Germany before and during World War II. In 1939 he wrote a contribution to the festschrift for Otto Reche (1879–1966), who became an important figure within the plan to remove populations considered "inferior" from eastern Germany.[95] Interbellum to World War II Scientific racism continued through the early 20th century, and soon intelligence testing became a new source for racial comparisons. Before World War II (1939–45), scientific racism remained common to anthropology, and was used as justification for eugenics programs, compulsory sterilization, anti-miscegenation laws, and immigration restrictions in Europe and the United States. The war crimes and crimes against humanity of Nazi Germany (1933–45) discredited scientific racism in academia,[citation needed] but racist legislation based upon it remained in some countries until the late 1960s. Early intelligence testing and the Immigration Act of 1924 Before the 1920s, social scientists agreed that whites were superior to blacks, but they needed a way to prove this in order to back social policy in favor of whites. They felt the best way to gauge this was through testing intelligence. By interpreting the tests to show favor to whites these test makers’ research results portrayed all minority groups very negatively.[10][96] In 1908, Henry Goddard translated the Binet intelligence test from French and in 1912 began to apply the test to incoming immigrants on Ellis Island.[97] Some claim that in a study of immigrants Goddard reached the conclusion that 87% of Russians, 83% of Jews, 80% of Hungarians, and 79% of Italians were feeble-minded and had a mental age less than 12.[98] Some have also claimed that this information was taken as "evidence" by lawmakers and thus it affected social policy for years.[99] Bernard Davis has pointed out that, in the first sentence of his paper, Goddard wrote that the subjects of the study were not typical members of their groups but were selected because of their suspected sub-normal intelligence. Davis has further noted that Goddard argued that the low IQs of the test subjects were more likely due to environmental rather than genetic factors, and that Goddard concluded that "we may be confident that their children will be of average intelligence and if rightly brought up will be good citizens".[100] In 1996 the American Psychological Association's Board of Scientific Affairs stated that IQ tests were not discriminatory towards any ethnic/racial groups.[101] In his book The Mismeasure of Man, Stephen Jay Gould argued that intelligence testing results played a major role in the passage of the Immigration Act of 1924 that restricted immigration to the United States.[102] However, Mark Snyderman and Richard J. Herrnstein, after studying the Congressional Record and committee hearings related to the Immigration Act, concluded "the [intelligence] testing community did not generally view its findings as favoring restrictive immigration policies like those in the 1924 Act, and Congress took virtually no notice of intelligence testing".[103] Juan N. Franco contested the findings of Snyderman and Herrnstein. Franco stated that even though Snyderman and Herrnstein reported that the data collected from the results of the intelligence tests were in no way used to pass The Immigration Act of 1924, the IQ test results were still taken into consideration by legislators. As suggestive evidence, Franco pointed to the following fact: Following the passage of the immigration act, information from the 1890 census was used to set quotas based on percentages of immigrants coming from different countries. Based on these data, the legislature restricted the entrance of immigrants from southern and eastern Europe into the United States and allowed more immigrants from northern and Western Europe into the country. The use of the 1900, 1910 or 1920 census data sets would have resulted in larger numbers of immigrants from southern and eastern Europe being allowed into the U.S. However, Franco pointed out that using the 1890 census data allowed congress to exclude southern and eastern Europeans (who performed worse on IQ tests of the time than did western and northern Europeans) from the U.S. Franco argued that the work Snyderman and Herrnstein conducted on this matter neither proved or disproved that intelligence testing influenced immigration laws.[104] Sweden The Swedish State institute for racial biology, founded in 1922, was the world's first government-funded institute performing research into racial biology. It was housed in what is now the Dean's house at Uppsala and was closed down in 1958. Following the creation of the first society for the promotion of racial hygiene, the German Society for Racial Hygiene in 1905—a Swedish society was founded in 1909 as "Svenska sällskapet för rashygien" as third in the world.[105][106] By lobbying Swedish parliamentarians and medical institutes the society managed to pass a decree creating a government run institute in the form of the Swedish State institute of racial biology in 1921.[105] By 1922 the institute was built and opened in Uppsala.[105] It was the first such government-funded institute in the world performing research into "racial biology" and remains highly controversial to this day.[105][107] The goal was to cure criminality, alcoholism and psychiatric problems through research in eugenics and racial hygiene.[105] As a result of the institutes work a law permitting compulsory sterilization of certain groups was enacted in Sweden in 1934.[108] The second president of the institute Gunnar Dahlberg was highly critical of the validity of the science performed at the institute and reshaped the institute toward a focus on genetics.[109] In 1958 it closed down and all remaining research was moved to the Department of medical genetics at Uppsala University.[109] Nazi Germany Nazi policy Rassenschande between a German and a Jew Nazi poster promoting eugenics The Nazi Party and its sympathizers published many books on scientific racism, seizing on the eugenicist and antisemitic ideas with which they were widely associated, although these ideas had been in circulation since the 19th century. Books such as Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes ("Ethnology of the German People") by Hans F. K. Günther and Rasse und Seele ("Race and Soul") by de:Ludwig Ferdinand Clauß attempted to scientifically identify differences between the German, Nordic, or Aryan people and other, supposedly inferior, groups.[citation needed] German schools used these books as texts during the Nazi era.[110] In the early 1930s, the Nazis used racialized scientific rhetoric based on social Darwinism[citation needed] to push its restrictive and discriminatory social policies. During World War II, Nazi racialist beliefs became anathema in the United States, and Boasians such as Ruth Benedict consolidated their institutional power. After the war, discovery of the Holocaust and Nazi abuses of scientific research (such as Josef Mengele's ethical violations and other war crimes revealed at the Nuremberg Trials) led most of the scientific community to repudiate scientific support for racism. Propaganda for the Nazi eugenics program began with propaganda for eugenic sterilization. Articles in Neues Volk described the appearance of the mentally ill and the importance of preventing such births.[111] Photographs of mentally incapacitated children were juxtaposed with those of healthy children.[112] The film Das Erbe showed conflict in nature in order to legitimate the Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring by sterilization. Although the child was "the most important treasure of the people", this did not apply to all children, even German ones, only to those with no hereditary weaknesses.[113] Nazi Germany's racially based social policies placed the improvement of the Aryan race through eugenics at the center of Nazis ideology. Those humans were targeted who were identified as "life unworthy of life" (German: Lebensunwertes Leben), including but not limited to Jewish people, criminals, degenerate, dissident, feeble-minded, homosexual, idle, insane, and the weak, for elimination from the chain of heredity.[citation needed] Despite their still being regarded as "Aryan", Nazi ideology deemed Slavs (i.e., Poles, Russians, Ukrainians, etc.) to be inferior to the Germanic master race, suitable for expulsion, enslavement, or even extermination.[114] Adolf Hitler banned intelligence quotient (IQ) testing for being "Jewish" as did Joseph Stalin for being "bourgeois".[115] United States In the 20th century, concepts of scientific racism, which sought to prove the physical and mental inadequacy of groups deemed "inferior", was relied upon to justify involuntary sterilization programs.[116][117] Such programs, promoted by eugenicists such as Harry H. Laughlin, were upheld as constitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in Buck v. Bell (1927). In all, between 60,000 and 90,000 Americans were subjected to involuntary sterilization.[116] Scientific racism was also used as a justification for the Emergency Quota Act of 1921 and the Immigration Act of 1924 (Johnson–Reed Act), which imposed racial quotas limiting Italian American immigration to the United States and immigration other southern European and eastern European nations. Proponents of these quotas, who sought to block "undesirable" immigrants, justifying restrictions by invoking scientific racism.[118] Lothrop Stoddard published many racialist books on what he saw as the peril of immigration, his most famous being The Rising Tide of Color Against White World-Supremacy in 1920. In this book he presented a view of the world situation pertaining to race focusing concern on the coming population explosion among the "colored" peoples of the world and the way in which "white world-supremacy" was being lessened in the wake of World War I and the collapse of colonialism. Stoddard's analysis divided world politics and situations into "white", "yellow", "black", "Amerindian", and "brown" peoples and their interactions. Stoddard argued race and heredity were the guiding factors of history and civilization, and that the elimination or absorption of the "white" race by "colored" races would result in the destruction of Western civilization. Like Madison Grant, Stoddard divided the white race into three main divisions: Nordic, Alpine, and Mediterranean. He considered all three to be of good stock, and far above the quality of the colored races, but argued that the Nordic was the greatest of the three and needed to be preserved by way of eugenics. Unlike Grant, Stoddard was less concerned with which varieties of European people were superior to others (Nordic theory), but was more concerned with what he called "bi-racialism", seeing the world as being composed of simply "colored" and "white" races. In the years after the Great Migration and World War I, Grant's racial theory would fall out of favor in the U.S. in favor of a model closer to Stoddard's.[citation needed] An influential publication was The Races of Europe (1939) by Carleton S. Coon, president of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists from 1930 to 1961. Coon was a proponent of Multiregional origin of modern humans. He divided Homo sapiens into five main races: Coon's school of thought was the object of increasing opposition in mainstream anthropology after World War II. Ashley Montagu was particularly vocal in denouncing Coon, especially in his Man's Most Dangerous Myth: The Fallacy of Race. By the 1960s, Coon's approach had been rendered obsolete in mainstream anthropology, but his system continued to appear in publications by his student John Lawrence Angel as late as in the 1970s. In the late 19th century, the Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) United States Supreme Court decision—which upheld the constitutional legality of racial segregation under the doctrine of "separate but equal"—was intellectually rooted in the racism of the era, as was the popular support for the decision.[120] Later, in the mid 20th century, the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) decision rejected racialist arguments about the "need" for racial segregation—especially in public schools. After 1945 By 1954, 58 years after the Plessy v. Ferguson upholding of racial segregation in the United States, American popular and scholarly opinions of scientific racism and its sociologic practice had evolved.[120] In 1960 the journal Mankind Quarterly started, which some have described as a venue for scientific racism. It has been criticized for a claimed ideological bias, and for lacking a legitimate scholarly purpose.[121] The journal was founded in 1960, partly in response to the Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education which desegregated the American public school system.[122][121] In April 1966, Alex Haley interviewed American Nazi Party founder George Lincoln Rockwell for Playboy. Rockwell justified his belief that blacks were inferior to whites by citing a long 1916 study by G.O. Ferguson which claimed to show that the intellectual performance of black students was correlated with their percentage of white ancestry, stating "pure negroes, negroes three-fourths pure, mulattoes and quadroons have, roughly, 60, 70, 80 and 90 percent, respectively, of white intellectual efficiency".[123] Playboy later published the interview with an editorial note claiming the study was a "discredited... pseudoscientific rationale for racism".[124] Map of world IQ 'estimates' from data in a book written by Richard Lynn in 2002. The book was widely criticised for its approach towards conducting IQ estimates. International bodies such as UNESCO attempted to draft resolutions that would summarize the state of scientific knowledge about race and issued calls for the resolution of racial conflicts. In its 1950 The Race Question, UNESCO did not reject the idea of a biological basis to racial categories,[125] but instead defined a race as: "A race, from the biological standpoint, may therefore be defined as one of the group of populations constituting the species Homo sapiens", which were broadly defined as the Caucasian, Mongoloid, Negroid races but stated that "It is now generally recognized that intelligence tests do not in themselves enable us to differentiate safely between what is due to innate capacity and what is the result of environmental influences, training and education."[126] Today, the term "scientific racism" may be used by some to refer to research seeming to scientifically justify racist ideology. Contemporary researchers and authors include the late Arthur Jensen (The g Factor: The Science of Mental Ability); the late J. Philippe Rushton, president of the Pioneer Fund (Race, Evolution, and Behavior);[127][128] the late Chris Brand (The g Factor: General Intelligence and Its Implications); Richard Lynn (IQ and the Wealth of Nations); Charles Murray and the late Richard Herrnstein (The Bell Curve);[129] and Nicholas Wade (A Troublesome Inheritance), among others.[130] These authors themselves, while seeing their work as scientific, may dispute the term "racism" and may prefer terms such as "race realism" or "racialism".[131] See also References BibliographyStar Citizen Preview Roberts Space IndustriesRoberts Space IndustriesPCTBAStar Citizen is a cult phenomenon and it isn't even out yet. Its impossible-seeming ambition, combined with its astonishingly successful crowd-funding campaign has made it the cause of many raised eyebrows and the butt of more than a few jokes. There has even been the odd accusation thrown Chris Roberts' way that his motives for amassing such a huge amount of money before the game has been made may not be entirely honourable.It's certainly true that Roberts Space Industries are flusher than a menopausal toilet, and it's equally true that, right now, there isn't much game available for the $100-odd million which the studio has accrued. But I've spent the last week dipping in and out of what is currently on offer, and I must say I've had a genuinely excellent time. There are some problems and a lot of work left to do, but there's also the embryo of a seriously good space game there.That said, it is somewhat difficult to gauge how the final Star Citizen experience will hang together right now. The base game is divided into several components, including the single-player campaign named Squadron 42, and the persistent online universe that forms the meat of Star Citizen itself. On top of that, the currently available playable build is also split into two parts. There's a small chunk of galaxy that contains most of 2.0's spacey-fun times, while an open-city is available to explore in a separate instance.Being unfamiliar with the game's fiction and unable to parse the names of locations which could equally belong to PC peripheral hardware, I ended up doing the city bit first, which at present is little more than a shell. It is an extraordinarily pretty shell, however, a sun-drenched, browny-red metropolis that falls somewhere between Star Wars and Blade Runner in its depiction of an interstellar civilisation. The plated metal streets, walkways and gantries are lined with towering structures and dazzling holographic displays, while the skies are abuzz with long lines of space-traffic.Even now, it's fairly clear how this hub-area will work. There's a gun store for purchasing weapons, a medical ward for healing, a bar that will no doubt offer a place to socialise with other players and pick up the odd side-mission, and a couple of faction buildings that will probably provide a career path for players. In terms of size it's reminiscent of a town from one of Bethesda's games, only with dozens of identical players bumbling around in it. As of now, however, none of this stuff actually functions. All it offers is an opportunity to gawp at its splendid cyberpunk vistas.I'm also a tad concerned by how the on-foot part of the game feels. Star Citizen is equal parts space-sim and FPS, and currently, the basic running around feels rather floaty, as if the avatar's head is only tangentially attached to its body. I must confess to being surprised at the developers' adoption of the CryENGINE as the basis for such a massive game. While CryENGINE can certainly deliver from a visual perspective, performance-wise it's quite ungainly, and a tricky-tool to wield effectively.Anyway, after pootling around the city for a bit, I switched to the other part of the game, which offers what amounts to a playable'vertical slice' of what the developers hope to offer in the final version. There's not a massive amount on offer, but what's there is pretty damned enjoyable.Private developers and the city of Doraville are working on backup plans to generate taxpayer money for an ambitious redevelopment of the former General Motors plant. City officials and the development team at the Integral Group are seeking funding for costly but needed infrastructure connecting the site to the rest of the city and to a nearby MARTA train station. Without tens of millions in public dollars, the developer has said the project might need to be scaled back. The more than 160-acre property has been called by state and local leaders one of the most promising redevelopment sites in the Southeast, but its future has been in limbo for months after the DeKalb County school board decided not to take part in a tax allocation district or TAD. In April, Integral CEO Egbert Perry warned that his firm would decide by June whether to continue with its vision of a mini-city along I-285 or scrap it. He said the project could be scaled back to a more suburban-style development rather than what backers have touted as a model for transit-oriented development that could woo major corporate headquarters or private sector research facilities. “We would downgrade our vision for the site,” Perry said at the time. “That doesn’t leave the school board any better off. It’s worse off.” School officials have balked at the TAD plan, saying the system isn’t in the development business. Doraville Mayor Donna Pittman said she hopes the project could move forward with a “Plan B” through a combination of potential tax breaks, government grants and other funding. “I’m still positive about being able to accomplish what we set out for originally,” Pittman said. “I’m very disappointed in the school board, but I’m convinced we’re going to be able to make the right thing happen.” In a TAD, property tax collections for local governments and schools are frozen in an area while it is redeveloped, and future increases in property tax collections are used to repay bonds to build roads, sidewalks, parks and sewers. After the TAD expires, local governments and schools collect the new, theoretically higher, tax revenue. Doraville and DeKalb County signed on to the TAD, but the school board declined to take a vote on the matter. Backers of the project, known as Assembly, say a TAD with all three jurisdictions on board would be sufficient to fund about $180 million in new infrastructure, including a street grid and a covered road to the MARTA station for a project aiming to create a new downtown for Doraville. The school system’s share is the biggest piece of the tax revenue pie. The local governments and schools would continue to collect what they do now under a TAD arrangement, but that might not be the case if another path is taken. Tax abatement possible It’s possible a different arrangement, such as a tax abatement from a local development authority, could reduce or eliminate property tax revenue generated for the local governments and schools. And in that case the schools might not have a say in the matter. Those tax breaks could then be used by the developer to seek financing for site improvements. Eric Pinckney, an Integral executive overseeing the project, said discussions are fluid and could encompass a number of structures. A TAD that involves the schools – the preferred alternative – remains on the table, he said. The Doraville Development Authority has been considering tax incentives for the site, according to its June 22 agenda. None of the authority’s seven members or attorney returned emails seeking comment Thursday about the value or details of the potential public funding. However, the school board isn’t moving forward with the proposal for the TAD. “We have no movement on our end,” said school board member Stan Jester. “I would like to have a meeting and at least listen to them … I wouldn’t get my hopes up.” School board Chairman Melvin Johnson didn’t return a message seeking comment. Since announcing plans in 2014, Integral’s Perry has not announced committed office tenants, though a movie studio is set to open this year. Perry said in April uncertainty has caused three unnamed corporate prospects to walk. The GM plant closed in 2008, denting the local tax base and eliminating a few thousand jobs. The GM site, just northwest of the I-285/I-85 interchange, is prominent but also has challenges. Doraville’s development hasn’t kept pace with other major nodes along I-285 such as Dun-woody, Sandy Springs and Cumberland in Cobb County. Integral and Doraville officials have said in the past that alternatives to all jurisdictions being in the TAD would likely generate far less money for the public infrastructure. Doraville’s development authority last week discussed a separate bond structure that could offer long-term city, county and potentially school tax breaks. Another potential option might be creation of a community improvement district, a different type of self-taxing district for commercial property owners that uses additional taxes to finance infrastructure improvements in the district. Integral and its partners remain on track, Pinckney said, to go to market to sell bonds for infrastructure by November. He said there will likely be multiple bonds issued over time paid for by whatever public arrangement is made. The project recently received a $1.5 million state grant to help fund a four-lane street to connect Motors Industrial Boulevard and Peachtree Road, a key thoroughfare in the project.An ancient, red giant star in the throes of a frigid death has produced the coldest known object in the cosmos: the Boomerang Nebula. But how was this star able to create an environment so much colder than the natural background temperature of deep space? The answer, according to astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), may be that a small companion star has plunged into the heart of the red giant, ejecting most of the matter of the larger star as an ultra-cold outflow of gas and dust. Raghvendra Sahai, an astronomer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, led a study on the mysterious nebula that appears in The Astrophysical Journal. Read more from ALMA News Media Contact Elizabeth LandauJet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, [email protected] BlueNational Radio Astronomy [email protected] U.S. Tax Reform Threatens Wind Subsidy Farmers The Senate tax bill that passed last weekend could spell an end to the massive green wealth-transfer program. After 25-years of subsidy-driven financing, the wind industry is entirely reliant on tax-equity investors, willing to accept tax credits in return for funding a significant percentage of their project costs. Tax equity now accounts for up to 60% of the capital needed to construct a typical wind facility. The pool of investors with enough passive income to qualify for wind PTCs is limited and includes the largest financial institutions such as JP Morgan, Bank of American, Citi and even Google. Said bluntly, Main Street Americans are coughing up billions annually to help the richest Wall Street bankers avoid paying their taxes. The Senate tax bill that passed this weekend could spell an end to this massive wealth-transfer program. Senate Tax Provisions Unlike the House bill, which triggered an explosion of protests over lawmakers penning an amendment to the wind PTC, the Senate bill takes a different approach. It leaves the PTC phase-out intact but includes other provisions that level the playing field by reducing the use of deductions and tax credits generally available to the super rich. The two provisions in the Senate bill that most impact wind energy investors are the BEAT and AMT. Base Erosion Anti-abuse Tax (BEAT) The Base Erosion Anti-abuse Tax or BEAT, coupled with the lower corporate tax rate (20%), is intended to disincent businesses with foreign affiliates from parking their taxable income offshore while shipping their foreign (deductible) expenses here as a means of lowering their US tax liability. This has been an issue for years and one that both the house and senate bills address but in different ways. The BEAT is not directed at the PTC/ITC, but how it’s calculated [1] could result in multinational investors losing access to hundreds of millions in wind and solar tax credits produced in any given year. This provision applies to large corporations and financial institutions ($500+ million), and it’s expected to save taxpayers $137.6 billion over 10 years according to the Joint Committee on Taxation. Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) A corporate Alternative Minimum Tax, or AMT, was removed in the original Senate bill but added back in order to pay for a $40 billion shortfall arising from other provisions introduced during the late-night negotiations. Generally, the AMT is an ‘alternative’ tax base for taxpayers able to use significant deductions and tax credits to lower their tax liability. With the corporate and AMT tax rates both at 20%, it is likely that most corporations will be subject to the AMT. Under AMT rules, the PTC is available only during the first 4 years, not 10 years, of an operating wind project. AMT rules also impose less generous depreciation schedules Big Wind in Panic Immediately after the Senate version was released, AWEA touted the bill as a boon for big wind. This, in spite of the BEAT provision being in the original bill and openly discussed by the Finance Committee. The leap to judgement was based solely on the Senate leaving the PTC phase-out unchanged. The mood quickly turned hostile last week, and the AWEA ‘war room’ fully engaged after the significance of the BEAT provision hit home. Senator Grassley was dispatched to push for special treatment of the PTC/ ITC but that effort failed, likely due to the enormous price tag tied to wind tax credits. Big wind’s mission now is to whip up a frenzy in the media and among Congressional Democrats and, if necessary, destabilize the bill in these final weeks. We’re already hearing how the Senate acted in the heat of the debate and did not understand the implications of its actions. Such claims are grossly unfair and simply not true. Just reviewing the detailed summary of the bill, it’s evident that the policy changes were intentional, they’ve been in the works for a long time, and were crafted by very smart, experienced tax lawyers who understood the overall impacts.Five days into a new year, the year that was to mark Iran's re-entry into the international community, and relations between two of the Middle East’s most important countries have fallen to their worst level in decades. After Saudi Arabia executed 47 men convicted of terror-related offences, including Nimr Al Nimr, a dissident Shia cleric, the Saudi embassy in Tehran was ransacked and in response Saudi broke off diplomatic relations with Iran. In what will be a pivotal year for the region, relations between these two countries have started from a low point. But the reaction to the execution of Al Nimr also points to something of far greater import. What has become starkly apparent in the past few days is how rapidly lines of allegiance are shifting across the region. In a way, who is criticising Saudi Arabia is more consequential than what they are saying. The three strongest reactions came from Iraq's former prime minister Nouri Al Maliki (who declared Al Nimr's death would "topple the Saudi regime"), Hizbollah (an "assassination") and Iran's Supreme Leader (who warned Saudi's rulers would face "the divine hand of revenge"). On the one hand, this should be puzzling. Why is the former prime minister of one country criticising the internal court decisions of another? Why is a militant group that styles itself as the defender of one country concerned about a citizen of another? What they have in common is that they all represent Shia religious communities – that is, they all see themselves, in part, not merely as defenders of a national or political community, but as defenders of a religious one. Hizbollah say they need to retain their weapons to defend Lebanon from Israeli attack – but then use those weapons to defend a minority Shia regime in Syria. Nouri Al Maliki, who obviously has aspirations to return to the prime ministership of Iraq, is shoring up the vote of his Shia constituents. Rather than portraying himself as a national, Iraqi leader, he openly appeals over the heads of Christian, Sunni Muslim and other Iraqis to focus on one sect alone. The most worrying is Iran, which explicitly sees itself as the leader of a religious community, not merely of its own citizens. There are Shia communities around the Muslim world: they are Arabs and Iranians, Azeris and Indians, Afghans and Turks. They live in a dozen countries. If Iran claims to speak on behalf of Shia communities, it gives itself the right to interfere in the affairs of many independent countries. More than anything else taking place today in the Middle East, the normalisation of sectarian identity, and political appeals to loyalty based on that identity rather than citizenship, is the most dangerous aspect of this new century. Left unchecked, it will define the region for decades, and potentially tear once mixed communities apart. Indeed, it has already done so. What started as a rhetorical device has become a reality. The sectarian divide has always been overstated, a transposing of the Protestant-Catholic wars of Europe to the Middle East. There has never been a hundred years Sunni-Shia war, let alone 1,000. But there is little doubt that many people believe in the sectarian divide. The motivation to see in the political decisions of governments the shadow of sectarianism is real, and growing. It has happened, most of all, in Iraq. That, looking back, will come to be seen as the beginning. The breaking apart of Iraq in the 2003 invasion created the conditions for the current sectarian war. Certainly, Iran had been using the religious card as a recruiting tool for years – all the way back to the formation of Hizbollah in the 1980s. But Iraq was when it went mainstream. In the chaos that followed the invasion, communities had to find rapid, easily understandable ways to stick together. Remember that Iraq was insecure: militias of dubious provenance were showing up in towns and cities, manning checkpoints and knocking on doors in the middle of the night. At that point, for Iraqis, with the men with guns at the door, there was little time for a discussion about the minutia of religion or who prays how. There was no time for an unpicking of paternal and maternal bloodlines (Sunnis and Shia freely intermarried in Iraq before 2003). There was only protection, and the comfort of sect. Since then, sect has proven a powerful recruiting tool. There are simply not enough politicians able to garner a platform who speak the language of inclusion. In times of strife, those who speak the language of division always find it easier to get a hearing. Sectarian feelings have long existed in the Middle East. In the recesses of the mind, that marker of difference, that safety of sect, has always existed. It is the Middle East's equivalent of European racism, to be brought back at times of stress. Sect just needed a political moment. "Nothing," as the Palestinian-American poet Hala Alyan wrote in a different context, "is as dangerous as an unlit match." After Iraq, sect found its moment. [email protected] On Twitter: @FaisalAlYafaiTed Johnson of the New England Patriots speaks with the media during media day at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida on February 1, 2005 (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images) HOUSTON (SPORTSRADIO610.COM) – Ted Johnson played 10 years in the NFL for the New England Patriots as a linebacker. He won three Super Bowls with the team. He also suffered multiple concussions and at one point was involved in the Lawsuit against the NFL from former players suffering from the concussions they received. Ted spoke during the show he co-hosts on SportsRadio 610 with Sean Pendergast and Rich Lord about why he chose to remove himself from that lawsuit. “I’m no longer a part of that lawsuit.” Johnson said, “There (are) two things. One is the symbolic reason: its, for me, part of it is, it’s horrible, absolutely horrible settlement. “Everybody criticized the players that were in on it. A lot, the majority of people, don’t want to hear me talk about this. They’re saying, ‘Hey, you knew what you were getting into.’ And I can go down that road, but I think I’ll just let it go. “The point is, this lawsuit settlement that came about with our plaintiffs, us the plaintiffs, our lawyers, and the NFL basically, it is a complete and utter sham, in my opinion. When you look at the details. The only way guys are going to get any money in this…you have to fall into four categories. You either have to ALS, which is Lou Gehrig’s disease…it is a death sentence. Tim Shaw, Steve Gleason, Kevin Turner and O.J. Brigance are all former NFLers who have been diagnosed with ALS in the last seven years. The disease, which attacks the nervous system has no known cure. “That disease, ALS,” Johnson continued. “There is a direct link to guys that have had multiple concussions to [ALS]. “The brain disease that guys have, that have multiple concussions, called CTE, chronic traumatic encephalopathy. CTE they have discovered can lead to Lou Gerhig’s disease. So those guys [with ALS] should get more money than anybody should. It’s capped at $5 million, so, them and their families will get, as the current settlement is five million. The only way you are going to get paid is if you have any cognitive deficiencies, like ALS. “So we’ve got ALS, that’s its own thing. If you have dementia, Alzheimer’s, or Parkinson’s disease then it’s a sliding scale. You’ll get that money. The problem with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and dementia is that CTE, the brain disease linked to multiple concussions, has nothing to do with those brain diseases.” According to Johnson, science has not discovered a link from multiple concussions to the three brain diseases listed in the lawsuit along with ALS that will allow a former player to get some money from the NFL. Johnson was diagnosed with, in his estimate, 5-7 concussions during his career, but says he probably had ten times that many. “Our lawyers, who are absolutely horrible, the plaintiff’s lawyers in this thing. If people want to criticize the players in this thing for being in a money grab, the lawyers for the plaintiffs in this lawsuit, it’s disgusting what they’ve done. Because they wanted something fast, they wanted to get to it, they wanted to get their quick money and they fooled this judge into thinking concussions lead to these brain diseases. And it doesn’t. “The primary problem with guys that have had histories of concussions and that have CTE is the behavioral changes, not the cognitive ones. So when you see Jim McMahon out there saying ‘I can’t remember where my keys are. I can’t find my way home.’ That is such a small part of the problem. The bigger problem is the behavioral changes. The aggression, the depression, the anxiety, the volatility; those are the biggest changes guys have in their brains whenever they have multiple concussions.” The behavioral issues Johnson is talking about can lead to suicide. Many former NFL players have committed suicide, from Junior Seau, Dave Duerson, Andre Waters, Larry Bethea and more. “Guys who committed suicide before 2010, their families will be rewarded maximum payment out of this. Here is the problem. They did autopsies on these guys…they all found CTE. Here is the problem. Because they killed themselves their families are going to be rewarded money. But guys who are still living, that have CTE, will not get any monetary payment what so ever. It’s a complete sham. It’s embarrassing and that’s why I opted
that boasts a stronger quantitative underpinning. Adjusted net yards per attempt (or ANY/A) uses more modern research by Chase Stuart to estimate the value of touchdowns and interceptions while also incorporating sacks, which evidence suggests has plenty to do with quarterbacks despite being commonly blamed on the offensive line. You can find out more about ANY/A here. 2017 impact: Despite receiving praise for his hot start, Carson Wentz had a dismal rookie season by ANY/A, ranking between Blake Bortles and Case Keenum at 27th among qualifying passers. NFC East rival Kirk Cousins, meanwhile, finished fourth overall, ahead of Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers. Kirk Cousins had his most efficient season as a pro in 2016. Patrick Smith/Getty Images The Pro-football-reference.com index statistics One of the problems with comparing quarterbacks is accounting for the era in which they play. Right now, for example, we're in an era when both passing stats and scoring are at all-time highs. What passes for average in the modern game would've been deemed superstar numbers as recently as 25 years ago. The indispensable Pro-football-reference.com (PFR) adjusts for era in several key metrics with their index statistics, such as Sack Rate+ (Sack Rate Index) or ANY/A+. PFR measures the number of standard deviations above or below the mean that a player accounts for in a particular category, and multiplies it by 15 to create the index stat. It's not a perfect methodology, but this does an excellent job of putting things in context in terms of key quarterback rate stats. 2017 impact: Jared Goff was staggeringly bad as a rookie, posting the worst ANY/A+ since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 among quarterbacks with 200 passes or more. He narrowly beat out a group of terrifyingly awful rookie passers, including Ryan Leaf on the negative side and, more promisingly, Terry Bradshaw on the positive path. Nobody wants to start with a terrible campaign, but with a much-improved offensive line, Goff could still get better. Jared Goff was the first pick of the 2016 NFL draft but struggled as a rookie on the Rams. Richard Mackson/USA TODAY Sports Total QBR QBR, a metric developed by ESPN Stats & Information, incorporates several elements of quarterback play that aren't often accounted for in other quarterback metrics, including penalties and fumbles. It adjusts for context, giving far more credit for a 7-yard gain on third-and-6 than it does for the same yardage on third-and-13, because it's built on an expected points framework. It also uses evidence to divide credit for a play between a quarterback and his receiver, which makes sense on a fundamental level. When Dak Prescott tosses a screen pass 1 yard downfield to Ezekiel Elliott and the latter jukes four defenders out before taking it to the house, it's debatable whether Prescott deserves 10 percent or 15 percent of the credit for the play. It's far less plausible to suggest he deserves 100 percent of the yardage. I wouldn't suggest QBR is perfect, although its biggest problem previously -- the fact that it wasn't adjusted for the quality of the opposing defense -- has been fixed. If one passer has a QBR of 60 and another is at 55, I wouldn't use QBR to suggest one is definitively better than the other. At the extremes, though, QBR is useful. If a quarterback is sixth in the league in QBR when he's not pressured but 29th in QBR when the defense is on him, I'm confident the game tape will back up the idea that he struggles more under pressure than most passers. If a quarterback is 10th in passer rating and 28th in QBR, I'm going to see whether there are mitigating factors that could be inflating his traditional stats. No measure is perfect, but QBR is the most effective one-number metric for quarterbacks dating back through 2007. 2017 impact: Tyrod Taylor was far more effective as a quarterback by QBR than he was by popular perception last year, finishing ninth in the league with an opponent-adjusted Total QBR of 68.2. The Bills can move on from Taylor after this season, so the QB may very well hit the market next year underrated by traditional metrics. Total QBR ranked Tyrod Taylor as a top-10 QB last season. Kevin Hoffman/USA TODAY Sports Running back statistics Success rate A Football Outsiders statistic that serves as a check on the efficiency implied by yards per carry, success rate measures the rate at which a rusher keeps his offense "on schedule." In most situations, a successful run picks up 40 percent of the needed yardage for a conversion on first down, 60 percent on second down, or 100 percent on third/fourth down, with adjustments for game situation in the fourth quarter. The strength of this stat is also its weakness: It penalizes players who rack up most of their yardage with a few big runs if they aren't also efficient. That sounds like it would hate a boom-or-bust back like Barry Sanders, but the stats suggest Sanders was more efficient than you remember, especially earlier in his career. Big plays are always nice, but unless you're Barry Sanders, it's far tougher to sustain those bigger plays from year to year. 2017 impact: Jay Ajayi turned into a franchise back once the Dolphins gave him the starting job, as the second-year man averaged 4.9 yards per carry, which was good for eighth in the league. Those numbers are buoyed by several big plays: Ajayi was the only back in football with four carries of 40 yards or more. Ajayi's success rate on runs was just 43 percent, which was 32nd among 42 qualifying backs. Jay Ajayi made his first Pro Bowl last season after rushing for 1,272 on 261 carries. Chris Trotman/Getty Images Wide receiver/tight end statistics Catch rate One of the more basic statistics on this list, catch rate is simply the number of passes a receiver catches divided by the number of targets in his direction. Targets can be murky -- there are some passes that get arbitrarily assigned to a receiver even though they're not remotely catchable or get batted away before the receiver ever has a shot at catching the ball -- but overall, a receiver's catch rate is a worthwhile measure of efficiency. If two players each catch nine passes for 80 yards, the receiver who caught those nine passes on 10 targets is far more effective than the one who needed 17 targets. 2017 Impact: Brandon Marshall saw his catch rate fall from 63.4 percent in 2015 to 47.2 percent last year, the worst figure in football for receivers with 100 targets or more. Playing with Ryan Fitzpatrick didn't help matters, but then again, Fitz was playing quarterback in 2015, too. He'll have to hope the presence of Eli Manning under center -- arguably the best quarterback Marshall has caught passes from during his decade-long career -- helps him turn that catch rate around. Air yards per target The other element of receiving -- one that influences catch rate greatly -- is the degree of difficulty on a player's reception attempts. A deep threat like DeSean Jackson can be wildly effective if he posts a catch rate of 55 percent, while an underneath wideout like Danny Amendola needs to be closer to 70 percent to justify his spot in the receiving rotation. The range of air yards per target for wide receivers varies from more than 16 yards per target (Jackson, J.J. Nelson) down to fewer than 6 yards per target (Anquan Boldin, Adam Humphries). The classic example is Colts tight end Jack Doyle. Over the past three seasons, Doyle has caught 80.2 percent of the passes thrown to him, the best figure in the league for a wide receiver or tight end. Not coincidentally, the average pass to Doyle has traveled fewer than 5 yards in the air, which was also the lowest figure in the league for any wide receiver or tight end by more than half a yard. 2017 impact: The Raiders signed Cordarrelle Patterson, presumably to pitch in as a returner and help stretch the field on offense. By the time he finished his tenure with the Vikings, though, Patterson was almost exclusively a target on screen passes. The average pass to the speedy Patterson traveled just 4.7 yards in the air last season, the lowest among wideouts by a comfortable margin. The second-lowest average among wideouts was the 5.7-yard mark recorded by Humphries. Cordarrelle Patterson averaged just 8.7 yards per catch last season. Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire Receptions per route run A measure of how integral a player is to a passing game, receptions per route run analyzes the frequency with which a receiver demands the football on the field. Receptions aren't created equal -- some players come onto the field for only designed passes in their direction, while others are catching checkdowns when the offense breaks down. The leading reception rate among wideouts last year was the 23.5 percent mark posted by Kansas City's Tyreek Hill. Theo Riddick trailed him, but led the way at running back with 21.2 percent. The leading star wideout in this category is A.J. Green, who caught the ball on 19.6 percent of his routes. Perennial rival Julio Jones was below him at 18.4 percent. The top tight end? C.J. Fiedorowicz at 19.2 percent. I didn't see that one coming, either. 2017 impact: Hill has gone from being a third wideout and part-time offensive weapon for the Chiefs to the team's presumed top wide receiver this season. Can he continue to rack up receptions at a league-best rate as an every-down wide receiver this year? Pass rusher statistics Quarterback knockdowns Sacks are the most meaningful statistic used to judge pass-rushers, but they're too few and far between to be our only gauge. The difference between a great season (12 sacks) and a solid, unremarkable campaign (eight sacks) is one sack per month. Judging players that way tends to be dangerous, which is why we generally discount stats like rushing and receiving touchdowns because of their year-to-year volatility. Another way to judge a pass-rusher's effectiveness is the number of quarterback knockdowns (also called quarterback hits) he racks up in a given season. This number includes sacks (where the quarterback hits the turf), but doesn't include strip sacks (where the edge rusher bats the ball out of a quarterback's hands). While the best pass-rusher in the league might make it to only 15 sacks, the league leader in quarterback knockdowns will often approach 35 hits. The knockdowns put J.J. Watt's dominance in perspective. When healthy, he puts even other great edge rushers to shame: Year J.J. Watt Hits Rank Second Place Hits 2012 43 1 Cameron Wake 33 2013 46 1 Robert Quinn 34 2014 51 1 Carlos Dunlap 28 2015 50 1 Aaron Donald 37 Vic Beasley Jr. led the league in sacks last season with 15.5, but Aaron Donald topped the hit charts with 31. More on Beasley and his 2017 prospects in a second. Sacks per knockdown While any pass-rusher getting to the quarterback is doing the right thing, the difference between a sack and a knockdown can come down to a fraction of a second or a lone step. Over the past five years, regular pass-rushers (guys with 10 or more hits in a given season) have turned about 43 percent of their knockdowns into sacks. Players who have a disproportionately high or low percentage of sacks per knockdown are likely to see their sack total rise or fall accordingly the following year. On the low side, the obvious candidate to improve after 2015 was Jets defensive end Leonard Williams, who turned his 21 hits into just three sacks (14.3 percent). Last year, he jumped from three sacks to seven and made his first Pro Bowl. The opposite example was Washington linebacker Preston Smith, who had eight sacks on 10 hits during his rookie year. Despite moving into a starting role last season, his sack total fell to five. 2017 impact: Beasley is a prime candidate for regression this year. He racked up 15.5 sacks on just 16 knockdowns, and while he had several strip sacks that wouldn't count as knockdowns, it's extremely likely that his sack total will fall back to earth in his third season. His 96.9 percent sack-per-knockdown rate is the second-highest over the past five seasons. For comparison, Nick Perry had the second-highest rate in 2016 all the way down at 68.8 percent. It's impossible to produce a worse rate than Jihad Ward, who did not record a sack during his rookie season despite producing 10 knockdowns. He'll get his first sack in 2017. Datone Jones (8.3 percent) and the wildly underrated Tom Johnson (8.7 percent) also qualify. One more notable candidate is Lions star Ezekiel Ansah, who recorded just two sacks on 15 hits during an injury-plagued campaign. Vic Beasley Jr. will almost surely see his sacks total fall from 15.5 after having just 16 total knockdowns. Brett Davis/USA TODAY Sports Kicker statistics Adjusted kicker stats Football Outsiders tracks the efficiency of kickers, expressing them versus league-average in a given range after adjusting for the weather and altitude of the kick. The latter variable is critical, given how much easier it is to hit from distance in Colorado. The result is expressed in points above or below league-average. FO also tracks the same stats for punters, kickers and return men, though those are also far more subject to the abilities of the blocking units than the field goal kickers themselves. 2017 impact: The worst kicker in football last year was Tampa Bay's Roberto Aguayo, who the team traded up for in the 2016 draft and was worth a league-low minus-15.2 points last season, missing nine field goals and two extra points. The Bucs signed Nick Folk this offseason and gave him a $750,000 signing bonus, suggesting Aguayo's time in Tampa might not last. Roberto Aguayo struggled last season for Tampa Bay, missing nine field goals and two extra points. Jeremy Brevard/USA TODAY Sports Hidden special teams statistics Hidden football stats sounds like the secret menu at a restaurant, but it's an amalgamation of numbers tracked by FO. Their "hidden" special teams statistic consists of elements of special teams that matter but are out of the opposing team's control. The stat takes the opposing team's kickoff placement and punt distance into account, but most crucially, it accounts for the opposition's performance on field goal attempts. FO expresses this metric in terms of points of field position, and the range is quite enormous. The luckiest team in the league last year was the Dolphins, who received 20.1 points of "hidden" help. Meanwhile, the unluckiest team was Chicago, who lost 13.3 points of field position from the opposition. That's a 33.4-point swing. Indeed, despite Chicago's volatile weather conditions, opposing kickers connected on a league-best 94.3 percent of their field goals against the Bears, while teams hit only 74.3 percent of their field goals and 89.5 percent of their extra points against Miami. 2017 impact: You would expect the Dolphins to regress toward the mean, as teams haven't displayed much ability to hold on to these hidden benefits, but Miami doesn't appear to be budging. They've ranked in the top three of special-teams luck since 2013 and haven't ranked outside of the top seven since 2010. Indeed, since that 2013 season, opposing kickers have successfully converted a league-low 77.5 percent of their field goal tries against the Dolphins. The Patriots (77.9 percent) are the only other team in the league below 80 percent. There's no evidence that teams can pull this off deliberately from year to year, so it's interesting to see what's happening with Miami. They've turned over most of their special teams personnel during that four-year stretch, but one exception has been special-teams coordinator Darren Rizzi, who has been on the books since 2010. Miami hasn't been especially impressive on special teams over that time frame, with an average rank in FO's metrics of 19th. It's bizarre that the Dolphins would be middling at special teams on the whole, but great at this single, seemingly uncontrollable element of the game. Bruce Arians criticized Rizzi and the Dolphins for barking out snap counts before an extra point last season, though Arians has a history of complaining about special-teams plays. The snap count maneuver would be illegal, but it's hard to imagine the Dolphins executing such a tactic for the better part of a decade without being scolded by the league at some point. It's tempting to credit Miami's fans for inducing misses, but opposing kickers have hit 77.6 percent of their kicks against the Dolphins at home and a nearly identical 77.5 percent of their tries at Miami over that time frame. The same fans were also around in the previous decade, however, and opposing kickers hit on a far more standard 83.2 percent of their tries back then. That's one of the fun things about pairing advanced statistics with football: Sometimes you stumble onto something important and seemingly meaningful -- and have absolutely no explanation for it.In June 2015, retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn took a little-noticed trip to Egypt and Israel, paid for by a U.S. company he was advising. The company hoped to build more than two dozen nuclear plants in the region, in partnership with Russian interests. Flynn's quiet involvement in that project — and his failure to disclose his ties to the effort — could complicate the legal issues facing President Trump's former national security adviser, who has signaled that he may be willing to cooperate with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. [Flynn’s lawyer shuts down communications with Trump’s team, a sign he may be cooperating with Mueller probe] Congressional Democrats say Flynn may have violated federal law by failing to disclose the Middle Eastern trip in his security clearance renewal application in 2016. A top House Republican declined the Democrats' request for a congressional inquiry but referred the allegations to the special counsel. Last month, Mueller revealed that his wide-ranging investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election had led to charges against three former Trump campaign officials. One of them, foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos, has been cooperating, according to court filings. There are now signs that Flynn — whose international dealings have been the subject of intense interest by the special counsel — may also be willing to share information with prosecutors. Last week, his attorney shut down communications with Trump's legal team, a development many interpreted as suggesting possible cooperation with Mueller. Investigators for the special counsel have been examining whether Flynn hid foreign business dealings, particularly work he did for Turkish interests during the campaign, according to people familiar with the probe. The nuclear venture is yet another instance in which Flynn appeared to have a personal stake in an international project while he was advising Trump in 2016, giving prosecutors one more potential avenue to pressure him to cooperate. A spokesman for Mueller declined to comment. An attorney for Flynn declined to comment. Flynn remained involved in the Middle Eastern nuclear project from the spring of 2015 to the end of 2016, according to recent financial disclosure filings, a period that partially overlapped with his role as a prominent adviser to Trump's campaign and transition. "General Flynn's actions are part of a broader pattern of concealing his foreign contacts, payments, travel and work on behalf of foreign interests," said Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (Md.), the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. "The bigger question is this: What did President Trump know, and why did he disregard all the red flags?" The White House declined to comment. Flynn served as an adviser to two Washington-based companies pursuing efforts to build nuclear power plants in the Middle East: ACU Strategic Partners, which proposed a partnership with Russian interests, and IP3/IronBridge, which later launched a separate endeavor that initially proposed working with China to build the infrastructure, according to federal documents and company officials. In various filings in 2016 and 2017, Flynn did not initially disclose his connection to ACU and foreign contacts he made while advising the firm. Flynn said he served as an "advisor" to ACU from April 2015 through June 2016, according to an amended financial disclosure he filed this August. But he made no mention of the company in a "Truth in Testimony" form he signed for a congressional appearance in June 2015, shortly before he traveled to the Middle East on the trip paid for by ACU. Flynn wrote that he was representing his company, Flynn Intel Group, at the hearing. He also did not reveal his ties to ACU on the personal financial disclosure form he completed in February after entering the White House, according to federal filings. It was not until August — six months after he was forced to resign as national security adviser — that he disclosed a relationship with the firm on the amended form. But perhaps his most serious omission, House Democrats contend, came on his security clearance renewal application in January 2016 and in his interview with background check investigators the following month, according to an Oct. 18 letter signed by Democratic lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee. "It appears that General Flynn violated federal law by omitting this trip and these foreign contacts from his security clearance renewal application and concealing them from security clearance investigators who interview as part of that background check," according to the letter. It is a criminal offense to knowingly omit material information requested by federal officials conducting such a review. An attorney for Flynn's company told the committee that it would not provide documents about the Middle Eastern nuclear project unless it was subpoenaed, according to the letter. Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), chairman of the House Oversight Committee, declined to issue a subpoena and instead referred the Democrats' concerns to Mueller and Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein. "Much of what is sought by my Democratic colleagues — if properly investigated, charged and proven beyond a reasonable doubt — would carry criminal penalties," Gowdy wrote in his Oct. 18 letter, posted by the committee. "Congress does not, and cannot, prosecute crimes." Gowdy, a former prosecutor, did not offer his opinion on whether the allegations had merit, but he wrote that he did not want to "risk interfering with any ongoing criminal probes." [Lobbying activities of Michael Flynn’s son being examined by special counsel on Russia] Flynn, who was fired by President Barack Obama from his post as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2014, became involved in ACU's project in 2015, as part of a group of former top military and diplomatic officials and nuclear experts the company assembled to help push its plan. The idea: to build several dozen "proliferation-proof" nuclear power plants across Persian Gulf states. The plan relied heavily on Russian interests, which would help build the plants, as well as possibly take possession of spent fuel that could be used to build a nuclear weapon, according to people familiar with the project. ACU's managing director, Alex Copson, had been promoting variations of building nuclear facilities with Russian help for more than two decades, according to news reports. Copson did not respond to requests for comment, and ACU's counsel, Don Gross, declined to comment. ACU officials declined to identify its investors. The company said in a statement Monday night that it "has never used or accepted investment funds from any foreign government or any company or individual affiliated with any foreign government." Around the time he began advising the company, Flynn was warning publicly that America's national security would be at risk if the United States allowed Russia and other countries to spearhead nuclear energy projects in the Middle East. "I don't want Russia to be talking to Jordan about building nuclear plants," Flynn testified before a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on June 10, 2015. "I don't want the Chinese or Pakistan to be talking to the Saudis about building potentially 10 to 15 plants. I don't want the Russians to go over to Egypt and talk to them about building nuclear plants." "I want the United States of America to be in the driver's seat," he added. Two weeks later, Flynn traveled to the region. There, he urged Egyptian officials not to sign a deal with Russia to build nuclear plants and assured Israeli officials that ACU's plan could prevent Israel's enemies from obtaining material for nuclear weapons, according to people familiar with his conversations. The trip was first reported by Newsweek. Thomas Cochran, an expert on nuclear nonproliferation issues who worked as ACU's senior scientist, joined Flynn on the Israel portion of the trip. "Because General Flynn firmly believed in the necessity of the project from a US national security perspective, he traveled to Egypt and Israel to explain the ACU project's importance," he wrote in a June letter to congressional investigators. Flynn did not have a contract with ACU, but the company paid more than $5,000 toward his expenses for the trip, according to the firm and federal filings. ACU also wrote Flynn a $25,000 check for what it described in a letter to the House Oversight Committee as "the loss of income and business opportunities resulting from this trip." But the company said Flynn never cashed the check, mystifying congressional investigators who have examined the matter. Around June 2016, according to his financial disclosure, Flynn ended his association with ACU and began advising a company called IP3/IronBridge, co-founded by retired Rear Adm. Michael Hewitt, a former ACU adviser. IP3 initially proposed partnering with China and other nations, rather than Russia, to build nuclear power plants, according to a company spokesman, who said the China component has since been dropped. In August 2016, the company produced a PowerPoint presentation that included Flynn's photo and former government title on a page titled "IP3/IronBridge: Formidable US Leadership." The document was labeled as a "Presentation to His Majesty King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz" of Saudi Arabia and displayed the seals of Saudi Arabia and the United States. The presentation was obtained by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, who made it public. IP3 officials said in a statement to The Washington Post that the document was never presented to the Saudis. The company also said that while it had offered Flynn a role as "an advisor" in June 2016 with no pay, Flynn responded that he wanted to "hold off." In December, the company said, he sent a letter to IP3 "terminating the offer." Asked why Flynn reported on various financial disclosure forms that he had been a "consultant," "board member" and "advisor" to IP3, the company said it appeared that Flynn disclosed a "potential" role "out of an abundance of caution." Cummings said his committee was not informed that Flynn had an offer from IP3 that he deferred until after the election. Flynn continued to support the idea of the nuclear project during the presidential transition. He encouraged Tom Barrack, one of Trump's closest friends, to pursue a related plan and endorsed a colleague's suggestion that Barrack meet with IP3 officials, according to a person familiar with their conversation. Barrack was interested in developing a Middle East "Marshall Plan" to provide aid to poor regions of the Persian Gulf as a way to combat terrorism. At Flynn's urging, he had a lunch with IP3 officials but did not know that Flynn had served as an adviser to the firm, according to the person with knowledge of the episode. Barrack declined to comment. Both the ACU and IP3 proposals remain in flux and would require numerous governmental approvals to proceed. Meanwhile, other nations have moved to secure their own nuclear power projects in the Middle East. In May, two years after Flynn visited Egypt to urge that nation not to sign a deal with Russia and to work with a U.S. firm instead, Egypt finalized a deal with Moscow to build its first nuclear power plant. The arrangement was supported by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Alice Crites contributed to this report.Monday evening, in a standard Massachusetts Institute of Technology auditorium of muted colors and uncomfortable chairs, a wizened, stooped, silver-haired man in an ugly sweater held a packed house of nearly 300 people—most of them young, fashionably dressed, and capable of affording to attend one of the most prestigious private universities in the country—spellbound for about an hour and a half. That man was Noam Chomsky, and his subject was anarchism. Chomsky has had an influential academic career in linguistics, but achieved celebrity status as a political philosopher and activist, beginning with his opposition to the Vietnam War and continuing through today with the charges of imperialism he levels at American foreign policy, and the criticism he makes of capitalism, and the totalitarian strains he traces through both the left and the right. He was introduced by Nathan Schneider, a journalist who covered the Occupy movement for The Nation, Harper’s, and the Boston Review. Schneider described how Occupy activists had a kind of “amnesia” about leftist activism, knowing little of the history and practices of previous generations of activists since few of them had any prior experience. Chomsky, Schneider said, represents that neglected tradition. He also pointed out that anarchism has been revived as a term of abuse, as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) derided Tea Partiers as “anarchists,” and some Republicans have made the same charge against North Carolina union organizers. The main body of Chomsky’s talk was an outline and definition of the anarchist intellectual tradition, which he said was centuries old, though “terms of political discourse are hardly ones of precision.” He continued, “that’s even more true of ‘anarchism.’ It resists any characterization.” Advertisement The main currents of anarchist thought were derived from classical liberal ideas that emerged in the Enlightenment and the Romantic era. The central idea, Chomsky said, was that “institutions that constrain human development are illegitimate unless they can justify themselves.” Anarchists seek to challenge those institutions and dismantle the ones that cannot be justified, while creating new institutions from the ground up based on cooperation and benefits for the community. This tradition of libertarian socialism or anarcho-syndicalism was still alive, Chomsky claimed, despite challenges and suppression. Paraphrasing the German-American anarchist Rudolf Rocker, Chomsky said that anarchism seeks to free labor from economic exploitation and society from ecclesiastical guardianship. This meant that workers struggle for their well-being and dignity—“for bread and roses,” as he put it—while rejecting the convention of working for others in exchange for money, which he described as a kind of slavery. The other opposition, to ecclesiastical guardianship, he explained as not necessarily an opposition to organized religion—he praised Dorothy Day’s Catholic Worker movement and the Christian anarchism of the Basque Country. Rather, Chomsky articulated an opposition to the idea that society should be regulated by an elite group, whether they are liberal technocrats, religious clerics, or corporate executives. Chomsky also addressed some of the issues confronting anarchist activism, noting that while anarchists stand against the state, they often advocate for state coercion in order to protect people from “the savage beasts” of the capitalists, as he put it. Yet he saw this as not a contradiction, but a streak of pragmatism. “People live and suffer in this world, not one we imagine,” Chomsky explained. “It’s worth remembering that anarchists condemn really existing states instead of idealistic visions of governments ‘of, by and for the people.’” He then connected the libertarian socialist tradition to currents in American thought, quoting the philosopher John Dewey as saying that “Power today resides in control of the means of production, exchange, communication and transportation … workers should be the masters of their individual fates.” To Chomsky, “Dewey was American as apple pie.” He contrasted Dewey’s critique of power with the ideals of the liberal/progressive tradition in the United States, noting that many of its leading lights, including Walter Lippmann, Samuel Huntington, and Woodrow Wilson, held extremely dim views of the majority of people, considering them dangerous, ignorant, and in need of control. Despite the historical tendency of elite groups of “ecclesiastical guardians,” like liberal technocrats or the Iranian Guardian Council to which he compared them, to seek control over society, he saw continued resistance. He finished his remarks on an optimistic note by pointing out that the anarchist critics of power are always recurring—during the English Civil War a “rabble” appeared that didn’t want to be ruled by either the king or Parliament—and that anarchism is like Marx’s old mole: always near the surface. Throughout his talk Chomsky described how he became involved with anarchism. His extended family was involved in left-wing movements in Philadelphia and New York before World War II, and he spent time in New York’s Union Square, where many Leftists congregated—including Catalonian anarchists fleeing reprisals from Francisco Franco. He also pointed out that many working class people of the era were involved in high culture and were familiar with sympathetic poems such as Shelley’s The Masque of Anarchy, which memorialized the Peterloo Massacre. It was a theme he returned to with the first question, which was about contemporary engagement with the arts. He contrasted two films from 1954, On the Waterfront and Salt of the Earth. The former was about a worker standing up to a corrupt union, had a wide release, and starred Marlon Brando. The latter was about union workers on strike and was effectively banned in the United States. “When people in power believe something firmly, that’s worth investigating,” Chomsky said. Finally, he was asked about the growth of surveillance and the militarization of the police. “The phenomenon itself shouldn’t be surprising—the scale was surprising—but the phenomenon itself is as American as apple pie,” Chomsky said. “You can be confident that any system of power is going to use technology against its enemy: the population. Power systems seek short-term domination and control, not security.” Matthew M. Robare is a freelance journalist based in Boston and also writes about urbanism and history.The following sections are excerpted with permission from Chapter 1 of Toby Hemenway’s new book The Permaculture City, published by Chelsea Green. When a permaculturist sees words such as “function” and “synergy,” it sets off lightbulbs in his or her head. Function, for example, indicates a relationship, a connection between two or more elements. A road functions to move traffic, thus the road has a relationship with vehicles, and it mediates the movement—that is, it makes connections—between the traffic, its origin, and its destination. Knowing a function, in turn, leads us to identify the items and processes necessary to fill that function and also points to the yields created when that function is filled. Thinking in terms of functions, then, is a powerful leverage point, because it identifies needs, yields, relationships, and goals, and it helps us spot blockages, missing elements, buildup of waste, and inefficiencies in the various flows and linkages that are part of that function’s workings. When a permaculturist sees words such as “function” and “synergy,” it sets off lightbulbs in his or her head. Function, for example, indicates a relationship, a connection between two or more elements. A road functions to move traffic, thus the road has a relationship with vehicles, and it mediates the movement—that is, it makes connections—between the traffic, its origin, and its destination. Knowing a function, in turn, leads us to identify the items and processes necessary to fill that function and also points to the yields created when that function is filled. Thinking in terms of functions, then, is a powerful leverage point, because it identifies needs, yields, relationships, and goals, and it helps us spot blockages, missing elements, buildup of waste, and inefficiencies in the various flows and linkages that are part of that function’s workings. This means that when we look at cities, their residents, and the other components of urban life in terms of their functions, we can spot the factors that influence how well they are able to perform those functions. Then we can study, understand, and direct those factors and influences in ways that will create and enhance the functions and properties of cities that are beneficial, such as community-building public plazas, parks, and structures; open and supportive marketplaces; and habitat-creating green space; as well as human elements such as responsive policy processes. We can also spot and damp down the negative factors. Once we’ve done this, the next step is to evaluate, to see how well our changes have moved us toward a more livable, and life-filled, environment. That is the heart of design. The importance of the three primary functions of cities—inspirational gathering space, security, and trade—is also visible in the negative. When cities grow ugly or inhumanly scaled, when they are crime-ridden or prone to raids, or when their industries fail, urbanites retreat if they can to the suburbs, the hinterlands, or another more functional city. Those who can’t leave often crowd—or are forced—into ghettos and enclaves. The movement of people in and out of a city is useful feedback about how well that city functions and what needs to be redesigned… Cities as Complex Systems The sciences of complexity studies arose in the 1960s and 1970s and spread, because they were so widely applicable, from the arid realms of theoretical physics and mathematics to other disciplines. A subdiscipline of urban planning, sometimes called complexity theory of cities, emerged in the 1980s and has since generated a blizzard of publications and experiments in urban design. I will give an overview of the origins and tenets of complexity theory of cities as it relates to permaculture. For those interested in exploring the intersection of urban design with complexity theory in more detail than I can offer here, a good place to start is an anthology of articles collected under the title Complexity Theories of Cities Have Come of Age, edited by Juval Portugali and others. Understanding that cities are a form of complex adaptive system has helped urbanists restore some vibrancy to moribund metropolises, so it’s worth understanding a little about these systems. The general “messiness” of cities has been irritating urban theorists and planners for centuries, but it wasn’t until recently that urbanists truly understood that it is just that messiness that gives cities their life. The urge to rationalize and give order to cities—which, incidentally, culminated in the dehumanizing urban-renewal projects of the 1960s—has its seeds back in the Enlightenment era
processing through a dedicated multi-core CPU running custom-built algorithms and optimized convolution engines. 4) Wi-Fi-based control of all BACCH-SP functions through an intuitive and aesthetically pleasing iPad controller on a dedicated iPad that serves as the sole remote control. To learn more about the BACCH-SP, visitTheoretica's official website. The BACCH-SP is now commercially available through the following licensed agents/dealers: Audtech Associates (US and Europe) email: [email protected] MASIS Audio (Asia) email: [email protected] Photo/Seth Wenig George W. Bush. Former President George W. Bush, a Republican, on Thursday gave his most pointed remarks so far during Donald Trump's presidency. He spoke about white supremacy, waning support for democracy, and Russia's influence in the 2016 US presidential election. "Bigotry seems emboldened," he said. "Our politics seems more vulnerable to conspiracy theories and outright fabrication." At an event on Thursday in New York hosted by his namesake institute, former President George W. Bush delivered his most pointed remarks during Donald Trump's presidency. At the forum - branded as being "focused on freedom, free markets, and security" and featuring speakers such as former first lady Laura Bush, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley - Bush strongly condemned the state of American politics. "In recent decades, public confidence in our institutions has declined," the 43rd president said. "Our governing class has often been paralyzed in the face of obvious and pressing needs. The American dream of upward mobility seems out of reach for some who feel left behind in a changing economy. Discontent deepened and sharpened partisan conflicts. Bigotry seems emboldened. Our politics seems more vulnerable to conspiracy theories and outright fabrication." Seeming to point to some factions on the left, Bush said he saw signs "that the intensity of support for democracy itself has waned, especially among the young, who never experienced the galvanizing moral clarity of the Cold War or never focused on the ruin of entire nations by socialist central planning." "Some have called this democratic deconsolidation," he said. "Really, it seems to be a combination of weariness, frayed tempers, and forgetfulness." Bush also blasted some of the emerging elements of the far right, which presented themselves most prominently at the white-supremacist rallies in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August that turned deadly when a driver plowed into a crowd of counterprotesters, killing one woman. The former president said that "people of every race, religion, and ethnicity can be fully and equally American" and that "bigotry or white supremacy in any form is blasphemy against the American creed." He also mentioned Russia's influence in the 2016 presidential election, calling on the US to "harden its own defenses." "Our country must show resolve and resilience in the face of external attacks on our democracy," he said. "And that begins with confronting a new era of cyber threats. America has experienced a sustained attempt by a hostile power to feed and exploit our country's divisions. "According to our intelligence services, the Russian government has made a project of turning Americans against each other," he continued. "This effort is broad, systemic, and stealthy. It's conducted across a range of social-media platforms. Ultimately, this assault won't succeed. But foreign aggressions, including cyberattacks, disinformation, and financial influence, should never be downplayed or tolerated." Watch some of his remarks: Media not supported by AMP. Tap for full mobile experience. Media not supported by AMP. Tap for full mobile experience. Media not supported by AMP. Tap for full mobile experience.A pedestrian walks near the site of the proposed homeless shelter in Ward 1 at 2105 10th St. NW in the District. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post) D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser has pitched her plan to create family homeless shelters in almost every ward of the city as an equitable way for the community to share the burden of caring for the neediest residents. But records show that most of the private properties proposed as shelter sites are owned or at least partly controlled by major donors to the mayor. And experts have calculated that the city leases would increase the assessed value of those properties by as much as 10 times for that small group of landowners and developers. How much taxpayer money would be paid to a handful of well-connected private landowners, developers and their agents is expected to be a focus of a hearing Thursday before the D.C. Council. Bowser (D) wants to close the city’s overcrowded mega-shelter at the former D.C. General Hospital and replace it with seven smaller facilities spread across the District. Her plan calls for spending at least $266 million — and perhaps closer to $300 million — to lease land and buildings over the next three decades, records indicate. Those payments would go to five private corporations, including three tied to political supporters Douglas Jemal, Bryan “Scottie” Irving and Suman Sorg. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) addresses a community meeting at Friendship Baptist Church in Ward 6. (Amanda Voisard/For the Washington Post) [Mayor’s shelter plan draws scrutiny] The trio, along with their companies and family members, have given a combined $67,000 to Bowser’s mayoral and council campaigns and to a PAC working on her behalf. That includes more than $22,000 given by Jemal and associates, with $10,000 donated to Bowser’s inaugural party. Irving’s family and company have given over $38,000, including over $15,000 to a political action committee that friends of Bowser created last year but later abandoned. The Sorg family gave the least, at $6,750. Even in a city with an overheated housing market, the amount the city would pay — mostly for dormitory-style shelter rooms — is eye-popping for anyone familiar with a mortgage. The District would pay at least $4,500 on average per apartment, per month, each year for at least the next 20 years under Bowser’s plan. According to one estimate circulating among D.C. Council members, the combined assessed value of all the land the city would lease under Bowser’s plan is roughly $14.5 million. But the market value of those properties would multiply tenfold to about $147 million because of the leases. And when the terms expire,the city would not own most of the facilities it paid to construct. Rashad Young, the city administrator who helped formulate the shelter plan, said the costs are not out of line with roughly 3 million square feet of space the city now leases, including for office use. The cost of the leases for the shelters would range from $38 per square foot to $64 per square foot, Young said. Office space recently leased by the city ranges from $47 to $50 per square foot, he said. The broad range stems from the fact that the administration chose sites suited for families. He also said the buildings would be unique and require costly amenities such as durable surfaces, since families could be moving multiple times per year, and would include cafeterias and play spaces for children. “There is no facility that is currently constructed that meets the needs of short-term family housing,” he said. Young pushed back against the notion that any of the sites had been selected to help political allies. “There is a narrative that is building around motivation, around our motivation, that is grossly unfair because people don’t want these facilities,” Young said. He blamed neighbors who are opposed to sheltersfor trying to upend the plan. “We are not doing popular work here.” Bowser’s office referred questions to Young. The Sorg family declined to comment, and a spokesman for Jemal said the company intended to respond, but did not before this article was published. Shortly after the mayor announced her plans, websites and social-media accounts — many of them created anonymously — began popping up with sometimes detailed criticism of the plans. A group called “We are Responsible D.C.” created dchomelessplan.com, which says the mayor “fails to hold developers accountable for homeless shelter costs.” Another group created homewarddc.com and said the mayor’s plan put developers before residents. Several single out Irving, a close ally of Bowser’s mentor, former mayor Adrian Fenty. Irving, who recently traveled with Bowser on her official trip to Cuba, declined repeated requests for comment. He is listed as the registered agent for a limited liability corporation that signed a tentative agreement with the city to create a shelter in Ward 6. The site for 50 units has an assessed value of $2.3 million but could now be worth $43 million because of the agreement with the city, according to the briefing papers under review by the D.C. Council. In Ward 3, Bowser is proposing to spend $56 million to lease 38 units that would be built on Wisconsin Ave. NW near Observatory Circle. The District would pay an estimated $6,187.26 in monthly rent per unit over 20 years. The average rent for high-end apartments in the ward is $2,973. Massachusetts Heights resident Malia Brink, 40, volunteers at an existing shelter in her neighborhood but said she and some of her neighbors consider the proposal too large and “egregiously expensive.” “For that 20 years, this lease costs just over $56 million, for a property that was on sale for $4 million,” Brink said. She suggested reopening the bidding for 90 days to see if there were better deals available. “If by the way this is really the best the District can do, then that will prove it, and you will have answered all of us who are saying it’s too expensive,” she said. Council member Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3) said she is worried about the financial commitment the mayor is proposing. “The cost is a real concern, and I’m just not sure what to do about it,” Cheh said. She and 11 other members publicly pledged support for Bowser’s plan before they saw the details. Kenyan R. McDuffie (D-Ward 5) was the only member who did not endorse it. D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson this week said he would move rapidly and hold a vote on all the proposed leases as a package, as Bowser requested. He said in an interview the vote could come as early as mid-April, in the middle of budget season, when there will be little time for further scrutiny. Even before the D.C. Council decides the fate of the proposal, Bowser’s plan has benefited at least one player involved in the deals. Rock Creek Property Group owned a former women’s shelter at 808-810 Fifth Street NW in Ward 2. It purchased the property from Gospel Rescue Ministries for $5.95 million in 2013. It planned to redevelop the site and build more than 50 luxury residential units but did not acquire the needed approvals. Then the District chose the site for a homeless shelter and signed a 25-year lease worth $43.5 million — the only site for which the District has finalized a lease — requiring some new upgrades but no major construction. Rock Creek sold it last week for $28.5 million. The buyer, Brian Friedman, sounded almost envious of the deal. “For the developers that did that, they just scored. They failed with one business plan and pivoted into the next,” Friedman said. Gary Schlager, principal of Rock Creek Property Group, declined to comment.Bay Area winds topple trees, close freeways, crush cars High winds blew over a large tree across Interstate 80 in Vallejo Tuesday Dec. 30, 2014. Traffic was blocked in both directions for nearly an hour. High winds blew over a large tree across Interstate 80 in Vallejo Tuesday Dec. 30, 2014. Traffic was blocked in both directions for nearly an hour. Photo: Courtesy / California Highway Patrol Photo: Courtesy / California Highway Patrol Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close Bay Area winds topple trees, close freeways, crush cars 1 / 8 Back to Gallery High winds created havoc across the Bay Area on Tuesday as trees were toppled and crushed cars, blocked freeways and caused a brutal evening commute as gusts topped 60 mph in the East Bay hills. Lanes in both directions of Interstate 80 in Vallejo were shut down just before 3 p.m. when a tree knocked down power lines and started a small fire, according to the California Highway Patrol. Crews were able to quickly extinguish the fire near the Admiral Callaghan off-ramp, but traffic was at a standstill for nearly an hour. A number of downed trees blocked northbound Interstate 238 in San Leandro at 4:30 p.m. and motorists were diverted to southbound Interstate 880. As of 8:30 p.m. the road was still closed, but crews hoped to have it clear by about 9:30 p.m. On BART, numerous lines were shut down throughout the day as tree limbs were blown onto tracks. Parts of the transit system were shuttered in San Francisco, Concord, Hayward and Oakland, where the new connector between the Coliseum Station and Oakland International Airport was shut down. Service was restored to the majority of the system by early evening, but major residual delays lingered. Gusts toppled trees all over the Bay Area, including in San Francisco, Oakland, Hayward, Foster City, Pleasant Hill, Woodside, Tiburon and Concord, as a result of winds that gusted up to 50 mph. Power outages were reported throughout the region, with more than 54,000 customers in San Jose, Hayward, Concord, Bay Point, Brentwood, Pleasanton and Vallejo losing power. The winds — which reached 62 mph in the Oakland hills and 64 mph on Mount Diablo — came in a storm system from the Pacific Northwest that moved through the region Monday night and is heading south. “It was a very dry storm; we didn’t have any rain with it, but it’s bringing colder weather and windy conditions,” said Logan Johnson, a National Weather Service forecaster. The Sierra, though, did get some snow. The winds are expected through Tuesday night and are expected to diminish by Wednesday morning, Johnson said. Chronicle staff writers Kale Williams and Kurtis Alexander contributed to this report. Henry K. Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: [email protected] Twitter: @henrykleeVladimir Putin and Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko visited a sports club in Sochi on Wednesday Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered an investigation into claims the country's athletes have been part of a systematic doping programme. He was speaking for the first time since a World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) independent report recommended Russia be banned from athletics competition. Putin said athletes should be punished individually, rather than collectively. "Sportsmen who don't dope - and never have - must not answer for those who break the rules," he said. "If we find that someone must be held responsible for something of the sort that breaks the rules in place against doping, then the responsibility must be personalised - that's the rule." Putin said he wanted "professional co-operation" with anti-doping bodies. "The battle must be open," he said. "A sporting contest is only interesting when it is honest." Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko had earlier said Britain's anti-doping system had "zero value" and was "even worse" than Russia's. That accusation was rejected by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Putin spoke only about the issues affecting Russia, saying someone must take responsibility should problems be found. "I ask the minister of sport and all our colleagues who are linked in one way or another with sport to pay this issue the greatest possible attention," he said, before a meeting sports officials in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. "It is essential that we conduct our own internal investigation and - I want to underline - provide the most open professional co-operation with international anti-doping structures." Lord Coe, president of athletics' governing body, the IAAF, has told the Russian athletics federation to respond to Wada's report by Friday. The report's author, Dick Pound, recommended Russian athletes be suspended from the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. But International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach said on Wednesday his organisation had "no authority" to take such action, and the matter was solely for the IAAF to deal with. Bach said the IOC would continue to apply a zero-tolerance policy to doping, and that Olympic medals would be withdrawn from any Russian athlete named in the Wada report who is found guilty of doping. "We have a proven track record," said Bach. "We will protect clean athletes."A Personal Report – Being a Successful Test Manager – Challenges and Learning Promotions are part of career growth and believe me, the consequent responsibilities teach us many things and help us grow further. From Junior to Senior and Senior to Manager, every level of that success ladder asks us to unlearn some things and learn new ones. Getting to be a QA Test Manager is surely a matter of pride for anyone and I were not an exception. Today, I want to talk about how it happened, the challenges and my learning from that phase. Being a QA test manager is similar to monitoring the factory floor from the first-floor gallery. The skill set and expectations are quite different from that of a senior tester or a test team lead. Also read => 6 Most Common QA Test Lead/Manager Interview Questions Here is a gist of the important things I learned in this journey as a Quality Assurance Manager. #1. Team and quality of team do matter Yes, being a manager, you are supposed to manage a group of people. These very people define your success as a manager. In my beginning days as a test QA manager, I was assigned a project and needed to hire a resource for a requirement. I asked for someone with little experience because I thought, I will be able to monitor and mentor him/her in terms of inputs for the testing phase. Also, my assumption was that fresh minds have efficient test ideas. And I have to accept that, I was completely wrong on both points. When did I realize that? Luckily for me, I could not find a newbie tester and was working with someone with 4 years of rich experience on an application similar to ours. Soon after the project work started, I was assigned two other small projects and I got busy with them. I realized then that the experienced tester made my task a lot easier. He used to take up responsibilities and handle them on his own. He took care of tasks such as bug tracking, development team communication, configuration issues, by himself and kept me posted on the updates. That was really great. Had it been someone new, it would have required a lot more of my time and attention at that point, which would have been impossible given my schedule. Therefore, quality of team members matters immensely. Read => From Beginner to Pro: A Complete Guide to Successful Journey of a Testing Professional #2. Sometimes it’s better to understand others view Being a perfectionist with an end user-centric testing approach has defined my unique style of working. Undoubtedly this made the clients very happy as I used to exceed expectations. But being a quality assurance manager, I was supposed to meet expectations while actually not working but making it work and that is very difficult. Sometimes, when team members came up with ideas, which I found were good but could be better, I had to stop myself. I had to convince myself that the target is quality work and how you get there doesn’t matter. Also, I had to work on a weakness of mine, keeping critical tasks for myself. I used to assign less critical tasks to the team and reserve critical ones for me. But that was the wrong attitude as it reflects a lack of trust in my team. With time, I learned that to nurture and improve the team, I will have to trust them, know their weaknesses and strengths to assign tasks and be ready to mentor and support. #3. Multitasking is an art worth mastering Managers handle multiple projects simultaneously; Managing teams, answering queries, and many more. You are expected to take on multiple responsibilities. To succeed, you must be a master at juggling. Preparing a to-do list, prioritizing, organizing, dealing with interruption and trying to stick to schedule help achieve multiple tasks in parallel. #4. People management is both the easy and hard part This is true for any managerial role. People management teaches you many things the hard way. But when taken positively, it’s beneficial for life in general. Know that, you can handle some conflicts/issues and for some, you will simply have to say No. There are always reactions and responses to both cases. Sometimes you succeed in convincing people and sometimes you don’t. Just accept it. You cannot make everyone happy and sometimes you have to control the situation. Think about the bigger picture and use authority, if needed. Positive attitude, long-term vision and keeping things transparent help. Recommended read => How to build a successful QA team? Conclusion The attitude of working hard and performing better alone does not help when it comes to being a successful manager. A manager has to work smart and should be a master at delegation, understanding of tasks & expectations, explaining issues & benefits and overlook the overall quality of work to be done. About the author: This awesome post is written by STH team member Bhumika. She is a project manager, carrying 10+ years of software testing experience. She is totally into testing and loves to test everything exists. Are you a senior QA or test lead and walking towards the position of QA test manager? What are your feelings? What challenges do you think you have to work on? We would like to hear from you. Happy testing!!Loading... A very troubling picture is currently in circulation on social media.It shows a woman who is kneeling in front of an audience of Arab men who want to buy her as a sex slave. It happened at an auction organized by the terrorist organization Islamic State - in Saudi Arabia, according to The Sun The photo was found on a cell phone belonging to a jihadist who was killed in the Iraqi city of Al-Ahirqat, which IS took over in 2014. The woman is believed to be Iraqi, according to the British authorities.Members of the Iraqi army found the picture on the deceased jihadist's phone as they liberated the town. They now claim that it is a picture of one of the sex slave auctions held in Saudi Arabia.The Arab country is part of the coalition of countries along with the US and Britain to fight against the Islamic State, but several media reports claim that rich Saudi men are accused of sponsoring IS.Britain also sells weapons to Saudi Arabia, despite concerns the hardline Muslim nation is committing war crimes in Yemen – and it “seems inevitable” they involve UK weapons according to a report leaked earlier this month.A spokesman for the British army says to the media:"Our investigation officer was appalled at the set of images involving what we believe to be an Iraqi Yazidi (an ethnic minority in the region) woman taken as sex slave."Pictures on the phone show the woman both at the auction and in sexually explicit material with the jihadist in a hotel room.Similar pictures have have been found on many mobile phones, says the British spokesman, who also adds that the jihadist who had the photo on his phone, was fighting for the Islamic State.Sadly, it is not the first time the accusation that ISIS sells rape victims to Saudi Arabians has emerged.An 18-year-old Yazidi sex slave who escaped ISIS claims she was sold in an international auction.The teenager, Jinan, was abducted from her village in Northern Iraq last year when ISIS troops stormed her village and took her prisoner before torturing and sexually abusing her and the other captives in the terror group’s stronghold of Mosul.She said said dozens of women were being held in a large room, and it was not only Iraqis and Syrians women but also Saudis and Westerners, whose actual nationalities were not clear.Comment below.NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal judge has endorsed a broad interpretation of a savings-and-loan era law that the Justice Department is trying to use in cases against Wall Street banks. Tourists walk past a Bank of America banking center in Times Square in New York June 22, 2012. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan said Monday that a “straightforward application of the plain words” of the Financial Institutional Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act (FIRREA) allowed the interpretation sought by the government. The law has a low burden of proof, strong subpoena power and a 10-year statute of limitations, twice as long as the typical limit for fraud cases. Rarely asserted until recently, it has become the basis of three lawsuits by lawyers under Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara against banks including Bank of America Corp, Wells Fargo & Co and Bank of New York Mellon Corp. The latest decision came in a case the Justice Department brought last October against Bank of America over toxic mortgages that its Countrywide Financial mortgage unit sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the financial crisis. The government’s case, which is set for trial on September 23, focuses on a program instituted in 2007 by Countrywide called “High Speed Swim Lane” and also known as “HSSL” or “Hustle.” The government contends the program speeded up some home loan processing by removing quality checkpoints, resulting in thousands of fraudulent and defective mortgages being sold to Fannie and Freddie. Rakoff issued a brief order in May dismissing some claims but largely allowing the case to move forward. His ruling on Monday explained his reasoning, particularly why the government could proceed with claims brought under a law adopted in the wake of the savings and loan scandals of the 1980s. The FIRREA law allows the government to pursue civil penalties against those who commit frauds “affecting a federally insured financial institution.” Under the government’s position, claims under FIRREA can be asserted against a bank when the affected financial institution is the bank itself. Banks have objected to this so-called “affect yourself” theory, saying it ignores the statute’s original purpose. Rakoff agreed with the government. Citing a dictionary definition of “affect,” he said Bank of America paid billions of dollars to resolve demands by Fannie and Freddie to buy back defective mortgages. “The fraud here in question had a huge effect on BofA itself (not to mention its shareholders),” Rakoff wrote. The ruling followed a similar decision in April by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, also in Manhattan, who allowed the advancement of a FIRREA lawsuit that accused Bank of New York Mellon of overcharging clients for trading currencies. The rulings mean the Justice Department can now use FIRREA to not just go after bank fraud but the banks themselves for defrauding others, said Andrew Schilling, a former head of the civil division in the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office. The rulings will encourage the government to tackle “a wider range of targets in the financial services industry, and a much broader range of alleged misconduct, including potentially consumer fraud,” said Schilling, a partner at law firm BuckleySandler. In his ruling on Monday, Rakoff said there were limits to the government’s reach under FIRREA. In an alternative argument, the Justice Department said it could also use FIRREA against Bank of America because the alleged fraud affected a small bank that invested in Fannie and Freddie. Rakoff did not rule on that alternative argument because he had already allowed the case to proceed based on the effects on Bank of America. But he said Bank of America’s response - that Congress had not intended the law to cover indirect impacts on a bank - “is not without some force.” A spokeswoman for Manhattan U.S. Attorney Bharara, whose office has been pursuing the Bank of America case, declined to comment. Lawrence Grayson, a spokesman for the bank, said the bank continues to believe “neither Bank of America nor Countrywide defrauded Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, and we look forward to addressing the remaining allegations as this matter proceeds.” The case is U.S. ex rel. O’Donnell v. Bank of America Corp et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 12-01422.FC Cincinnati brass will be making its final pitch to Major League Soccer on Wednesday before the league’s board of governors decide on which two teams to bring on for the next round of expansion. Last week MLS announced Cincinnati as one of the four finalists to emerge from a group of 12 applicants who submitted bids in January. The league’s 25th and 26th teams are expected to be announced in the days following a Dec. 14 board meeting with plans for them to join in 2020. Two more expansion spots remain after this round and will be determined at a later time, as the league plans to grow to 28 teams. »RELATED: FC Cincinnati will finance own stadium Here are five things we know about FC Cincinnati’s bid as club executives prepare to meet with MLS in New York City: 1. Ownership group is a plus FCC’s ownership group is one MLS would be glad to have, led by Carl Lindner III, the billionaire American Financial Group co-CEO whose family is among the richest in America. Eight other investors also joined Lindner in his FC Cincinnati venture, including George Joseph of Joseph Automotive Group, Jack Wyant of Blue Chip Venture Co. and Scott Farmer of Mason’s Cintas Corp. »RELATED: FC Cincinnati, Liberty Center announce partnership 2. Market stronger than it seems The city ranks last among the 12 expansion cities for television market, checking in at 36th overall, but the club already has established a proven audience. This past season FCC averaged about 22,000 fans in the second-division United Soccer League, which averages less than 4,000 as a whole, and club president and general manager Jeff Berding told 700 WLW that 15,000 season tickets have been secured for 2018. Three MLS teams this season averaged less than 16,000 fans a game. FC Cincinnati reached a deal to have all of its games broadcast this past season and the club also attracts fans from Dayton. 3. Sponsorship opportunities are plentiful Cincinnati is home to nine Fortune 500 companies, which is more per capita than New York City and Los Angeles and provides for plenty of sponsorship opportunities. Forbes ranked it No. 15 on its 2016 list of top cities for young professionals, so it is a “city on the rise,” as Berding often suggests. 4. Oakley site will be pitched When FC Cincinnati submitted its original application in January, the club proposed a soccer-specific stadium in Newport, Ky. because that was the only site it was able to secure on short notice after MLS set its expansion requirements and application deadline just six weeks ahead of time. »RELATED: FC Cincinnati unveils design plans for proposed stadium Until then, FC Cincinnati had hoped to work things out to stay at Nippert Stadium, but MLS made it clear a soccer-specific stadium was a priority. Hoping to keep the team in Cincinnati, rather than across the Ohio River, the club eventually established Oakley as its preferred stadium site with another possible option in the West End/Over-the-Rhine. Funding plans finally came together well enough last week that Berding said the club would pitch the Oakley plans to MLS. 5. Public-private partnership established A month-long saga between the club and local governments came to a head last week when FC Cincinnati’s request for $75 million in infrastructure costs was taken to city council and the Hamilton County Commissioners for votes last week. The club ultimately secured about $52 million in public aid for parking, roads and improvements around the $200 million, 21,000-seat stadium, which will be privately financed by the team. The county agreed to pay $15 million for a 1,000-space parking garage (the team had asked for a 4,000 space garage), using revenue from other garages, and the city will pitch in $37 million to pay for other infrastructure expenses. The city money will come from an existing tax increment financing district in Oakley ($7.25 million), from the city’s capital budget ($2.5 million), from the Blue Ash airport sale ($7.38 million) and from hotel taxes ($20 million, but up to $1.5 million annually for 30 years) and could ultimately cost more than $62 million with fees and interest included. FC Cincinnati reportedly also is seeking $10 million in state funds to help close the $20 million gap that remains. Originally, FCC was asking for $100 million in public aid just for the stadium financing. Although the club is now financing the whole thing, the Port Authority will own the stadium and lease it to the team. Any cost overruns are FCC’s responsibility.We bought our house about 10 years ago from the sweetest little old lady. Dorothy, somehow an apt name for her, had raised many kids in this little cape cod home. She was now a widow and ready to move on to a retirement home. When we went to look at the house, she gave us chocolate chip cookies and a toy football for my son. She also offered us the fresh fig jam she had made from her special fig tree. Dorothy lived in that house about 50 years. I imagine, judging by the size of the fig tree and its deep roots, she planted it close to when she moved in. The tree produces a crazy amount of figs in the late summer. So many that our squirrels get fatter and fatter every year. Everyone who visits loves the tree and some even take cuttings to plant their own. Its offshoots are now going strong in North Carolina, Delaware and around Virginia. Several years after we moved in, we had some people knock on our door. They were a couple of Dorothy’s grandchildren. Sadly, Dorothy had passed away but they wanted to take a few branches from her beloved fig tree for her grave. It’s a pretty special tree and we always think of Dorothy as the tree comes to life every summer with amazing figs. We mostly pluck the figs when they are ripe and eat them as is after a quick wash. You can add them to salads or serve them with honey and cheese. They are also great in this tasty and quick Fresh Fig Cake. Print Fresh Fig Cake Ingredients 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled 2 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 cup sugar 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 egg 1 cup milk 1/2 teaspoon almond extract 12 figs, chopped into slices 2 ounces of chopped walnuts (optional) Method Preheat oven to 350°F. Melt the butter. Set aside (on your kitchen counter) to cool. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl: flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Whisk the wet ingredients together in a small mixing bowl: eggs, milk and almond extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, along with the melted butter. Mix together with a spatula. Do not overmix. Add the chopped walnuts and most of the figs (reserve a handful of sliced pieces). Mix carefully. Pour the batter into your prepared pan (9 1/2 x 5 1/2 x 3 standard loaf, mix it up with various sizes or make muffins). Sprinkle the remaining figs across the top of the batter. Bake for about 35 minutes (until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean). Notes Recipe for cake base adapted from Fine Cooking magazine. 3.1 http://globalveg.com/2014/08/17/fresh-fig-loaf/ Copyright: Global VegCyclists taking part in a road race through the mountains of the Scottish borders were attacked by elderly men brandishing sticks who tried to block their path. Cyclists taking part in a road race through the mountains of the Scottish borders were attacked by elderly men brandishing sticks who tried to block their path. The two men, thought to be in their 70s, were both dressed in tweed and flat caps and were said to be local farmers protesting at the road closures preventing them from getting between their fields during the harvest. Police are investigating the incident and are keen to speak to witnesses who saw the men, who had disappeared by the time they arrived on the scene. The 74-mile race, which began and ended in Peebles, some 23 miles south of Edinburgh, attracted almost 2,000 competitors and required the closure of several local roads. Angry cyclists vented their fury online, and organisers of the Tour O The Borders event branded the men’s actions “totally outrageous” and said they were “horrified” by what had happened. The men, who were captured on one of the cyclist’s GoPro cameras, were said to have poked the sticks through riders’ spokes, hit them and caused at least one rider to fall off. Cyclist Brian Ogg wrote on the event’s Facebook page: “A great day out, however almost ruined by the 2 farmers who tried to create a road block as wave 1 joined the A701 by standing in the middle of the road with sticks in each hand trying to get them through the spokes.” Another, Patrick Hutton, said: “Only actually saw one of them, who had a wee face-off with a rider in front of me, Older bloke, long coat and holding what looked like sections of rodding, as you would use for clearing drains.” In footage posted online, the two pensioners appear in the middle of the road, brandishing sticks and try to stop the cyclists from passing, forcing them to slow down or stop. Most swerve around the pair but one cycles through the middle. Eddie Petrie, who was in the first wave of riders and witnessed the incident, said: “The cyclists in front started to slow down, because something was something on the road. “As I got closer I saw what I assumed were two farmers, and each had a 3ft or 4ft long stick in each hand. They were standing in the middle of the road and the cyclists were just trying to get past. It was a totally appalling unprovoked attack which spoiled the day. Hopefully something will be done and these two idiots will be brought to justice in some way." “It was a totally appalling unprovoked attack which spoiled the day. Hopefully something will be done and these two idiots will be brought to justice in some way."” https://www.independent.ie/sport/other-sports/cycling/farmers-with-sticks-attack-cyclists-during-race-36112213.html “It was a totally appalling unprovoked attack which spoiled the day. Hopefully something will be done and these two idiots will be brought to justice in some way."” https://www.independent.ie/sport/other-sports/cycling/farmers-with-sticks-attack-cyclists-during-race-36112213.html Paul Mellotte, another competitor, said: “I c
rate among Punjabi youth–between the ages of 18 and 29–is 16.6 percent while the Indian average is 10.2 percent, as IndiaSpend reported in January 2017. Punjab’s rural youth joblessness rate in 2015-16 was 16.5 percent; more than seven percentage points higher than rural India’s 9.2 percent. The result is that Punjab’s young people leave their villages for better prospects and the widespread anger at the rise of drugs, the decline of jobs, and the failure of aspirations is now an electoral issue, as IndiaSpend reported in February 2017. This anger is apparently spilling into the streets."Miami Vice Theme" is a musical piece composed and performed by Jan Hammer as the theme to the television series Miami Vice. It was first presented as part of the television broadcast of the show in September 1984, was released as a single in 1985, and peaked at the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100. It was the last instrumental to top the Hot 100 until 2013, when "Harlem Shake" by Baauer reached number one.[1] It also peaked at number five in the UK and number four in Canada. In 1986, it won Grammy Awards for "Best Instrumental Composition" and "Best Pop Instrumental Performance." This song, along with Glenn Frey's number two hit "You Belong to the City", put the Miami Vice soundtrack on the top of the US album chart for 11 weeks in 1985, making it the most successful TV soundtrack of all time until 2006, when Disney Channel's High School Musical beat its record. Versions [ edit ] The 1:55-minute version that aired with the pilot. The famous synthesized guitar lead hook is absent from it, and it features distinct synth guitar notes in its midsection. The 0:57 version in the following 3 regular episodes, which only contains the percussion and keyboards, without the synth guitar hook. It was essentially a shortened version of the pilot, although it already featured the same melody progression and conclusion at its end as in all the later episodes. According to Jan Hammer's manager Elliot Sears, the missing guitar lead hook was the result of the sound elements not being mixed together as Hammer intended. The 1:00 synth guitar hook version that aired with all later episodes. It was first introduced at the end of the first regular episode, Heart of Darkness, over the closing credits, albeit with the guitar hook slightly more muted than in future episodes. , over the closing credits, albeit with the guitar hook slightly more muted than in future episodes. The 2:26 full radio airplay version, the final 55 seconds of which are very similar to the 1:00 TV version. An extended dance remix, released in 1985 as a 12" single containing two different length versions (in addition to the original version of the theme). Music video [ edit ] The music video of the theme is a mini-episode of the TV series with Hammer as a fugitive on the run from James "Sonny" Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs. Throughout the majority of the video, Hammer performs the theme in front of a projector screen playing footage from the TV series – including scenes of the Vice duo chasing him. In the end of the video, he boards a helicopter and escapes from Crockett's sight. The video also shows shots of Fairlight CMI screens including the page R (sequencer) page and the waveform page. Track listing [ edit ] 7" MCA / MCAP1000 (UK picture disc) "Miami Vice Theme" – 2:26 "Miami Vice Theme" (TV version) – 1:00 "Miami Vice Theme" (12" edit) – 4:30 12" MCA / MCAT1000 (UK) "Miami Vice Theme" (Extended Remix) – 6:54 "Miami Vice Theme" (TV version) – 1:00 "Miami Vice Theme" (12" edit) – 4:30 Remix and 12" edit done by Louis Silas, Jr. Chart performance [ edit ] Covers [ edit ] Alexi Laiho and Alexander Kuoppala of Finnish melodic death metal band Children of Bodom did a short cover version of the theme on their 1997 album Something Wild. The cover is a hidden track within their song "Touch Like Angel of Death". Appearances [ edit ] Episodes [ edit ] Miami Vice's pilot episode, made as a two-hour TV movie, did not originally have a theme, but the musical sounds and notation that would become the theme were present as background score. When the series got picked up, Hammer created the 60 second version of the theme. The synth-guitar lead was missing in the aired version of the pilot and the first batch of episodes, and this unfinished version of the theme has remained attached to those episodes, even on the DVD video box set released in 2005. Commercial [ edit ] The theme is also remembered as the song played during the first few three-point competitions at the NBA All-Star Weekend, including the one in 1986 where Larry Bird famously walked into the locker room and told all his competitors they were playing for second place. Radio [ edit ] From 1992 until 1997, it was used as the theme music for Westwood One's Radio Free D. C.: The G. Gordon Liddy Show. (From 1992 until 1996, an announcer would introduce the show during the music bed, saying, "From Washington D. C., Radio Free D.C., with G. Gordon Liddy".) Liddy had been a recurring guest on Miami Vice during its run. English radio presenter Paul Breeze adopted the tune to open his music shows on Blackpool's Kit Kat Radio from 1996 to 1999 and, more recently, he re-adopted the tune for Paul & Lucy's "Best Kept Secrets" show—featuring what's on news and interviews for the Blackpool area—on internet radio station Fylde FM during early 2010. In the Philippines, FM station DWFM or Radyo Singko 92.3 News FM use the music as the background music for its morning news program "Punto Asintado" which is presented by Erwin Tulfo and Martin Andanar. See also [ edit ]It’s been long enough since Turbinado V0.4 that I figured I’d skip V0.5 and go straight to announcing Turbinado V0.6. Lots of new excellent features: By popular demand, support for CGI serving. Apparently some web hosts don’t support HTTP proxying, so some folks requested CGI support. Statically compiled Layouts, Views, Controllers. Support for “.format” in routes. If a request path is “/User/List.xml”, then the following View will be called: /App/Views/User/List Xml.hs. .hs. Lower case paths. Support for cookies (see here for examples). Encrypted cookie sessions (see here to see how to use them). Much easier installs using cabal-install. Support for GHC 6.10. GHC 6.8 is no longer supported. Turbinado V0.7 will be all about: Documentation. (seriously.) User authentication. Tutorials. Installation Installation is pretty painless if you use cabal-install, so make sure that you have cabal-install installed first. See here: http://hackage.haskell.org/trac/hackage/wiki/CabalInstall. To install Turbinado: git clone [email protected]:alsonkemp/turbinado-website.git cd turbinado-website cabal install [This might fail, saying that "trhsx" can't be found. However, "trhsx" was built during the install and is probably at ~/.cabal/bin/trhsx, so copy "trhsx" to your path and re-run "cabal install".] CGI Configuration [Note: you don’t want to use CGI without statically compiling in some Controllers, Layouts and Views. See below.] Usually, Turbinado is called with “-p” to specify the port the process should listen on (e.g. “turbinado -p 8080”). When called with the “-c” flag, Turbinado will handle CGI requests. However, because of the process setup and tear down times, responding to CGI requests takes about 250ms, which is considerably slower than responding to HTTP requests (about 1ms). Again following Rails, Turbinado includes a CGI script called “dispatch.cgi” in the /static directory. Apache Configuration In order to use Turbinado’s CGI functionality with Apache, you’ll need to something like the following in order to tell Apache to allow CGI scripts in your Turbinado /static directory and to send all requests (e.g. “^(.\)$”) to the “dispatch.cgi” script. DocumentRoot /home/alson/turbinado-website/static <Directory "/home/alson/turbinado-website/static"> Options +FollowSymLinks +ExecCGI +Includes AddHandler cgi-script.cgi AllowOverride None Order allow,deny Allow from all </Directory> RewriteRule ^(.)$ %{DOCUMENT_ROOT}/dispatch.cgi [QSA,L] Static Compilation Of Resources Turbinado is designed to dynamically compile and link in the various resources (Controllers, Layouts, Views) needed to serve a request. However, it can take up to 15 seconds to complete that process the first time a particular page is requested (subsequent requests are very fast). With CGI, the server only ever sees the first request, so Turbinado would never be able to serve a CGI request faster than 10-20 seconds. To fix this, you can now compile into the server particular resources. See Config/Routes.hs here. Turbinado stores a function along with the file path and function name in a tuple, so you just give Turbinado that information in the Routes.hs file and it’ll load those functions into the CodeStore at startup: staticLayouts = [ ("App/Layouts/Default.hs", "markup", App.Layouts.Default.markup) ] Support for “formats” Rails has great support for file formats. Turbinado is trying to follow that lead. The system will try to figure out the MIME type based on the extension. According to the standard routes (Config/Routes.hs), the following path=>View mappings will occur: /abba/ding => /App/Views/Abba/Ding.hs /abba/ding.xml => /App/Views/Abba/DingXml.hs /bloof/snort/1.csv => /App/Views/Bloof/SnortCsv.hs The same Controller handles all formats; only the View will change. Also, usage of a format causes a blank Layout to be used (on the assumption that you don’t want a Layout used with a CSV, XML, etc output). Lower case paths Turbinado now defaults to using lower case paths (configured in Config/App.hs), so the following paths get mapped to Controllers and Views as follows: /abba/ding_fling => /App/Controllers/Abba.hs : dingFling => /App/Views/Abba/DingFling.hs Cookies Cookies are now supported. Examples here. setCookie $ mkCookie "counter" (show 0) v <- getCookieValue "counter" deleteCookie "counter" Cookie Sessions Session data is encrypted and stuffed into a cookie. The encryption key is set in Config/App.hs. Session usage examples are here. setSessionValue "counter" "0" v <- setSessionValue "counter" deleteSessionKey "counter" abandonSessionUniversity Photography Got milk? Many people couldn't care less because they can't digest it. A new Cornell University study finds that it is primarily people whose ancestors came from places where dairy herds could be raised safely and economically, such as in Europe, who have developed the ability to digest milk. "The implication is that harsh climates and dangerous diseases negatively impact dairy herding and geographically restrict the availability of milk, and that humans have physiologically adapted to that," said evolutionary biologist Paul Sherman, a professor of neurobiology and behavior at Cornell. "This is a spectacular case of how cultural evolution -- in this case, the domestication of cattle -- has guided our biological evolution."On the other hand, most adults whose ancestors lived in very hot or very cold climates that couldn't support dairy herding or in places where deadly diseases of cattle were present before 1900, such as in Africa and many parts of Asia, do not have the ability to digest milk after infancy. Although all mammalian infants drink their mothers' milk, humans are the only mammals that drink milk as adults. But most people -- about 60 percent and primarily those of Asian and African descent -- stop producing lactase, the enzyme required to digest milk, as they mature. People of northern European descent, however, tend to retain the ability to produce the enzyme and drink milk throughout life. Sherman and former Cornell undergraduate student Gabrielle Bloom '03, now a graduate student at the University of Chicago, compiled data on lactose intolerance (the inability to digest dairy products) from 270 indigenous African and Eurasian populations in 39 countries, from southern Africa to northern Greenland. Their findings will be published in a forthcoming issue of Evolution and Human Behavior. On average, Sherman and Bloom found that 61 percent of people studied were lactose intolerant, with a range of 2 percent in Denmark and 100 percent in Zambia. They also found that lactose intolerance decreases with increasing latitude and increases with rising temperature, and especially with the difficulty in maintaining dairy herds safely and economically. A major challenge in interpreting the data, Sherman noted, was to resolve the puzzle that about 13 lactose-tolerant populations live side-by-side with lactose-intolerant populations in some parts of Africa and the Middle East. "The most likely explanation is nomadism," Sherman concluded. All 13 of the populations that can digest dairy yet live in areas that are primarily lactose intolerant were historically migratory groups that moved seasonally, Sherman said. Their nomadism enabled them to find suitable forage for their cattle and to avoid extreme temperatures. "Also, the fact that these groups maintained small herds and kept them moving probably reduced the pathogen transmission rate." According to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse, some 30 million to 50 million Americans are lactose intolerant, including up to 75 percent of African Americans and American Indians and 90 percent of Asian Americans. Common symptoms include nausea, cramps, bloating, gas and diarrhea that begin about 30 minutes to two hours after eating or drinking foods containing the milk sugar lactose. The use of lactase enzyme tablets or drops or lactose-reduced milk and similar products can help the lactose intolerant digest dairy products. Sherman's study concludes that adults from Europe can drink milk because their ancestors lived where dairying flourished and passed on gene mutations that maintain lactase into adulthood. The research, he said, is an example of Darwinian medicine, a new interdisciplinary field of science that takes an evolutionary look at health, and considers why, rather than how, certain conditions or symptoms develop. Sherman, for example, recently investigated why spices are used and why morning sickness occurs. "Both appear to serve an important function to protect the individual," Sherman said. "Spices contain antimicrobial compounds, and they may be used to destroy food-borne pathogens, especially in hot climates. Nausea and vomiting early in pregnancy also may protect women and their embryos from food-borne pathogens and other toxins." A Darwinian medicinal view complements traditional medicine, Sherman said, because if researchers can better understand why a symptom occurs, such as a fever, runny nose or allergy, they can better evaluate whether it is best to eliminate or tolerate it.This cigar looks, in one word, beautiful. Very little veins that and they are smooth. An almost silky feel with a rich color to the wrapper. Not much flavor except for some spice and red pepper on the lips. The draw is tight but it's a perfecto so it's kinda expected.1/3: I was expecting some spice and red pepper as it was in the prelight but I still only got those flavors on the lips but not in the smoke. I did get some good sweet earthiness. The flavors are light on the palate but heavy when retrohaling. I'm finding this as odd because historically, for me, a perfecto usually has a blast of flavor at the foot and settles down due to there being more wrapper in the blend. Regardless, after an inch a nice spice does start to creep in along with an almost oak woodiness. Halfway through and I'm getting some coffee flavors as well. The burn is a little wavy but not too bad.2/3: Still nice and smooth with spices, woodiness, and an underlying sweet earth flavor. The earthiness is a very mineralistic earth that I have come to attribute to many Davidoffs. At the halfway point and the ash finally fell off. There is a black coffee flavor that comes and goes for a few puffs throughout so far.3/3: Spices are picking up more along with a red pepper. Added to the profile now is a slight sunflower seed taste. Toward the end and the pepper and spice die down leaving the sweet earth to shine with the woodiness and sunflower seed flavors.Primary Flavors: Mineral Earth, Spices, HardwoodsSecondary Flavors: Coffee, Sweat Earth, Red PepperA greatly complex 1 1/2 hour cigar that kept me on my toes. I would have to say that this might be one of the best Davidoffs I've had to date. Even with the spices this cigar remained smooth until the end and the mixture of flavors all complimented each other.Started as a side project by then-Googler Brian Kennish back in 2010 to cut out ad tracking during a person’s Facebook browsing session, Disconnect has gone on to raise funding (twice), to work on multiple browsers and sites, and create apps for specific users (e.g., kids), and take on more engineers, including two more from Google and one from the NSA. With its apps now used by 1 million people every week, Disconnect is now tackling the most popular way that people discover content online today: search engines. Today, the company is launching Disconnect Search, an extension for Chrome and Firefox browsers that lets users searching on Google, Bing and Yahoo, as well as Blekko and DuckDuckGo, remain private while doing so. The extension works both on the search portals’ main sites, as well as through a browser’s omnibox (in the case of Firefox) or browser bar (in the case of Chrome). (The “search from everywhere” feature is still in beta.) Disconnect says that it has applied for patents to protect the proprietary way in which it does this. Casey Oppenheim, the former consumer rights attorney who is the co-founder of Disconnect with Kennish, points out that search engines, partly by virtue of being a portal to everything else, are often some of the most invasive when it comes to a user’s privacy. “Your searches are anything but private,” he noted in a statement. “Search engines, and even websites and Internet service providers, can save your searches and connect them to your real name through your user accounts.” Indeed, if you’ve been logged in to your Gmail or another Google service and then visited Google.com, you’ll know exactly how this works. Somewhat more alarmingly, this happens even when you’re not logged in to another service, notes Patrick Jackson, the ex-NSA engineer who is now CTO of Disconnect (he also was behind the neat kids app Disconnect launched in August). “Even if you never log in to an account, search engines and many websites typically save your searches and connect them to an IP address, which can allow companies to uniquely identify your computer.” A technique, I guess, an NSA engineer would be all too familiar with. Disconnect Search works along four channels, the company says, with some of the method taking a hat tip from VPN tunnelling services that mask your IP address: — Search queries are routed through Disconnect’s servers, “which makes the queries look like they’re coming from Disconnect instead of a specific user’s computer,” the company says. — As a result, search engines are prevented (blocked) from passing keywords to the sites that are visited from search results pages. — All queries are encrypted, which prevents ISPs from seeing them. — And on top of this, Disconnect doesn’t log any keywords, personal information, or IP addresses after it routes your query to its own servers. The results do not come through in any noticeably different way to users. They remain “native” to the search engine in question, just as users can engage on the sites in the same way that they already do. The two searches I did when testing out the product, one using the Disconnect Search filter and one not, more or less produced a similar set of results. There is a very slight delay in delivering those results via Disconnect Search. (Chrome, with Disconnect Search) (Safari, without) As with Disconnect’s other products, the idea longer term will be to build out specific paid services that offer users additional features; and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see the company also move into specific solutions that might work with organizations that have their users sit behind firewalls that today may prevent those users from accessing the full Internet for reasons for security and privacy protection (this is, for example, the case with some networks in government organizations). But for now, Disconnect Search, as an unpaid service. remains a strong example of why it’s not always the case that if you are taking a free service, you by default become the product. Note/Update: Just to be clear, while Disconnect can help with user privacy around areas like ad tracking by search engines or other companies, this doesn’t necessarily mean Disconnect can be thought of as a total privacy barrier against other forces like the government, as pointed out in the comments below. I put the issue to Oppenheim and he explains it like this: “Based on recent revelations, people shouldn’t assume that Disconnect or any other organization can prevent the government from accessing your search queries. Disconnect Search focuses instead on preventing companies from accessing your searches.” So a help, but until the Feds change their policies, not a total block.France's first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy listens to France's President Nicolas Sarkozy speech during a meeting with the French community in Johannesburg February 29, 2008. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen PARIS (Reuters) - A nude portrait of French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s wife Carla Bruni will go under the hammer in New York next month, according to auctioneers Christie’s. The 13 x 10 1/8 inch gelatin silver black and white photograph was taken in 1993, when Bruni was one of the world’s top fashion models, and is being sold by art collector Gert Elfering. It is expected to fetch $3,000 to $4,000 when it is sold in New York on April 10, according to the Christie’s web site. Sarkozy married Bruni, 40, in February after a whirlwind romance that began shortly after his divorce from his second wife Cecilia. Their relationship has coincided with a sharp fall in Sarkozy’s approval ratings which have tumbled as voters judged that the president’s glitzy lifestyle jarred with his responsibilities and status as head of state. Sarkozy and his new wife are due to pay a state visit to Britain this week during which they will be hosted by Queen Elizabeth at Windsor Castle.Kyle O’Quinn is here to save the Knicks! Jacob Eisenberg Blocked Unblock Follow Following Feb 20, 2017 If only they’d let him… There’s a tepid uneasiness surrounding the Knicks these days. It’s hard to put a finger on. There aren’t many symptoms of a broken locker room; the players seem to get along well and the camaraderie appears genuine. As Courtney Lee told the media last week unprompted, “I’m still confident in the group, man.” Remember, this is the same group that started out the season 14–10 and climbed out to the third seed in the Eastern Conference in early December. They just went toe-to-toe with the Spurs and won. The talent is still there. But they’ve dropped 24 of their last 33 games and the losses have been trying on trust and chemistry. Making matters worse, the starting point guard went AWOL last month, the team president continues to goad his star player into wanting out, and the team owner recently accused an all-time fan favorite of alcoholism. It’s been a comedy of errors. But perhaps the most innocuous and most costly of all errors has been head coach Jeff Hornacek’s inexplicable rotation mismanagement when it comes to Kyle O’Quinn. Tethered to Joakim Noah’s exorbitant contract and intense personality, Hornacek has doubled down on Phil Jackson’s disastrous four-year investment from last summer and has featured Noah in the rotation over O’Quinn against better judgment. Just a quick glance at the stats proves it clear that the Knicks are considerably more successful when O’Quinn plays prominent minutes over Noah. In fact, New York is 14–10 when O’Quinn plays 17 minutes or more but just 9–23 when O’Quinn plays 16 minutes or less. “It’s obvious what I’m capable of doing,” O’Quinn acknowledged. “But at the same, coach is the head of the ship.” In early December, O’Quinn saw his first semblance of starter minutes in a Knicks uniform. Over an 11 game stretch starting in late November, O’Quinn played 20.2 minutes per night (the most minutes he’s averaged over an extended stretch since signing with New York) and helped lead the Knicks to an 8–3 record. He convincingly outplayed Karl-Anthony Towns and Hassan Whiteside in the process and arguably looked like the Knicks’ best player in certain games. Since then, however, he’s been relegated to backup duty — where his confidence has stalled and his mistakes have been illuminated. Short leashes and skepticism have curiously persisted throughout O’Quinn’s basketball career. He received just one Division I scholarship offer out of high school — to little known Norfolk State. He wasn’t a typical scouting misread; rather O’Quinn’s scouting reports seemingly went unwritten altogether. How else could you explain schools unanimously passing on a big man with obvious strength and skill? Norfolk State’s prescience paid dividends: O’Quinn led the 15-seed to a Cinderella upset over the 2nd seeded Missouri Tigers in the NCAA Tournament in 2012. His 26 points and 14 rebounds grabbed the headlines, and his likable personality stole the show in a post game interview with Craig Sager. Fast-forward five years and the NBA hasn’t been nearly as smooth of an upward climb for O’Quinn. For every step forward he makes as a player, personnel changes and decisions out of his control seem to knock him two steps back. He’s a fiery personality and is willing to speak out when he feels misused. Even still, by all accounts, O’Quinn is a good teammate and has his heart in the right place. “It’s just basketball,” O’Quinn explained. “Basketball is a game of changes — a game of runs. I think my [confidence] comes from when I’m on the floor. When I’m off the floor I can’t do much. As far as my playing time goes, you would have to ask Coach Hornacek. You know, I have no control over that. But I’m a 100-percent believer in believing in whatever the coach does. He’s the captain of the ship.” Still, for whatever reason, the captain of the ship can’t seem to commit to O’Quinn long enough to let the big man steer. Which is a problem, because O’Quinn — more so than any player I’ve ever scouted — feeds on rhythm and external trust for energy and confidence. And when they’re absent, he becomes tentative and less effective. Given the freedom to play his game in a featured role without having to look over his shoulder, O’Quinn shows all the tools of a star player. His 20.93 Player Efficiency Rating (PER) suggests he already plays with star-level efficiency. In fact, many advanced stats with more nuance than PER suggest O’Quinn should be a star in the NBA. He’s physically dominant, impressively aware, and immensely skilled. That combination is exceedingly rare and in vogue in 2017. So where’s the disconnect?With the Devils’ season on the line, a couple of New Jersey’s players made like Richard Kimble: They took razors to their faces and then escaped their own demise. On Tuesday, a day after a 4-0 Game 3 loss to the L.A. Kings put the Devils down three-love in the Stanley Cup finals, forward David Clarkson shaved off what had been a magnificent sneaky-ginger beard. “The beard was a little annoying,” he explained. “We were down three so I just changed it up.” And center Adam Henrique pared down his hair, too, losing the goatee but preserving a defiant ‘stache to match the one sported by teammate Ryan Carter. As it turned out, these acts of whiskered whimsy got results. (Perhaps it was because the man with the most famous facial hair in hockey, Lanny McDonald, was in the house.) With less than five minutes to play in the third period of a 1-1 game, Henrique wrangled a pass from Clarkson from skate to stick and shot the puck past Jonathan Quick. His goal silenced a Staples Center crowd that had hoped the night would end with the raucous and tearful presentation of the Stanley Cup. Instead, the trophy was quickly hustled out of the building along with the disappointed and drunken fans. “A big-time play,” said head coach Peter DeBoer of Henrique’s goal. “Off a skate, a quick shot up top. I mean, especially with the way Quick has been playing. It was a goal-scorer’s play. He’s got a knack for that.” Indeed, it was the rookie’s third game-winner of these playoffs. The other two — in Game 7 against the Florida Panthers in the first round, and in Game 6 against the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference finals — were series-clinching goals in overtime. Last night’s was series-saving, one that shielded the Devils from the potential humiliation of a sweep. “I’d be lying if I didn’t say when I gave the puck to Henrique and he put it in, it was probably the best feeling I’ve had in my whole career,” said Clarkson. He had reason to be more relieved than anyone. All series, the Devils had been unable to score first — some regretful misses by Clarkson in Game 1 certainly contributed to that — but when they finally went up 1-0 Wednesday night on a Patrik Elias goal so sharply backhanded it would be right at home on a squash court, the treasured lead lasted all of 60 seconds. A (questionable) boarding call on Clarkson gave the Kings a power play, and Drew Doughty converted almost immediately from the point to tie the game. “It’s a tough play,” said Devils center Travis Zajac, whose torn Achilles early in the regular season afforded Henrique the opportunity to play a bigger role. “We thought it was a bad call to begin with.” It would have been easy for New Jersey to melt down at that moment, for the players’ minds and bodies to spiral out of control. But it only seemed to make the Devils that much more focused and resolute. “At the time it’s not going through your mind that our season’s on the line,” said Devils captain Zach Parise. “You’re kind of lost in the game, you’re not worried about that.” As for Zajac, it’s possible he’ll be the next one to undergo a strategic shave. Asked whether he might consider a look like Carter’s and now Henrique’s, he laughed. “It seems like he’s a trendsetter,” he said, considering. “So I’ll have to think about it.” Compared to the way things had gone in the first three games, the two teams traded places for Game 4 — not just in terms of the final outcome, but in the ways that it came about. Instead of the Devils hitting posts and missing open nets, it was the Kings doing the same. (One attempt by Justin Williams that clanged off the pipe was so close to going in that the Staples Center staff momentarily and mistakenly trained their hot-seat red spotlight on Martin Brodeur.) “Right after [the tying goal] we had a breakaway,” pointed out Doughty, “and if that goes in, it’s a different story in the game.” He sounded not unlike the Devils had when discussing Ilya Kovalchuk’s near-goal in the closing minute of Game 2. And instead of the Kings scoring goals on up-ice rushes, it was the Devils who took advantage of some space-creating passing plays. “They had a couple pretty good chances off the rush, so we have to make sure the gap is tighter,” Anze Kopitar said. There were additional reversals of fortune. Devils had complained after Game 3 that the Kings only scored because the referee had failed to blow dead a puck that was being covered by Brodeur. In Game 4, they benefitted from the opposite: a way-too-quick whistle on what was still a live puck. “You know, I think we wanted to make them jump on a plane and come to New Jersey,” said Brodeur, who finished with 21 saves, with a bit of a smirk. “We had to go anyway. Might as well get a game over there.” It’s amazing how quickly moods can change. After Monday’s 4-0 Kings win, New Jersey papers were running online conversations such as “Devils Stanley Cup finals hot topic: What disgusted you most about Game 3?” and even one of Brodeur’s own sons was getting chirpy about the team. As for the vibe in L.A., the area around Staples Center had the air of preemptive revelry in the hours before the game on Wednesday. The lines at every single restaurant were so long that several hostesses openly laughed at me and I had to resort to a nearby car wash selling tacos to get my lunch. Anticipating victory, people were shelling out four figures for the worst seats in the house. Celebrities prepared to celebrate — the usual suspects like Matthew Perry and Alyssa Milano were in the stands, and Halle Berry’s baby daddy was randomly milling around right behind me in the press box. (I asked someone what he was doing there, and they just shrugged and said, “He’s French-Canadian.”) By the end of the night, though, as detailed by the amazing @LAPDScanner, the atmosphere around the L.A. Live plaza had gone from lighthearted chaos to darker disarray. “Maybe there would have been a little more sentimental value winning it on home ice,” said Kings captain Dustin Brown. “But if we win it there, we bring it right back here.” It’s only one game, but one game was all the Devils had in mind. It’s a cliché, but it’s also the only way to operate: Down 3-0 in a series, as more than one player explained, you can’t think about winning four games. You have to focus instead on winning just one game, four different times. It’s still a distant long shot, but at least now there’s that bounce of hope for New Jersey: win just one game back at the Prudential Center on Saturday, and suddenly we’ve got a series on our hands. (And now whoever wins the Cup won’t have to do so on the NBC Sports Network.) Sure, the Kings are 10-0 in away games this postseason. But here’s a lesser-known stat, pointed out by TSN’s James Duthie: In this year’s playoffs, the Devils are 9-1 in Games 4 through 7. “We’ve trailed in every series,” said Parise. “We had to fight off two elimination games in the first round, we did that. Trailed against Philly, trailed against the Rangers, won big games in really tough buildings. And we’re in a tough spot still. We’re happy about the game, but we’re still in a tough spot. But we’ll try to get the next one.” Lighting the Lamp: Game 4’s Sickest Snipes Here’s Elias with the low-angle rebound. If this had been Game 1, his effort would have hit the post. And you shouldn’t blame Drew Doughty just because his goal came on a power play of suspect provenance. You should only sit back and appreciate the beauty of this shot’s placement. Piling On the Pylons: Game 4’s Worst Performers Man oh man oh man, Darryl Sutter’s postgame interview was the awkwardest ever, right? I tragically missed it in person, but when I watched the video I reacted to it exactly like Sutter had: I pounded my hands against the table, uttered a scoffing “awesome,” and tried to eat my own mouth. Taking It Coast to Coast: A Sprint Around the League Chirping Like a Champ: The Best Mouthing Off Had this column existed a year ago during the angry Vancouver-Boston series, it would have been impossible to keep up with the overflowing cache of content for this section. But this year, things have remained remarkably (and strangely) civil between the two teams. So let’s go back to some more Darryl Sutter goodness, because the man is just a treasure. Here’s an actual exchange that took place during his off-day press conference on Tuesday. Q. Where were you when Dean [Lombardi] called you about this job? How much had you watched the Kings before that? COACH SUTTER: I think I was in the barn. Q. What were you doing in the barn? COACH SUTTER: I wasn’t shoveling shit, I remember that, but I had that day. Was probably warming up. It was cold. Q. You were literally in the barn? COACH SUTTER: Yeah. That’s what I said. Hockey Haiku Giant cardboard heads Snooki and Situation Never not funny.Indoctrinated 8th Grade Students Refuse Photo with Speaker Paul Ryan Indoctrinated 8th grade students from New Jersey refused to take photos with Speaker Paul Ryan during a trip to Washington DC. The students were told to tell reporters they did not agree with his budget that “would destroy” public education. Let’s hope the Speaker slashes a few million more from the education budget after that left-wing stunt
. “Generally speaking girls are under more stress all over the world including Pakistan and making a suicide attempt is a sign of extreme stress/distress,” he says. But why are young people in Pakistan so troubled? Musa has no qualms about putting the blame squarely on the adults. “Because the elders have failed to provide the young with a safe and secure environment for them to live and prosper under,” he says, adding: “Just drive around on a Sunday and see the number of young boys playing cricket on the roads or dirty grounds. Why can’t proper grounds and equipment be provided to these young men?” He thinks the issue of suicides is both a human rights one and a fundamental rights one. Dr Shifa Naeem, a Karachi-based psychiatrist, believes today’s teenagers “are exposed to many more stresses” than their counterparts were a generation or two back. “Expectations are higher from them, while support systems are weaker,” she says explaining the scenario by taking two imaginary profiles of a teenager from the 1960s and one of today. “The young teenager from the 1960s was spending some time of the day in physical exercise (as it used to be mandatory); he or she would have good chances of having an involved and committed teacher who’d also be a mentor. In addition, parents, too, were spending more time with them and life was generally simpler.” On the other hand, Naeem points out, the teenager of today is “expected to excel in studies and studying at a school which the parents can feel ‘proud’ of, should also look cool and be popular with all the kids at school, should have more friends on Facebook than the rest, have a glamorous life-style (similar to the one he or she sees on the TV and which includes marijuana, cigarettes and alcohol).” That is not all. “A poor law-and-order situation and the helplessness and a sense of hopelessness prompted by injustices and'might is right' – they all add up,” she concludes. Bedar is of the view that while children are “typically resilient” and get over a difficult period; professional help must be sought for mental illness. “One isolated incident does not cause a child to contemplate or attempt suicide - it is usually an ongoing chronic situation (for instance, abuse/violence at home or at school, debilitating poverty, etc.), something that makes the child feel completely helpless, fearful and trapped like there is no way out and no hope. One incident can, however, be a trigger, pushing a child/teenager over the edge, serving as the final straw,” she explains. The more worrisome factor is that while some get “cured” so to say, many attempt and re-attempt and eventually succeed in killing themselves. “The chances of a person re-attempting increase greatly after one attempt as the person crosses a certain threshold and the fear of the attempt is decreased,” says Khan, adding that he/she finds it easier to attempt it again. “In many cases, the underlying psychological stressor is not addressed, though medical treatment is given (stomach washout, antidotes, among others). Each suicide attempter, he says, must undergo a psychological evaluation and the underlying psychological problem must be addressed. Khan also emphasises that the way media reports the issue has a major impact on suicide attempts and suicide rates. “If it is glamorised and portrayed in such a way that it sounds that suicide is an acceptable way of dealing with life’s problems than it gives encouragement to other vulnerable people who may be in the same situation as the one who has committed suicide.” Therefore, he adds, it is important for the media to also report that suicide is not the way to deal with life’s problems, that there are other healthy ways to deal with problems and to give names and contact details of where people in suicidal crisis situations can seek help.” There is a 24-hour psychiatrist available at the AKUH for any emergency including suicidal emergency, he says. In addition, recently the Aman Telehealth has started a 24-hour telephone hotline where trained counsellors can help people in distress. The number is 111-113 737. “Our counselling is both medical and psychological,” says Jennifer Younas, working at Aman Telehealth. Started just six months back the response has been tremendous. However, she says not many people know that they provide life-saving help for suicidal emergencies. “You can say for every 100 general calls (including seeking counselling for chronic diseases like blood pressure, heart problems to psychological disorders including schizophrenia, depression anxiety etc, we get two cases where help is sought for suicide,” Younas points out.Victory Java Cask will return this year on Black Wednesday, November 23rd, 2016. Victory Java Cask is a coffee based beer, brewed in collaboration with Philadelphia based bar, restaurant and music venue, Johnny Brendas. The beer was additionally aged in bourbon barrels. A picture the brewery posted to Instagram mentioned the beer has been pulled from said barrels and blended. Victory Java Cask debuted last year on Wednesday, November 25th, 2015 (aka “Dark Wednesday”). It returns again on Dark Wednesday 2016. This year will also debut Java Cask Rye. This year however, it will then be available in Victory’s distribution states that allow over 14% ABV beer. Due to its high alcohol by volume, the beer can’t be sold in 4 of the brewery’s distribution states. Style: Imperial Stout (w/ Coffee. Barrel Aged. Bourbon) Availability: 750ml bottles, Draft Release: November 23rd, 2016 14.3% ABVBRUNSWICK, Maine — Lisa Stephenson knew something wasn’t quite right when two young girls walked into the Blue Crab Grill late last month and filled out job applications. “They said they were traveling and their phones and wallets were stolen in New York,” Stephenson told the Bangor Daily News. “I guess that was their story — they were trying to get money.” The manager of the Newark, Delaware, restaurant wouldn’t give them cash, but took their applications and told them to return the next day. Throughout the day, though, as Stephenson waited tables, she thought about the girls, who looked so young and showed up at the restaurant alone during the school day. “Of course, it didn’t add up,” said Stephenson, who lives just over the state line in Elkton, Maryland. So she glanced at the applications and discovered neither teen had listed an address or a phone number, and neither had completed high school. Concerned that the two girls were alone in an area just down the road from a truck stop that is “not a really good place to be around,” Stephenson wrote down their names. A quick search of Facebook when she got home that night confirmed her instincts: A Brunswick woman was frantically searching for her 16-year-old Brunswick daughter, who, along with a 14-year-old Bath girl, had disappeared in the early morning hours of Oct. 25. The girls were supposed to babysit together early Sunday morning, the older girl’s mom told the Bangor Daily News, but they never showed up. Before long, the younger girl’s mom realized her Toyota Camry was missing. Both mothers spent Sunday in a fog, mystified at their daughters’ disappearance and terrified for their safety. They posted “Missing” notices on Facebook, and contacted the Bath teen’s family in South Carolina, where she was born and previously lived, thinking the girls might be headed to see a friend there. After Bath police had listed the girls with the National Crime Information Center, alerting police across the country to stop them, police in Cambridge, Massachusetts, called later Sunday morning to report the car had been involved in a minor crash before driving away from the scene, Bath Police Lt. Robert Savary said at the time. Neither teen has a license to drive, according to the older girl’s mom. Then there was no news until the next night, when the older teen’s mother opened Facebook to find a message from Stephenson. The 26-year-old woman had searched Facebook as soon as she got home from work that night and discovered one of the notices about the missing teens. She messaged the girl’s mother “and then sat by my computer waiting for her to [respond],” Stephenson said. “The minute she did, she was like, ‘Oh my gosh, are you serious?’” The two continued talking by phone, and Stephenson notified local police, as well as her cousins, who are deputies in nearby Cecil County. But the police found no sign of the girls that night, and they didn’t return to the restaurant Tuesday morning. Then on Tuesday afternoon, the Charles County Sheriff’s Office received several calls about two young girls panhandling in front of a strip mall on Crain Highway in Waldorf, according to sheriff’s spokeswoman Diane Richardson. “They appeared to be young and were asking for money,” Richardson told the Bangor Daily News. “It was odd that there would be two young girls outside this clothing store holding up signs asking for money. A lot of people were actually concerned.” An officer picked up the two girls and took them to a district station, where he stayed with them until a social worker picked them up at about 10 p.m. The younger girl’s mother flew to Maryland to drive her car home, and the older girl’s mom rented a car and left at 2 a.m. Wednesday to retrieve the girls. What she discovered, the older girl’s mother said, was the girls’ “Thelma and Louise” plan. She learned that the girls had traveled south, without their phones, “straight through Boston, New York and some of the most scary places they could have been.” They told sheriff’s deputies that they stopped in Washington, D.C., looking for a gas station, but someone told them to “get out of the city” and they decided Waldorf “looked like a nice place to stop and ask for money.” “One of the scariest parts for me was that the social worker who found them a place to stay for the night said they were just south of Washington, D.C., and in that area [human] trafficking is huge,” the older girl’s mother said. The drive back to Maine was quiet at first, she said. Their first stop was the Blue Crab Grill, to see the waitress who may have saved their lives. She worried, at first, that the girls would be angry. Stephenson, who is six months pregnant with her first daughter, said she told the girls, “All I could think about was that in the future, if something were to happen with my daughter, I would want someone to get in contact with me to tell me she was all right, that she was alive and OK.” Both girls eventually thanked her, Stephenson said. “I said, ‘Do you understand why that was putting a target on you? At your age?’ I told them how serious it was and it seemed to dawn on them the things that could have gone wrong in that scenario.” When they arrived back in Maine, the girls were grounded and the older girl, at least, is prohibited from using social media, including Facebook. But her mom, and the rest of the family, spent much of the next few days on Facebook, praising and “friending” the Delaware woman who found their girl. “This is a hero,” the mom wrote on Facebook. “A person who trusted her gut when she saw two young girls all alone and helped. A person who spent her own time calling authorities in multiple states to let them know the girls could be headed their way and a person who let a scared mom message her for hours trying to make sense of a terrifying situation. This is a hero.” Because no charges were filed against the girls, the Bangor Daily News agreed not to identify them or their families.American media has a plethora of films depicting authoritarian states, dystopian societies and Orwellian narratives. I remember when V for Vendetta was released to the theaters in 2005, many of my friends told me that I should really see it. I had read the graphic novel and found that the film held to the original spirit of the comic while relating to the relevant world of today. While it may seem like watching such films raises general awareness about the types of propaganda that influence us, I see it having a counter effect. Derek Sivers once did a short TED presentation on goals in which he said the following: “Any time you have a goal, there are some steps that need to be done, some work that needs to be done in order to achieve it. Ideally you would not be satisfied until you’d actually done the work. But when you tell someone your goal and they acknowledge it, psychologists have found that it’s called a ‘social reality.’ The mind is kind of tricked into feeling that it’s already done. And then because you’ve felt that satisfaction, you’re less motivated to do the actual hard work necessary.” -Derek Sivers He then went on to quote studies where people who talked about their goals were less likely to fulfill them compared to those who kept them secret. I wondered if dystopian films have the same effect, and if that effect is intentional. Does watching media about revolution against corruption create a social reality, where we feel as if we’re more aware and therefore, less inclined to work towards real revolution? Can films about rising up against a corrupt state be used to pacify a population? Could this be part of the system Gore Vidal talked about? “Hollywood and Washington have a symbiotic relationship. They both deal with illusions. Reality doesn’t often play much of a part.” -Gore Vidal On the opposite end of the spectrum, there are movies that feel as if they are pure pro-government propaganda. The recent film Olympus has Fallen comes to mind, a movie which portrays an impossible scenario of North Korean operatives assaulting Washington with a C130, forcing a take down of the White House. The movie was a tremendous flop. Film critic Maryann Johanson described the movie as, “A vile propagandistic action flick that shamelessly indulges fears of terrorism while also failing on a basic narrative level.” Obvious pro-government propaganda in film is nothing new. In 1943, Disney released Der Fuehrer’s Face (originally Donald Duck in Nazi Land), where Donald Duck finds himself in a world where his breakfast consists of stale bread and a single coffee bean dipped in water. Donald must work endless hours in a factory making bombs for the Fuehrer, which eventually leads to his insanity. He wakes up from his nightmare wearing American flag pajamas and immediately hugs a model of the Statue of Liberty, conveniently placed in his window. Anonymous Activists in Perth, Australia Returning to the film V for Vendetta, one of the icons from the film is the Guy Fawkes mask worn by the main protagonist. Touched by the golden hand of Hollywood, these masks have made their way into the hands of protesters around the world. From Anonymous protesters going up against Scientologists on Tottenham Court Road in London to the members of the Occupy Movement in New York City, activists everywhere are dawning the Time-Warner trademarked facades. That’s right, the movement of protesters that seek to fight against establishment are purchasing masks that feed the very same establishment and contributing to Time Warner’s multi-billion yearly profits. It may seem like a stretch to say that films promoting mistrust of government and social unrest are propaganda pieces, but keep in mind that the entire American modern art movement was a propaganda movement created by the CIA. It was used as an attempt to show the dominance and creativity allowed in capitalist American which the Soviets could not compete against. “When I came back to the United States, I decided that if you could use propaganda for war, you could certainly use it for peace. And ‘propaganda’ got to be a bad word because of the Germans using it, so what I did was to try and find some other words so we found the words ‘public relations’.” -Edward Bernays The more obvious pro-American propaganda in Hollywood seems easily identifiable. However, I’d argue that even films that portray mistrust of the government and populous led rebellions may also be forms of propaganda, specifically promoted by the US government. By showing an audience a corrupt state, they may feel better about the nation they live in, seeing it as “not that bad.” Counter intuitively, they may also feel like they have insight into the propaganda their own nation is feeding them. Having this knowledge may satisfy any need for uprising, and could be used as a pacification technique.Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane congratulates Governor Tom Wolf following his inauguration ceremony at the State Capitol in Harrisburg, U.S. January 20, 2015. REUTERS/Mark Makela/File Photo HARRISBURG, Pa. (Reuters) - A jury on Monday convicted Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane of all counts in her politically charged perjury trial stemming from allegations that she leaked grand jury information, a prosecutor’s spokeswoman said. The jurors deliberated for little more than five hours before deciding that Kane, a Democrat, had leaked the information to a reporter in a bid to embarrass a rival prosecutor. Kane’s conviction in the case that has riveted Pennsylvania for a year was confirmed by Kate Delano, spokeswoman for Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele. Governor Tom Wolf called on Kane to resign immediately. “I implore Attorney General Kane to do what is right: put the commonwealth’s residents first and step down from office,” the Democrat said in a statement. Kane was alleged to have attempted to gain revenge against former prosecutor Frank Fina by leaking grand jury information to a reporter to embarrass him and then lied about it. Kane faces up to seven years in prison. During the trial in Norristown, outside Philadelphia, Kane’s lawyers argued that she intended to make a legal leak of information to the press and did not know her aides would include grand jury material. They contended she made “honest mistakes” when testifying to the grand jury, but did not intentionally lie. Kane did not testify in her own defense.At first glance, George Miller’s upcoming film Mad Max: Fury Road seems to share a few standard themes with its three Max franchise predecessors, and while the thriller is sure to be (and looks) action-packed, an Esquire interview with female co-star Rosie Huntington-Whiteley reveals the introduction of a new element: feminism. According to Huntington-Whiteley, who is playing one of several female characters to be rescued by legendary rogue enforcer Max Rockatansky, Fury Road will be less of a story about damsels in distress, and more about the empowerment of female survivors, thanks to Vagina Monologues author and feminine activist Eve Ensler. Vanity Fair reports Austrailian-born Miller, who is now 70, sought out Ensler for that very purpose, and speculates it is possible Miller “recognized the limitations a male director and three male writers faced in trying to cover every nuance of a story about female exploitation and survival.” Huntington-Whiteley spoke to Esquire of Ensler’s impact on her character, and her excitement to work with the notorious figure: We were so lucky that George arranged for Eve Ensler, who wrote the Vagina Monologues, to fly in and work with us girls for about a week. We did extensive research with her. Eve herself has had a very intense life. She’s spent time in the Congo working with rape victims and women who have had unthinkable things happen to them through the power of men’s hands. We were able to pick her brain for a week. She told us the most tragic stories I’ve ever heard in my life, which gave us so much background to our characters. We really wanted to kind of showcase that. It was a privilege to have her around to make these characters something more then just five beautiful girls. The actress told the publication of her excitement to play Splendid, and described the character as “conflicted.” “She’s pregnant through rape and she has been held captive her whole life. It was so interesting to think: how would she feel about carrying this child? Does she have these natural maternal instincts that a lot of mother’s feel? Is she enjoying being pregnant?” she said. She also asked: “Is she having that time of pure love or is she angry? Does she have any regard for this child? What does she feel about that? I think that I never really knew what she was going to feel because I don’t think even she would know. I think it was all very confusing for her. She was conflicted. That’s why a lot of her actions in this film are reckless.” Charlize Theron, Zoë Kravitz, Riley Keough, Abbey Lee, and Courtney Eaton play other Fury Road female characters, while Tom Hardy replaces Mel Gibson as Max Rockatansky. Among other narcissistic statements made by Ensler in the vagina obsessed, anti-heterosexual feminist episodic play, in 1996, she wrote in The Vagina Monologues: “The heart is capable of sacrifice. So is the vagina. The heart is able to forgive and repair. It can change its shape to let us in. It can expand to let us out. So can the vagina. It can ache for us and stretch for us, die for us and bleed and bleed us into this difficult, wondrous world. So can the vagina.” While Mad Max: Fury Road will likely not feature any bleeding vaginas, Ensler’s assistance with feminine character development will take the franchise in a new direction. Fury Road will make its U.S. debut May 15. Check out the trailer below:In the past few weeks, Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” has been drawing a lot of attention and ire for its lyrics. (Hint: contents may contain rape logic.) Over Marvin Gaye-like beats, Thicke, T.I. and Pharrell Williams sing lines like, “I hate these blurred lines/I know you want it/But you’re a good girl,” and the song’s video only reinforces these ideas by placing its models in next to no clothing. (There’s also an odd bit involving a toy car? I don’t know what to do with this video.) Feminist blog The Vagenda labeled the clip an “orgy of objectification,” and the NSFW video had to be pulled from YouTube after complaints. Despite the controversy, the “rape hop” label shows no signs of killing it as this year’s summer song. The Daily Beast argued that the reason it continues to gain airplay is that “women [don’t] take offense to the hip-hop lyrics in these songs because they feel that the lyrics aren’t directed at them personally. They think that the men in the songs are talking about people they know.” However, a friend of mine put the general reaction to the controversy more bluntly: “How is that different than 99% of the hip-hop songs out there?” For many, that makes the controversy feel stale and canned (as if those wily feminists were looking for something to get angry about), but this argument is correct in that Thicke is hardly the only offender of my feminist sentiments. Kanye West’s divisive and dark Yeezus is rampantly rapey and anti-woman (and sometimes brilliant), but it’s also not being played on the radio. The difference is that Thicke has done what many black artists right now have not: He has a number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100, a title he has held for four weeks and counting. While hardly a marker of quality or the larger market of music out there, this title means that Robin Thicke is getting the kind of exposure that other black R&B artists aren’t, an attention magnified by the color of Thicke’s skin. Thicke looks a lot more like the radio’s target demographic than Kanye does, as the tastes of young white people control the airwaves. Robin Thicke is a Caucasian, second-generation celebrity in a genre created by African-Americans, a benefactor of the late 2000’s Justin Timberlake era of R&B. Black hip-hop artists and rappers may have dominated the charts in the 2000s (when they accounted for the vast majority of number-one singles throughout the decade), but today, popular black artists are widely being pushed from the charts. They’re still making music, but they’re not getting the same coverage that they used to. Around 2007, many think pieces wondered if hip-hop was dead. People like Kendrick Lamar, Killer Mike and Frank Ocean show that in many ways, hip-hop is as strong than it ever has been from a creative and artistic standpoint, and Kanye continues to take his music in boundary-pushing (even if shocking) directions. You could hardly get bored by him. They haven’t changed, the market has. The last time a solo black rap artist had a number-one single was way back in 2011, when Wiz Khalifa took “Black and Yellow” all the way to the top of the charts. His only other big for a number-one single came as a guest on Maroon 5’s “Payphone,” which went to #2 back in 2012. The Adam Levine-fronted band, however, spent nine weeks at the top with their follow-up single, “One More Night,” a perfect microcosm of recent trends in music over the past six years. With the dominance of Katy Perry in the late 2000s, popular music trended toward mom-friendly pop rock, music that could be edgy but wouldn’t offend your grandmother too much. Perry could kiss a girl, but don’t worry: she wasn’t a lesbian or anything. Black artists could share in the fun, but like Khalifa, they had to do so as guest vocalists. Former Billboard mainstays Snoop Dogg and Kanye West went back to number one by throwing down rap verses over Perry tunes, and Ludacris maintained his radio airplay by guesting on Justin Bieber tracks. We can see the same trend continue with “Blurred Lines,” where Pharrell and T.I. score their biggest song in years by playing supporting roles for the white guy, and both of Macklemore’s number-one hits, which feature prominent backup vocals from WANZ and Ray Dalton. Interestingly, the only non-white artist who has reached the Billboard summit this year on his own is Bruno Mars, who has maintained his popularity while other black artists have struggled by making music that sounds “white.” “Locked Out of Heaven” sounded more like The Police than the soul-pop Mars made his name on and show not the slightest hint of his Latino cultural heritage. Thus, you can have a number-one R&B or hip-hop single in 2013. You just have to be white. Although this gentrification of hip-hop is hardly new (as folks like Eminem and Vanilla Ice have long had success in the genre), the rate to which it’s occurring is particularly alarming. Bauuer’s “Harlem Shake” went from obscurity to the biggest song in the world in a matter of days after a YouTube video of people incorrectly interpreting the classic hip-hop dance went viral. Most watchers of these videos (and people in them) had never heard of the move before, and Bauuer offered the perfect cultural ambassador. He was white, offering a broad audience a way to participate in a black cultural form without it seeming “too black.” The dance was whitewashed for popular consumption, where the internet becomes the viral equivalent of Urban Outfitters. This is one of the main reasons that Macklemore (nee Ben Haggerty) has been so successful, the Seattle native and veteran rap artist whose career skyrocketed earlier this year. Although Haggerty has been making music since 2003 (he got his start on MySpace), he’s the perfect face of the new wave of hip-hop. Mr. Haggerty is stoic and classically square-jawed, resembling more a Navy captain in an old Hollywood film than a rap superstar. He’s mom-approved and safe for radio, instead of having to be “cleaned up” for the airwaves. Mackelmore’s fans love his earnestness and the fact that he shies away from rapping about overconsumption, drugs or women; he’s socially conscious without being too button-pushing or offending corporate sponsors. You can put a radio toothpaste ad after him, and in fact, he would make the perfect spokesperson. Although he’s an independent musician, any artist still has to be heavily endorsed by Clear Channel to get airplay, and they’re unlikely to air someone who won’t sell. It’s why the Dixie Chicks were dropped from country stations after speaking out against Bush in 2003. No corporation wanted to gamble profits on them. Although Mackelmore is widely seen as the hipster in the rap crowd (and thus the perfect harbinger of gentrification), this proves the opposite. It’s not his hipster sensibilities but the logic of a corporate mentality behind him, whether his indie cred wants to allow for it or not. This is the reality of gentrification we often overlook, as we focus on gentrification as the process of young artists moving into minority neighborhoods to capitalize on cheap rents — and not the state-backing behind it. Brooklyn has become a symbol of the whitewashing of New York, but its artist population is a symptom rather than a cause. The gentrification of the borough really took off in 2004 with the Plan for Downtown Brooklyn, backed by Mayor Bloomberg, the city’s Economic Development Commission and the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership. According to The Atlantic, “the plan rezoned key parts of the borough’s core commercial district, including the Fulton Mall – which, unbeknownst to many New Yorkers, had long been the third most profitable retail area in the city, after Manhattan’s Fifth and Madison avenues.” Bloomberg felt that the “revitalization” of the Fulton Mall was a key symbol in remaking the district in Manhattan’s image, but it only served to push out the thriving businesses that were already there. Kelly Andersons’ documentary My Brooklyn chronicles the pain many long-time Brooklyn merchants felt when they were effectively forced out of their business by their own city. Transition isn’t simple; it comes with painful costs, such as losing the very history of the neighborhood you want to “restore.” In Bed-Stuy, the apartment that Notorious B.I.G. rapped about on Ready To Die has become a “symbol of gentrification,” Targets and plastic surgery offices replacing the neighborhood culture he described. Technically, the apartment isn’t even zoned in Bed-Stuy anymore; it’s now called Clinton Hill. According to Good Magazine, “it’s now selling for $725,000 — a three bedroom with ‘hardwood floors, crown moldings, a coffered dining room ceiling and granite countertops.’” However, Biggie’s place isn’t alone. Advocates are worried that rising prices around the city are driving out traditional hip-hop culture, especially in the Bronx, the neighborhood from which rap emerged. A New York Times’ article from 2007 profiled the struggle that Clive Campbell (aka DJ Cool Herc) and others were having saving 1520 Sedgwick Ave. from being swept up by gentrification. Campbell hoped to have the building, where the first ever hip-hop performance took place, marked as historically significant for its place in American culture. This zoning would “[protect it] from any change that would affect its character — in this case, a building for poor and working-class families.” Once described as the world’s most self-conscious MC, Macklemore is aware of his place at the center of this gentrification and even rapped about it on a 2005 track entitled “White Privilege.” Mackelmore sang, “When I take a step to the mic is hip-hop closer to the end?/ ‘Cause when I go to shows the majority have white skin… And white rappers’ albums really get the most spins… Claimed a culture that wasn’t mine, the way of the American Hip hop is gentrified and where will all the people live… Being pushed farther away because of what white people did, now/ Where’s my place in a music that’s been taken by my race?” In his early work, Macklemore commonly addressed these issues of race and privilege in his work, and touched on them again in a track from 2012’s The Heist. On “A Wake,” Mr. Haggerty rapped, “Neighborhoods where you never see a news crew/Unless they’re gentrifying, white people don’t even cruise through.” He claims that he doesn’t focus on such themes in his work as much these days because “it’s a complicated fucking issue.” Haggerty stated, “I also don’t want to be the white rapper that’s talking about the black man’s struggle.” The problem is that as white artists gentrifying a black genre, folks like Haggerty and Robin Thicke have a duty to pay tribute to those who came before them and raise awareness about the cultural implications of their work. Currently, Macklemore’s equality jam “Same Love” is storming the charts (and will soon break the Top 20), in which he and a bunch of other white people hold hip-hop accountable to its treatment of LGBT people, for which he’s been rightly criticized. Where are the queer hip-hop artists? Where are the people of color? These are great questions, and we need to keep asking more of them. We all have a duty to ask questions of our popular culture, who it includes and who it leaves out, but Macklemore can be a leader in the discussion. If Macklemore wants to be the advocate he thinks he is, he needs to hold us accountable for our treatment of hip-hop — and use that straight, white-privilege for good. As the case of Robin Thicke shows, we’re listening. And we deserve more.Romance language Spanish ( (); (help·info) ) or Castilian[3] ( (), (help·info) ), is a Western Romance language that originated in the Castile region of Spain and today has hundreds of millions of native speakers in the Americas and Spain. It is a global language and the world's second-most spoken native language, after Mandarin Chinese.[4][5][6][7][8] Spanish is a part of the Ibero-Romance group of languages, which evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in Iberia after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. The oldest Latin texts with traces of Spanish come from mid-northern Iberia in the 9th century,[9] and the first systematic written use of the language happened in Toledo, then capital of the Kingdom of Castile, in the 13th century. Beginning in 1492, the Spanish language was taken to the viceroyalties of the Spanish Empire, most notably to the newly-discovered the Americas, as well as territories in Africa, Oceania and the Philippines.[10] Around 75% of modern Spanish vocabulary is derived from Latin. Ancient Greek has also contributed substantially to Spanish vocabulary, especially through Latin, where it had a great impact.[11][12] Spanish vocabulary has been in contact with Arabic from an early date, having developed during the Al-Andalus era in the Iberian Peninsula.[13][14][15][16] With around 8% of its vocabulary being Arabic in origin, this language is the second most important influence after Latin.[13][17][18] It has also been influenced by Basque, Iberian, Celtiberian, Visigothic, and by neighboring Ibero-Romance languages.[19][13] Additionally, it has absorbed vocabulary from other languages, particularly the Romance languages—French, Italian, Portuguese, Galician, Catalan, Occitan, and Sardinian—as well as from Nahuatl, Quechua, and other indigenous languages of the Americas.[20] Spanish is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. It is also used as an official language by the European Union, the Organization of American States, the Union of South American Nations, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, the African Union and by many other international organizations.[21] Despite its large number of speakers, the Spanish language does not feature prominently in scientific writing, with the exception of the humanities.[22] Estimated number of speakers [ edit ] It is estimated that more than 437 million people speak Spanish as a native language, which qualifies it as second on the lists of languages by number of native speakers.[23] Instituto Cervantes claims that there are an estimated 477 million Spanish speakers with native competence and 572 million Spanish speakers as a first or second language—including speakers with limited competence—and more than 21 million students of Spanish as a foreign language.[24] Spanish is the official or national language in Spain, Equatorial Guinea, and 19 countries in the Americas. Speakers in the Americas total some 418 million. It is also an optional language in the Philippines as it was a Spanish colony from 1569 to 1899. In the European Union, Spanish is the mother tongue of 8% of the population, with an additional 7% speaking it as a second language.[25] Spanish is the most popular second language learned in the United States.[26] In 2011 it was estimated by the American Community Survey that of the 55 million Hispanic United States residents who are five years of age and over, 38 million speak Spanish at home.[27] According to a 2011 paper by U.S. Census Bureau Demographers Jennifer Ortman and Hyon B. Shin, the number of Spanish speakers is projected to rise through 2020 to anywhere between 39 million and 43 million, depending on the assumption one makes about immigration. Most of these Spanish speakers will be Hispanic, with Ortman and Shin projecting between 37.5 million and 41 million Hispanic Spanish speakers by 2020. Names of the language [ edit ] castellano or español Map indicating places where the language is calledor In Spain and in some other parts of the Spanish-speaking world, Spanish is called not only español (Spanish) but also castellano (Castilian), the language from the kingdom of Castile, contrasting it with other languages spoken in Spain such as Galician, Basque, Asturian, Catalan, Aragonese and Occitan. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 uses the term castellano to define the official language of the whole Spanish State in contrast to las demás lenguas españolas (lit. "the other Spanish languages"). Article III reads as follows: El castellano es la lengua española oficial del Estado.... Las demás lenguas españolas serán también oficiales en las respectivas Comunidades Autónomas... Castilian is the official Spanish language of the State.... The other Spanish languages shall also be official in their respective Autonomous Communities... The Spanish Royal Academy, on the other hand, currently uses the term español in its publications, but from 1713 to 1923 called the language castellano. The Diccionario panhispánico de dudas (a language guide published by the Spanish Royal Academy) states that, although the Spanish Royal Academy prefers to use the term español in its publications when referring to the Spanish language, both terms—español and castellano—are regarded as synonymous and equally valid.[
them [the new narco-trafficking group], [then the] government takes them down. • If [the] dominant cartel is allied [with the new group], no problem. • If [a new] group comes in and start[s] committing violence, they get taken down: first by the government letting the dominant cartel do their thing, then [by] punishing both cartels. “MX1,” Narco News revealed, “then goes on to describe what he interprets as the US strategy in negotiating with the major narco-trafficking players in Ciudad Juarez–a major Mexican narco-trafficking ‘plaza’ located across the border from El Paso, Texas:” … This is how “negotiations” take place with cartels, through signals. There are no meetings, etc. … So, the MX [Mexican] strategy is not to negotiate. However, I think the US [recently] sent a signal that could be construed as follows: “To the VCF [the Vicente Carrillo Fuentes] and Sinaloa cartels: Thank you for providing our market with drugs over the years. We are now concerned about your perpetration of violence, and would like to see you stop that. In this regard, please know that Sinaloa is bigger and better than [the] VCF. Also note that CDJ [Juarez] is very important to us, as is the whole border. In this light, please talk amongst yourselves and lets all get back to business. Again, we recognize that Sinaloa is bigger and better, so either VCF gets in line or we will mess you up.” I don’t know what the US strategy is, but I can tell you that if the message was understood by Sinaloa and VCF as I described above, the Mexican government would not be opposed at all. In sum, I have a gut feeling that the US agencies tried to send a signal telling the cartels to negotiate themselves. They unilaterally declared a winner [the Sinaloa Cartel], and this is unprecedented, and deserves analysis. If there was no strategy behind this, and it was simply a leaked report, then I will be interested to see how it plays out in the coming months. Keep in mind that this “analysis” is from a senior CISEN officer describing U.S. “strategy” for managing, not putting a stop to the flood of narcotics crossing the border. “In a separate Stratfor email dated April 15, 2010,” Conroy wrote, “MX1′s views on the US strategy with respect to the drug organizations in Juarez, essentially favoring the Sinaloa ‘Cartel,’ is referenced yet again:” We believe that when the US made an announcement that was corroborated by several federal spokespersons simultaneously (that Sinaloa controlled CDJ [Juarez]), it was a message that the DEA wanted to send to Sinaloa. The message was that the US recognized Sinaloa’s dominance in the area [Juarez], although it was not absolute. It was meant to be read by the cartels as a sort of ultimatum: negotiate and put your house in order once and for all. One dissenting analyst thinks that the message is the opposite, telling Sinaloa to take what it had and to leave what remains of VCF. Regardless, the reports are saying that the US message to the cartels was to negotiate and stop the violence. It says that the US has never before pronounced that a cartel controls a particular plaza, so it is an unusual event. “Unusual” perhaps, but not surprising given the secret state’s documented history of close collaboration with major drug trafficking networks that serve as unofficial, though highly-effective instruments, for advancing U.S. imperial strategies. In a recent piece published by Global Research, analyst Peter Dale Scott observed that America’s two “self-generating wars” on “terror” and “drugs” have “in effect become one.” “By launching a War on Drugs in Colombia and Mexico,” Scott wrote, “America has contributed to a parastate of organized terror in Colombia (the so-called AUC, United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia) and an even bloodier reign of terror in Mexico (with 50,000 killed in the last six years).” And by “launching a War on Terror in Afghanistan in 2001, America has contributed to a doubling of opium production there, making Afghanistan now the source of 90 percent of the world’s heroin and most of the world’s hashish.” “Americans should be aware of the overall pattern that drug production repeatedly rises where America intervenes militarily–Southeast Asia in the 1950s and 60s, Colombia and Afghanistan since then,” Scott noted. “(Opium cultivation also increased in Iraq after the 2003 US invasion.) And the opposite is also true: where America ceases to intervene militarily, notably in Southeast Asia since the 1970s, drug production declines.” “Both of America’s self-generating wars are lucrative to the private interests that lobby for their continuance,” Scott averred. “At the same time, both of these self-generating wars contribute to increasing insecurity and destabilization in America and in the world.” In this light, Narco News revelations make perfect sense. As the global financial crisis deepens, brought on in no small part by the massive frauds perpetrated by leading capitalist institutions, they have inflated their balance sheets with a veritable tsunami of hot cash generated by the Narco-Industrial Complex. In turn, the American secret state, working to recapitalize financial markets beset by a seemingly insolvable liquidity crisis resulting from massive bank frauds, turn a blind eye as these same institutions become major centers of organized crime, monopoly enterprises which could not survive without the trillions of dollars of illicit funds parked in offshore accounts.It appears a trend is taking shape. Following a former Goldman HFT trader's massive initial coin offering, another Wall Street-er has come to the dark side of virtual currencies. A former senior manager at consulting firm Bain & Company, is launching a Bitcoin fund, providing access to the cryptocurrency to some of the wealthiest families in Latin America. Announced today, the newly formed Crypto Assets Fund, co-founded by former senior manager at Bain, Roberto Ponce Romay, is helping to raise $50m with the purpose of buying cryptocurrencies for family offices. Revealed exclusively to CoinDesk, Crypto Assets Fund (CAF) will invest directly in bitcoin, ether, zcash, ripple, litecoin and dash. As CoinDesk reports, The first tranche of the fund, estimated to be valued about $10m, is in the final stages of closing, and is expected to be announced by the end of this month. In interview, Romay explained that the purpose of the fund was two-fold. First, it was designed to give investors in some of Latin America’s more unstable economies a new way to hedge their investments, and... Second, it was meant to provide the opportunity to safely learn about these new stores of value for possible future investments. According to Romay, as the fund's investors are becoming increasingly familiar with the crypto-asset class, the CAF could eventually raise new funds that also include tokens sold as part of initial coin offerings, or ICOs. "This fund is investor driven," said Romay, who is now the director of investment banking boutique, Invermaster. "It is a simple strategy to give access." "The [investors] wanted to be exposed..." Investment documents provided to CoinDesk further reveal details about how the British Virgin Islands fund intends to invest capital provided by its limited partners. Based on previous growth trajectories of CAF’s crypto-assets, the fund lists a minimum target return of 26% per year for three years with an "expected" target return of 71%. With volatility at record lows across so many asset-classes, is this the beginning of an exodus from Wall Street to Cyber street to take advantage of information-edges and noise?It’s official. Sim Bhullar has become the first Indian player to sign an NBA contract, as he will take part in the Sacramento Kings training camp. He would be joining fellow Canadian Nik Stauskas. Bhullar made the news public last night over twitter, stating “Dreams Do come True.” Yes they do, big fella. He went from the giant that struggled for air as he carried himself from baseline to baseline in high school, to the same giant with a much improved physique. Congratulations. How will he do in the NBA? Will he be able to adjust to the speed? That remains to be seen. Although Bhullar is not guaranteed a roster spot, some believe things are looking in his favour due to lack of a back up centre in Sacramento (behind Demarcus Cousins). For now, Canadian and Indian basketball fans, enjoy the fact that the big man has signed his first NBA deal.Nokia’s new Chief Executive Stephen Elop managed to instill some confidence in the company’s investors by hinting that the world’s largest handset maker might be preparing for a radical break with its past. On a conference call following the Finnish mobile phone giant’s fourth-quarter report, Mr. Elop talked about Nokia’s need to change rapidly in a fast-changing market place, and to consider “multiple ecosystem patterns”. Investors interpreted the comments as a sign that Nokia might be preparing to adopt a new smartphone platform, and traded up the company’s shares following a sharp dip earlier Thursday in the wake of its bleak first-quarter outlook. Mr. Elop was clearly hinting that Nokia is either considering the adoption of a new operating system or that it has already made that decision, said analyst Geoff Blaber at research firm CCS Insight, adding that the most likely option in that case would be Google Inc’s Android.Oil prices will jump over $60 “relatively soon,” according to Statoil chief economist Eirik Waerness, who spoke to Bloomberg on Monday. According to Waerness, $60 barrel is unlikely to happen as soon as tomorrow, but the goal will be met sooner, rather than later, on a 2050 timeline. A series of “surprises” have affected the recovery of oil prices over the past three years, causing previous forecasts to be inaccurate. “The fact that we have so much oil in storage for so long has been a surprise,” Waerness said. “The resilience of U.S. shale oil producers to actually step up production once prices came above $50 is a surprise. An ongoing surprise is that we keep production stable outside of the OPEC and non-US countries for so long.” He said oil prices should tighten with the next five years, describing the slow recovery as a “patience game.” Non-OPEC nations must also cut production in order to reverse the supply glut. “At some point this level is not sustainable,” the economist added. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) agreed to cut output by 1.2 million barrels per day in November as part of an effort to reduce the crude supply glut. Oil prices initially rose above $50 when the reduction began in January, but have become bearish in recent weeks as Libya, Nigeria, the United States and other producers continue to increase output. Related: Saudi Reshuffle Could Completely Shake Up Oil Markets Brent crude slipped below $45 on Wednesday, reaching its lowest price since last November, according to Bloomberg last week. “There’s a sea of negativity,” Maxwell Gold of ETF Securities LLC said. “This is much more a story of sentiment weighing on the markets.” The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a 2.5-million-barrel draw on domestic inventories on Wednesday, but the news was not enough to boost West Texas Intermediate (WTI) prices, which have fallen 22 percent from a peak in January. By Zainab Calcuttawala for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:Site reader and contributor Varquynne sent in a very nice piece that must have taken a lot of work to put together. He watched a full beta play through and recorded every item that dropped, what type of item it was, including gold quantities, and what sort of monster or chest dropped it. Not content with just a list, he turned the data into an awesome infographic, with colorful pie charts and stuff. If you’re wondering how many items dropped… a lot. Click through to see the full chart and a lot more text info, but just to give you an idea of the calculations, there were 107 white, 31 blue, and 2 rare items, nearly 9000 gold, and over 1300 total “loot sources” which includes chests, barrels, urns, monsters, weapon racks, hollow logs, and so on. Here’s the start of the article; click through to read the whole thing and see the cool infographic. Also, if you’re as surprised as I was to learn that he counted all this from a movie, never fear, we’ve made sure that Varquynne has beta access of his own, now. Where does all the loot come from? I was recently inspired by a news post on the official Torchlight 2 website that took a look at the potential loot drops in the game. Erich Schaefer and one of the other team members, Adam, put together a great infographic that showed the breakdown of loot from a play session and the sources of that loot. Usually, those data tend to sit in tables on spreadsheets that, for most of us, aren’t really very interesting to sift through. However, data can be really cool, especially when it’s visualized in the proper way. There exists a proportion of Diablo players that are data fiends. They strive to maximize the efficiency of their characters’ statistics and/or play style to increase their killing power. They pour over numbers and analyze the geometry of level layouts to give themselves the edge. Consequently, these tasks increase their chances at getting great loot. The net result of that data crunching? Generally, it leads to greater quantities of awesome loot, more character power, and usually a cooler looking hero. So, data gets transformed from numbers to something aesthetically pleasing and fun! Following the team’s example from Torchlight 2, I decided to package up some loot data from Diablo III into something that I hope is at least somewhat nice to look at and fun for some of you to go through. Since I don’t have access to the beta, I compiled the data from a video of one playthrough with a freshly made character (beta, patch 15). The player takes a witch doctor from level 1 to level 9 in a session that is approximately 1 hour long. The data from the loot drops can be found in the accompanying infographic. It breaks down five main categories of loot: gold, potions, normal gear, magic gear, and rare gear. Click through for the rest of the article… Caveat: The comparisons and data analyses presented here are done with one trial comparison from each game. As such, it’s important to keep in mind that there will be substantial variability; not only in fluctuations due to random chance but also in the inherent conditions of each trial (e.g. variance in playstyle). These data should not be taken as rigid evidence for mathematical comparisons one way or the other. Simply stated, they are inconclusive. So, with that out of the way, I hope you enjoy. Comparing loot variety – Torchlight 2 and Diablo III Compared to Diablo III, Torchlight 2 seems to throw more loot variety at you (if not more overall loot). The Torchlight 2 loot breakdown graphic includes spells, gems, and scrolls. While gems are indeed in Diablo III, they don’t drop in the beta segment. In addition, Diablo III no longer includes scrolls (at least not in the beta), droppable runes, or presumably other consumables such as elixirs. Another aspect with Diablo III that we aren’t seeing here are the contribution of dyes or droppable crafting components which will be included in the final build. For some of those with the game developer inkling, it might be interesting to see how the two games compare in this regard and which one feels more satisfying loot-wise. It brings to mind the question of whether more loot variety is necessarily good. I’m not sure. Certainly, I think that way too much can contribute to feeling overwhelmed and can make inventory management more of a chore. Comparing loot quantity Unfortunately, comparisons of loot quantity aren’t appropriate with these data seeing as the Torchlight 2 figures come from a character that has advanced fairly far into the game (as well as other factors). Let’s entertain the idea, though. From these figures, we can look at the overall frequency of loot which each game presents you. I’ve measured this as the number of loot items divided by the opportunities for loot. Torchlight 2 (2140 pieces of loot from 7543 sources) gives you some form of item-based loot 28.4% of the time and Diablo III (208 pieces of loot from 1293 sources) gives you some form of item-based loot 16.1% of the time. Overall, Torchlight II tends to throw loot at you more frequently. It’s a trend that I think will hold up for the release versions of each game, especially if the way loot was handled in Torchlight I serves as an accurate example. Getting the biggest buck for your bang So, from where does each category of loot tend to come? Gold: It seems like most gold comes from normal monsters (~32.7%), quests, and clickables/destructibles. Interestingly, despite showing up only three times, the gold from the treasure goblin account for ~7% of the gold that was found for the playthrough. It would seem to suggest that chasing that mischievous, little guy down will be worth it for the gold payout. Potions and normal items: Potions (~31.4%)and normal items (~49.3%)come from normal monsters, mostly. Not surprising, I suppose. Runners up for potions include champions and rare/unique monsters. Magic items: Together, champions and rare/unique monsters are the greatest source of magic items. As a note, Blizzard denotes both these monster groups as “elites”. While they may represent the source for the greatest quantity of magic items, it’s pretty much a sure bet you’ll get a magic item whenever you do encounter a special chest, treasure goblin (if you kill it), rare/unique monster, or boss. Something else that is pretty striking is how seldom blue items dropped from normal monsters for this particular playthrough – approximately 0.2% of the time. Was this the monster group the Diablo III team tweaked the most to curtail magic drops? Comparisons with earlier patch versions could help identify where the development team made the biggest adjustments. Rare items: Two rares were found during this playthrough. One came from a normal monster and one from Leoric (odds boosted since it was a first-time playthrough). The sampling (as is the case for many of these categories) is quite small, but it’s expected from Blizzard’s comments that elite monsters will be the principal source of rare items (statistically speaking, of course). No legendary or set items are found in the Diablo 3 Beta. I hope you guys and gals enjoyed the little analysis. If you notice anything else that seems interesting, let us know! It won’t be too much longer until we’re all cranking out data like these (regardless of whether it sees the light of day or not)! At the very least, we’ll see it manifest in the progression of our characters. Notes on loot sources: Clickable/destructible includes everything not classified as a barrel, urn, weapon rack, armor rack, or chest. This would include things like lecterns, logs, loose stones, etc. Champions include monsters whose names appear blue as well as quest-related monsters whose names also appear in blue (with the exception of King Leoric). For example, The Chancellor is classified as a champion. The figure for the number of normal monsters slain is likely an underestimate. Monsters that were slain off screen by pets or Kormac the Templar may have been missed. And, of course, counts may have been missed in the chaos of combat… though, I tried to be accurate. Rare/unique monsters include enemies whose names appear in yellow. –Varquynne Opinions expressed in guest articles are those of their authors, and are not necessarily the views of Diablo.IncGamers.com. If you’d like to contribute your own article or other original material, we’d be happy to see it. Use the Send News button atop the main page."There are deeper problems today than there were ten years ago," Gingrich said on Friday's Sean Hannity Show. "It is going to require us as a people to have the courage to face reality -- That we need to change things so that people can get jobs, they can get educated, they can have a better future." "They don't need to feel hopeless and alienated," he continued. "The most worrisome thing about last night is the rise of people that feel so alienated that they think it is legitimate for them to go out and target white police officers. That is pure racism and it is a sad commentary on where Barack Obama has left America." "Last weekend I think there was a shooting every two hours [in Chicago] on average. I would say the following," he said. "There is something tragic that the president, who spent much of his adult life in Chicago, his wife is a Chicagoan, he taught at the University of Chicago... and the leading Democratic probably nominee was born in Chicago, grew up as a Chicagoan until she went to college, and yet they have behaved as though people being killed in Chicago don't count, not a problem, not worthy of their attention." "They've spent more time grandstanding on unique individual cases, which as you've pointed out they have consistently misstated, so it is a moment I think of real choice, and a time for us to really take seriously setting out act together as a country. When there is a police incident, it has to be investigated thoroughly, you can't have police brutality, but also recognizing that the overhwhelming majority of police officers in the country are risking their lives every single day as much as our men and women in uniform, and they are doing so to protect our civilization and our safety." "There is a certain conversational opportunity for the country between Chicago and Minneapolis, Baton Rouge, Dallas, and we need to talk through having systems where people aren't afraid, and absolute total commitment to protect the police."San Pedro >> Arson investigators appear to be narrowing their search for the suspect responsible for setting a massive blaze last week that destroyed most of the San Pedro Elks Lodge. Key pieces of evidence in the case, sources say, are surveillance tapes from the 24-hour Chevron gas station at 29421 S. Western Ave. in Rancho Palos Verdes, across from Peck Park. Bill Michaelis, owner of the gas station, said footage shows a man buying a Bic lighter and then filling a 5-gallon can with gasoline at about 2:25 a.m. April 15, just about 15 minutes before the fire was reported at the two-story San Pedro Elks Lodge nearby. The man’s vehicle, also caught in the station’s surveillance tape, was parked several feet away from the pumps and allegedly matches a vehicle seen in tapes at the lodge just before the fire began, Michaelis said. “It was brought to my attention by the graveyard shift and I thought, ‘Wouldn’t that be a coincidence that this customer would be buying gas at 2:25 in the morning?’ ” Michaelis said. But the original time line reported that the fire began at about 2:30 a.m. wouldn’t fit the scenario, he said. Later, authorities said the fire began closer to 2:38 a.m., which would have given the person enough time to drive to the lodge at 1748 Cumbre Drive, about three miles away. “(The person) had a Jerry Can (for gas) and came in and bought a lighter and paid ‘X’ amount of dollars for gas for the can,” he said. Another source said the same man — whose identity is known to arson investigators — played cards at the Elks Lodge. An arrest is said to be imminent but authorities so far have not released anything specific. The possible suspect was arrested last week for an unrelated incident involving a broken window at the Via Dolce Cafe at 29050 S. Western Ave., Rancho Palos Verdes, in the Harbor Cove Shopping Center. He later was released on bail. The man also might have been responsible for earlier vandalism of the lodge’s outdoor air-conditioning unit, according to several sources who asked that their names not be used. At a news conference last Wednesday, Los Angeles City Councilman Joe Buscaino and fire officials confirmed the fire had been deliberately set. Buscaino, a former LAPD cop, pledged that the arsonist would be found. “To the coward who set this fire, our message to you is that you will be hunted down and arrested,” he said. “We don’t put up with this type of behavior in our San Pedro community.” Since then, the community has rallied to assist the lodge by finding other venues for events planned there. The lodge’s Easter brunch Sunday brought about 300 people to the Dalmatian-American Club, which has offered its services as a new and temporary home base for the lodge. “We just wanted to be as helpful as we could,” said former City Councilman Rudy Svorinich Jr., who is president of the Dalmatian-American Club. “The board voted to adopt the (lodge) as a sister organization. … One of the special things about San Pedro is we’re all family and family helps each other out. … I know they’d do the same for us in a heartbeat.” On Monday evening, a few hundred lodge members gathered in the parking lot of the burned building for their regular 6 p.m. meeting, although nothing about the gathering was regular. Many brought fold-up chairs while others stood as lodge officials urged patience and determination during the transition period. Absent were the usual amenities — dinner, drinks and comfortable chairs. A damp fog rolled in over the harbor below as speakers took turns at the microphone during the hourlong meeting. Among those addressing the crowd was U.S. Rep. Janice Hahn, D-San Pedro, who was among the first female members of the lodge after the ban on women was lifted several years ago. “I didn’t believe it, I had to see it for myself,” Hahn said of her first view of the damage after coming back to town. She said she “had no doubt” that the perpetrator would be apprehended and added that the new lodge would be built to outshine the old one. “We thought it was beautiful before. I think the next one is going to be the envy of every Elks lodge in the country,” she said to cheers. Exalted Ruler Jose Chavez said the Dalmatian-American Club will serve as the lodge’s temporary home for Sunday brunches until a new facility can be built. “This is going to be a transitional period, we’re just going to have to play it by ear,” he said. A rebuilding fund has been set up and the lodge’s regular charity work will continue, said Elks officer John Stammreich. “Pedrans don’t know how to be victims,” he told the crowd. “About 1,000 people are ready to strap on their tool belts and get to work.”Bloomberg: Is Richard Branson Gearing Up to Take On Tesla? Richard Branson has slapped his Virgin brand on trains, planes, spacecraft, and (soon) cruise ships. Are cars next? Bloomberg TV tracked Branson down at the Virgin garage in Miami and popped the question: Where is Virgin going with this? "We have teams of people working on electric cars," Branson said. "So you never know -- you may find Virgin competing with Tesla in the car business as we do in the space business. We will see what happens." Tampa Bay Times: The Koch Brothers Say Solar Energy Will Flop; Georgia Says They're Wrong Support solar energy, and you will support higher electric bills. Less reliability. More tax subsidies and unwanted government interference. This is what the critics said in Georgia in 2013, and they're saying it again in Florida today. "Total foolishness," Georgia Public Service Commissioner Bubba McDonald said Wednesday. "We have no state subsidies, and there has been no upward pressure on rates. If anything, it's held down the cost of fuel. "They can come down to Florida and blow all the smoke they want, but don't you believe it. I initiated this in 2013, and I had no problem getting through a primary and general election in 2014. What does that tell you about how solar energy is working in Georgia?" Washington Post: Obama to Cut Federal Government’s Carbon Emissions 40% Over 10 Years President Obama signed an executive order Thursday dictating the federal government will cut its greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent over the next decade from 2008 levels and increase the share of renewable energy in the federal government’s electricity supply to 30 percent during that same period. Simultaneously, federal suppliers including Honeywell, IBM, General Electric and other major U.S. firms are pledging to reduce their own carbon footprint by 5 million metric tons over the next 10 years compared with 2008 levels. Taken together with the new executive order, this would cut overall U.S. emissions by 26 million tons by 2025, the equivalent of taking nearly 5.5 million cars off the roads for a year. New York Times: McConnell Urges States to Help Thwart Obama’s ‘War on Coal’ Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has begun an aggressive campaign to block President Obama’s climate change agenda in statehouses and courtrooms across the country, arenas far beyond Mr. McConnell’s official reach and authority. The campaign of Mr. McConnell, the Senate majority leader, is aimed at stopping a set of Environmental Protection Agency regulations requiring states to reduce carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants, the nation’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. The Engineer: US to Help China Develop a New Kind of Cheaper, Safer Nuclear Reactor Researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee and the Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics (SINAP) have agreed to work together to advance salt-cooled nuclear reactor technologies that operate at low pressures and with passive safety systems that don’t require human intervention. The Chinese Academy of Sciences already has plans to build a prototype of a fluoride high-temperature reactor (FHR) and hopes to learn from Oak Ridge’s experience of building and running the world’s only molten salt reactor in the 1960s.RIYADH (Reuters) - Crown Prince Nayef, who died on Saturday, built the formidable security force which crushed an al Qaeda revolt in Saudi Arabia and with it any dissent against his family’s century-old grip on the world’s leading oil exporter. To liberals, Nayef, a son of the state’s founder, was the forbidding face of a conservative establishment that opposed any real moves toward democracy or greater women’s rights, oversaw the fearsome religious police and for years headed an Interior Ministry which imprisoned political activists without charge. But former diplomats, local journalists and members of the ruling house described him as a more flexible man in private, who survived more than three decades at the centre of a Saudi political system in which dozens of uncles, half-brothers, sons and nephews jostle for influence and fortune. “Nayef is widely seen as a hard-line conservative who at best is lukewarm to King Abdullah’s reform initiatives,” said a 2009 U.S. diplomatic cable about the prince, who was in his late 70s. “However, it would be more accurate to describe him as a conservative pragmatist convinced that security and stability are imperative to preserve al-Saud rule and ensure prosperity for Saudi citizens,” said the cable, revealed by WikiLeaks. Soon after the September 11 attacks on New York in 2001, Nayef infuriated Washington, a close ally and big buyer of its oil, by dismissing the initial reports that Saudi citizens carried out the attacks. It turned out 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudis. That incident gave him a reputation in some quarters as anti-Western, but in fact Western diplomats were generally impressed with the way his interior ministry suppressed an al Qaeda bombing campaign inside Saudi Arabia a few years later. AUSTERE DESERT KINGDOM Like the rest of his family, personal details of the prince’s life were rarely confirmed officially, or left vague. Nayef was born in around 1933 in Taif, the mountain town where the royal court would annually retreat to each year from the stifling summer heat of the desert capital Riyadh and the Red Sea port of Jeddah, the kingdom’s second city. Saudi Arabia had only a year earlier come into being as a state. Nayef’s father King Abdulaziz Ibn Saud, over the course of the preceding 30 years of warfare and diplomacy, had united the Bedouin tribes behind his vision of a pure Islamic state. He conquered much of the Arabian peninsula, securing his family’s control over Islam’s holiest sites at Mecca and Medina. Growing up in the royal court of the 1930s and 1940s, Nayef is of the last generation of Saudi leaders who knew the austere desert kingdom, partly built on their historic alliance with fundamentalist Wahhabi clerics, before the first flush of oil wealth changed it beyond all recognition. A son of Ibn Saud by his favorite wife Hassa bint Ahmed al-Sudairi, Nayef was one of seven of her sons who were groomed young for high office and formed their own power bloc within an extended family that included nearly 40 other half-brothers. Known as the “Sudairi seven”, Hassa’s sons also included Fahd, who was later king, the late Prince Sultan, Prince Salman, the current defense minister and likely successor as crown prince, and Prince Ahmed, who was deputy interior minister. Nayef’s own son Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, a well regarded deputy interior minister in the current admin, headed Saudi efforts to root al Qaeda from the kingdom. Named governor of Riyadh aged only 20, Nayef impressed his father and went on to become interior minister in 1975 where he was soon known as an ally of the Wahhabi clerics who supported Saudi rule and had run the palace school of his childhood. It was this ministerial role that came to define Nayef by giving him responsibility for protecting the kingdom from internal threats - most frequently from Islamist militants. “Given his paramount concern with maintaining stability, Nayef’s instincts tend towards concessions to religious demands, especially on cultural-social issues,” said the leaked U.S. appraisal of him in 2009. “This is sometimes misinterpreted as opposition to reform, but more likely stems from a desire to balance competing social forces.” As the man to whom regional governors answered, Nayef personally handled the petitions of individual Saudi citizens on a daily basis, cultivating a network of supporters across a kingdom where tribal and regional ties still matter. IMPISH HUMOUR Despite his fierce reputation atop the internal security forces, Nayef was said by princes to be among the kinder members of the al-Saud dynasty, treating nephews and nieces of the younger generation with more consideration than his peers. That avuncular side to his character contrasted with the image he sometimes showed to foreign diplomats, who described him as prickly and, in the U.S. appraisal, stiff, slow and shy, despite occasional flashes of “impish” humor. The domestic intelligence service, the Mabahith which is under Interior Ministry command, has over the years targeted Islamists, liberals and Shi’ites who sought to organize protests or petition the king on democratic reform. A prominent Saudi rights group, the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association, in January issued a statement decrying Nayef for failing to investigate allegations of human rights abuses by the ministry. He had been gravely ill for some months and died in a Swiss hospital. He will buried in the holy city of Mecca on Sunday.The Supreme Court agreed Friday to hear a new challenge to ObamaCare, bringing the law back before the court after it survived a brush with death in 2012. At issue in this case is the legality of subsidies offered to help millions of low- and middle-income people buy health insurance. Opponents argue that most of the subsidies are illegal. A federal appeals court upheld Internal Revenue Service regulations that allow health-insurance tax credits under the Affordable Care Act for consumers in all 50 states. But opponents of the subsidies argued the Supreme Court should resolve the issue now because it involves billions of dollars in public money. At least four justices, needed to grant review, apparently agreed with the challengers that the issue is important enough to decide now. The case is likely to be heard in the spring of 2015. "The plain language of the law makes it clear that subsidies are only to be provided for the purchase of health coverage through exchanges setup by the states," Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., said in a statement. "Nevertheless, the Obama administration and others are asking the courts to disregard the letter of the law and instead rule based on bureaucratic rewrites and revisions." White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said the congressional intent behind the law is for eligible customers regardless of where they live to receive assistance from the government to subsidize the purchase of health care. He promised a vigorous defense before the high court. "The ACA is working. These lawsuits won't stand in the way of the Affordable Care Act and the millions of Americans who can now afford health insurance because of it," he said in a statement, calling the lawsuit "just another partisan attempt to undermine the Affordable Care Act and to strip millions of American families of tax credits that Congress intended for them to have." The justices upheld the heart of the law in a 5-4 decision in 2012 in which Chief Justice John Roberts provided the decisive vote, preserving the law's individual mandate to buy insurance. This past June, the court again ruled on ObamaCare, this time siding with companies that had religious objections over the law's requirement to provide contraceptive coverage. The ruling forced the administration to adjust the regulations, but did not seriously disrupt the health law. The case over insurance subsidies, though, puts more at stake for the administration. The insurance subsidies are a key plank of the law's system for ensuring that the people required to buy insurance can actually afford to pay for it. Foes have challenged the legality of providing them in states that do not have their own insurance exchanges -- in other words, those using HealthCare.gov. In July, a Richmond, Virginia-based appeals court upheld Internal Revenue Service regulations that allow health-insurance tax credits under the Affordable Care Act for consumers in all 50 states. On that same July day, a panel of appellate judges in Washington, District of Columbia, sided with the challengers in striking down the IRS regulations. The Washington court held that under the law, financial aid can be provided only in states that have set up their own insurance markets, known as exchanges. The administration said in court papers that the federal government is running the exchanges in 34 states and that nearly 5 million people receive subsidies that
captured with an infrared camera. If you’ve ever seen iron or steel glow red once it gets heated up to much hotter temperatures, then you’ve seen how hotter temperatures shift the thermal radiation spectrum into the range that’s visible to our eyes. Kirchhoff’s challenge was to find the precise mathematical function for the spectrum of light given off by each temperature, which he proved would have to take the same form for any material object. But since most objects not only emit thermal radiation but also reflect ambient light from the room, the only perfectly clean way to measure this was with objects that don’t reflect any light — black bodies. Willy Wien and his colleagues at PTR set out to do this in 1895 with an oven with a small hole poked in it — the hole served as a perfect black body in the sense that since it wasn’t a surface at all, it couldn’t reflect any light, it only emitted or absorbed light into the oven. It’s true that part of the motivation/funding for PTR having them research this was to establish a new industry standard for thermal radiation which might help the city government of Berlin decide whether gas or electric lighting was more efficient to use in their streetlights. This is likely the origin of the myth, as it’s the closest connection any of their work had to lightbulbs. In 1895 Wien came up with an empirical formula based on the data, and by early 1900 Planck had been able to reproduce Wien’s formula from a more theoretical equation specifying how the entropy of the walls of the oven depended on their energy. Planck’s equation for the entropy of the walls was motivated by his own views on how entropy should work, which Lord Rayleigh soon pointed out was not consistent with Maxwell & Boltzmann’s Law of Equipartition (that energy should get divided up equally between all modes of oscillation or vibration in a system). Planck didn’t believe in the Law of Equipartition because it was motivated by the statistical view of entropy (which was in turn motivated by a belief in atoms and molecules — neither of which Planck was willing to accept yet). Just as Planck shared his derivation of Wien’s formula from entropy, which he had worked on for many years, the oven experiments at PTR started to show that there was something wrong with Wien’s formula for lower frequencies of light — it no longer matched the data. Lord Rayleigh suggested this might be because the Equipartition Theorem should be used to understand the lower frequencies. It was known that there were some issues with applying the Equipartition Theorem to higher frequencies (later, this began to be referred to as “the ultraviolet catastrophe”). In Oct 1900, new data confirmed Rayleigh’s suggestion so Planck began to take Equipartition seriously. He modified his previous entropy formula, pasting it together with another formula based on the Law of Equipartition for low energies, and then calculated what effect this would have on the overall spectrum. Lo and behold, it fit the data perfectly. Planck had found Kirchhoff’s universal radiation law, which is now known as Planck’s Law. But Planck still wasn’t happy with it, as all he had done was paste together two different entropy formulas (the fancy math term for this is “interpolation”). He still needed to find some kind of physical motivation for his new expression for the entropy. Looking at the entropy formula he came up with, he realized it looked almost exactly like a formula he had seen in one of Boltzmann’s papers from 1877. In defending the statistical interpretation of the Second Law (ironically, against people like Planck who didn’t believe in atoms), Boltzmann had used a “toy model” of the world where energy was discrete instead of continuous. He never intended this as an actual hypothesis about how the world works, he just knew that probability was very confusing and difficult to deal with when infinities are involved, so pretending energy came in tiny little chunks instead of being infinitely divisible greatly simplified his argument. It allowed him to compute probabilities just based on combinatorics — counting up the total number of possible states of a system. With this method, Boltzmann showed that the entropy was proportional to the logarithm of the number of accessible states of a system. Ludwig Boltzmann’s tombstone The equation S=k log W is engraved on Boltzmann’s tombstone, but ironically it was Planck who first wrote down this equation. Boltzmann had only argued that entropy (S) was proportional to the log of the number of states (W); the proportionality constant k was introduced by Planck later with another constant he is more famous for, h. Both h and k were introduced (and estimated) by Planck in late 1900 in order to find a physical interpretation for his entropy formula. But h became known as Planck’s constant and k became known as Boltzmann’s constant. Which sort of made sense since Boltzmann was most of the way there with k, but hadn’t come close to finding h. Planck noticed that if he made the same assumption Boltzmann had made — that energy was discrete rather than continuous (in the information age, we’d probably say “digital” rather than “analog”), then the new entropy formula just arose naturally from first principles. In fact, it looked almost identical to a formula Boltzmann had already written — the only additional assumption Planck needed to make was that the energy of a single mode of oscillation (which he called a “resonator”) was proportional to its frequency of oscillation: E = hf This was a completely unprecedented leap of faith, but it was the only way he could get his entropy formula to match Boltzmann’s. Prior to that, energy had always been considered to be independent of frequency — frequency had to do with how fast something was oscillating (or the color of light or the pitch of a note of sound) while energy had to do with how intense it was (volume, brightness, etc.) There was no reason at all in classical physics why one might think the 2 are connected. Planck was the first to discover that they were. Few physicists at the time paid much attention to Planck’s bizarre hypothesis, and the ones who did mostly criticized it for not being compatible with the known laws of physics. But it did catch the eye of a little known 26 year old patent clerk in Switzerland named Albert Einstein. Einstein found Planck’s idea very intriguing. Planck had intended his energy quantization to apply only to the oscillations within the walls of black-body ovens (or similar heated matter), but Einstein boldly extended this idea in 1905 to apply to light itself. Einstein referred to the smallest energy oscillations which a light wave could make as energy quanta. Later they became known as photons. deBroglie then realized that perhaps matter particles were also the same kind of energy quanta and had a wave interpretation. And with that, quantum mechanics was off and running. The rest is history, but it was all originally thanks to entropy! (Not lightbulbs — sorry Gizmodo.)Australia will force corporate giants such as Google and Apple to disclose their tax arrangements in an effort to curb alleged tax avoidance by multinational corporations. The increasingly borderless global economy means big firms often have no tax liability in a country, even with a major local presence, assistant treasurer David Bradbury said. In Australia, multinationals including the local arm of Google have been accused of shifting income to countries such as Holland or Ireland where tax rates are lower. Neither Google nor Apple could immediately comment when contacted. "This should not be a guessing game," Mr Bradbury said after releasing measures that would require about 2,000 large and multinational businesses, including miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto with yearly revenue of A$100 million ($104.60 million) or more, to have their tax details published by the government. "The government intends to improve transparency around how much tax large enterprises are paying. We want to make sure that large multinational companies are paying their fair share," he said. Australia's minority Labor government last year released draft revisions to tax laws to stop profit shifting in line with a push by Britain and Germany, and discussions last year within the Group of 20 wealthy nations. Asked in a radio interview today about alleged profit shifting by Google, prime minister Julia Gillard said she did not want to single out any company but said profit shifting was an international issue requiring action by G20 nations. "As a matter of principle, taxpayers, whether they're companies or individuals, should pay their proper rate of tax," Ms Gillard said. "This is an ongoing discussion at an international level." The revisions, opposed by opposition conservatives, will be voted on by parliament after the May 14th budget, with the government requiring support from a handful of independent lawmakers and Greens holding the balance of power. The amendments aim to shut down loopholes that risk the loss of more than A$1 billion in government revenues each year by allowing IT firms to avoid or reduce tax through online sales. Australia's corporate tax rate is 30 per cent, compared with Ireland's rate of 12.5 per cent. Some major companies including Rio Tinto have already begun publishing tax details, expanding on information in existing financial statements. ReutersIn modern football, amid all the money and greed, there is something wonderfully appealing about the 34-year-old’s old-fashioned attitude and style of play In many ways, it was Ivica Olic who set the tone for this wonderfully rumbustious World Cup. Sure, Oscar was doing his fancy stuff at the other end of the pitch, as was Neymar, but it was the 34-year-old Croat and his galloping runs down the left who made the biggest impression at the start of the opening game just over a week ago. There was no messing around, just straightforward, glorious wing play. It was as if he had been flung in from a different era – an era before Arsène Wenger decided that all attacking players (bar one perhaps) should be short, nimble-footed midfielders who pass the ball around beautifully – and parachuted in behind the space left behind by the Brazil right-back Dani Alves. Olic tormented Brazil in the opening 20 minutes and provided the cross from which Nikica Jelavic’s scuffed shot was turned into his own net by Marcelo. In their second game, against Cameroon, Olic scored his team’s first goal, coming in on the far post to sidefoot home Ivan Perisic’s beautifully weighted pass after 11 minutes. It was his second goal in seven World Cup matches, coming 12 years after making his debut and scoring at the tournament as a sprightly 22-year-old against Italy in Ibaraki. That’s 4,393 days – and a lot of hard work – between those two goals. It is a testament to Olic’s professionalism and dedication that he, at the age of 34, is proving to be as mesmerising and menacing as he was then. In some ways he seems almost better. Olic is as straightforward as you like. He turns up and plays his game. He does not have a huge entourage around him and he does not feature in adverts for expensive cars which only 1% of the world’s population can afford. He does not even appear to fancy himself in the same way that so many other modern footballers do, not least Cristiano Ronaldo. Now Ronaldo is, of course, a brilliant footballer – better than Olic no doubt – but there is something wonderfully appealing about Olic. You would never catch him rearranging his hair during a match, for example. Let’s not forget, however, that Olic has had a distinguished club career as well. Born in the tiny town of Davor in eastern Croatia, he played for Marsonia, Hertha Berlin, NK Zagreb, Dinamo Zagreb and CSKA Moscow before he made it big with Hamburg in the Bundesliga. He scored 29 goals in 78 Bundesliga games in a team who were, on occasions, fighting against relegation. That in turn earned him a move to Bayern Munich where he continued to score (although less frequently as he was often on the bench) and came agonisingly close to winning the Champions League against Chelsea in the final. Bayern were 1-0 up after 88 minutes before Didier Drogba equalised and Arjen Robben missed a penalty in extra time. In the penalty shootout Olic was one of two Bayern players to miss (Bastian Schweinsteiger was the other) and the Croat was allowed to leave on a free that summer. He choose to join Wolfsburg, which seemed apt as, with an old Volkswagen, he could be relied on to keep going. Olic has done more than that – he has scored 23 goals in 64 league games for the club and recently signed a contract extension until 2016. There is still unfinished business with Croatia and Niko Kovac’s team need a win against Mexico on Monday to be guaranteed a place in the last 16 (although a draw will be enough in the unlikely event of Brazil losing to Cameroon). Olic is a guaranteed starter and while he has not always been appreciated back home (at one point in his career he was running so fast that he struggled to control the ball, leading to jokes such as: “What does a defender do when he sees Olic doing stepovers? He politely waits until Olic finishes, then takes the ball.”) but there is nothing but admiration now. At this World Cup there has already been one moment which perfectly encapsulated what kind of wonderfully understated person Olic is. Having been substituted after 69 minutes against Cameroon he was later interviewed by German TV and they talked about the game and his goal before he mentioned, merely in passing, that he had cut a foot on the shower door that morning and had done all that running with a stitched right foot. “It’s starting to hurt a bit more now, having come off,” he said. “I’ll take it a bit easier for two or three days … then we go again.” If only there were more players like Ivica Olic in modern football.Please enable Javascript to watch this video (Memphis, TN) After the St. Louis Cardinals lost to the San Francisco Giants Monday night, tweets by Cardinals fans have stirred up controversial debate. Using the handle “BestFansStLouis,” a Twitter user has re-tweeted dozens of comments by Cardinals fans, who mostly use derogatory language toward gay people. A few tweets also used racial slurs. On Wednesday, after News Channel 3 reported this story, @BestFansStLouis changed their profile to clarify their purpose: "Exposing baseball's self-proclaimed best and most knowledgeable fans. Proving that Cardinal Nation often betrays the BEST FANS IN BASEBALL myth." One tweet they featured even calls out Mid-South native Matt Cain, who pitches for the Giants. It reads, “Matt Cain, you look like a little fa---.” Another tweet reads: “The HIV virus will be passed a lot by dudes in San Fran tonight.” Yet another reads: “All the Giants have AIDS anyways.” Dozens of more tweets include graphic comments related to homosexuality. A couple of the users were traced back to accounts in the Mid-South viewing area. Cardinals fans differ on whether this crosses the line. One Cardinals fan in Memphis said, “They were disappointed. It was a bad week, bad day, bad three days. Come on. Give them a break.” He said their comments were tacky, but he wouldn’t put any Cardinal fan down. “Come on. They're from San Francisco. What are we supposed to say? Come on, it's tough. You get us at a bad moment,” he said. But in the same sports bar, another Cardinals fan was appalled. “You're not a 'best fan' at all, if you're being anything homophobic, or racist. You're not a fan. You are an idiot,” said Phil Richardson. Richardson said all the Cardinals fans he knows are decent guys who would never take that stance. He said this Twitter feed misrepresents the fans completely. “It has nothing to do with whether you're gay or straight. It's whether you play the game well.”This article is over 8 years old Russia's blogosphere reacted with anger today after a regional court banned YouTube because it carried a single video containing "extremist" content. The court in Komsomolsk-on-Amur in Khabarovsk region in the Russian far east ordered Rosnet, a local internet provider, to block YouTube as well as three online libraries and a website that archives deleted web pages. The regional ban was made because YouTube hosted Russia For Russians, an ultra-nationalist video which was added to the justice ministry's federal list of banned extremist materials after a separate court decision in Samara region in November. The other four sites – Web.archives.org, Lib.rus.ec, Thelib.ru and Zhurnal.ru – all carried copies of Hitler's Mein Kampf. Anton Nosik, Russia's leading internet guru, condemned the decision. "The level of crassness in this court ruling is typical of legal proceedings concerning the internet in Russia," he said. Google, the owner of YouTube, said the ruling violated Russians' constitutional right to freedom of information. Many bloggers also decried the ban, warning it could be a slippery slope to tighter censorship across the country. "I can imagine it now," wrote Ghost82 on LiveJournal. "Russia in 2015, YouTube is banned everywhere. In search of a gulp of air, people travel to the border with Georgia where they will sit with their laptops and pay unimaginable sums to connect to the internet via powerful Wi-Fi transmitters for a taste of depraved western civilisation." Alexander tweeted on RuTvit: "YouTube has been given to understand that Russia, Pakistan and North Korea have much in common." An engineer with Rosnet said the company had suggested prosecutors should contact the portals concerned directly to request they take down the offensive material, rather than issuing a blanket ban. "They [prosecutors] remained deaf to these pleas," he told the Gazeta.ru news website. Rosnet is appealing the ruling. While television is tightly controlled by the state, Russia's soft authoritarian government has so far done little to rein in the internet. Social media and blogging sites are popular and provide a vital outlet for opposition and civil movements. However, a package of laws to be reviewed by parliament in October could give the security services new powers to close down sites at short notice. The YouTube ruling is likely to be an embarrassment for President Dmitry Medvedev, who recently launched his own channel on the video-sharing site. Other countries that have banned YouTube include China, Pakistan, Turky and Iran.A lengthy speech by Uganda’s 71-year-old president, Yoweri Museveni, has become a hit on social media. The elderly statesman was speaking at the 40th anniversary celebrations of the raid on Entebbe, during which Israeli commandos freed hostages who had been taken by Palestinian and German terrorists from a flight from Tel Aviv. It was supposed to be an event that bonded Israel with Uganda, but to onlookers’ consternation Museveni continually referred to Israel as Palestine in his rambling speech. Given that the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, his wife and dignitaries were present, this error was unexpected, particularly as Netanyahu’s brother Yonatan was killed in the raid. Museveni told Netanyahu: “I want to thank him for turning this sad story 40 years ago into yet another instrument of bonding the holy land of Israel-Palestine, with the heartland Uganda in particular, and Africa in general.” This was startling enough, but those who thought Museveni’s speech would return to the normal world would be disappointed; he had only just started. “The sad event, 40 years ago, turned to another bond linking Palestine to Africa. I say this is yet another bond between Africa and Palestine because there were earlier bondage events,” he pronounced. At this point, cameras covering the event focused on Netanyahu, who looked on impassively. Museveni continued on his strange theme, outlining his own version of the nativity story before going on to describe King Herod as “a bad gentleman or something like that”. Later in his speech, the Ugandan president called for unity between Israel and Palestine and offered to mediate between the two. “I have never mediated in the issue of Palestine, but if you invited me I would give very clear ideas in a very short time,” he announced. Then Museveni praised the Jews for avoiding what he called the British nonsense. “You know our British friends are fond of, er... sometimes doing all sorts of nonsensical actions,” he added. Finally Museveni revealed his dislike for long international meetings and confessed that he sleeps during many of them. For his part, Netanyahu has said his country’s raid on Entebbe “changed the course” of his life. “International terrorism suffered a stinging defeat,” he said of the 1976 rescue mission. The Entebbe raid is viewed as a seminal event in Israeli history and is widely seen as one of the country’s greatest military successes. Museveni’s words have gone viral, with thousands poking fun at the president, forcing his press secretary, Don Wanyama, to attempt some nifty damage limitation on Facebook. “Now, I have heard the president’s reference to the geographical space that was Palestine before the state of Israel took root in 1948 caused some unnecessary excitement, engineered by some elements, who probably didn’t like the president’s hard truths on the two-state model,” states Wanyama. “Well, that’s what leadership calls for, saying things as they are.” Museveni critics have not been so forgiving, however. “The day Israel was referred to as state of Palestine by Uganda’s dictator Museveni,” said vocal Museveni opponent, Frederick Womakuyu. “Museveni will soon read a love letter in parliament as his speech.” Israelis have been equally scornful. One radio broadcaster is said to have cut off the speech with the words “We’ve heard enough”, while others have complained that Netanyahu’s trip was a waste of taxpayers’ money. For its part, the Jerusalem Post likened Museveni to a Ugandan Donald Trump – except that Trump is seeking election while Museveni has clung to power for 30 years. In fact, Museveni’s tenure may be coming to an end. Uganda’s constitution states that a president must be under 75, which means he will be too old at the next elections in 2021. However, his National Resistance Movement is expected to amend the constitution.WWE Network Pro wrestlers are certainly no strangers to starring in weird and obscure movies. Seth Rollins recently had a turn in Sharknado 4, and Rob Van Dam starred in some dumb movie called 3-Headed Shark Attack. Kevin Nash, in particular, is a veteran of the weird movie scene, as his IMDB page lists such credits as Monster Brawl and the infamous DOA movie. Now he, Luke Gallows and “The Bullet Babe” Amber Gallows are just some of the people starring in Slaw, a movie parody of the Slaw franchise about, uh … well … “Two “foodie” brothers kidnap those who ruin their dining experience and kill them – each in their own unique “food-related” manner.” Ohhhhhh, SLAW. Like the food. I’m on your wavelength now, clever movie. Green Apple Entertainment announced that they’ll be acquiring the distribution rights to the film, which premiered in October this year, but had been seeking a distributor for home video and/or wide release. Joshua K. Carpenter, Head of Acquisition & Sales of Green Apple Entertainment, today announced the company’s acquisition of Worldwide rights to “Slaw” the “Saw” franchise parody starring WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash, several Bullet Club members and other wrestlers including John Kip, Luke ‘Doc’ Gallows (Andrew Hankinson), Amber (O’Neal) Gallows, along with Baby Norman, Gregory Alan Williams and Vanessa Cloke. The red carpet Theatrical premiere was held on October 12, 2016 at Movie Studio Grill in Duluth, GA. From BJK Films and Long Shot Productions “Slaw” was directed by Matt Green and written by John Kap and Richard Tavernaro. Amazingly, “Baby Norman” isn’t some sort of Baby Geniuses-style acting baby, but rather an actress who has appeared in … movies. Green Apple Entertainment’s Head of Acquisition, Joshua Carpenter, made it clear that the film will be released next year in order to best capitalize on the release of the next Saw film, Saw: Legacy. “With the recent announcements of Lionsgate re-launhcing its ‘Saw’ franchise with an eighth film “Saw: Legacy”, we are excited to align this parody with its release window and look forward to engaging with millions of fans around the world.” Saw: Legacy is slated to be released on October 27, 2017, so start checking your local Redbox around then. And not to get your hopes up or anything, but according to Nash’s IMDB page, Slaw 2 is already in pre-production. Get ready for murder! In a unique “food-related” manner, of course.On 2 October 1990, a hijacked Boeing 737, operating Xiamen Airlines Flight 8301, collided with two other aircraft on the runways of the old Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, while attempting to land. The hijacked aircraft struck a parked China Southwest Airlines Boeing 707 first, inflicting only minor damage, but then collided with China Southern Airlines Flight 2812, a Boeing 757 waiting to take off, flipping onto its back. A total of 128 people were killed, including seven of nine crew members and 75 of 93 passengers on Flight 8301 and 46 of 110 passengers on Flight 2812. Hijacking of Flight 8301 [ edit ] Xiamen Airlines Flight 8301, using a Boeing 737-200,[1] was hijacked by Jiang Xiaofeng (simplified Chinese: 蒋晓峰; traditional Chinese: 蔣曉峰; pinyin: Jiăng Xiăofēng, born 11 August 1969 in Linli County, Hunan Province[2][3]) on Tuesday, 2 October 1990. Jiang, a 21-year-old purchasing agent from Hunan, People's Republic of China (PRC), was seeking political asylum in Taiwan. Prior to the hijacking and shortly after the aircraft took off from Xiamen, Jiang approached the cockpit, holding flowers. The security guards let him in; a Time article stated that the guards probably let him through because they believed that Jiang was offering flowers to the pilots as a Moon Festival gift. The article stated that reportedly, once in the cockpit, he opened his jacket to reveal what appeared to be explosives strapped to his chest. The article added that Jiang ordered all crew members out of the cockpit, except for the pilot,[4] Cen Longyu,[2] whom he directed to fly to Taipei, Taiwan. The pilot did not comply, instead continuing toward the original destination of Guangzhou. Reports from the official Xinhua News Agency did not explain why the pilot did not accede to Jiang’s demand.[5] Communication with the flight was lost. It was finally re-established by the airport in Guangzhou, which authorized the pilot to land at any airport available, inside or outside the PRC. The pilot stated that the only other airport that the aircraft still had sufficient fuel to reach was Hong Kong. Guangzhou flight controllers agreed to allow the plane to land in Hong Kong, refuel, and proceed to Taipei. Jiang refused to allow this, and threatened to blow up the aircraft if it landed in Hong Kong. The pilot circled Guangzhou, attempting to reason with Jiang. He was eventually forced to land the plane when it ran dangerously low on fuel.[2] Landing and collisions [ edit ] Moments before landing, Jiang managed to wrestle control of the aircraft from the pilot. The 737 landed at an excessive speed, and sideswiped a parked China Southwest Airlines Boeing 707-3J6B, slightly injuring the pilot, who was in the cockpit at the time.[6] Still unable to stop, the out-of-control 737 collided with China Southern Airlines Flight 2812, a Boeing 757[7] waiting to depart to Shanghai, before flipping over onto its back and skidding to a halt.[8] On the Xiamen Airlines 737, seven of the nine crew members and 75 (including 30 Taiwanese, three people from Hong Kong and one American) of the 93 passengers died.[1] On the China Southern 757 aircraft all 12 crew members survived and 46 of 110 passengers died.[7] Of the passengers who died in the 757, eight were from Taiwan.[9] A total of 128 people died in the disaster,[5] including Jiang, the hijacker of the Xiamen Airlines aircraft.[4] See also [ edit ] References [ edit ] Coordinates:SAN FRANCISCO, March 11, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Wikia, the social universe of fandom and the ultimate source for powerful and relevant pop culture, entertainment and game expertise, today announces a Fan Studio partnership for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Wikia and CD PROJEKT RED will work together to offer a unique fan experience that will provide Wikia's Witcher community deep access to The Witcher series. Wikia superfans will have the opportunity to collaborate on the creation of a formidable game resource for fellow fans and future players of the Witcher franchise. Additionally, Wikia fans were featured in a Twitch panel at PAX East 2015 this past Saturday afternoon where long awaited new gameplay footage from the game will be presented. The highly anticipated title, being developed by CD PROJEKT RED and distributed in North America by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, will be the biggest in the series yet. An epic fantasy game with a rich storyline and large-scale open world gameplay, the game has garnered over 200 awards and outstanding critical reception; Wikia will be one of the go to places for fans to learn more about the game ahead of its May 2015 release. "We're confident that partnering with Wikia's community provides gamers with the wealth of knowledge they need to fully enjoy the unfolding story and depth of this new epic adventure," said Jeremiah Cohn, CD PROJEKT RED's VP of Marketing for North America. "The Witcher universe is known to be deep and rich, but The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will be the largest offering to date, by far." Available on next generation systems and Microsoft Windows on May 19, 2015, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will introduce an open world larger than any other in the series. Using Wikia and the much-lauded Wikia Maps tool, gamers will be able to work together to create an interactive map allowing them to explore the depths of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's full lore and universe. Combined with other features such as in-depth listings of in-game costumes, character bios, armor and weapons and strategies – everything a player needs to know and then some– Wikia will become an essential destination for all things The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. This marks Wikia's eighth Fan Studio partnership and second working with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, showing a steady momentum of strategic relationships for the company. In 2013, Wikia announced their Fan Studio partnership with WBIE around the highly anticipated video game, Shadow of Mordor. Within the first three months, the Wikia fan community created over 100 pages of content, which included key lore pages and gameplay tutorials. By game launch the fandom had established itself as one of the top destinations for any information related to the game and fueling a dedicated companion app called Palantir. In addition, top community collaborators were given early game access and invited to author a "Super Walkthrough video series," where they serve as on screen guides for new and existing players, all available at shadowofmordor.wikia.com. About CD PROJEKT RED: CD PROJEKT RED is a development studio established in 2002 and based in Warsaw and Cracow, Poland. Creators of The Witcher and The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. Both RPGs were praised by critics and fans, gathering over 200 awards and selling over 8 million copies to date. Originally a PC developer, CD PROJEKT RED has also released The Witcher on Mac and The Witcher 2 on Xbox 360, PC and Mac. The studio is now working on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, a fantasy RPG with a character-driven, non-linear story set in a vast, open world. The game will be released May 19th, 2015 on Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, Playstation®4 and PC. The developer is also working on Cyberpunk 2077 in collaboration with Mike Pondsmith, the original designer of the pen-and-paper Cyberpunk® futuristic RPG system in which the upcoming game is set. CD PROJEKT RED's mission is to take the passion they have for games and harness it to make the best RPGs in the world. Along with GOG.COM, the Internet's leading destination for the best DRM-Free games in history on PC and Mac, CD PROJEKT RED is part of the Warsaw Stock Exchange listed (ISIN: PLOPTTC00011) CD PROJEKT Group. About Wikia: Wikia, the social universe for fans, by fans, is the home for social fandom and the ultimate source for powerful and relevant pop culture, entertainment and gaming expertise. It is the definitive place for people to contribute to the assembly of original bodies of multi-media content around subjects they know and love. Using Wikia, anyone can form new communities around any subject or participate in over 334,000 existing communities by reading or contributing new content. With over 34 million pages of rich content, Wikia's communities are the most authoritative information about any topic on the Internet. Wikia's video game vertical (games.wikia.com) is a leading video-game focused information hub on the Web. Wikia's recently expanded entertainment verticals (movies.wikia.com, tv.wikia.com, books.wikia.com and music.wikia.com) collectively represent the fastest growing U.S. entertainment destination around the world. Lifestyle.wikia.com boasts over 75,000 communities chronicling fashion, food and technology. Launched in 2006 by founder Jimmy Wales, Wikia attracts more than 140 million global unique visitors per month and is ranked a Quantcast Top 20 and comScore Top 80 Internet site, as well as a Nielsen Top 10 social network. www.wikia.com or @wikia SOURCE Wikia Related Links http://www.wikia.comTrigger warnings are notes posted at the beginning of articles and stories to warn people that they might be offended or traumatized by something inside. Author Neil Gaiman is so obsessed with them, he named his most recent collection of short fiction and poetry Trigger Warning. Trigger Warning is a motley assemblage of his work, from gems to duds, stories filled with monsters and tenderness, from tales inspired by Ray Bradbury and Arthur Conan Doyle to a story about Doctor Who. The Daily Beast sat down with Gaiman to discuss Trigger Warning, Internet comments, and the “bullshit” around fantasy’s recent popularity. Let’s talk about the title. Why did you want to call this Trigger Warning? Mostly because I got absolutely fascinated by the discussions going on in academia about trigger warnings, and about how and whether one should prepare people for literature. It’s interesting, I found myself, rather to my surprise, dealing with people from the Internet who thought it was a title in incredibly poor taste, or that it was disrespectful of the need for trigger warnings. From an Internet point of view, I can absolutely understand the need to put out and have trigger warnings, especially when you’re confronted by a huge random mass of information. But once that reaches academia, I was absolutely just as much down with the American Association of College Professors, where they were saying that this is just wrong. We have to be able to teach the texts we have chosen to teach. People have to either be able to take the class or not. I love the fact that you’ve got this debate going on currently. It seemed to me that so much of it was about content, about where do we stand on fiction and stories that upset you deeply, and go further, that send you into a breath-clutching, heart beating faster, messed-up person plunged into your bath because of something you’ve read in a story. I think the answer has to be that it’s all about what you take on as an adult, and it’s all about choice. From there I started thinking, it’s not going to be very long before people start slapping trigger warnings on my stuff. Then I thought, “Why don’t I just do it myself? And then use the opportunity to talk about it.” In the introduction when you talk about reading about trigger warnings I had this image of you in front of a screen going down the rabbit hole of comment threads about trigger warnings… On the one hand, “Do not read the comments” is always the wisest information you can pass on to anyone. Babies being born in the next few years will probably have “Do not read the comments” tattooed on the backs of their hands. On the other hand, it is always absolutely fascinating to see what people are thinking, to watch things growing into huge games of telephone. To watch somebody misunderstanding something and then explain the thing they’ve understood, and watch people get involved. The nature of people in groups on the Internet is always fascinating for me. You get to see people at their best and their worst. In the collection, the stories range from sentimental to scary. Why do you think we enjoy being scared so much? Actually the thing that fascinates me is the fact that it doesn’t have to be the scary or disturbing stories that need the trigger warnings. People thought I was joking in the introduction when I talk about my friend Rocky who has the thing about tentacles. This is a woman who I have seen, with some sushi going past, her diving behind the sofa. Her relationship to tentacles is visceral and screaming. It is a very odd collection, in that you’ve got scary stuff. You’ve got funny things. You’ve got a couple romantic things, and a handful of fairy tales. You have a mess of things from me. I think the ghost stories, the scary things, are hugely important. They keep us awake. They probably go back to some of the oldest tales that were told when sitting there in a cave with the campfire flickering. When you begin to start talking about the guy who was killed in the mammoth raid last week and we’re pretty sure we’ve seen him walking around on the edge of the camp, looking in. People love being fatefully scared, just as they love being fatefully thrilled, just as they love fatefully falling in love. And then they can close the page and feel safe now. You’ve written fantasy novels that
kind of national database, and temporarily banning all Muslims from entering the United States. Muslims in America A Pew study estimates that Muslims made up roughly 1 percent of the American population in 2015. Comparatively, Muslims made up roughly 6 percent of the European population in 2010, a percentage projected to increase to 8 percent by 2030. But Trump’s assertion that Muslims don't assimilate is wrong: American Muslims are in fact more culturally integrated than European Muslims and say they identify more strongly with their American identity than their religious identity, according to a study from the Council on Foreign Relations: The percentage of U.S. Muslims in individual income and education brackets tracks closely to that of the rest of the U.S. population, surveys suggest. According to a 2009 Gallup poll, U.S. Muslims have the second-highest level of education among major religious groups in the United States. Almost 50 percent of Muslims identify with religion before their U.S. identity (nearly half of U.S. Christians polled by Gallup also identified with their religion first). Even so, Americans are increasingly less tolerant of Muslims; a survey from the Public Religion Research Institute in September 2015 found that 56 percent of Americans think Islam is "at odds with American values and way of life," up from 47 percent in 2011. It’s a sentiment that President Obama has faced head on, as Max Fisher documented for Vox last year: A February poll showed that 54 percent of Republican respondents believe that Obama "deep down" is best described as Muslim. By September, an Iowa poll found that only 49 percent of Republicans there believed that Islam should be legal, with 30 percent saying it should be illegal and 21 percent "unsure." Among Trump supporters in Iowa, hostility toward Muslims was higher but not that much higher: 36 percent said Islam should be outlawed … Fifty-seven percent of Americans, and 83 percent of Republicans, say that Muslims should be barred from the presidency. It’s a trend that Trump has long tapped into, once having been a big skeptic of Obama’s religious affiliations and ethnic origins, campaigning on a platform with the official position of, "Keep Muslims out; they don’t belong here." Hillary Clinton & Donald Trump on Orlando shootingOmaha, Nebraska >> A civil engineer who formerly worked for the contractor doing the Oroville Dam spillway reconstruction has proposed a dual design spillway so the emergency spillway never has to be used again. Henry Burke’s argument for a different design than what the state Department of Water Resources proposed, centers around the need for high-flow back ups. Burke used to work for the contractor, the Kiewit Corporation, which is based in Omaha. Erin Mellon, communications manager with the Natural Resources Agency, said his concept is being considered in the long term, though not by Nov. 1 this year. “Absolutely the design of a second spillway is on the table,” Mellon said. Something Burke emphasizes several times in his report is that the emergency spillway should never be used again. The existing redundancies are not close to sufficient, in his opinion. That being said, there are two other water outlets at Oroville Dam other than the spillways, including the Hyatt Powerplant and the river outlet valves. Combined, their total capacity is less than 20,000 cubic-feet per second, or cfs. He suggests building the second gated spillway to the right of the existing main spillway as a contingency for relieving high flows. “The added redundancy and safety would be invaluable,” Burke said. He said a second gated structure with anti-cavitation features is essential because things like malfunctioning radial gates, hoist motors or failing backup generators could render the existing spillway not usable, backing up water in the reservoir. Burke also takes issue with DWR’s pronouncement the remodeled spillway will be able to handle 270,000 cfs flows down the main spillway. Mellon said that number was calculated based upon a reservoir level of 905 feet — above the emergency sillway lip — using physical modeling. Regardless, by his calculations, the gates can only discharge 220,000 cfs, he wrote. With releases of that intensity, 354,000 cfs flows would be simultaneously gushing down the emergency spillway. “It is just plain irresponsible to allow rushing water to flow over an unpaved slope,” he said. “The answer is a concrete spillway chute.” He also notes the downstream levees only have the capacity of 160,000 cfs. With higher releases, major flooding occurs. Burke has written articles about his ideas for the Engineering News-Record following the Oroville Dam crisis. See his published work in the Engineering News-Record at www.enr.com/authors/1050-henry-burke. Burke is not the only one to pitch the dual design spillway concept. Kenneth Viney, a designer with a power industry consulting firm based in Napa, has filed his suggestions with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission several times. In April, he called for more than doubling the width of the proposed additional spillway and leaving the damaged canyon as it is because of safety concerns, as previously reported in this newspaper. Reach reporter Risa Johnson at 896-7763.Use this link for email & social media, & receive 1 Share Karma point for each person who follows the link. The Dutch government recently announced a ban on 186 species of "magic" mushrooms that grow all over the country. To protest the absurdity of the ban, activists from Legalize! used supersoaker water guns, to spread billions of mushroom spores throughout the gardens of Parliament and of politicians who support the ban. The nonprofit organization continues its efforts "to legalize drugs to make proper regulation possible" in the Netherlands. This is an admirable cause since the 700+ coffeeshops still have to purchase their marijuana illegally, bringing all the unsavroy consequencies of an underground drug trade into the country. You can check out more about Legalize! here. Creative Commons Image : Psilocybe Cubensis Thai by Dr. Brainfish on FlickrDo you feel anxious when you do not have access to your iPhone? According to a recent study at the University of Missouri, that separation anxiety may hinder your cognitive abilities. Researchers learned that iPhone users could perform puzzles better when their phones were on them. The researchers behind the study suggested that iPhone users avoid parting with their devices during situations that require focus like taking tests, sitting in meetings or completing assignments. “Our findings suggest that iPhone separation can negatively impact performance on mental tasks,” said Russell Clayton, doctoral candidate at the University of Missouri School of Journalism and lead author of the study. “Additionally, the results from our study suggest that iPhones are capable of becoming an extension of our selves such that when separated, we experience a lessening of ‘self’ and a negative physiological state.” The researchers also learned that when the participants were not able to answer their ringing iPhones while solving word search puzzles, their heart rate, blood pressure and anxiety levels increased. The performance of the participants decreased when they did not have their phones. Clayton came up with the idea for the study after having a meal with a friend who forgot her phone and wanted to leave to get it, according to ABC. The participants were asked to sit at a cubicle in a media psychology lab to test out a wireless blood pressure cuff. While wearing the cuff, the participants had to solve the first word search puzzle with their iPhone and the second word search puzzle without their iPhone. The researchers monitored heart rates, blood pressure and comfort levels throughout the process.. How did the researchers convince the participants to put away their iPhones? After the first word puzzle was complete, the participants were told that the iPhones were causing “Bluetooth interference” with the wireless blood pressure cuffs so the devices needed to be placed across the room for the rest of the experiment. While the participants were working on the second word search puzzle, the researchers called the iPhones. When the phones finished ringing, the researchers collected blood pressure and heart rate responses -- which had increased because the participants were not allowed to answer their devices. The study — which is called “The Extended iSelf: The Impact of iPhone Separation on Cognition, Emotion, and Physiology” — was published in the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication. University of Oklahoma professor Glenn Leshner and Indiana University-Bloomington doctoral student Anthony Almond worked with Russell Clayton on the study. The fear of not having your mobile phone is known as “nomophia” (no-mobile-phone phobia). The term was coined by U.K. based research organization YouGov as part of a study that determined 53% of mobile phone users in Britain become anxious if they misplace their device, lose network coverage or run out of battery. I have noticed that some parents take away iPhones from their children as punishment for not getting their assignments done. Based on these studies, it may actually cause the anxiety of children to increase, thus leading to poor assignment performance. Have you ever hid your children’s smartphones? What was their reaction? Let us know in the comments section below!About Chapter 1 Cover I am raising funds to produce a printed version of my currently digital comic called Nova's Journal. I've been developing the story since I was a child and now that i have business experience and spare cash, I want to create it as an independent comic. The money will be put directly towards the printing of Chapter 1 of the book. If I fund more than my goal, then I will put work into improving the first chapter (adding more content, at least 4 extra pages) or use the money as a budget to further chapter 2 and 3 (which are in production now). The product itself is a mixture of american comic and Japanese manga. The plot is a modern-fantasy story that focuses on the "magic of the soul" where the souls of people on an alternate planet power elemental magic. Nova is an adventurous boy who is forced to discover his own inner power to confront evil demons and witches.Trump could really spring a nasty surprise on unions if he talked Scott Walker into being his Labor secretary. One of the grand ironies of Donald Trump’s elevation to the presidency is that this self-proclaimed champion of the (white) working class is poised to become the most anti-labor chief executive in U.S. history. His victories in the old labor strongholds of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and (apparently) Michigan were shocking enough — as was his relatively strong performance nationally in union households (Clinton won them by 8 percent, down from Obama’s 2012 margin of 18 percent). Aside from Trump’s pledge to renegotiate NAFTA and other trade agreements, there’s really nothing in his history or his campaign platform to please the labor movement. Yes, he has boasted of getting along with union people in running his hotels and other businesses, but that does not really separate him from any other employer operating in places like New York. He has very specifically endorsed “right-to-work” laws that keep unions from receiving membership dues from all employees in a shop where they are the recognized collective-bargaining agent. More tangibly, his massively pre-vetted list of potential replacements for Justice Antonin Scalia and a Republican Senate prepared to confirm a right-wing justice will virtually guarantee a fifth vote making the collection of representation fees from non-members benefiting from public employee union contracts unconstitutional once the Friedrichs v. CTA case (which generated a 4-4 tie the last time SCOTUS heard it) makes its way back to the High Court. That encouragement of “free riders” will be a terrible, terrible blow to public employee unions, by far the most vibrant segment of the labor movement. Another likely opportunity for Trump to quickly screw over workers will be as part of his pledge to reverse all of Barack Obama’s executive orders on day one of his presidency. That will include Obama’s imposition of a higher minimum wage and paid sick leave for the employees of federal contractors. An even bigger pro-labor Obama administrative initiative that will be the target for business lobbies and vengeful anti-union Republicans are the new, expansive overtime regulations promulgated by the Labor Department earlier this year. But some of the most important administrative rulings on labor law come from the National Labor Relations Board, including a 2015 decision that would make large companies operating through franchises responsible for the working conditions of franchise employees (a huge issue with the fast-food industry). There are currently two vacancies on the five-member board; if Trump moves quickly to fill them with appointees congenial to the Republican Senate, a case could pretty rapidly be found to overturn that rule, to the great joy of prominent Trump supporters like Andy Puzder, CEO of the company that runs the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s fast-food chains. So the greatest direct damage Trump can wreak on unions and worker protections will be lurking behind much more dramatic and high-profile reversals of Obama executive orders in areas like immigration and energy. Most of his anti-labor actions will come indirectly, through his appointees to the Supreme Court, the NLRB, and the Labor Department. It’s the cabinet appointment to head the Labor Department that will provide Trump’s first opportunity to send a signal about his actual intentions toward the working stiffs who helped him get elected. The above-mentioned fast-food baron Puzder is one possibility. A lower-profile option (who would also help with the Trump cabinet’s likely resemblance to a men’s locker room) is long-time EEOC member Victoria Lipnic, who as a George W. Bush administration functionary helped write a much more restrictive overtime rule than the one just issued by Obama’s Labor Department. But there’s a high-profile option, too: Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin. This would represent an unmistakable insult and threat to the labor movement, and would also go miles to assuage big business and conservative ideological fears about Trump. Walker is reportedly not very interested in giving up the last two years of his hard-won gubernatorial term to move to Washington. But perhaps Trump’s chief-of-staff designee, Reince Priebus, will convince his old Wisconsin partner that the opportunity for massive, nationwide vengeance against the labor enemies he earned in Madison is too good to pass up. All of these baleful possibilities for labor policy are aside from the Trump administration’s more general plans that represent everything the current labor movement abhors, from a nasty anti-immigrant posture to the repeal of the Affordable Care Act to (probably) the enactment of some version of the Ryan budget, with its savage treatment of the social safety net. But at least working folks will have a president who loves to pose for photos with working-class folks even as he is letting their biggest enemies run the country.Tech people love stories about breakthrough innovations—gadgets or technologies that emerge suddenly and take over, like the iPhone or Twitter. Indeed, there's a whole industry of pundits, investors, and websites trying feverishly to predict the Next New Big Thing. The assumption is that breakthroughs are inherently surprising, so it takes special genius to spot one coming. But that's not how innovation really works, if you ask Bill Buxton. A pioneer in computer graphics who is now a principal researcher at Microsoft, he thinks paradigm-busting inventions are easy to see coming because they're already lying there, close at hand. "Anything that's going to have an impact over the next decade—that's going to be a billion-dollar industry—has always already been around for 10 years," he says. Buxton calls this the "long nose" theory of innovation: Big ideas poke their noses into the world very slowly, easing gradually into view. Can this actually be true? Buxton points to exhibit A, the pinch-and-zoom gesture that Apple introduced on the iPhone. It seemed like a bolt out of the blue, but as Buxton notes, computer designer Myron Krueger pioneered the pinch gesture on his experimental Video Place system in 1983. Other engineers began experimenting with it, and companies like Wacom introduced tablets that let designers use a pen and a puck simultaneously to manipulate images onscreen. By the time the iPhone rolled around, "pinch" was a robust, well-understood concept. A more recent example is the Microsoft Kinect. Sure, the idea of controlling software just by waving your body seems wild and new. But as Buxton says, engineers have long been perfecting motion-sensing for alarm systems and for automatic doors in grocery stores. We've been controlling software with our bodies for years, just in a different domain. This is why truly billion-dollar breakthrough ideas have what Buxton calls surprising obviousness. They feel at once fresh and familiar. It's this combination that lets a new gizmo take off quickly and dominate. The iPhone was designed by Apple engineers who had learned plenty from successes and failures in the PDA market, including, of course, their own ill-fated Newton. By the time they added those pinch gestures, they'd made the obvious freshly surprising. If you want to spot the next thing, Buxton argues, you just need to go "prospecting and mining"—looking for concepts that are already successful in one field so you can bring them to another. Buxton particularly recommends prospecting the musical world, because musicians invent gadgets and interfaces that are robust and sturdy yet creatively cool—like guitar pedals. When a team led by Buxton developed the interface for Maya, a 3-D design tool, he heavily plundered music hardware and software. ("There's normal spec, there's military spec, and there's rock spec," he jokes.) OK: If it's so easy to spy the future, what are Buxton's predictions? He thinks tablet computers, pen-based interfaces, and omnipresent e-ink are going to dominate the next decade. Those inventions have been slowly stress-tested for 20 years now, and they're finally ready. Using a "long nose" analysis, I have a prediction of my own. I bet electric vehicles are going to become huge—specifically, electric bicycles. Battery technology has been improving for decades, and the planet is urbanizing rapidly. The nose is already poking out: Electric bikes are incredibly popular in China and becoming common in the US among takeout/delivery people, who haul them inside their shops each night to plug them in. (Pennies per charge, and no complicated rewiring of the grid necessary.) I predict a design firm will introduce the iPhone of electric bikes and whoa: It'll seem revolutionary! But it won't be. Evolution trumps revolution, and things happen slowly. The nose knows. Email [email protected] Lake Parsippany family that includes three special needs children needs a miracle. Richard L'Ecuyer, 49, adopted the children more than a decade ago with his wife Pamela, who was a nurse. The situation was ever-challenging for the pair, he told Patch. Pamela would work taking care of geriatric patients until early in the morning, and he would leave for work when she came home. When not on the job, each would focus on the children. With love, patience and hard work, L'Ecuyer said he and his wife were able to deal with the physical and emotional difficulties and to get their kids what they needed in terms of their health and education. Their commitment to the children they adopted through the state Department of Children and Families did not go unnoticed. Pamela and Richard L'Ecuyer were presented with three state awards commending them for a job well done. Then came February 2010, when Pamela died suddenly. "It was the worst thing I could imagine," L'Ecuyer said. "But I had to go on for the kids's sake. Now I am a single dad. It's rewarding, and they are great kids. But this is is so tough." L'Ecuyer appears terribly proud of his children. David, the oldest, is 17, severely autistic. While he does attend a special-education school, the Regional Day School in Morris Township, according to his father, the boy remains unable to communicate beyond clapping his hands and making unintelligible sounds. L'Ecuyer said that when they met David as a 6-year-old, he was in a bad state. "When we found him, he had been sexually abused, he had bad teeth and he'd been kept in a bed with aluminum bars and a top," he recalled. "He was violent, just kept in a cage and abused constantly." When the boy first joined the family, he spent the first five months screaming and refusing to walk. "Finally, he settled down, and we fell in love with him," L'Ecuyer said. "I had to be stern, or otherwise he would be in an institution. We finally got him to the point where he loves to walk, so that's good. We're still working on teaching him to feed himself. He uses a sippy cup to drink, and that's a miracle. "David listens to me, he realizes I'm in charge. He sometimes pushes people, but he's affectionate and loving. There isn't a mean bone in his body." Tiffany, 14, was born with microcephaly, a genetic brain disorder that often shortens life expectancy. "She's daddy's little girl, the epitome," L'Ecuyer said. "When we adopted Tiffany, the experts said she would never learn sign language. But she did, and she's walking and very smart and tough." Tiffany attends the P.G. Chambers School, an institution for special-needs students on Ridgedale Avenue in Cedar Knolls. "She was the biggest challenge, even with school," L'Ecuyer told Patch. "She learned to use sign language before she could talk. This is a girl who they said would never live beyond the age of five. We turned it around, we made her speak. Now she gets around, feeds herself. And while she is potty trained during the day, she wears diapers at night. It was a very long process." "Now you can understand a lot of what she says," said Gisele L'Ecuyer, who called herself "a proud grandma." "They're wonderful," she said. "I'm so used to being around them. They're lovable—I just love 'em, no matter what. When I first came here, Tiffany didn't know how to set the table, so I'm teaching her. Now at night, she'll help set the table." Joseph, also known as J.J., is 11 years old and about to start sixth grade at. He was born to a drug-addicted mother and also suffers from Type 1 diabetes, which brings its own challenges. "He has to take four or five shots a day, check his blood several times daily," said his dad. "But he's the charm. He's a happy kid and he's really helpful to his brother and sister." After his wife passed away, L'Ecuyer quit his job in painting and construction to focus on his children, using a monthly $994 from his own Social Security and pension benefits along with state stipends for the kids to support the family, which also includes his mother, Gisele. Additional help with the kids comes from a babysitter who visits two days each week. L'Ecuyer won't talk about his wife's death, but it is apparent that he still is a grieving spouse. And he said the difficulties in meeting his children's medical and educational needs, particularly David's, keep him awake at night. On top of the kids' issues, his own health isn't the best, he said. "I have diabetes and I will lose my Cobra insurance in February," he said, adding that he cannot afford a new policy for himself. "What happens to these kids if something happens to me?" In fact, L'Ecuyer has special needs trust funds set up for the kids and alternative arrangements are in place so that the children can be taken care of in the event they lose their remaining parent. However, he said trust funds can't help with the family's most immediate difficulties. "More than anything, it's the situation with David," he continued. "He turns 18 [Aug. 13] and becomes legally an adult. He isn't ready for that and he still needs the benefits that he gets from being under 18. I'm trying to get legal guardianship, but everywhere doors slam in my face and I can't afford the legal bills to do it." L'Ecuyer said that if he can't get guardianship, David will have to go into a group home, which he said would cost the state $4,000-$5,000 per month. "Tell me how that makes sense," his father argued. "This is all still a work in progress for David. He's still trying to feed himself. He'll pick up a spoon, but it's hard for him. He's never going to amount to anything more than what he is, but from where he was, it's fine with me. "I just want him happy and well." And he doesn't see how consigning his son to a group home—at a cost of thousands of dollars to the state—would help him. "Tell me how that makes sense," he said angrily. "Give me guardianship of my son and I can save the state that money. We've already saved the state millions. David and Tiffany were considered unadoptable and on their way to an institution, which would cost at least $200,000 a year each, [not including the cost of health insurance]. An institution is where those kids would be, if not for the L'Ecuyers." L'Ecuyer shook his head and admitted that he is finding the situation emotionally overwhelming. "Here I am, an honest Joe," he said. "And I'm in trouble. I have nothing. I mean, I own my car. I own my own house free and clear, but only because I stupidly paid the whole thing off early. "So I'm in a fight for my life," he said, talking specifically about his insurance situation, "along with a fight for my kids' lives." This is not the situation in which L'Ecuyer expected to find himself. In addition to the three state Department of Youth and Family awards the L'Ecuyers won, the family found themselves celebrated in numerous New Jersey newspapers for "adopting the unadoptable." And when he needed assistance, sometimes it appeared. L'Ecuyer said that in one instance, when David was little, there was difficulty getting the proper medical bed for him. After encountering red tape, he turned to Gov. Chris Christie. In time, his office helped the family get the bed David required. "The governor and [Office of Constituent Relations Director] Jean Ashmore have taken so much of their personal time to help our family over the past two years," he said. "I commend them highly, in spite of everything, for what they have done for me and my family. These people honestly took their own time to help, and that was beautiful. I sent them letters of thank you from the bottom of my heart with my kids. They have been the biggest advocates for me." A spokesperson from the governor's office told Patch that the staff gave the family a helping hand just as they would do for any family in need. But now, according to L'Ecuyer, help seems in short supply or nonexistent. "I've called my lawyer, insurance companies, the state—who's been great; I'm so appreciative—but I've heard nothing since July 17," he said. "David turns 18 on Aug. 13 and I have to get guardianship. He can't take care of himself. Someone's got to see that." Additionally, he's been hit with a more than $2,000 bill he wasn't expecting from his accountant of 10 years, who did not respond to Patch's request for comment. L'Ecuyer's eyes welled up and he made a visible effort to stop tears from falling. "I'm fighting," he said, struggling through sobs to get the words out. "Sometimes I get to the point where I don't know whether I'm coming or going. But if I were in this to make money, the kids would be in a group home. "I haven't worked in two years. I had to give up everything, including a property I owned in Pennsylvania, in order to qualify for the sake of the kids, so we were eligible for benefits from the federal government. I'm doing everything for my kids, but it's so hard and so sad." L'Ecuyer said he is making plans to sell the family's tiny Lake Parsippany home, which costs him $8,000 per year in taxes, just in case. "With David turning 18, what else am I going to do?" he asked. "After all I've done for the state and the federal government, what am I going to do?" His immediate answer is to continue fighting. "These are my kids, and it's my responsibility to do what's right for them," L'Ecuyer said, wiping away tears. "I will not stop."I can't wait for this Finnish summer death car game My Summer Car is an upcoming game about building your own vehicle in the reputedly "hot, hot, hot" Finnish summer. It also promises absurd difficulty, lots of death, and all-important physics bugs. Listen to a man with a wonderful accent show you a weirdly-compelling experience: I've only been to Finland in the winter. I thought I got lost beside a field on my jog through the snow to the ocean, but it turns out the field was the ocean, frozen solid. I was there for a talk, and I was warned in advance not to worry about any jokes I might be telling, as Finns do not laugh in public. But lead developer Johannes Rohola's My Summer Car site is funny, or at least I think it is -- in a world of user-friendliness, anything that looks like an ancient Geocities website injects joy into my stuttering heart. Maybe it's the bright-red ticker promising "Never seen before true car building and driving simulator!", or the nostalgic UNDER CONSTRUCTION banner. The animated chicken, exploding again and again. The list of implemented features promises My Summer Car "does have graphics of some sort" as well as "fully functional dashboard similar to flight simulator." But the list of features the developer is considering implementing is even better: PLANS, BUT NOT PROMISED! Radio channel Window stickers, like "More beer" Extensive damage system, for parts dropping off and wear and tear Drivable cargo van and rowing boat Ability to make kilju and sell it to get some cash Suomi KP/-31 to shoot fishes, cans, or something else Rallycross-style dirt track Drunk NPC's Drag strip and local drag racing events Able to go to sauna, drink alcohol beverages and get wasted Lively environment with houses, nature and animals There are actually a number of ponderous, intensely-detailed (and often budget-constrained) vehicle and machine simulations floating around. Often, the character in these "boring" vehicle simulations comes from the glitches and weirdness that arise when a game with high-level detail is marketed at a niche audience with minimal resources -- and the thriving mod community attracted to that weirdness. This piece my friend Joe Bernardi did on games like Euro Truck Simulator, Farming Simulator and Train Simulator is an awesome and fascinating look inside that experience. Even better: When you are forced to attend a video game trade show abroad and discover the booth for, say, Farming Simulator - it'll have a life-like, hulking tractor, hopeful-looking staffers, and no attendees (they are instead queuing for flashier things).anna ben yehuda \| March 13, 2014 \| People People & Parties Latest The Latest Cameron Monaghan started acting as a way to focus his excess energy as a kid. Cameron Monaghan doesn’t feel constricted. “I didn’t see him being gay as defining the character or the character’s main trait,” he says of his role as Ian Gallagher on Showtime’s Shameless. One of the very few openly gay teenage parts on television at the show’s inception, Monaghan’s role has slowly evolved into much more than a teenager trying to come to terms with his own sexuality. Now in its fourth season, the show has taken a somber tone, tackling deeper issues in more meaningful ways. “This entire season is very dark and we kind of continue into that darkness a little bit, before we get to have fun again next season,” the actor says. Monaghan takes his talents to the big screen next with a starring role in The Giver, a science-fiction movie boasting a stellar cast, including Meryl Streep, Jeff Bridges, and Katie Holmes. We chat with the actor about what to expect on Shameless, jamming with Jeff Bridges, and more. What brought you to acting in the first place? CAMERON MONAGHAN: I grew up loving movies and television from a very young age. I had a lot of energy as a kid and we wanted to find some way to focus that energy—well, my mom wanted to. I said I wanted to be an actor so she got me involved in [the] local community theater, [I] moved on to commercials and print, and then she got me an agent. [I] did my first movie role at 8 years old and really loved it. I’ve been doing it ever since. You play Ian Gallagher on Shameless. How did you get that role? CM: I got the call from my agent, got the appointment, saw the script, and it was very unlike anything I had ever seen before. It was exciting because I had a chance to work with William H. Macy, who was a person I’ve looked up to pretty much my entire career. Monaghan now boasts a starring role on Shameless and a part alongside Meryl Streep and Jeff Bridges in a coming-soon film. Your character has been undergoing a major change throughout the season and has a completely different attitude. What can you tell us about that? CM: I don’t think it’s much of a secret now, so I can say it. Ian is bipolar, pretty severely. He is self-medicating with drugs and he probably went through some sort of traumatic event in basic training. Not to mention, the exacerbation of his illness from the stress from his relationship with Mickey’s character has left a pretty large wound on his psyche at the moment. I’m excited about the change. I think the whole reason we do these shows is because we want to see our characters evolve in interesting ways. Sometimes those ways are not necessarily positive, but that can be fun, too, because we need conflict. So I was excited about being able to take this character a way that most people wouldn’t expect him to go. You star in The Giver, with Meryl Streep, Jeff Bridges, and Katie Holmes. How has working with them been? CM: Definitely an honor. I’ve looked up to Meryl Streep and Jeff Bridges for my entire life. They’re two people who I’ve always wanted to work with. So, having an opportunity to be in a movie with them has been amazing. Besides that, the movie itself is something really exciting. It’s based off of a very successful novel. The character is something interesting [that] I haven’t had the chance to do before. The whole world in which these characters live is removed form our reality. It takes place in a community sometime in our future where they’ve gotten rid of emotion and love. It’s basically all logic-based. My character is turning into what they consider an adult and he’s kind of a bit of a square peg in their round hole. He’s a little bit of a rebel so he doesn’t really fit in with this community very well. Monaghan and Bridges jammed while shooting The Giver. Any funny stories from the set? CM: We would all play music with Jeff Bridges. We would have jam sessions with him. A couple of times, we went over to his hotel room and we ended up playing until 3 o’clock in the morning. Stamping on the floor and screaming and having an amazing time. I’m sure his neighbors probably hated us, but it was amazing. You live in Los Angeles. Where do you like to spend most of your time? CM: I live in Burbank, so you would think that I would spend most of my time in the Valley, but I honestly find myself going to Venice a lot. I find Topanga really interesting. I like how there’s so much nature there and I like to go over there to read or write. I think there’s some really cool, fun coffee shop-kind of vibe in Silver Lake. I’m kind of all over the place. PHOTOGRAPHY BY JSQUARED PHOTOGRAPHYIt seemed like such a great idea. With Nissan Stadium empty for the offseason, the Tennessee Titans hosted movie night, in which fans could hang out on the playing field, watch "Minions" on the stadium's video board, and get drenched. Wait, what? At the Titans Movie Night and the sprinklers came on and drenched a whole bunch of people. pic.twitter.com/3chNRJk3TA — Bo Link (@knilob) April 17, 2016 That clearly wasn't part of the plan. Fortunately not all the sprinklers went into action and fans were able to escape to dry areas before the system got turned back off. The team apologized in a statement to The Tennessean, saying, "Some sprinklers went off for about 30-45 seconds in one quadrant of the field, which was unfortunate and unexpected since we had changed the timers for the sprinklers. We had a good turnout of our season ticket members and their families and realize it didn't make for a great night for those who got wet, and for that we apologize." Hopefully this isn't an omen for the team that just traded out of the No. 1 spot in this month's NFL draft, picking up a haul of draft picks in the process.Signup to receive a daily roundup of the top LGBT+ news stories from around the world Russia’s powerful Orthodox Church has proposed a referendum on banning homosexuality. On Friday, spokesman Vsevolod Chaplin pointed to polls showing more than a third of Russians view homosexuality as an illness. “There is no question that society should discuss this issue since we live in a democracy,” Mr Chaplin told the online edition of the pro-government Izvestia daily. “For this reason, it is precisely the majority of our people and not some outside powers that should decide what should be a criminal offence and what should not. “I am convinced that such sexual contacts should be completely excluded from the life of our society,” he added. “If we manage to do this through moral pressure, all the better. But if we need to revert to assistance from the law, then let us ask the people if they are ready for this.” Some two-thirds of Russians describe themselves as Orthodox Christians. Russia decriminalised same-sex sexual activity in 1993. However, following last year’s decision of the Russian Parliament to pass legalisation banning gay “propaganda”, it’s feared that the country could be edging closer to reintroducing a complete ban on homosexuality. On Wednesday, Russian sitcom actor and businessman Ivan Okhlobystin announced
in command over the "attacked" ships said there was a "problem" with the reports -- which turned out to be false. Johnson, however, didn't want to hear it. He was ready to escalate the war, and he escalated. His was the latest in a series of presidential decisions beginning with Truman, and continuing through Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon, who financed France in its Indochinese war, propped up corrupt regimes in South Vietnam, prevented free elections and eventually wreaked destruction in an unwinnable war. Ellsberg, a Marine company commander in the 1950s, wanted first-hand information. He went to Vietnam personally, shouldered a weapon and led a patrol. What he learned convinced him that a false portrait of U.S. success was being painted. On a flight back to Washington with Robert McNamara, the defense secretary agreed that the war could not be won; we see the two men leaving the aircraft together before McNamara lied to the press that America was winning it. Later, McNamara resigned, for reasons he didn't make clear at the time, and not even later in the confessional documentary, "The Fog of War," directed by Errol Morris. Ellsberg, in short, could not be dismissed as merely a sneak and a snitch, but a man who had direct knowledge of how the American public had been misled. He saw himself not as a peacenik war protester, but as a government servant exercising a higher moral duty. "The Most Dangerous Man in America" traces Ellsberg's doubts about authority back to a childhood tragedy and forward to the influence of young men who went to prison for their convictions. It is a skillful, well-made film, although, since Ellsberg is the narrator, it doesn't probe him very deeply. We see his version of himself. A great deal of relevant footage has been assembled and is intercut with stage re-creations, animations and the White House tapes of Richard Nixon, who fully advocated the nuclear bombing of Hanoi. Kissinger was apparently a voice of restraint. If you can think of another war justified by fabricated evidence and another Cabinet secretary who resigned without being very clear about his reasons, you're free to, but the film draws no parallels.(Jeremy Papasso/Daily Camera via AP, File) Self-described right-wing ‘provocateur’ Milo Yiannopoulos has been caught on tape defending paedophile abuse, saying ‘We get hung up on this stuff’. Wildfires destroy part of Winnie the Pooh's 'Hundred Acre Wood' as UK temperatures rise Yiannopoulos was banned from Twitter after controversial attacks on Ghostbusters actress Leslie Jones – and has been defended by Donald Trump. Trump Tweeted a threat to withdraw funding from Berkeley after riots erupted when Yiannopoulos spoke at the university. If U.C. Berkeley does not allow free speech and practices violence on innocent people with a different point of view – NO FEDERAL FUNDS? — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 2, 2017 To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video He was also invited to a White House presidential briefing in February, although he failed to attend. Advertisement Advertisement But in a recording which recently surfaced, Yiannopoulos says, ‘We get hung up on this sort of child abuse stuff to the point where we are heavily policing consensual adults … ‘In the homosexual world, particularly, some of those relationships between younger boys and older men – the sort of ‘coming of age’ relationship – those relationships in which those older men help those young boys discover who they are and give them security and safety and provide them with love and a reliable, sort of rock, where they can’t speak to their parents. The full audio clip can be heard here, courtesy of Uproxx. The comments have already caused a storm on social media – with commentators and far-right activists distancing themselves from the ‘provocateur’. My friend, a survivor of sex trafficking: "Milo straight up defended abusing 13 yr old boys…Please don't let that be normalized" — Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) February 20, 2017 Video surfaces of Milo Yiannopoulos defending pedophilia, ACU board reportedly not consulted on CPAC invite https://t.co/D3FH9H6Atu pic.twitter.com/6sICziW1ut — TheBlaze (@theblaze) February 20, 2017 It finally happened. People on left, right, establishment & anti-estab agree on something. Pedophilia is sick & wrong. #MiloGate#PizzaGate — 👑 Empress Halley 🐸 (@HalleyBorderCol) February 20, 2017As Canada’s medical marijuana program takes shape, one insurance provider is getting with the times, and others are expected to follow suit. If the presidential election here in the United States is getting you a bit down, perhaps you’ve thought about high-tailing it to Canada. Our neighbors north of the border really do live a charmed life, but I’ll bet you didn’t know that under Canada’s medical marijuana program, there’s now a health insurance company that reimburses the cost of cannabis for patients as part of their insurance coverage. You heard that right — free cannabis is now possible for Canadians covered by Sun Life insurance. It’s a sign of quickly-changing perceptions of cannabis in North America, and other insurance companies are expected to follow suit. The Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (MMPR) passed in June of 2013, creating a for-profit commercial structure for medical cannabis producers and retailers. These regulations also ensure that any sick Canadian in need of treatment can access cannabis that’s been grown in a safe and sterile environment. Here’s the only issue: while the vast majority of prescription medications are fully covered under HealthCanada, the nation’s single-payer health care program, cannabis is not one of those drugs. The legality of adult cannabis use in Canada still lends to some confusion, as it’s technically still illegal unless you have proper documentation and registration with a cannabis provider under MMPR. That explains why it’s not on the same level as approved prescription drugs that typically get covered by insurance. Now, the actual cost of patients’ medical marijuana can be covered if the insurance provider sees fit, which is exactly what happened in the case of University of Waterloo student Jonathan Zaid. Through his student union health plan, he requested reimbursement of the money he spent on legal MMPR cannabis from Bedrocan during 2015—and Sun Life agreed that this was a valid form of medical expense. According to Marijuana Biz Daily, Zaid has already been reimbursed around $2000 for cannabis flowers and a vaporizer purchased last year. In spite of adult use still being illegal, Canada is going to great lengths to integrate MMPR into its existing health care system. Directly from the Health Canada website, you can learn all kinds of things about medical cannabis treatments, from an FAQ section to a list of approved, licensed businesses in the industry. Of course, they boast a “strict and rigorous application process” that’s meant to curb abuse of the program. All this, while dozens of U.S. states are still arguing to decide whether or not this plant even has a purpose in the preservation of human health. The contrast in health policy is astounding. Medical conditions covered by the MMPR program range from eating or sleep disorders to cancer and brain trauma. Stipulations on precisely who is “sick enough” to receive medical cannabis are fairly similar to what patients in, say, California might be used to, but more official medical documentation is required. In terms of normalizing cannabis as a medicine, this new development is paving the way for more Canadian private insurance companies to start covering the costs. It’s also quite likely to spark significant interest in MMPR participation among Canadians, as the cost of cannabis treatment is a sizable obstacle for many individuals struggling with chronic health issues. Don’t get too excited, Americans. Gaining permanent residency and citizenship in Canada is not instantaneous. If you are looking for quick access to legal, medical-grade cannabis, you are likely much better off advocating for safe access in the state where you live.A disparate picture emerged Tuesday of the impact Rob Ford’s removal from office will have on his fiscally conservative agenda, with one ally suggesting it is “dead in the water” even as others voice optimism that council will stay the course. Justice Charles Hackland’s decision that the mayor should vacate his seat over a conflict-of -interest violation has turned attention to members of his executive committee, tasked with carrying out Mr. Ford’s mandate. “Where we go from here is the big question,” said Councillor David Shiner, a member of the executive committee. “And I think council will continue on that agenda because the majority of us believe in that.” But Mr. Ford does come in for some criticism from his closest supporters. “We’re definitely in a very difficult situation,” added Mr. Shiner. “In my 20 years sitting on a municipal council, I have never seen where a mayor is so distracted from his job. More distracted than I’ve seen any provincial or federal official.” One ally, who agreed to be quoted but without attribution, said the mayor had “lost the moral authority” and added that the “agenda is dead in the water.” Councillor Peter Milczyn echoed one part of that criticism, but disagreed with the other. “Whether it’s Rob Ford or not Rob Ford, we’re all aligned similarly,” he said, on the executive committee’s dedication to the fiscal part of Ford’s agenda. “Obviously the mayor is not going to be, for the next little while, necessarily in a position of having the moral authority over council, over the city,” he said. “The core executive team, we’re very focused on the budget, on seeing that through as the mayor would have wanted, so we’re not going to be shaken on that,” he said. “I don’t really see anything changing.” Obviously the mayor is not going to be, for the next little while, necessarily in a position of having the moral authority over council While it hasn’t been easy, the Ford administration has secured support for key aspects of his 2010 campaign platform: reeling in union contracts, outsourcing trash collection, controlling spending and tackling the debt. Councillor Jaye Robinson expects those fiscal goals will remain, but described recent events as “the ultimate distraction.” She pointed to the hundreds of thousands of people who voted for him because of the fiscal agenda that he set out. “I think that agenda is still on track, but absolutely this is a distraction, this is a major setback,” she said. “But I think most of us are steadfast about that agenda. All of us ran on a similar agenda related to the fiscal responsibility piece.” Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong has carefully chosen his words, refusing to say on Monday whether he would appear at a press conference next to the mayor. Asked whether the mayor should abandon his appeal or step aside, as others have suggested, he said, “It’s a distraction on council. Council needs to focus in on the business of the city.” National Post • Email: [email protected] \| Twitter: NPHallMonitorDOHA/ISLAMABAD – Relaxing the policies for brother Muslim nation, Qatar has introduced visa on arrival for Pakistani nationals to attract more tourists and business people to the tiny emirate. Nationals of Pakistan can now obtain a visa on arrival for DOHA/ISLAMABAD – Relaxing the policies for brother Muslim nation, Qatar has introduced visa on arrival for Pakistani nationals to attract more tourists and business people to the tiny emirate. Nationals of Pakistan can now obtain a visa on arrival for a maximum stay of 30 days. They must have a passport valid for a minimum of 6 months from the arrival date; and a return/onward ticket. They can apply to extend their stay for an additional 30 days. Earlier this month, Qatar introduced visa-free entry to the residents of 80 countries and surprisingly Pakistan was not in the list. The decision came into effect after Qatar faced diplomatic isolation by its Arab neighbours. The nationals of following 33 countries will be authorized to stay in Qatar for 180 days: Austria, Bahamas, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey. However, the residents of the following 47 nations can stay for up to 30 days: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Belarus, Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica, Gerogia, Guyana, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Azerbaijan, Macedonia, Malaysia, Maldives, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, New Zealand, Paraguay, Peru, Russia, San Marino, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Suriname, Cuba, Thailand, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vatican City and Venezuela. Qatar’s action drew protests from Islamabad, but Doha has remained unmoved. Kuwait, another GCC favourite, has placed visa restrictions on Pakistanis since 2011. While they don’t call it a visa ban, since now Pakistanis have to go through much stricter scrutiny than other countries’ citizens. Former PM Nawaz Sharif personally intervened in March 2017 with the Kuwaiti leadership, but despite promises of review, Pakistanis continue to stay on the restricted list.Posted 6 years ago on Sept. 12, 2012, 12:16 p.m. EST by OccupyWallSt Tags: seattle, repression, portland, grand jury resistance, minneapolis For more information on what this is about, see the Committee Against Political Repression! Thursday, September 13th Seattle, WA: Rally outside the hearing at noon in front of the Federal Court House (700 Stewart St). In the event that a contempt hearing is held that day, please be prepared to come inside the courthouse for to support the resisters. You’ll need photo ID and court-appropriate clothes. Don’t bring anything you wouldn’t be able to get past metal detectors and security guards. RSVP on Facebook Grand juries are closed to the public, but contempt hearings are not! We believe that the Assistant US Attorney overseeing this grand jury has already granted immunity for at least one, if not both of the subpeanuts for September 13th. That means it’s likely they’ll be taken straight from the grand jury room to a contempt hearing, then whisked off to jail for up to the duration of the investigation. If you’re coming to Seattle already that day for the solidarity demo, please be prepared to go inside to pack the courtroom for any contempt hearings that may happen. You’ll need photo ID and court-appropriate clothes. Let’s show Leah and the rest of the subpeanuts that we’re with them, every step of the way!! Vigil from Noon on the September 13th till noon on September 14th. Portland, OR: Rally in front of the Federal Court House (1000 SW 3rd Ave, at Salmon) at 12:30pm until 3:30. We will be giving live updates from Seattle. Minneapolis, MN: Rally in front of Minneapolis City Hall (350 S 5th Street) from noon to 1 pm. Everywhere: National Fax in Day to Support Grand Jury ResistorsHacking Team, the creator of a digital remote-access and surveillance platform, had specifically targeted Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to allow government officials and law-enforcement agencies (LEAs) to follow the money, according to email messages stolen from the company in a breach earlier this month. The messages, posted publicly by Wikileaks, indicated that the company's platform for compromising and monitoring targets' computers, known as the Remote Control System, gained new functionality in 2014 to track the use of Bitcoin, LiteCoin, Feathercoin and Namecoin. The software update allowed the copying of the target's wallet, transaction history and contact information. Hacking Team focused on Bitcoin and three other cryptocurrencies as tools criminals used to launder money, despite efforts to foster legitimate markets for the digital money. "Cryptocurrencies are a way to make untraceable transactions, and we all know that criminals love to easily launder, move and invest black money," Daniele Milan, operations manager for Hacking Team, stated in one email hosted by Wikileaks. "LEAs, by using our Intelligence module combined with this new capability, can correlate the usage of cryptocurrencies, defeating the financial opacity they provide." In early July, hackers took control of the Milan, Italy-based Hacking Team's Twitter feed, announcing that they had breached the company's network and stolen 400 gigabytes of sensitive business communications and email messages. The company decried the attack, calling it a criminal act. "Make no mistake about it, what happened earlier this summer in the attack on our company was a reckless and vicious crime," David Vincenzetti, CEO of Hacking Team, said in a statement on July 14. "We have reported it to Italian authorities who are investigating, and we expect the authorities of other nations to be involved as well." The company developed a module, dubbed "Money," for its platform that could search for cryptocurrency data on a compromised system, according to emails. The inclusion of cryptocurrency tracking functionality in the software is unsurprising, given law enforcement's interest in Bitcoin, Andrew Conway, a research analyst with messaging security firm Cloudmark, told eWEEK. "Drug purchases, illegal goods purchases, unlicensed gambling, and one we see all the time, ransomware, is facilitated by Bitcoin," he said. "Obviously, if you are in law enforcement, you are interested in these transactions, because Bitcoin is an annoyance and will end up being more than an annoyance." The most interesting fallout from the Hacking Team breach is the sudden disclosure of a handful of highly critical vulnerabilities: three in Adobe Flash, one in Internet Explorer and another in Oracle's Java. The company that brokered the sale of one of the Adobe Flash vulnerabilities to Hacking Team shut down its program for buying and selling vulnerabilities following the revelation that Hacking Team had done business with Sudan and Egypt. "The Hacking Team breach proved that we could not sufficiently vet the ethics and intentions of new buyers," Adriel Desautels, CEO of Netragard, said in a blog post. "Hacking Team unbeknownst to us until after their breach was clearly selling their technology to questionable parties, including but not limited to parties known for human rights violations." Desautels argued that the market for zero-day vulnerabilities needs to be held to a legal standard in which each company that buys or sells the information is accountable for the use of the technology. "It's important that the regulations do not target zero-days specifically but instead target those who acquire and use them," he said.June in the Philippines usually means one thing: the beginning of the rainy season. Sometimes if the weather gets a bit worse, it may also usher the start of typhoons. For those who wish to enjoy Cebu diving, the less-predictable weather can be a source of concern: is it okay to dive? The answer is a loud yes. Not only that, you can dive and get yourself certified. Here are some of the diving courses in Cebu: Scuba Diver Course This is an extensive course that includes a theory or concept class, 2 pool dives, and 2 actual dives. Over all, it takes at least 16-32 hours to learn all these. The good news is it costs about Php13,750. On the other hand, if you don’t have much time, there is a Try Scuba Diving course between 1 and 4 hours, where you’ll have 1 pool and 1 dive, as well as academics class, for only Php3,300. If you’re looking for flexibility and a possibly huge discount, you can begin with the beginner’s course and add the more comprehensive one later. Open Water Course An open water course means that you’ll have more spots to dive to. Best of all, since this is an SSI (Scuba Schools International) certification, your course is recognized around the globe. This simply means that in case the Philippine weather isn’t favorable to you, you can always travel to the nearest countries with a more stable weather condition. Although this also implies you can take the course practically anywhere, diving in Cebu gives you another advantage: cheap price. The entire course which will cost you only Php18,000, and if you’ve already completed your Scuba Diver course, you can receive a huge discount. If you dream of becoming an instructor someday, you can then proceed to the advanced course, which normally takes 48-72 hours to complete. During this course, you’ll learn navigation, diving with enriched air nitrox, and deep diving. Most of all, you will be trained on how to dive when there’s limited visibility, which is likely to happen when the skies are overcast and at night, when the weather may be less likely to be rainy. Master Diver Course You’re inching way closer to becoming a master diver and an instructor. If you can get 24 dives with the advanced diver course, you can enjoy as much as 50 in this. Yes, that’s a lot of dive, but it’s because you’ll go through more specialty courses including one that’s extremely critical: stress and rescue. In other words, not only will you be taught how to keep yourself safe at all times underwater, but you’ll also have the knowledge and the skill to potentially save another person’s life. Points to Remember Many months from June to December are considered as off-peak seasons in the Philippines, which means you can easily snatch awesome travel deals for a fraction of a cost. To save yourself the hassle, book a complete package—that is, a dive course with accommodation and even local transport from reputable dive centers in Cebu such as Dive Spot Asia. AdvertisementsWe’re Glad NeoGAF Is Dead (And You Should Be Too) An internet mainstay is dying. After another sexual misconduct incident, NeoGAF is nearing the end. The forum, which has existed since it launched in 1999 back as the Gaming-Age Forums, is surely drawing a close. And frankly, this could be for the absolute best. While NeoGAF has been an influential and informative hub for years, it has also been a hotbed of controversy and poor behavior. We don't need it. The downfall of this former pillar of the community could lead to better things. First, a refresher of what has happened as of late. Tyler “Evilore” Malka was accused of sexual misconduct by a woman who said he got into her shower uninvited while she was bathing the weekend of October 21, 2017. This is not the first time Malka has been associated with such distasteful behavior, with another incident occurring in 2012 where he talked about sexually assaulting a woman while on a trip to Spain. There were also instances where Malka would ban accounts of people who called him out for his behavior or retaliate against people. This time, his despicable behavior wasn’t ignored. Mods resigned, people revolted, and NeoGAF essentially crashed and burned to the ground. The forum is back online now, but is a shell of its former self, and a statement issued by Malka that some (myself included) would consider narcissistic. Not that any of this is surprising. While there were good people posting at NeoGAF, folks both in and out of the industry with insightful and interesting things to say, the forum was often tainted by less reputable members. In 2015, a mod named Opiate was removed for sexual misconduct and pedophilic behavior. In 2017, Christopher “Amir0x” was arrested for child pornography. You could regularly find homophobic, racist, and vile posts on the forum. Worse, there would be instances where mods would cover for one another, tolerate such behaviors, and indiscriminately ban users. The good news is, we don’t need to worry about NeoGAF anymore. Partially, because it is now dead in the water. But also, because we outgrew it years ago. The only reason most people visited the forum was for industry insight and hot takes directly from those in the game industry. But, over the last few years, we’ve found so many better ways to get such information and interact with one another. Ways where there isn’t petty drama, it is possible to avoid toxic behaviors, and we can still get important information from major players.CINCINNATI -- It appears Vontaze Burfict will be out a fourth straight game as the linebacker missed the Cincinnati Bengals' Thanksgiving Day practice. Coach Marvin Lewis said Wednesday that although Burfict wouldn't practice that day, there was a good chance he would return to practice at some point this week. With their game on the road Sunday at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Bengals only have one practice left this week: Friday's. If Burfict goes Friday, don't view it as a sign he will be ready for Sunday. View it instead as a sign that he might be ready in time for next week's home game against the Steelers. Since last Wednesday, Burfict had been spending practice time rehabbing and going through conditioning drills on the side as he works his way back from arthroscopic knee surgery. He had the procedure done Nov. 3, a day after he tweaked his knee while trying to shed a block against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He finished that game. The knee injury has just been the latest in a series of ailments for the linebacker this season. He had head and neck issues in three of the first four games he played this season. Burfict, one year removed from a Pro Bowl second season, has only finished three games this season. Along with Burfict, the Bengals were again without defensive end Margus Hunt and a pair of players who were fighting off illnesses. Linebacker Nico Johnson and receiver Greg Little were the third and fourth players to miss practice this week because of illnesses. Receiver Mohamed Sanu and long snapper Clark Harris also missed Wednesday's practice because of sicknesses, but returned Thursday. Cornerback Adam Jones, who wasn't even at the facility Wednesday, practiced fully Thursday. According to the injury report, he had been out with non-injury related tooth issue. Here's the full Thursday injury report: DID NOT PRACTICE LB Burfict (knee) DE Hunt (ankle) LB Johnson (illness; non-injury related) LS Little (illness; non-injury related) OT Andrew Whitworth (veteran's day off) LIMITED PRACTICE PARTICIPATION DE Robert Geathers (toe) S George Iloka (groin) FULL PRACTICE PARTICIPATION CB Jones (tooth; non-injury related) LS Harris (illness; non-injury related) WR Sanu (illness; non-injury related) OL Mike Pollak (knee)AGRICULTURE inspectors should receive training from psychologists so they can spot farmers who are depressed or at risk of suicide. AGRICULTURE inspectors should receive training from psychologists so they can spot farmers who are depressed or at risk of suicide. Inspectors'should be trained' to help tackle the epidemic of farmer suicide Senator Fidelma Healy Eames has warned Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney that rising levels of suicide and depression among farmers has led to concerns being raised about an 'epidemic' of distressed farmers taking their own lives. Ms Healy Eames has written to Mr Coveney, asking him to provide "awareness training for his Agricultural Inspectors to enable them to handle situations more sensitively where farmers may be 'at risk' of mental health issues''. The senator said: "It is important that psychologists address Department of Agriculture inspectors on the subject of the mental health and suicide of farmers, as part of their in-service training." One farmer's wife said the situation had become acute "because of the fodder crisis and the late spring. Farming has changed in the last year, there is an air of despondency... the suicide rate is horrendous, it is the untold story". "Farmers are proud people who are not prepared to share issues and they are particularly isolated after the death of the rural pub," she said. "The greatest source of stress is inspections: people walk into your farm unannounced like a tax audit. A lot of older farmers struggle with the paperwork, it really should be the case that inspections are seen as an opportunity to support not punish." Ms Healy Eames said: "Inspectors need to learn about the 'at risk' signs, the use of appropriate and non-threatening language... and the risk factors for farmers living alone." Farmers, she said, "should not live in fear of inspectors". Sunday IndependentMany of you have seen the announcement we made this morning, but I wanted to take this opportunity to share my thoughts and plans with you directly. For the last couple of years, I’ve been having discussions with the board about stepping down as CEO, and today we announced that I will do so. I’m pleased that I will be leaving the company in Amar and Andrew’s capable hands while the board searches for a new CEO. I know they’ll do a great job at holding down the fort—and I’ll be honored if either is chosen to be the next CEO. I’ll continue to serve on the Autodesk board and I will be here to help them and the board through the transition. I love Autodesk and am immensely proud of what we have created together, but it’s time for me to do something new. Autodesk is doing very well and the financial markets are noticing. Our leadership team is strong, and our strategy is in place to go further and accomplish more than we could have ever imagined when I took over day-to-day operations as COO 14 years ago. Our transition to an all-subscription business model is well underway, we’re enjoying early but strong success in the cloud and we have settled with our activist investors. Now seems like the right time, for both the company and for me. I am not leaving to spend more time with my family—that presumes my family wants to spend more time with me. I will, however, be spending more time in my shop with my robots. I also have some other plans and will have more to say on what I’m doing in the next few months. It’s been a privilege to lead Autodesk, and I feel very grateful to have worked with so many talented and passionate people. Together we have built a fantastic business and developed products that literally have changed how entire industries get their work done. Great, Good and Important When I first became CEO, people asked how I wanted to define Autodesk and I often answered somewhat cryptically, “great, good and important.” In my mind, great companies are defined, first and foremost, by their financial performance. Good companies are defined by their values and culture and how they treat their employees, their customers and the communities in which they do business. And important companies make a real difference in the world. Being able to do all three is the most critical and difficult task any executive team faces. By almost any measure, I think we’ve done very well on all fronts. Great: About 14 years ago, we formed a new executive team and since then we have significantly increased the financial performance of the company on every metric. Following the global economic meltdown of 2009, our investors have enjoyed 6x financial returns. When the team was formed, the market capitalization of the company was slightly more than $2B—today, it’s more than $18B.More importantly, the decisions we’ve made have always been about building long-term sustainable financial success—something that many in the investor community shun in favor of short-term returns. As a devout capitalist, I truly believe that producing strong financial results while also keeping an eye on the horizon builds great and enduring companies. Good: Good companies are not solely about financial performance and shareholder returns. We have taken a stand on issues that affect our employees, our customers and our planet. I’m proud of the kind of culture we’ve built, where diversity of background and experience is valued. We’re inclusive, and we respect each other and value what the individual brings to the team. We win awards every year that speak to our great culture, but more important than those awards are the ways you embody the same thing every day with your words and actions. Important: Autodesk is in the privileged position of being the tool makers to the people who design, make and build everything around us. Over the last few weeks as my decision to step down became more real, I’ve begun to even more keenly notice around me all the truly incredible things our customers have created using our tools. From buildings to cars and movies, workflows from conception to fabrication, we’ve made a huge impact on the industries we serve, and I’m proud of the respect we have for our customers and honor the trust they’ve put in us. My Awards Speech When I first became CEO, people asked me what it was like and I joked “I immediately became smarter and funnier.” So, starting tomorrow, I’m expecting the opposite. I’ve been honored to be in this position, but I have tried very hard to never forget the difference between my job and who I am.At the risk of sounding like a bad Academy Awards speech, I’d like to end by thanking some of the people who have been critical to my and Autodesk’s success. First, I’d like to thank Carol Bartz for believing I could do this job and saying so more forcefully than those who thought I couldn’t. I learned so much from her. She and the founders created the amazing base we built upon. Thanks to our customers, who are really the reason we exist. We’re so proud to be your toolmakers and to be a part of the incredible things you’ve designed, built and made in the world. Thanks to our partners around the world who’ve been so critical to our success. I’ve appreciated the dedication and focus you’ve put into representing Autodesk and serving our customers. Thanks to our long-term shareholders—you’ve always had your eye on sustainable growth and returns and I truly appreciate your ongoing support. Thanks to the CEO Staff and the broader leadership team who have done such a phenomenal job. None—and I really mean none—of the company’s accomplishments would be possible without your vision, leadership and professionalism. We’ve worked together for a long time, most of it very good, but we’ve been through some difficult times as well. Despite my inability to express it regularly (or maybe at all), your encouragement, support and friendship means everything to me. And I’m going to add one final plea to never stop striving to be the absolute best in everything we do. And finally, and I’d say most importantly, thanks to the thousands of smart, devoted and passionate employees who have contributed to Autodesk’s success. As CEO, I got used to taking outsized credit (and blame), but I never once forgot who does all the hard work. I have cherished my interactions with you and that’s the thing I will miss the most. I have always believed that the best leaders have the vision to see what’s possible and the courage to make it happen. I hope in some small way I’ve held up my end of the bargain, because you have all done more than your fair share to make Autodesk a great, good and important company. Thanks for everything, CarlThe Islamic State terror group is operating a camp in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua, just eight miles from the U.S. border, Judicial Watch reported Tuesday. Citing sources that include a “Mexican Army field grade officer and a Mexican Federal Police Inspector,” the conservative watchdog group reported that the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, is organizing only a few miles from El Paso, Texas, in the Anapra neighborhood of Juárez and in Puerto Palomas. Judicial Watch sources said that “coyotes” working for the notorious Juarez Cartel are smuggling Islamic State terrorists across the U.S. border between the New Mexico cities of Santa Teresa and Sunland Park, as well as “through the porous border between Acala and Fort Hancock, Texas.” “These specific areas were targeted for exploitation by ISIS because of their understaffed municipal and county police forces, and the relative safe-havens the areas provide for the unchecked large-scale drug smuggling that was already ongoing,” Judicial Watch reported. Mexican intelligence sources say the Islamic State intends to exploit the railways and airport facilities in the vicinity of Santa Teresa, New Mexico. “The sources also say that ISIS has ‘spotters’ located in the East Potrillo Mountains of New Mexico (largely managed by the Bureau of Land Management) to assist with terrorist border crossing operations,” Judicial Watch reported. “ISIS is conducting reconnaissance of regional universities; the White Sands Missile Range; government facilities in Alamogordo, NM; Ft. Bliss; and the electrical power facilities near Anapra and Chaparral, NM.” PHOTOS: Bang for your buck: Best handguns under $500 Mexican authorities, however, disputed the Judicial Watch findings. “The government of Mexico dismisses and categorically denies each of the statements made today by the organization Judicial Watch on the alleged presence of ISIS’s operating cells throughout the border region, particularly at Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua - El Paso, Texas,” Ariel Moutsatsos-Morales, Mexico’s minister for press and public affairs, told The Washington Times. “The relevant authorities operating in the region have also confirmed the inexistence of these activities with their US counterparts, with whom they will continue to work closely and to exchange information at our common border,” Moutsatsos-Morales added. Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.The Universe According to Ernests Gulbis; it’s a little weird. Gulbis has shown over the past month that he is the most dangerous young player on the men’s tour: in Rome he eliminated Roger Federer and took a set off Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals, and he was a set and a break up against Federer in Madrid in the last eight... yet he isn’t sure whether he even likes tennis, and he is adamant that he doesn’t care for fame or money. As for the night that he spent in a police cell in Stockholm, after he was arrested for soliciting prostitutes during a tournament, he regards that as a hilarious and wonderful adventure, as “it was great, it was great fun, a very funny time”. He is the ‘Trustafarian’ of the international tennis scene, the kid from the Baltic who previously appeared to have more wealth and talent than he knew what to do with, but who is now starting to apply himself. On the Roland Garros clay and the Wimbledon grass this summer, Federer and Nadal could be troubled by Gulbis, who is too intelligent to be a “tennis freak” or a grey obsessive, whose father is an oligarch and one of the richest men in Latvia, and
. Interested? Tactical combat - We love X-Com and Jagged Alliance, and we want our game to convey the same intensity. That feeling of watching the bullets fly and hoping the plucky little fellow on the screen makes it through to see another turn. Is it better to move on and get some medical aid or just hunker down and pray? Or is all-out assault the only viable option?In Legion 1917, players will have many tactical options to choose from in their attempt to bring all their characters to safety. We believe that the core of every game experience is making meaningful choices. Which is why you will have plenty of them. Make cautious approach, moving from cover to cover? Snipe from a distance? Or would it be better to go “charge!” and just run your opposition into the ground? Or even use artillery and machine guns to make the battlefield your home ground? Perform a coup de grace from behind? We got you there! Road-game story – This is going to be one hell of a ride every step of the way. From the opulent streets of Saint Petersburg to the frozen woods of Siberia. From shell-shocked Moscow to the rocky shores of lake Baikal. From newly independent Ukraine to the archaic and beautiful Kazakhstan. We will take you on a journey through Russia, an emotional journey full of stories and individual human destinies. Our story aims at honouring the “road movie” (or, as we call it, the road game) and offering players a unique experience. Travel back in time - Russia in its turbulent years of revolution and civil war will rise right in front of your eyes. We are proud of our cooperation with historians and military associations. We have put a lot of effort into “getting it just right”, having period-accurate weapons, clothes, and even mannerisms. You will be submerged in Russian culture and get a vivid picture of life as it was. We want to bring you immersion that has never been seen before. Side quests - There are so many things to discover! So many situations and sensations. Various political views and “truths”. Unable to pack it all into our main storyline, we wanted to give players more opportunities - opportunities to explore the various locations, to explore the society, and to experience different human stories. We played World of Warcraft, like many of you, so we have had our fill of the “get me 10 dead wolves pelts” type of quest. We want to bring you something more alive. Our side quests will have varied outcomes depending on your choices. Characters in your company will be affected by your decisions and will get various special abilities based on your actions. But it’s not only your characters that will be affected. Think about all the people you can save, or let die. The choice is all yours! Special abilities - Throughout your journey you will meet all sorts of characters, and some of them will join you. No two are alike (except for those weird twins from Yekaterinburg!), and each will bring something special to your party. In addition to having their own personalities, they will also play differently. Players will be able to create combinations of those abilities to solve even the most perilous situations. Alternatively, you can also use them to perform the perfect ambush. Sit back and read - Let’s be absolutely frank here: one of our designers plays every Assassin’s Creed game as a guided history tour. And you know what? Why not! We want to incorporate into the game an encyclopaedia that you can access from your inventory, your journal, or the main menu. We want to offer everyone a comprehensive overview of the events of 1917 and beyond. Let’s get in touch with our past; see the good things, face the vile ones, take a minute to ponder. Less than a 100 years have passed since - it’s not really that long ago. Legion 1917 will transport you back in time. The year is 1917. Russia. The war has been raging for three long years now and the country is devastated. Industrial production has plummeted and many people are struggling to survive. At the same time, many others passionately strive to transform the world into something better. “The speculators took advantage of the universal disorganisation to pile up fortunes, and to spend them in fantastic revelry or the corruption of Government officials. Foodstuffs and fuel were hoarded, or secretly sent out of the country to Sweden. In the first four months of the Revolution, for example, the reserve food-supplies were almost openly looted from the great Municipal warehouses of Petrograd, until the two-years’ provision of grain had fallen to less than enough to feed the city for one month....”, writes John Reed in his book Ten days that shook the world. Whatever we may think about his political views, his description is pretty accurate when it comes to simply looking at the situation in Russia.Players will be able to explore the world in real time when out of combat. You can look for vendors, talk to people, and uncover side quests. Or even search for collectables and just enjoy the visit. Our game is not a sandbox. It’s a railroad with many turns. From time to time you arrive at a station where you can do pretty much whatever you want. During summer, we would like to release a closed beta version of our game. This will allow all the backers at tier HERO FROM ZBOROV and higher to get a taste of our work. There will be a few starting missions to enjoy, and some side quests to investigate. Our game runs on Unreal Engine 4, which offers us a great base for development. We are working in a 3D environment into which we implement our 2D handmade animations. We are confident this combination will produce some stunning imagery and create a great atmosphere to delve into. Unreal Engine’s blueprint technology gives each member of our team a chance to be part of the creation process. Our level designers and artists are able to put their hands straight on the pulse of development in a quick and easy fashion. Check out our Youtube Channel where we upload our making of videos and more. It is always tricky to create the right plan of approach to videogame localisation. Our game is going to give you a lot of text through the encyclopaedia, the journals, and dialogue. We will have texts in Czech, English, and Russian. We will try to add more languages (French, German etc.) as we move along. When it comes to languages, the other issue is voice acting. Due to the depth of the conversations in the game we are designing, voice acting will have a supporting role in creating outstanding atmosphere and unique immersion for the player. We want to have our voices in languages appropriate for the characters. In other words, Russians will speak Russian, Germans will speak German and Czechoslovaks will speak their respective languages (including accents). “Whatever happened to English?” you might be asking now. We discussed this issue at length and decided to avoid English voice acting. There are two reasons for this: a) Casting and recording high-quality English voice acting is very complicated and expensive for a Central European game studio, and we would like to invest our time and money into something better than low-quality voice acting. b) The second reason is more “artistic”. We believe a lot of people are tired of hearing English with a Russian accent. It might be relevant in movies, but in our case it is not that essential. We are creating a game about Eastern Europe and Russia, and almost all the characters hail from that part of the world. It makes sense to provide our players with an experience that reflects that, and original languages play a very important role in this. CREDITS: Tomislav Cecka - writer, creative director David Wagner - design Milan Mancel - programming Mark Sidlovsky - lead artist Silvester Bucek - design/level design Please stop by on our FACEBOOK PAGE! Больше информации вы найдёте в нашей группе на сайте Вконтакте. There are three main reasons why we are here and why we made you watch our weird faces in the video above. :) DEPTH + SCOPE -While the core of our game mechanic is coming to life, we want to put more content in it. We are talking about the main quests, side quests, and various outcomes that arise from your decisions; additional game mechanics and tweaks; production values such as music, characters, animations and levels. All this needs funding, so our team can focus solely on the game instead of looking for part-time jobs and second careers. Without this funding we would only be able to release a limited part of our vision, or work on the project for years to come in our spare time, which seldom results in a great game. COMMUNITY -We are a small independent studio of gamers. All of us have, at some point in their lives, discussed various games on forums, comment sections, and in bars over a beer. Kickstarter offers us a great opportunity to hear your opinion on our project, as well as your feedback and ideas on how to do things better. We want to develop our ideas together with the people who are interested in the final product, rather than those merely concerned with cash flow in Q3 in 20XX or whatever. We can't wait to hear your thoughts and feedback, and we want to provide you with a unique experience in your gaming career. Cut out the middleman. INTEREST - There is a chance that we are completely wrong and that nobody is actually interested in a tactical, turn-based strategy about the Bolsheviks, the White Army, and the long Siberian nights, in which temperature drops below -35 degrees Celsius. We hope not, but Kickstarter is a great way of finding out how interesting our idea and its execution really is.This may well be the most important behind-the-scenes video we’ve made to date. Not because it’s fancy or sexy, but because it covers arguably the most essential information on a set of topics that every photo and video person should understand: workflow, storage and backup of your precious images. This video covers all the ins and outs, the theory and the details of our complete photo and video workflow from capture to archive and everything in between. So whether you’re a seasoned pro, an aspiring amateur, or just starting out in photography or video we’ve worked hard to make this worth your time. While there is no “right” digital workflow, ours has been shaped in the professional environment over the past 10 years. More importantly the techniques we use, the gear, the methodology, everything discussed herein been time tested and entirely scalable depending on budget, experience and where you’re at personally in photography and video, wheter you’ve got millions of images or just hundreds. Ultimately, this is a template, a summary of our experience piled into one video and one blog post. Photography, video, and filmmaking are my passions, but they’re also my livelihood, so–as you’d imagine–I take workflow, storage and backup solutions very seriously. There are, of course, a number of ways to do this stuff, but several key concepts remain consistent no matter what your level of experience. In recent years, workflow, storage and backup has probably been the most requested topic I’ve been asked to cover…and rightly so. It’s important. While I generally don’t actively ask, I’m going with a different approach on this one. Since I’m hoping to re-ignite the dialogue on this entire subject, I would love for you to embed, share, retweet, re-post or share this with your friends. Arguably these principles–especially the parts on storage and backup of data, apply to everyone, not just us photogs. It’s my goal that this becomes a living reference, a launchpad for further discussions on this sorta nerdy–but important–topic. I fully expect there to be questions, counterpoints, and alternative views. It’s all welcome. The comments section of this post will be another place for great information and discussion. In addition to the video above, there’s a HUGE RESOURCE of written workflow and backup after the jump. You’ll find additional images, a downloadable pdf, even B&H links to all our workflow gear after the jump, so please dig in… WORKFLOW. Here’s ours: Here is a downloadable pdf of the above image for your later perusal. Enjoy. STORAGE AND BACKUP theory. Some general theory behind backing up your work. 1. Make your work ORGANIZED. You should be able to easily navigate, save, and locate files an organized folder structure. For starters, I recommend what’s commonly called reverse-date naming, combined with some convenient, recognizable text. For example, if I shot images for an Apple campaign today, June 22, 2010, on my #1 Nikon D3s camera, I would rename the images using the convention 20100622_Apple_1_[camera file name] or similar and put them in a folder referencing that info as such. We use Aperture to rename our stuff, but there are lots of software options that do this for you. The important takeaway from this point is whatever you do, make it organized. That goes for files, folders and overall folder structure. Be sure to AVOID folder names like NEW PICTURES, or YESTERDAY’S PARTY. 2. Choose the right STORAGE MEDIUM. Use portable, external hard drives and–perhaps even RAIDed storage–at your home, office or studio to store your work. I do not use DVDs or CDs. There is all sorts of data that says use this or that or gold plated whatevers. I find that research incomplete and flawed. We use hard drives. And LOTS of them. We love G-Tech. They make great, affordable drives in a range of sizes, from 256G to full enterprise quality RAIDs. Note that we chose G-Tech from a variety of possible partners because of their high quality product and company commitment to the pro photo and video space. We now work with G-Tech helping test their gear and ideas, so consider that within this context, but be aware that this comes after having used nearly every manufacturer’s product at some point in the past. G-Tech is our choice, but you can feel reasonably comfortable using most any name brand hard drive. As a general rule, if you can afford it, purchase more storage than you think you’ll need. Also note that, relatively speaking, you’re purchasing according to economies of scale. Thus, a 200GB hard drive may cost $100, or $0.50/GB; whereas 500GB hard drive may cost $150, or $0.30/GB. 3. Keep a CLEAN COPY OF THE ORIGINAL DATA. Before uploading your images into some proprietary viewing software I recommend copying the original data to a sacred place, in a sound file structure, where it’s not altered. I strongly recommend this is a separate drive from your computer’s hard drive. Upload or copy images onto your computer’s hard drive or into your preferred viewing or editing software for manipulation or reference ONLY AFTER you have a clean copy saved (and never altered) somewhere safe. 4. Make it REDUNDANT. In order for your backup protocol to be effective, it’s absolutely crucial that your files be in at least two different locations as soon after creating the images as possible. Creating two copies of the original data is the most important step in backing up data. However unlikely, hard drives and memory cards do sometimes FAIL. Don’t subject yourself to having only one copy of your precious photos or videos. It’s not worth it. 5. Keep ‘em SEPARATE. Remember why you keep originals of your will in the bank’s safe-deposit box and copies at home? This is a similar concept. Now that you’ve got two separate copies, on separate drive, with the exact same data on them, do your best to keep them separated. Try keeping one at home and one at the office. Or what at your house and one at your moms. This is the most far-reaching component of the backup protocol and protects you from the more extreme events like theft or fire. Statistically, it’s unlikely that this will happen, however it’s the best way to truly protect yourself from catastrophic loss. 6. Use DILIGENCE. A backup strategy is only effective if you can maintain it. Even if you’re not a pro photographer, keeping extra copies of your files according to a well organized, established protocol will help keep your precious files safe for the long haul. SOME STORAGE AND BACKUP SPECIFICS: ON SITE PORTION OF THE SOLUTION: Our studio runs a network of many computers linked together at a hub which speaks directly to a central file serving computer. This “server” can be any computer really, in our case it’s 2 Apple X Serves. The server’s job is to retrieve files for the rest of the computers on the network. This server’s external hard drive is the focus of this post. In your case, this might be just a single drive, or a small RAID solution you can buy from most electronic stores. In our case, we upload all our data onto G-Speed FC-XL Raids by G-Tech. This is a giant hard drive (64TB) that has written data seamlessly over a number of different drives in an array. This is fancy terminology that basically means that the drives all sync together to act like one drive, but in reality they’re separate drives arranged in such a way that if one drive fails, the server can identify it and, upon replacing the defunct drive, re-create data that was on the dead drive. It circumvents the horror of all your data living on a single bulk hard drive and failing. By spreading the data over several drives, you’re minimizing your risks. If one drive fails, you’re covered; and theoretically, multiple separate drives are far less likely to die at the same time. Redundancy is the key. Whether you’ve got an enterprise quality solution, or even just a two hard drives daisy-chained together, make it redundant… OFF SITE PORTION OF THE SOLUTION: Now, the RAID takes care of any on-site single drive failures. You’re backed up at the studio. But what about a fire? What if the entire building gets crushed in an earthquake, RAID and all? If you take your photos really seriously–professionally or as an advanced amateur, you should have at least one copy of your data at a secure location off site. In our case, we use raided G-Speed 8TB drives for all data. We do NOT recommend DVD’s or CD’s. They are more volatile than hard disks. The data for all jobs gets put directly onto these G-Speeds and gets archived off-site. Thus, we’re backed up in case of drive failure AND in case of a dramatic catastrophe. Generally speaking, we’re betting, as all backup systems do, that our redundancy measures will out perform even the most disastrous situations that occur. OTHER DATA? Note: The above is our solution for the RAW photo data that is created in intense bursts of large piles of data (shoots), not usually a small daily trickle. All our images live in their original, unaltered state on the RAIDs and off site. But what about client work, adjusted image drafts, delivered images, post production in progress, invoices, production docs, etc, and all the other data that gets changed or updated on a day to day, “trickle” basis? We call this our LIVE (rhymes with hive) WORK and it’s handled in a slightly different manner. It still lives (in a separate partition) on our RAID, and thus had built-in, on-site redundancy, but to remedy the off-site portion of the equation we use Apple’s Time Machine software to write a copy of this portion of our data onto two hardrives that are in rotation, while one is on-site backing up the data every night, the other is offsite, secure. Then, every 7 days, we swap out the drives. What this accomplishes is important and based on the same basic principle of redundancy that we use for storing our raw photo data. If the studio gets firebombed, then we still have all our raw, untouched data offsite and also all our LIVE work offsite…the most we’d be out in such a catastrophe is 7 days worth of pixel pushing. Also, we backup each and every workstation in our studio with its own, separate hard drive using Apple’s Time Machine. It writes a backup of your computer every hour for 24 hours and every day until the drive is full. As a rule of thumb, the size of the Time Machine drive should be twice the size of your computer’s hard drive. These backups are important if you have a computer hard drive failure OR if you errantly delete a file. Time Machine has a nifty interface where you can go back into various earlier ‘snap shots’ of your harddrive and find that file you accidentally deleted. Don’t rely on this as a strategy for saving data, but in a pinch this can be a life saver. Lastly…THE GEAR LIST We know you love it, so here ya go: Thanks very much for staying with me for this whole thing. Hope you find this to be a great resource. If so, please share it with your friends. Also, please feel free to subscribe to my blog, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube channels if you like anything you’ve read here. Feedback and dialogue is always welcome.Privacy advocacy group Digital Rights Ireland has filed a legal challenge to an EU-US commercial data transfer pact underpinning billions of dollars of trade in digital services just two months after it came into force, sources said. The EU-US Privacy Shield was agreed earlier this year after the European Union’s highest court struck down the previous such framework for transferring Europeans’ private data to the United States on concerns about intrusive US surveillance. The framework gives businesses moving personal data across the Atlantic – from human resources information to people’s browsing histories to hotel bookings – an easy way to do so without falling foul of tough EU data transferral rules. As was widely expected, Digital Rights Ireland has challenged the adoption of the Privacy Shield by the EU executive – which negotiated the pact with Washington – in front of the second-highest EU court, arguing it does not contain adequate privacy protections, several people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. The case has been published on the website of the Luxembourg-based General Court – the lower court of the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) – but says only it is an “action for annulment”. The case number is T-670/16. Digital Rights Ireland declined to comment. Ruling It will be a year or more before the court rules on the case and it could still be declared inadmissible if the court finds the Privacy Shield is not of direct concern to Digital Rights Ireland, two of the people said. Individuals or companies may challenge EU acts before the EU courts if they are directly concerned within two months of the act coming into force. “We are aware of the application (for annulment),” a spokesman for the European Commission said. “We don’t comment on ongoing court cases. As we have said from the beginning, the Commission is convinced that the Privacy Shield will live up to the requirements set out by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) which has been the basis for the negotiations.” Revelations three years ago from former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden of mass US surveillance practices caused political outrage in Europe and have cast cross-border data transfers in a pall of uncertainty. The Privacy Shield seeks to strengthen the protection of Europeans whose data is moved to US servers by giving EU citizens greater means to seek redress in case of disputes, including through a new privacy ombudsman within the State Department who will deal with complaints from EU citizens about US spying. Companies had to rely on other more cumbersome legal mechanisms in the wake of the ECJ ruling invalidating Safe Harbour, the framework that for 15 years was used by more than 4,000 companies for transatlantic data transfers. More than 500 companies have signed up to the Privacy Shield so far, including Google, Facebook and Microsoft. ReutersTeaching staff at British universities, colleges and schools are being encouraged to consider Muslim students who display an interest in Palestinian issues as vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism, leaked training documents have revealed. The advice is contained in e-learning presentations being offered commercially to schools and higher education institutions to help them train their staff to fulfil their obligations under the government’s Prevent counter-extremism strategy to monitor students for radicalisation. The presentations, which have been produced by educational consultancy firm Marshall E-Learning, list Palestine alongside Syria and the growth of the Islamic State (IS) group as issues that need “careful monitoring by those involved in safeguarding”. In a section entitled “Extremism FAQs,” in response to the question “Isn’t it all just about Muslims?” the presentation states that “Islam has become a focus for acts of terrorism both in the UK and across the world”. It says that the vast majority of UK Muslims are opposed to extremism and that “Muslims should never be treated as a ‘suspect community’,” but adds: “Nevertheless, as recent stories involving vulnerable pupils have shown, issues around Palestine, Syria and the growth of ISIL/ISIS require careful monitoring.” The training presentations are not part of the government's official Prevent training material for public sector workers, commonly known as WRAP (Workshops to raise awareness of Prevent), which more than 350,000 public sector workers have undertaken in the past five years, according to the Home Office. But Marshall states on its website that its Prevent training courses, which are also marketed at prisons, healthcare providers and local authorities, “provide an excellent introduction or refresher for dealing with extremism and radicalisation”. Since the introduction of a new Counter-Terrorism and Security Act last year, teachers and other public sector workers have had a legal duty to have "due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism". The e-learning presentations and official WRAP training material were among a batch of documents published online on Wednesday by the civil liberties campaign group Cage, which said it was making them public in the interests of transparency amid concerns about the extension of Prevent into schools and other public sector settings and complaints in Muslim communities that the strategy is discriminatory. Cage said that freedom of information requests concerning Prevent training material had been repeatedly blocked by the Home Office. It said one request was rejected on the grounds it could "increase the risk from terrorism" by "providing useful information to extremists who wish to radicalise others about how public sector workers are trained to spot the signs of vulnerability”. 'Feeding alienation' “Cage has decided to make this information available to the public as a necessary step to allow academics, researchers, campaigners, journalists and students to research and analyse Prevent training,” said Ibrahim Mohamoud, Cage’s spokesman. “The assumption that public sector workers can be trained in a few hours on a complex issue such as understanding the pathways to politically motivated violence is naive and dangerous. "Prevent only adds to the alienation being fed by anti-Muslim attacks by politicians and right-wing commentators.” Mohamoud told Middle East Eye that highlighting Palestine as an issue potentially linked to extremism risked "problematising" an issue of concern to Muslim communities in the UK and could lead to inappropriate referrals to Channel, the government's police-led counter-radicalisation programme for young people. "Palestine and the politics that surround the conflict in the region is very close to large portions of Muslim communities in the UK. With the presentation specifically singling it out for mention, the training problematises what would usually be considered positive social justice concern," he said. Last week, David Anderson, the UK's independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, called for an independent inquiry into Prevent, citing concerns that aspects of the programme were ineffective and being applied in an “insensitive or discriminatory manner”. The UK parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights also announced an inquiry into the government’s counter-extremism strategy and its compliance with European human rights law. Palestine-related activism has been flagged up in other training material produced for teachers and public sector workers as a possible indicator of radicalisation. A police leaflet produced for schools in 2014 to help teachers make judgments about referrals to Channel included a case study in which a student's discussion of "Palestine and other international conflicts" was deemed salient information. 'Terrorist-like views' Last year, a teenaged boy revealed he had been questioned by police and accused of holding “terrorist-like views” after being referred to Channel by teachers after distributing leaflets for Friends of al-Aqsa, a Palestinian rights organisation, during Israel’s 2014 war in Gaza. Teachers also reported being told by police that they should “keep an eye” on students who attended demonstrations against Israeli bombing in Gaza. “They are conflating a political issue, which requires a political solution, with extremism and stifling that debate actually breeds extremism,” Ismail Patel, chairman of Friends of al-Aqsa, told MEE. “We need to appreciate that if we stifle debate it means that people will feel that their rights are being eroded and they have no other means to express their grievances.” Michael Howard, a spokesman for Marshall, told MEE that the company had taken care to ensure that its Prevent training courses were "developed in a very objective and non-political way". "The aim was to fulfil a legislative remit for educational establishments within the UK. We took a lot of advice from interested parties and from a legal perspective to ensure that it is not an anti-Muslim course,” he said. Marshall said the course did not single out Palestine as an issue but mentioned it along with other "issue sets" related to extremism, such as the activities of the Animal Liberation Front and far-right groups. "We don’t specifically target Palestine as an issue area. We talk about all extremism that could lead to radicalisation," he said. A Home Office spokesperson told MEE that there were a range of commercial suppliers of counter-radicalisation training and said that Marshall's materials were separate to the government's. He also said there was no mention of Palestine in official WRAP training material and stressed that the government did not consider support or sympathy for the Palestinian cause to be an indicator of vulnerability to radicalisation.Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti weren’t famous during most of their lives. They were, respectively, a shoemaker and a fish peddler. Their deaths, however, earned a front-page headline in the New York Times and TIME noted that fear of the reaction to the news led officials to close Boston Common to public speakers for the first time ever. And, 90 years after those Aug. 23, 1927, executions, the story of Sacco and Vanzetti is still taught in American classrooms. On May 5, 1920, the two were arrested in connection with the murders of two other men, a shoe-factory paymaster and the man who had been escorting him while he transported about $15,700 in pay down the main street in South Braintree, Mass. A little more than a year later, a jury convicted Sacco and Vanzetti of robbery and murder — even though the evidence against the two was mostly circumstantial, according to Moshik Temkin, a professor of History and Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and author of The Sacco-Vanzetti Affair: America on Trial. There was plenty of reason to doubt that Sacco and Vanzetti had actually committed the crimes. The money was never recovered and neither suspect had a criminal record. Plus, another known criminal confessed to the crime. But, despite seven appeals, their request for new trial was rejected in October of 1926, and the two were sentenced to death in April of 1927. Temkin notes that it’s impossible to say for sure a century later, but that the idea that they were behind the murders just doesn’t line up. What is for sure, however, is that they were Italian immigrants and anarchists, two groups that were subject to extreme suspicion at the time. The Brief Newsletter Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now. View Sample Sign Up Now “Part of their misfortune is that they were the wrong people in the wrong place at the wrong time,” he says. They were among the many immigrants living in poverty who, fed up by what they saw as the exploitation of workers in the capitalist system in the U.S., were drawn to meetings of anarchists who thought that the solution was to overthrow the government and start from scratch. In the 1920s, the U.S. government had been on the hunt for these people already; the judge to whom they appealed openly hated anarchists. Meanwhile, while Sacco and Vanzetti were in prison, quotas restricting Italian immigration quotas became law in 1924, partly because many Southern and Eastern Europeans weren’t considered white enough. Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter But, if the justice system had started out by making an example of Sacco and Vanzetti, it ended up making martyrs of them. Protests took place worldwide—from Latin America to Morocco to China, and especially in western Europe, which had just ceded its dominance on the world stage to the U.S. after World War I. “There’s a resentment that comes with that,” Temkin says, “making Europeans a lot more sensitive to what happens inside the U.S.” As Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Edna St. Vincent Millay framed the injustice, “[the] men were castaways upon our shore, and we, an ignorant savage tribe, have put them to death because their speech and their manners were different from our own, and because to the untutored mind that which is strange is in its infancy ludicrous, but in its prime evil, dangerous, and to be done away with.’’ During their six years on death row, their letters from prison further endeared the two to the general public and persuaded many people of their innocence. They came to be seen as philosophers, not criminals, as Temkin puts it. One example from Sacco, a father of two who enjoyed gardening in his spare time, shows his attempt to remain optimistic, and he notes that “between these turbulent clouds, a luminous path run always toward the truth.” Another letter by Vanzetti, however, shows how hopeless he felt: O the blessing green of the wilderness and of the open land — O the blue vastness of the oceans — the fragrances of the flowers and the sweetness of the fruits…Yes, Yes, all this is real actuality but not to us, not to us chained. The execution radicalized many young intellectuals, and a noteworthy number of those who lived in Massachusetts decided to move to New York in protest, which Temkin argues shifted the cultural balance of the two areas. On the legal front, the procedure of appeals changed so that defendants don’t have to keep going before the same judge. The two were subsequently immortalized in pop culture, from Woody Guthrie’s song “Vanzetti’s Letter” to an episode of The Sopranos. In the end, in many ways, despite their deaths, what happened was just what Vanzetti himself had predicted. In May 1927, after the judge rejected the duo’s last appeal, he was quoted in the New York World in what would become his most famous words: If it had not been for these thing[s], I might have live[d] out my life, talking at street corners to scorning men. I might have die[d], unmarked, unknown, a failure. Now we are not a failure. This is our career and our triumph. Never in our full life can we hope to do such work for tolerance, for justice, for man’s understanding of man as we now do by dying. Our words, our lives, our pains — nothing! The taking of our lives — lives of a good shoemaker and a poor fish peddler — all! That last moment belongs to us — that agony is our triumph. Write to Olivia B. Waxman at [email protected] full fan-made conversion mod for X-wing: The Miniatures Game: I’ve been tinkering with a few ideas the last few days, after watching too many old war films, strongly inspired from the feeling of playing the classic game XvT, and wondering how a custom built dogfight scenario focused on interceptors and x-wings might look that makes interceptors really really fast, and x-wings behave like they do in the films and game. I built a conversion mod for x-wing, along with a vassal continuation file for those who might like to try it. It doesn’t require any special downloads other than the manual for a read through. It should be straightforward to pick up, as most of the core mechanics from X-wing are intact, but some key points are very different: there are no k-turns, you have double dials for each ship for complex maneuvers in the activation phase, stress is a key mechanic linked with last minute changes to maneuvers or close fly-bys of opponents. Distances for firing are much longer, and the map is bigger, and the ships are faster, but don’t expect to hit much from long range, unless you line up great flanking shots right in front of your ship, where the bonuses for accurate fire are very high. Generics only, but they move very fast compared to XWTMG. It’s a pretty wild game, mostly due to the massive importance of flanking your opponent, amongst the other major differences between it and X-wing. It’s really not intended as any kind of ‘fix, but just a fun game style to try out. Give it a go if you think it sounds cool, and please let me know what you think! CURRENT VERSION: v2.1 Date: Aug. 29 2017 Last changelog: pg. 8 – Ion effects have been developed further, and split from other effects in combat for clarity. Like as in the X-wing video game, ion effects do not deal tokens if the opposing ship has shields. correspondingly, the cost of each ion weapon for each ship has been dropped. pg.9 – Added a whole new starfighters section, expanding from two ships to eight ships, filling (most) of the slots from the X-wing and TIE fighter games. Notably, I’ve inserted two opposing mechanics, vectored thrusters (for even more agile interceptors and TIE advanced) and the very well-known power distribution system from the game. Although there isn’t a hard drain on the speed of the pilot to use these abilities, the stress forces greens, and currently seems like a suitable way to force the ship to slow down without having some kind of retroactive condition. This one may need work, but the idea is to give flavour cards that differentiate these ships from each other in play style a bit, in a way that title cards do in X-wing, or EPTs. Notably, I’ve inserted two opposing mechanics, vectored thrusters (for even more agile interceptors and TIE advanced) and the very well-known power distribution system from the game. Although there isn’t a hard drain on the speed of the pilot to use these abilities, the stress forces greens, and currently seems like a suitable way to force the ship to slow down without having some kind of retroactive condition. This one may need work, but the idea is to give flavour cards that differentiate these ships from each other in play style a bit, in a way that title cards do in X-wing, or EPTs. pg
, giovani e non solo, scendono dai mezzi, entrano nel vecchio palazzo e salgono al primo piano, dove una musica da discoteca e delle luci stroboscopiche accolgono chi arriva. Appena presa familiarità con il livello del volume e ecco che subito si capisce di essere arrivati in una delle numerose feste che si svolgono in clandestinità, di notte, in Pakistan. Si tratta di un party illegale e fuori dall’ordinario: il compleanno di Lady Roma, una transgender pakistana. x Un’apparente tolleranza È proprio da questa festa che inizia il viaggio nel mondo LGBT Pakistano. Partendo da quello che è un momento di apparente allegria, in realtà si viene a scoprire un mondo complesso, contraddittorio e drammatico. Se, formalmente, in Pakistan i transessuali godono di maggiori diritti rispetto a molti altri Paesi al mondo, nei fatti, però, sono vittime di stigmatizzazioni, pregiudizi e discriminazione. La Corte Suprema di Islamabad ha riconosciuto infatti il ”terzo genere” nel 2009 e poco tempo prima era stato garantito il diritto di voto ai membri della comunità LGBT. Ciò, in apparenza, fa pensare che esista una tolleranza e un’integrazione dei transessuali ma, in realtà, la situazione è molto più complicata e occorre andare a ritroso nei secoli per comprendere l’ attuale contesto sociale in cui vivono i lady boy nel Paese asiatico. Nel 1500-1600 d.C. gli Hijra o Khawaja Sira, termine con cui vengono definiti i transessuali in Pakistan e in India, alla corte degli imperatori Moghul godevano di enorme considerazione e ricoprivano alcune delle cariche più importanti in ambito amministrativo, oltreché militare. La situazione però è cambiata radicalmente durante il colonialismo britannico. Gli inglesi hanno accusato i transgender di violare la decenza pubblica, hanno introdotto il reato di omosessualità all’interno del codice penale del 1860 e la stessa visione omofoba è stata poi ereditata dal dittatore Muhammad Zia nel 1978. E oggi, quindi, sebbene la legge sia cambiata, in realtà a livello sociale il mondo transgender è vittima ancora di enormi stigmatizzazioni; infatti i Khawaja Sira sono nel mirino dei gruppi conservatori e in quello degli estremisti islamici e, per vivere, la stragrande maggioranza di loro mendica, si prostituisce o danza in occasioni dei battesimi, delle circoncisioni o di altre feste, poiché sono rinomati per le loro doti coreografiche e perché godono della fama di essere dei portatori di buona sorte. Sapevi che in Pakistan i transessuali portano fortuna? Scrivici quello che pensi nei commenti qui sotto La festeggiata Lady Roma è seduta su un trono, mentre i fotografi consumano i flash nell’immortalarla. È vestita in modo appariscente e come lei altre decine di colleghe. All’interno della sala continuano ad arrivare anche gli spettatori, giovani e non solo, che stanno seduti sulle poltrone in attesa di vedere le danzatrici esibirsi. E, non appena viene dato il via ai festeggiamenti, le hijra iniziano a dimenarsi sulla pista, ad ancheggiare, a cercare di essere sensuali e attirare a sé i presenti che le circondano e lanciano loro banconote mentre danzano. ”La festeggiata è una mia allieva e sono molto contenta di questo evento, perché tutte le ragazze stanno ballando molto bene e c’è molta gente che è venuta qua per divertirsi con loro senza mancare di rispetto”. A parlare è Gehta Babi, una guru, il capo di una comunità di trans che insegna ai propri adepti a danzare, a comportarsi in modo femminile, che trova opportunità di lavoro e garantisce protezione. “In Moschea solo con abiti da uomo” Ma per comprendere meglio il mondo della comunità dei transgender pakistani, dalla festa di Lady Roma ci dirigiamo a bussare alla porta della comunità del guru Diba Lal, nella città di Pattoki. In una stanza tre hijra stanno suonando e altri muovendosi a ritmo di musica, infrangendo quello che è uno dei dettami della legge islamica, che vieta alle donne di danzare in presenza di uomini; poi, durante la cena, Diba Lal racconta: ”Io qui vivo come una madre con i suoi figli. Oggi sono un guru, ma per anni anche io sono stata un’allieva. A 16 anni vivevo insieme a dei circensi e mi esibivo durante gli spettacoli, in seguito ho conosciuto il mio attuale compagno, entrambi siamo venuti a vivere in questa comune e oggi io porto avanti il lavoro che hanno iniziato le altre maestre prima di me”. E poi, quella che le altre hijra chiamano mum (mamma), prosegue: ”Noi viviamo insieme per essere anche più protette e aiutarci. I trans sono molto discriminati in Pakistan. In Moschea possiamo andare solo se indossiamo abiti maschili e non dobbiamo essere truccate; ci sono molti fanatici che vogliono vederci morte e, a proposito: guarda!”. Diba Lal estrae il cellulare e mostra i video di una conoscente che, aggredita in casa, è stata poi uccisa. Le immagini sono commentate da un silenzio assordante e la ferocia delle istantanee che passano in rassegna sullo schermo del device portano alla luce quello che è il problema con cui devono rapportarsi costantemente i transgender del Pakistan: la discriminazione, la persecuzione, l’intolleranza, le minacce, la violenza e anche la morte.In Pakistan la comunità LGBT comprende dalle 350 alle 500 mila persone. Numeri precisi non ci sono, anche se il governo Pakistano per il 2017 ha indetto un nuovo censimento e, per la prima volta nella storia, verranno conteggiati anche i transgender come terzo genere. Di nuovo ecco quindi la dicotomia di una realtà che, da una parte sembra ufficialmente molto più progressista rispetto a tanti altri contesti al mondo, ma poi nasconde enormi aspetti inquietanti. L’ong per i diritti della comunità Lgbt Per intendere nel dettaglio questa situazione occorre allora recarsi anche nella sede dell’ong Khawaja Sira Society, che si batte per i diritti di trans e omosessuali. All’interno dell’organizzazione alcuni trans ballano, altri leggono, c’è anche una piccola clinica medica dove vengono fatti test hiv gratuiti, perché una delle piaghe che affligge la comunità transgender è proprio la diffusione della malattie sessualmente trasmissibili: basti pensare che il 6.8% dei 22mila trans di Lahore sono sieropositivi; qua, a parlare, è Moon Ali, direttrice dell’Ong: ”In Pakistan, occorre dirlo, i transgender non hanno diritti. Non basta essere riconosciuti come terzo genere per avere dei diritti sociali. Quella è una formalità. Quando un’ampia fetta della popolazione per vivere non ha altre possibilità che prostituirsi o fare dell’intrattenimento alle feste, allora vuol dire che quella minoranza è discriminata. Oggi noi trans non abbiamo alternative!”. Moon Alì quindi prosegue: ”Io vado all’università, vivo con la mia famiglia, che ha accettato la mia condizione, e non mi sono mai venduta. Ma voglio che il nostro mondo cambi! È necessario che anche i transgender escano da questa realtà fatta di mercificazione e che inizino a studiare, ad ambire a lavori di prestigio e a cariche pubbliche. In molti ci odiano, gli estremisti islamici in primis: alcune di noi vengono uccise, ma dobbiamo avere coraggio, cultura di noi stesse e forza d’animo per attuare il cambiamento; solo così possiamo dire di avere dei diritti e non essere solo oggetto di sfogo sessuale”. Foto di Marco GualazziniPenguins galore (!) at typical Zodiac landing on South George en-route to Antarctica "One Photographer and a Million Penguins" - Saint Andrews, South Georgia Jan 21st: Wheels-up at Denver International Airport for a longggg flight! Jan 22nd: About 7,500 air miles and 30 hours later - shortly before landing in Ushuaia, Argentina Jan 23rd: Spending a day in Terra Del Fuego Park Jan 23rd: The Ocean Nova shortly before departure from Ushuaia, Argentina Jan 24th: Giant Antarctica Petrel as we cruised on the Scotia Sea from Ushuaia to the Falkland Islands Jan 25th: Zodiacs shuttling passengers from the Ocean Nova to West Point Island - Falklands Jan 25th: Rockhopper Penguin and Albatross Rookery on West Point Island Jan 25th: Black-browed Albatross on West Point Island Jan 25th: Gentoo Penguins scurry up the hill from a beach on Carcass Island - Falklands Jan 25th: Alek keeps his distance from a Hugenormous (!) Magellanic Penguin on Carcass Island Jan 25th: Falkland hospitality at the McGill homestead on Carcass Island Jan 26th: The Union Jack flying over Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands Jan 27th: We spot a Southern Right Whale while cruising in the Western Scotia Sea Jan 29th: Diversity of wildlife as seen during morning Zodiac Cruise around Elsehul Harbor, South Georgia Jan 29th: Penguin Party at Salisbury Plains, South George - mouseover to see "returning to ship" picture Jan 29th: Baby fur Seals checking out my camera - mouseover image to see the resulting picture! ;-) Jan 30th: Cruising into Fortuna Bay where we hiked the last part of the Shackleton Walk to Stromness Jan 30th: The Fortuna Bay fur seals also liked to check out the cameraman! Jan 30th: Our 4 mile hike wasn't quite an epic journey like Shackleton's and we also didn't lose a single person! ;-) Jan 30th: Paul "holds up" the Ocean Nova in Stromness Bay, South Georgia ;-) Feb 30th: Lots of people hung out for a while on this peaceful grassy plateau just above Stromness Harbor Jan 30th: An albino fur seal - mouseover image to see head back on straight Jan 31st: Jim hanging out with a million Penguins at Saint Andrews, South Georgia Jan 31st: Another picturesque view of Saint Andrews, South Georgia Jan 31st: Penguin Huddle - "OK, you fake left and go right, you run a buttonhook, and you go deep - BREAK!" Jan 31st: Former whaling station of Grytviken, South Georgia Feb 1st: Drygalski Fjord, South Georgia - the water is over 200 meters deep here! Feb 1st: This was a pretty active glacier with lots of calving - note the birds high-tailing it outa there! Feb 1st: Incredibly colorful icebergs float by towering glaciated South Georgia mountains Feb 1st: Macaroni Penguin at Cooper Bay - mouseover to see close-up with reflection of me taking the picture! ;-) Feb 3rd: Penguins on Iceberg near British Antarctic Survey Signy Base in the South Orkney Islands Feb 3rd: A brief stop on land at the halfway point between South Georgia and Antarctica Feb 4th: Sunset at 9:19PM on the Scotia Sea - mouseover image to see 3 minutes later Feb 5th: approaching Antarctica - taken at 3:32AM which was 63 minutes before a glorious sunrise Feb 5th: An Antarctic bird flies by just before sunrise - mouseover image for close-up Feb 5th: A few minutes after sunrise as others enjoy the experience Feb 5th: Beautiful morning for our first Antarctica landing at Brown Bluff Feb 5th: Invasion of the Adelie Penguins!!! (mouseover image to see 'em move) Feb 5th: The Adelie's were actually very friendly - mouseover to see Carol with her another of her "assistants" Feb 5th: Gentoo Penguins also "posed" for close-in photos! Feb 5th: Here's a close-up of his feet - mouseover image to see if he needs a manicure! ;-) Feb 6th: The Clipper Adventurer (and a Leopard Seal) passes by in the Errera Channel This ship ended up taking the Ocean Nova's passengers 12 days later Feb 6th: We passed the Europa, a smaller and more rustic ship later on in the channel Feb 6th: A Skua about to take flight - mouseover image to see me taking the picture Feb 6th: Gentoo Penguins making their way down the poop stained snow pathways - mouseover to see 'em in action Feb 6th: We found a Snowman in Antarctica - mouseover image for less serious picture Feb 6th: View from the Zodiac as we enter Neko Harbor, Antarctica Feb 6th: View from ashore looking back at the Ocean Nova Feb 6th: It was fascinating to watch the bonding between the parents and chicks A darn cute pair of Gentoo Penguin chicks - mouseover image to see the family in action Feb 6th: Gentoo Penguins go for a swim - mouseover to see next underwater stroke Feb 6th: We saw (and heard) several spectacular glacier calvings - mouseover image to see the whole arch fall! Feb 6th: Captain Alexey keeps a close eye on the Orlova in the Lemaire Channel that evening Feb 6th: Ocean Nova Cabin #309 - my "home" for almost three weeks Feb 7th: Alek at Port Charcot - our last stop in Antarctica Feb 7th: Glen got the shot of Paul, James, and Kyle doing the "Polar Plunge" in sub-zero salt water! Video Feb 7th: The last Antarctic wildlife as photographed from the Zodiac on the way back to the ship Feb 7th: The last passenger off the last Zodiac signs in - me! Feb 7th: One of several piles of Wellington Boots - the wooden "boot remover" (back left) worked great Feb 7th: Looking back at the Zodiac gangway as everything is stowed away Feb 7th: This was posted nearby... glad we never needed it... but the next Ocean Nova trip did! ;-) Feb 7th: Last view of Antarctica - mouseover image for view without the ship in it Feb 8th: Alek reviewing pictures despite not feeling too well - more due to a cold than the rough seas Feb 9th: Kyle, James, and Paul enjoy the last evening onboard the ship Feb 9th: I gave the slide show the last night onboard the Ocean Nova - mouseover image for other picture We docked the morning of Feb 10th, 2009 - it felt good to be back on land after 19 days at sea! The Ocean Nova would depart that evening with a new Captain and another group of passengers On Feb 17th, the Ocean Nova ran aground in Marguerite Bay near the Argentine research station San Martin It was eventually freed and all crew/passengers were fine - more details/pics hereSunPower plans to take a cue from Dell when it comes to selling solar. The company’s chief marketing officer, Erin Nelson, who held the same position at Dell, demonstrated a new online retail portal during the company’s annual analyst day Thursday and highlighted a new consumer marketing strategy for SunPower. SunPower, which makes solar panels and develops power projects, has been selling its equipment through its network of installers in North America. Although the company doesn’t plan to employ its own installation crew, it wants to increasingly own the relationship with consumers as it moves into the business of selling home energy management equipment and software, which includes solar electricity and batteries to store it. Advertisement The concept of creating an online retail site isn’t new, but doing it well is tough. While there’s no shortage of online ads and websites to try to sign up solar customers, the most effective ways to get homeowners to sign contracts still involves a lot referrals from family and friends plus face-to-face sales. Leading solar installers such as SolarCity and Vivint Solar rely on sending their sales people to meet homeowners or flag down potential customers by setting up booths at Home Depot or BestBuy. The need for in-person sales has been necessary because solar equipment and energy services are still pretty novel to the public, and it takes time to explain the various financing options. As consumers become more familiar with the products and services, as well as certain brands, they will be more willing to just by online. A successful online retail site will help reduce the so-called “customer acquisition” cost, which refers to the money spent on attracting consumers’ attention, delivering the sales pitch and signing contracts with them. SolarCity bought a sales and marketing firm, Paramount Solar, for $116.3 million last year because of Paramount’s expertise at using direct mail and online ads to reach consumers. In fact, direct mailing was more effective than online marketing, a Paramount executive told me then. During a call with analysts to discuss its third-quarter earnings last week, SolarCity executives said they are focusing on creating “simple and frictionless” online process to sign up customers. Interestingly, both SolarCity’s chief operating officer, Tanguy Serra, and SunPower’s Nelson pointed to Amazon and Uber as examples of companies that have created superb online experience for their customers. SunPower is leaning on Nelson to create a user-friendly retail site. The basic set-up isn’t a new idea: by entering your address and some other personal information, you’ll be shown options for solar equipment and given estimates of solar electricity production from various systems and the likely energy savings. You can also choose to buy, get a loan or sign a lease before setting up an appointment for an installer to pay you a visit. SunPower intends to collect data about each home’s major appliances and energy sources so that it could sell energy management services by operating those appliances and delivering energy savings. SunPower plans to build a good number of social engagement features into the site. Nelson talks about creating milestones to generate the excitement of counting down to the day when the panels will go up on the roof (SolarCity’s Serra also talked about this idea last week). You can share those milestones on your social network and essentially become SunPower’s brand advocate. You get $500 for each person who chooses SunPower because of you. SunPower also seems to be using behavioral science research that has been deployed by companies such as Opower to get consumers to reduce wasteful electricity consumption. SunPower’s retail site will show you how many neighbors have solar panels on their roofs because studies have shown that people take cues from friends and others around them about what to do and how to act, and then they measure how they stack up against others. “For every 10 customers in the same zip code as you, you are 8 percent more likely to buy solar,” Nelson said during her presentation. “We want to keep people super engaged and excited. We want to drive that peer effect.” The company plans to roll out the site in 2015. Part of its consumer marketing strategy will also involve recruiting more installers within its dealer network to agree to marketing plans that will essentially make those installers look a lot like they are part of SunPower.Week 12, in the books... The intense race for the playoffs is in full gear. Check out the latest situation in the postseason chase. More... The intense race for the playoffs is in full gear. Check out the latest situation in the postseason chase. ... so what does that mean for the best teams in football? Well there is some shakeup in the top 10, although the first three stand pat. The Atlanta Falcons won on the road against what appears to be a quality team in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Per the norm, they made it interesting, ultimately taking a one-point win. The San Francisco 49ers looked dominant in New Orleans, but with two losses and a tie, Jim Harbaugh's troops have too many missteps to take top billing. And then there's the Houston Texans, who, in a strange nod to Spaceballs, got a victory with the help of the Schwartz. Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz certainly won't prematurely chuck a challenge flag again. As for the bottom of the order, this tweet says it all about how fans feel about the Kansas City Chiefs: @harrison_nflis it safe to say the toronto argonauts deserve to join the power rankings now â Paul Onofrio (@impaulse76) November 27, 2012 Tell you what, though: The Oakland Raiders are doing everything possible to oust the Chiefs from the 32-hole, save starting Kyle Boller. As for the rest of the league, let the dissension commence... (Note: Arrows reflect change in standings from last week's Power Rankings.) RANK 1 10-1 TEXANS Give the Houston Texans credit. On a short week, on the road, they hung around and ended up taking a game in which they looked to be dead on multiple occasions. They even survived their own coaching, i.e., when Kubes went all Schottenheimer on America and played for a long field goal in OT. Fail. RANK 2 10-1 FALCONS Gritty road win for the Atlanta Falcons in Tampa, and a particularly gritty performance from Julio Jones, who was questionable for Sunday. Nothing questionable about six catches for 147 yards and a touchdown. This team is primed for home field a la 2010 (with a different postseason result in mind, of course). At 10-1, it would take a pretty hefty fall from grace for Atlanta to not be playing January football in the Georgia Dome. RANK 3 8-2-1 49ERS Only Jim Harbaugh would bench a quarterback with a 19-5-1 record as a starter over the last two seasons and the highest completion percentage (70.0) in 2012. Alex Smith, sit down. Enter Colin Kaepernick, who handled himself admirably in his second consecutive start and reminds this writer a lot of a good Randall Cunningham, particularly with those long strides. Of course, even Tim Rattay would've benefitted from two touchdowns turned in by the defense. Nice win. RANK 5 8-3 PATRIOTS 1 It was 35-0 in the second quarter when I decided to watch The Impossible, the story of a family that went through great lengths to reunite after the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia. Great flick. RANK 6 8-3 BRONCOS 1 The Denver Broncos survived. Late in the year, playing on the road at Arrowhead, that qualifies as a successful weekend. Just ask the 2011 Green Bay Packers. RANK 7 8-3 BEARS 1 For all of you people who dropped Michael Bush in fantasy weeks ago... me, too. In reality, the Chicago Bears are the walking wounded with health issues on both sides of the ball, starting with guard Lance Louis' season-ending knee injury. Another Lance (Briggs) is in a walking boot. Meanwhile, everyone's holding their breath on Matt Forte's ankle. Man, it feels like 2011 in Chicago. RANK 8 7-4 GIANTS 2 Exhibit A of parity in the NFL: Eli Manning and the New York Giants. This is a team that hadn't played well in weeks, while Manning had been plum awful. He'd averaged 177 yards per game in his last three outings with no touchdowns and four interceptions. So what does Manning do on Sunday night? Throw three touchdown passes and dominate the Packers' defense. Last December, New York was 6-6, in a tailspin, with almost no hope for the playoffs. What did they do then? Win the Super Bowl. The chasm between the good and bad clubs is not a chasm at all, with the difference in quality often being razor thin. Don't forget: This Packers team absolutely demolished the Texans in Week 6 and brought a five-game winning streak into Sunday night. The NFL truly is week to week, but Big Blue knows what weeks to turn it on. RANK 9 7-4 PACKERS 5 I don't make a habit of quoting Cris Collinsworth too often, but on Sunday's night broadcast, he quipped, "Every once in a while in the NFL, you have to burn the tape..." Agreed, Cris. Burn it, Mike. RANK 10 6-5 BENGALS 5 The Carson Palmer homecoming was special. Really special... for Mike Zimmer's defense, which completely dominated at home. Cincinnati's former franchise quarterback entered Week 12 averaging 303.5 passing yards per game. The Bengals held him to 146. RANK 11 6-5 SEAHAWKS 2 Tough road loss after a really long road trip to Miami for the Seattle Seahawks. Here's the most important thing I took away from this game (something that bodes well for this organization's future): fourth quarter, second down, ball at their own 2, with the Seahawks nursing a 14-7 lead. Again, the football was well within the five. How many teams turn around and hand off in that situation? Not Pete Carroll. That's trust in your rookie quarterback, and it tells you all you need to know about whether or not Russell Wilson is for real. RANK 12 6-5 BUCCANEERS 1 The Tampa Bay Buccaneers can't move up in the rankings, or make the playoffs, or be considered a contender until they take care of bidness at home against quality teams. The Falcons were there for the taking, and Connor Barth's 56-yard miss is not the reason Tampa couldn't finish the job. The secondary is the biggest culprit. And now the Bucs are 6-5, as opposed to being in prime position for a wild-card slot. RANK 13 6-5 STEELERS 1 Prior to Sunday's Steeler debacle in Cleveland, how many times had a team turned the ball over eight times in a game over the last 10 years? Zero. Even Ben Roethlisberger can't recover five lost fumbles. RANK 14 7-4 COLTS 3 Congratulations to the Indianapolis Colts, who seem to be on a crash course for an AFC wild-card berth. An issue looming for this club -- one that its fan base surely has noticed through 11 games -- is the glaring lack of takeaways. The minus-14 turnover differential is not as big an issue against the Bills and Jags of the world, but if Indy is forced to play in Denver in the opening round of the playoffs... You get the picture. Either way, who would've thought Indy would be 7-4, much less win seven games all season? RANK 17 6-5 VIKINGS 3 At 6-5, the Minnesota Vikings look OK on paper. But the reality is, with Green Bay (twice) and Chicago (again) coming up on the schedule, the playoffs are far-fetched. The back-to-back mulligan performances in Week 8 ( loss to the Bucs) and Week 9 ( loss to the Seahawks) are the real culprits. Remember that when folks start talking about faint playoff hopes in a week or so. RANK 19 4-7 LIONS 1 Terrible loss in Detroit. At 4-7, the show is over, and you could see it all over the face of Matt Stafford (who, by the way, played pretty well against arguably the best defense in the AFC). RANK 23 3-8 BROWNS 6 How about that Brownies defensive line? Cleveland limited Dallas to 21 carries for 63 yards in Week 11. On Sunday, the Steelers only gained 49 yards on 20 attempts. The Browns are forcing teams to be one-dimensional. When the opposing quarterback is Charlie Batch, the result is usually one-sided. Win. RANK 25 4-7 CARDINALS 4 Ryan Lindley wasn't the answer Sunday. Nor was Beanie Wells. No, the elixir for a team that has gone from 4-0 to 4-7 (and looked awful ugly in the process) is an offensive line that can at least play even. Instead, the Arizona Cardinals are getting whipped at the point of the attack. The running game only averaged 3.2 yards per carry versus the Rams. And even that figure was pumped up by an Andre Roberts scamper for 13 yards, the longest run of the afternoon; that's great, but he's a wide receiver. Too often this team can't pass protect. And even when it does, it makes up for it by getting blasted in the ground game. RANK 26 3-8 PANTHERS 2 Closing out a football game -- that's what the Carolina Panthers needed. Not a monster fantasy game from Cam Newton. Not 20 tackles from Defensive Rookie of the Year Luke Kuechly. Not another almost. After suffering six one-score losses this year, Carolina finally closed the door in the fourth quarter on Monday night. Kicker Graham Gano tried to make it interesting by missing an extra point to keep Philly in the game. That's a great way to make friends in the locker room in your first week with the team. RANK 27 4-7 TITANS 5 Jake Locker is back in the saddle, but it didn't translate into a win. The second-year man was outplayed by Chad Henne, of all people -- and this lopsided matchup made the difference in a five-point loss. The Tennessee Titans organization has some decisions to make on personnel, but given Locker's injuries and the weak draft class, quarterback likely won't be a focus area. Offensive coordinator already is. RANK 28 3-8 EAGLES 1 The Philadelphia Eagles were forced to start rookie tailback Bryce Brown on Monday night. Andy Reid gave the kid 19 carries, something LeSean McCoy received just once in his last six games. Makes sense. It's not like McCoy is one of the best backs in the league or anything. RANK 29 4-7 JETS 4 Mark Sanchez's slip-fail-run-into-a-lineman's-butt-and-fumble debacle has been replayed so many times that we won't mention it here. RANK 30 2-9 JAGUARS 1 After watching Jason Campbell in Week 11 -- not to mention, Charlie Batch in Cleveland on Sunday -- it was nice to see a "backup" quarterback make some big throws down the field, as opposed to dinks and dunks and bunch of none-yard outs. Chad Henne has averaged over 10 yards per attempt for two straight weeks -- that's a first down every time the ball leaves his hand. How does it feel to see a real live pro offense, Jags fans? Pretty cool, huh? RANK 31 3-8 RAIDERS 1 Anyone have any ideas on what to write here? Looking for anything positive. The Oakland Raiders have lost 55-20, 38-17 and 34-10 in successive weeks. Carson Palmer can't get anything going early in games, when the contest is at least still in doubt, while the defense has been the worst in pro football. Oakland came into Week 12 allowing 32.2 points per game. This just in: That average didn't improve Sunday. Elliot Harrison is an analyst on NFL Network's NFL Fantasy Live show, weekdays at 1 p.m. ET and Sundays at 11:30 a.m. ET. Follow him on Twitter @Harrison_NFL.STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- FDNY units responded to a car fire early Wednesday morning in Great Kills. The unoccupied car caught fire in front of 148 Howton Ave., close to the intersection of Greaves Avenue and remained ablaze for approximately 45 minutes. There were no injuries in the blaze, which was reported at 12:43 a.m., according to an FDNY spokesman. The fire was cleared up by 1:24 a.m., the spokesman said. "My girlfriend and I heard a bang at about 12:30 a.m. last night. We thought it was a door slamming and got nervous, but then she said she saw a flash and when we looked outside, we saw the car that was on fire," said neighbor William Millender. "We don't know whose car it was or how it started."[image-50] The question about the origin of oceans on Earth is one of the most important questions with respect to the formation of our planet and the origin of life. The most popular theory is that water was brought by impacts of comets and asteroids. Data from the Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis (ROSINA) instrument aboard the European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft indicate that terrestrial water did not come from comets like 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The findings were published today in the journal Science. Researchers agree that water must have been delivered to Earth by small bodies at a later stage of the planet’s evolution. It is, however, not clear which family of small bodies is responsible. There are three possibilities: asteroid-like small bodies from the region of Jupiter; Oort cloud comets formed inside of Neptune's orbit; and Kuiper Belt comets formed outside of Neptune's orbit. The key to determining where the water originated is in its isotopic “flavor.” That is, by measuring the level of deuterium – a heavier form of hydrogen. By comparing the ratio of deuterium to hydrogen in different objects, scientists can identify where in the solar system that object originated. And by comparing the D/H ratio, in Earth’s oceans with that in other bodies, scientists can aim to identify the origin of our water. The ROSINA instrument on the Rosetta spacecraft has found that the composition of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko’s water vapor is significantly different from that found on Earth. The value for the D/H ratio on the comet is more than three times the terrestrial value. This is among the highest-ever-measured values in the solar system. That means it is very unlikely that comets like 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko are responsible for the terrestrial water. The D/H ratio is the ratio of a heavier hydrogen isotope, called deuterium, to the most common hydrogen isotope. It can provide a signature for comparison across different stages of a planet's history. “We knew that Rosetta’s in situ analysis of this comet was always going to throw us surprises," said Matt Taylor, Rosetta’s project scientist from the European Space Research and Technology Center, Noordwijk, the Netherlands. “The bigger picture of solar-system science, and this outstanding observation, certainly fuel the debate as to where Earth got its water.” Almost 30 years ago (1986) the mass spectrometers on board the European Giotto mission to comet Halley could, for the first time, determine D/H ratio in a comet. It turned out to be twice the terrestrial ratio. The conclusion at that time was that Oort cloud comets, of which Halley is a member, cannot be the responsible reservoir for our water. Several other Oort cloud comets were measured in the next 20 years, all displaying very similar D/H values compared to Halley. Subsequently, models that had comets as the origin of the terrestrial water became less popular. This changed when, thanks to the European Space Agency's Herschel spacecraft, the D/H ratio was determined in comet Hartley 2, which is believed to be a Kuiper Belt comet. The D/H ratio found was very close to our terrestrial value -- which was not really expected. Most models on the early solar system claim that Kuiper Belt comets should have an even higher D/H ratio than Oort cloud comets because Kuiper Belt objects formed in a colder region than Oort cloud comets. The new findings of the Rosetta mission make it more likely that Earth got its water from asteroid-like bodies closer to our orbit and/or that Earth could actually preserve at least some of its original water in minerals and at the poles. “Our finding also disqualifies the idea that Jupiter family comets contain solely Earth ocean-like water,” said Kathrin Altwegg, principal investigator for the ROSINA instrument from the University of Bern, Switzerland, and lead author of the Science paper. “It supports models that include asteroids as the main delivery mechanism for Earth’s oceans.” Comets are time capsules containing primitive material left over from the epoch when the sun and its planets formed. Rosetta's lander obtained the first images taken from a comet's surface and will provide analysis of the comet's possible primordial composition. Rosetta will be the first spacecraft to witness at close proximity how a comet changes as it is subjected to the increasing intensity of the sun's radiation. Observ
sigh of relief that this time the public interest trumped AT&T's self-serving attempt to kill off what little competition remains in the wireless market."Photo: Earl Gardner Update (Friday, 7:45 pm): Jim Curtin tells Philly.com’s Jonathan Tannenwald of Mbolhi: “He and I have a difference of philosophy right now. He’s not going to play any more games with us. He has a contract, so he’ll be training by himself, separate from the team. We’ll arrange for that at our facility, but it will be at a different time from when our team is training [and] he won’t have any interaction with the group…There’s no one incident to point to, it’s just a combination of performance on the field, interactions in the locker room with the rest of the group, the whole package.” UPDATE (Friday, 6:31 pm): In a report from Marc Narducci at the Philadelphia Inquirer published Friday afternoon, Union CEO Nick Sakiewicz said of Rais Mbolhi, “He is earmarked for summer transfer. So due to potential injury, there is no reason for him to play.” Directly before the Sakiewicz quote, Narducci writes, “According to a source, Mbolhi is earning between $450,000 and $500,000 this season.” Ahead of Saturday’s road game in Vancouver, the Philadelphia Union announced on Friday morning the acquisition of goalkeeper Brian Sylvestre on short term loan from NASL side Carolina RailHawks. The announcement also said, “Rais Mbolhi will not travel to Vancouver.” With Sylvestre the starter for Saturday’s game, Mbolhi not traveling, and Andre Blake and John McCarthy both unavailable due to injury, the announcement also said MLS pool goalkeeper Trey Mitchell “will join the team in Vancouver to provide cover at the position.” Chris Albright said in the announcement, “We have evaluated all of our options and feel that Brian gives us the best opportunity to get a result in Vancouver. We have confidence in the familiarity he has with both our players and staff. What is Mbolhi’s status with the club? Albright said, “Rais remains a member of the Philadelphia Union and we will continue to evaluate all options in the best interest of the club.” Sylvestre was with Harrisburg City Islanders before trialing with the Union in the preseason and eventually joining Carolina. Sylvestre began his professional career with the Vancouver Whitecaps in March of 2011 after spending time in Vancouver’s residency program rather than attending college. He was released by the Whitecaps in November of 2012 having made reserve and U-23 appearances but none with the senior squad. He then signed with Harrisburg City Islanders in 2013, making his professional debut in the 3-1 loss to the Union in US Open Cup play on June 17, 2014. Mbolhi returned to training with the Union on Tuesday after spending nearly a month off in Europe following his benching after the 3-2 road loss to Kansas City on April 5.When the burghers of the ultra-respectable London suburb of Bromley offered H G Wells – its most illustrious 19th-century scion after Charles Darwin – the freedom of the town, the firm expectation was that he would graciously accept. Unfortunately for the dignitaries of the leafy south London borough, the science-fiction writer and serial philanderer did not quite hold his birthplace in the same esteem. Indeed, it appears that, far from being flattered by the honour, he would have preferred that Bromley receive a visit from the Martian killing machines that terrorise Earth in his most famous work, The War of the Worlds. A letter from the author discovered in a copy of his autobiography, and now on display for the first time, reveals the extent of the antipathy that Wells had for Bromley when he brusquely refused the award, saying he had already received the same distinction from the City of London and Brussels, and had no need to add to his collection. Join Independent Minds For exclusive articles, events and an advertising-free read for just £5.99 €6.99 $9.99 a month Get the best of The Independent With an Independent Minds subscription for just £5.99 €6.99 $9.99 a month Get the best of The Independent Without the ads – for just £5.99 €6.99 $9.99 a month The rebuff, in 1934, is the latest example of a long line of literary figures taking umbrage against some of Britain's less glamourous corners. The poet laureate Sir John Betjeman famously condemned Slough to more than 70 years of opprobrium when he exhorted "friendly bombs" to fall on the Berkshire town. Wells, who was born in 1866 to an impoverished shopkeeper, revealed his true feelings about the Kent commuter town in his reply to the letter from a committee of dignitaries offering the freedom of the borough. The author wrote: "Bromley has not been particularly gracious to me nor I to Bromley and I don't think I want to add the freedom of Bromley to the freedom of the City of London and the freedom of the City of Brussels – both of which I have." The writer, who was a lifelong non-conformist and was high on a list drawn up by the Nazis of British intellectuals to be arrested upon a successful invasion, later underlined his opinion of Bromley by describing it in one of his books as a "morbid sprawl of population". The letter, found by a Kent-based archaeologist, has been put on show in an exhibition exploring the author's suburban beginnings in a household goods shop his parents ran in the centre of Bromley. The site is now occupied by a branch of the clothing retailer Primark. Wells's antipathy to his birthplace may be coloured by the fact that he led a miserable existence as a child. The shop made so little money that his father, Joseph, had to supplement his income as journeyman professional cricketer for Kent. When an injury ended his sporting career, the family put their two sons into apprenticeships, and Herbert George left Bromley for the last time at the age of 14 to work as a draper. Christine Alford, collections assistant at the Bromley Museum, which is staging the exhibition, said: "He obviously was not very proud of his upbringing and to some extent wanted to forget about Bromley. I think the offer of the freedom of the town was probably a reminder of something he no longer wanted to be associated with. "It is a pity because he is one of the most famous writers from the area and his childhood experiences would have been part of what made him an author. If he is not proud of us, we are proud of him." Indeed, Bromley, whose creative residents have ranged from Enid Blyton to David Bowie, has long made it clear that it bears no hard feelings against its prodigal son. A plaque marking his birthplace has stood there since 1986. How Bromley has been the butt of jokes “The end of the world will surely come in Bromley South or Orpington,” according to poet Adrian Henri in his verse Death in the Suburbs. The south-east London borough has frequently been the butt of a joke from Monty Python’s Midget Café to ribbing across the comic spectrum from Rik Mayall to Sir Terry Wogan. Being the biggest of all London boroughs - covering 58 square miles - it is also the oldest in population with more than 20 per cent of its residents being over 60. Unsurprising then, that many look to the town of Bromley as HG Wells did - as a dull, "morbid" sprawling suburb with not a lot to its name. But beneath its stolid reputation, beats a vibrant and creative heart that has given Britain some of its most outlandish world-class performers. Most famous of its residents is David Bowie, who met some of his collaborators during his schooldays at Burnt Ash Primary and Bromley Tech: Peter Frampton, one of his 'Spiders from Mars' Geoff MacCormack and artist George Underwood. Founding the Beckenham Arts Lab at the then Three Tuns pub (now a Zizis restaurant) and organising a free festival in 1969, Bowie helped make Bromley an unlikely haven for cutting-edge music. Performers at the borough’s Chislehurst Caves during the 60s and 70s included Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones and, reputedly, the Beatles. But it was resident Siouxsie Sioux and the “Bromley Contingent”, with Billy Idol, Sid Vicious and Adam Ant among its membership, that brought notoriety to the area when they appeared alongside the Sex Pistols during their infamous interview on the Bill Grundy show, shouting abuse from the audience. Punks weren’t even the first anarchists to reside in Bromley with Russian writer Peter Kropotkin living in exile in Crescent Road between 1886 and 1914. A blue plaque marks the ordinary terraced house where Kropotkin, one of the world’s leading anarcho-communists wrote some of his most influential works. While Bromley's rock history is anti-establishment, the town was also home to political heavyweights - notably William Wilberforce who is said to have first discussed the abolition of slavery with William Pitt under an oak tree in Keston. There is some evidence that Bromley is not slavish in its admiration of the curmudgeonly HG Wells. Although a blue plaque marking his birthplace survives, a nearby mural that once hailed the War of the Worlds author has been painted out and replaced with one celebrating another famous Bromley resident, Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution. Kate Mead, freelance journalist and lifelong Bromley resident Places they loved to hate Slough, John Betjeman "Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough! It isn't fit for humans now, There isn't grass to graze a cow. Swarm over, Death!" (From the poem, Slough) Chelmsford, Charles Dickens "If any one were to ask me what in my opinion was the dullest and most stupid spot on the face of the earth, I should decidedly say Chelmsford." (Letter to Thomas Beard, 11 January, 1835) Borth, Morrissey "Trudging slowly over wet sand Back to the bench where your clothes were stolen This is the coastal town That they forgot to close down Armageddon – come Armageddon! Come Armageddon, come!" (Every Day is Like Sunday) Wales, Dylan Thomas "The land of my fathers. My fathers can have it." (Adam magazine, 1953)Ben Knight reported this story on Sunday, May 26, 2013 07:01:00 ELIZABETH JACKSON: When Australians travel to the US, it can feel incredibly like a familiar place, for a country they've never been to, on the other side of the world. We are immersed in American culture from our earliest years: we speak the same language; use their slang; we know the names of their sporting teams, their politicians, even their brands of soft drinks and snacks that have never been sold here in Australia. But every now and then, there's a reminder to even English-speaking visitors that America is very much a foreign country. Our North America correspondent Ben Knight has this report from Washington. BEN KNIGHT: I'm no stranger to the United States. I've been here about four or five times in my life, and that includes including six months in LA (Los Angeles) as an exchange student in the 80s, and you can imagine how much fun that was. So I genuinely love this place, and its people. They are incredibly generous people, they're polite to a fault, and they're nowhere near as ignorant or bombastic as most Australians would like to think they are. So when we moved into our house in a suburb of Washington, I knew that sooner or later someone was going to knock on the door - one of the neighbours welcoming us to the street. And of course that's exactly what happened. The lady across the road came over, she introduced herself, gave us some good tips on local supermarkets and parks, and then gave us a folder with some sheets of information. Inside were flyers for the local churches. She wasn't recruiting, or proselytising - she was just giving us information so that we could choose the one that was most appropriate to us. To her, this was just stuff that she assumed we'd want and need to know, like where to get the freshest vegies, or which night to put the bins out. But it was a bit uncomfortable for us, because like a lot of Australians, we don't go to church. But we didn't feel like we could or should tell her that, perhaps because we felt it might have marked us out as being a bit odd - people who didn't quite fit in. Much the same as we might regard someone in Australia who knocks on your door after you've just moved in to your house and gives you a bunch of religious pamphlets as being a bit odd themselves. But of course over here, you hear about God everywhere: in the Pledge of Allegiance that my kids recite at school every morning, in the newsletter their science teacher sends home, in patriotic songs, in athletes' news conferences, at the end of presidential speeches, and of course, in disasters. Especially in disasters. And as you would be well aware, there was a big one in Oklahoma last week. We arrived in Oklahoma the morning after the tornado hit, as we wandered around interviewing people, I talked with a woman whose family home had just been destroyed. And she was telling me about the amazing survival of her father, who'd been inside this house when the storm hit. TORNADO SURVIVOR: He was in the closet. The only room with the roof left on it, so… BEN KNIGHT: How is he now? TORNADO SURVIVOR: Fine - walked away without a scratch. BEN KNIGHT: What I wanted to know next was his story of survival, how on earth he had managed to walk away without a scratch when his home was lying there in splinters. But that's not how she interpreted my question. And listen to how quickly she answers it. BEN KNIGHT: How did that happen? TORNADO SURVIVOR: God. BEN KNIGHT: God saved her father's life. Now, sceptics might point out a problem with the logic here. And I won't go into it too deeply, because that's really not what this piece is supposed to be about. Let me just point out that nine kids and 15 other adults weren't saved, and leave it at that. Now Oklahoma is, of course, right in the heart of America's Bible belt, so it's to be expected. People there do not believe in the separation of church and state. In fact, the neighbouring states, Arkansas and Texas, actually ban atheists from holding any public office. Arkansas goes even further, and says atheists can't testify as witnesses in court. But the national media, at least, tends to play it pretty secular and straight. Which is why this next clip is so surprising, for two different reasons. WOLF BLITZER: Well we're happy you're here. You guys did a great job… BEN KNIGHT: This is one of CNN's big name anchors, Wolf Blitzer, down in Oklahoma last week, interviewing survivor Rebecca Vitsmun about the decision she took that saved her family from the tornado. WOLF BLITZER: And I guess you've got to thank the Lord, right? Do you thank the Lord for that split-second decision? REBECCA VITSMUN: I, I… I'm actually an atheist. WOLF BLITZER: Oh, you are - alright. (Laughter) BEN KNIGHT: This was an incredibly rare moment on American TV. You can almost hear how uncomfortable she is about pulling Wolf Blitzer up on his assumption. REBECCA VITSMUN: You know, I don't blame anybody for thanking the Lord. WOLF BLITZER: Of course not. BEN KNIGHT: For America's 13 million atheists and agnostics, this was almost a Rosa Parks moment. Because to them, Rebecca Vitsnum's not only bravely saying the unsayable but she's showing up a supposedly impartial news anchor who tried to bring the hand of God into a natural disaster. American atheists describe themselves as the most discriminated against group in the country - in workplaces, in schools, even in courtrooms, and especially when it comes to child custody cases. The idea of an atheist president now is as unthinkable as the idea of a black president might have seemed in the 1950s. But American atheists had something else to cheer last week in, of all places, the Arizona state legislature. Instead of opening with the usual prayer, the floor of the chamber was given over to Juan Mendez - an openly atheist member. He gave a secular address. He told his fellow members not to bow their heads as they usually did, but to look around at each other. He quoted Carl Sagan: "for small creatures such as we, the vastness is bearable only through love". The next day, the floor was given back over to a Christian member, who offered two prayers to make up for the missing one for the day before and offered repentance for having allowed it to happen. Americans, of course, can be as religious as they want to be. They fought for their independence in a way that Australia never did, and have gone on to create a remarkable country that turned into the world's only superpower. But it doesn't stop some of us who admire America's celebration of intellect, self-reliance, and creating your own success, from looking on and occasionally scratching our heads. This is Ben Knight in Washington DC for Correspondents Report.Metadata capture begins but information not to be used for civil cases Updated The Federal Government will not allow civil litigants to access metadata stored by telecommunication companies after a backlash from lawyers and privacy advocates. Many feared granting access to phone and internet data would allow lawyers involved in civil cases — including family law disputes — to obtain personal and sensitive information. New laws that require companies to keep phone and internet use for two years to allow security agencies to access the data for investigations into serious crimes come into effect today. The Government had been exploring whether the information held by the companies could also be used in civil cases, such as family law disputes where children are abducted. In a statement, Attorney-General George Brandis said a review by his department found there was "insufficient reason to justify making exceptions to the restrictions imposed by the data retention legislation". "It is incorrect to say, as some have falsely asserted, that the review was conducted for the purposes of weakening existing restrictions," he said. Senator Brandis said allowing security agencies to access metadata stored by telecommunication companies was essential for counter-terrorism and counter-espionage investigations. "It is also essential for investigating child abuse and child pornography offences that are frequently carried out online," he said. Companies seek extension of grace period The policy was announced by the Abbott government in 2014 and passed Parliament in March 2015 after the Government was forced to make concessions on whistleblower and other privacy protections. The deadline for companies to comply with the retention scheme is today, but close to $130 million in grants allocated by the Federal Government to help providers comply with the requirements were not finalised until September last year. But some telecommunication companies are calling for another grace period to comply with the new laws. "The resulting timeframe put many service providers under immense pressure to complete the work to enable them to comply with this onerous regime within the deadline," the Communication Alliance's chief executive John Stanton said. "The Government should acknowledge that these delays have made timely compliance more difficult to achieve." Mr Stanton said the Attorney-General's Department had been writing to telcos to remind them of the deadline. "The Attorney-General should publicly commit that no action will be taken post-deadline against any service provider that is genuinely working to comply with the regime, but has been disadvantaged by the slow pace of decision-making," he said. "Government should focus in the short term on a cooperative approach to helping service providers meet their compliance obligation — rather than purely on enforcement." In a statement, a spokesman for the Attorney-General's Department said law enforcement agencies had been permitted to access metadata data for decades. "The Government's data retention legislation simply standardised the type of data telecommunications service providers are required to retain and the length of time they need to keep it," the spokesman said. Topics: internet-technology, telecommunications, government-and-politics, federal-government, australia First postedShare. Participation will initially be locked to PlayStation Plus subscribers. Participation will initially be locked to PlayStation Plus subscribers. Sony is launching a dedicated eSports platform for the PlayStation 4. Gamereactor reports that Sony confirmed details of the initiative - entitled PlayStation Official League - at a recent Spanish press event. The competitive league debuts in Spain tomorrow, with plans to expand to Portugal and Italy shortly. Available initially just for PS Plus subscribers, the league will be supported by titles like Battlefield 4, Call of Duty: Ghosts and FIFA 15, with both team and individual prizes up for grabs. We recently reported how eSports continues to rise in popularity, with ESL One's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament drawing three million viewers and a $250,000 prize. Last month, ESPN president John Skipper stated that he considers eSports a competition, not a sport. Exit Theatre Mode We've reached out to Sony for news on when, and where, we might expect to see the PlayStation Official League rolled out next. We'll update you as and when we know more. Vikki Blake is a freelance games writer and a bonafide, albeit slightly jumpy, survival horror survivalist. You can find her twittering over at @_vixxWhite silhouettes elicit remembrance of Seattle traffic deaths 234 people have been killed in Seattle traffic incidents in 10 years The family of Sandhya Khadka, a 17-year-old girl who was killed by a drunk driver while crossing a Pinehurst street in 2014, honors her memory with one of the hundreds of white silhouettes posted throughout the city to commemorate victims of traffic crashes. less The family of Sandhya Khadka, a 17-year-old girl who was killed by a drunk driver while crossing a Pinehurst street in 2014, honors her memory with one of the hundreds of white silhouettes posted throughout the... more Photo: Cathy Tuttle/Seattle Neighborhood Greenways Photo: Cathy Tuttle/Seattle Neighborhood Greenways Image 1 of / 7 Caption Close White silhouettes elicit remembrance of Seattle traffic deaths 1 / 7 Back to Gallery Sandhya Khadka was 17 years old when she crossed a Pinehurst street to catch the bus and was hit by a drunk driver. She died at the scene. Since the 2014 incident, her family and Seattle's Nepali community have advocated for safety improvements in the area of Northeast 115th Street and Fifth Avenue Northeast, the intersection where she was hit. A crosswalk was added in the neighborhood and residents continue to campaign for increased traffic safety. But on Nov. 20, it was a day of remembrance for Khadka and her family. Her parents, aunts and friends erected a white silhouette in her memory at the site of her death, as a way to honor her as well as a reminder to the public that people from all walks of life die in traffic incidents regularly. Her silhouette is among the 212 distributed across the city for World Remembrance Day, a United Nations-affiliated event which recognizes victims of traffic incidents. Seattle Neighborhood Greenways coordinated the posting of the silhouettes along with 20 community groups. You may have seen several of the silhouettes in your neighborhood or on your commute route -- 54 volunteers posted them everywhere from Lake City to Rainier Beach, with information about the victim at each crash site. Among the volunteers were friends and family members of victims, such as Khadka's family. "It's the kind of thing that cuts across classes and genders and ages," SNG Executive Director Cathy Tuttle said. "Those people are mourning their loved one in a very different way than an ordinary death." SNG indicates that 234 people suffered traffic-related deaths in Seattle from 2006 to 2016, including pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists. During that time, 2,400 more have been seriously injured. However, only 212 silhouettes were put up because the remaining locations were too dangerous to send volunteers, such as Interstate 5 and the Spokane Street onramp. Each silhouette includes, at minimum, the date the victim died and a sticker to describe World Remembrance Day. With the consent of victims' families, many of the silhouettes include more information, from the person's name to the story of his or her death. The silhouettes will remain until they're torn up, blown down or otherwise rendered ineffective, Tuttle said. Meanwhile, people are learning from them. One man reported that he passes seven of the silhouettes during his regular bike commute from Greenwood to Downtown, Tuttle said. Others have slowed their driving to read the stories on the figures. Bryce Lewis is one of the victims commemorated by the figures. He moved to Seattle at 19 years old to be with his best friend, his memorial silhouette reads. While both of them rode their bikes in an Eastlake bike lane, they were hit by a dump truck. The friend survived, but Lewis died. Khadka was already taking college business courses at 17 and hoped to become a business executive, Tuttle said. "She just had the whole world to look forward to," she added. The hanging of her memorial silhouette marked the first time her parents could bear visiting the scene of her death. Seattle reduced standard speed limits this month, changing the residential speed limit from 25 mph to 20 mph and "center city" speed limits from 30 mph to 25 mph. Related:“No man in Whitechapel drives a busier or a more paying trade than does the shadchan,” observed the writer Louise Jordan Miln in 1900. In fact, a ledger belonging to a shadkhen, or matchmaker, is one of the objects on display for the first time in “For Richer For Poorer: Weddings Unveiled,” the latest exhibition at the Jewish Museum London. Written entirely in Yiddish, the 1940s ledger shows a list of his prospective clients. A stamp depicting two hands shaking next to the names of a couple indicates when a successful match had been made. “For Richer For Poorer” celebrates the story of the Jewish wedding in Britain’s Jewish community from the late 19th century to the mid-20th, focusing in particular on the immigrant community who settled in London’s East End. It showcases a range of objects and artifacts, including wedding dresses, photographs and hand-designed ketubot. Invitations, seating plans and menus provide further examples of how the community went about marking the occasion. Many of the exhibits are from the museum’s own collection but have remained hidden until now. Their inclusion demonstrates a historic partnership with the public, says Abigail Morris, CEO of the Museum, and provide an insight into the traditions, cultural norms and social aspirations of the community. There are some real gems, such as the wedding dresses, which have been painstakingly restored for the exhibition and date from the early 20th century. One example is an elegant, late Victorian cream-laced, silk multi-piece dress from 1905. Its belt holds the high-necked shirt, bodice and long petticoat tightly together. We are told that it belonged to Sarah Levy, who married an immigrant boot maker from Poland. By contrast, an immodest, stunning 1925 flapper dress with beaded tassels and a plastic flowered veil worn by a shorthand typist and communist party member reflects the shifting style in bridal fashion within a generation. In spite of the poverty that many Jewish families experienced, some celebrated weddings with huge parties — up to 14 courses were offered to guests — and families saved for years in order to pay for them. Other payment options involved parents investing in an endowment on the birth of a daughter, or taking loans, which could result in debt. The 1836 Marriage Act legalized the concept of civil marriage in the U.K. Once established, the Board of Deputies of British Jews certified Jewish marriage secretaries who were then appointed by synagogues affiliated to the Chief Rabbi or the Sephardi Rabbinate, to ensure that marriages were carried out legally. Yet in the late 19th century, some immigrants ignored the requirement that all marriages be registered with the civil authorities and tensions arose between the existing community and these new immigrants who had participated in shtile khuppe (quiet marriages), where there was no record in the marriage registers of the civil union taking place. Undoubtedly, the exhibition’s main draw is its section devoted to Boris Bennett (1900 – 1985), the best-known and most sought after wedding photographer in the East End between the 1920s and ‘50s. There was even a saying that if you did not have a Boris picture, you were not married. Born in Poland, Boris (as he was known) arrived in London in 1922 and opened his first studio a few years later. Inspired by Hollywood, Boris’s trademark was to make his clients look like film stars, regardless of their income and status. He was innovative, merging fashion and set design by creating and building his own scenery. This, combined with his unique use of lighting, meant that his pictures managed to portray a style and glamour that set him apart from other photographers. Boris was able to photograph up to thirty couples on a single Sunday and it was not unusual for clients to queue on the stairs of his Whitechapel Road studio, while they waited for to him to take their wedding portrait. Boris’s Kodak “Big Bertha” camera is on display alongside a selection of his iconic, framed photographs. Time has not diminished their beauty. Weddings were a hugely important social occasion within the community, and the exhibition demonstrates that although many of the rituals and traditions appear to have remained the same, the institution has also adapted and evolved, such as in the partial acceptance of same-sex marriage. Unfortunately, for all its vibrancy, “For Richer For Poorer” lacks personal narratives — there are only two pieces of audio for example. More stories, anecdotes and immersive encounters would enhance learning about this aspect of the history of British Jewry. Despite the opportunity to engage with previously unseen items from the museum’s archive, objects by themselves can only tell part of the story.I certainly wouldn’t call him the worst candidate, but does anyone else in American politics today so perfectly embody the welfare-warfare ethos as Mike Huckabee? I mean, sure, some of the other candidates want to be the FÃ¼hrer, but Huckabee seems as if he’s really running for secretary of health and human services in the Fourth Reich. To wit: â€œNational security isnâ€™t going to mean much if we have a generation of kids so physically incapacitated [by obesity] they canâ€™t go to war.â€ Never mind that he unthinkingly equates “national security” with going to war; I’m more concerned that he’s committing a grave political blunder. Huck should forget the Atkins Diet vs. al-Qaeda angle and offer all those young James Tarantos out there what they really want: perpetual war for perpetual pizza.Despite his popularity on Australian Survivor, it wasn't enough to save Sam from being voted out. CREDIT: Channel 10 KRISTIE Bennett has become the overwhelming fan favourite on Australian Survivor, endearing herself to fans of the show with her independent game and honest personality. The Sydneysider has been the real surprise packet on the Channel 10 reality show, with hardly anyone tipping her to make it to the final five at the beginning of the series. Week after week the 24-year-old has survived votes at tribal councils when people voted for her, and by quietly going about her business, she has managed to last longer then many who were in supposed super tight alliances. “I knew everyone was underestimating me,” she said of her time in Samoa. “I could tell in the way that I was used as a buffer vote. “I could tell the way they would interact with me, the way they would talk with me. “Also the fact they still didn’t get rid of me before their alliance had been taken out. “The fact they decided to make a move on Lee (Carseldine) and El (Rowland) prior to getting rid of me, just showed how much they thought I wasn’t a threat.” But a real threat she has turned out to be. Because her head was on the chopping block for so long, and she played an independent game, it has made the fact she has lasted this long feel very sweet feeling for Bennett. “It’s just incredible,” she said. “I had been fighting against the odds the whole time, and I should have gone so many times and I’m still in it. “To be in the top five is amazing. “I have just felt like I have had to fight my way through the game, and something is working for me.” From the start Bennett bared her soul on Australian Survivor, not afraid to show her emotions and admit mentally, it was a tough at times. Looking back now, she said the mental aspect of being on the show was incredibly difficult. “It was excruciating, it was so painful,” she said. “The mental side of Survivor is by far the toughest aspect. “Everyone thinks the challenges are everything, but it’s not. “It’s how your mind works and how you can deal with things, because the levels of anxiety are so high. “There is so much going on and everyone has their own self interest. “It was the biggest mental challenge I have ever had in my entire life.” It may have looked difficult for Bennett at times on the show, but she said her determination to stick it out never wavered. She has dreamt of being on Australian Survivor ever since she watched the first series as an eight-year-old with her dad. “Giving up never crossed my mind at all in the slightest,” she said. “It may sometimes look like I’m not trying to stay there, but that’s not because I don’t want to be there, and it’s not because I am not fighting. “It’s a silent fight if anything, because sometimes it’s better to keep your mouth shut.” Bennett is in the final five, alongside Queenslanders El Rowland, Lee Carseldine, Flick Egginton, and Adelaide’s Matt Tarrant. In particular she has enormous respect for former professional cricketer Carseldine, who has been her biggest supporter on the show. “Lee is such a beautiful person,” she said. “He is so genuine, and I just connected with him. “He was one of the people out there who actually gave me the time of day to talk to me. “People weren’t talking to me in camp essentially. “Him being from my original tribe Aganoa, he saw what I was going through at the beginning, and he had the decency to talk to me. “I have a lot of respect for him. “Also because to try and play the game of Survivor an honest person all the way through, that is amazing. “I don’t think it’s possible, but he is trying his best.” In Channel 10s online poll about who is the fan favourite on Australian Survivor, Bennett is polling an overwhelming 57 per cent, winning the fan vote easily. She admits this is very humbling. “People actually like me, and that’s awesome,” she said. “It does make me feel really good, particularly being out there I wasn’t the most popular person. “I think it comes from probably me being really relatable to people. “I think I’m making it OK for other people to cry or feel weak, or to be vulnerable. “I was really surprised when I found out the first time. “I guess I’m different, and I’m not afraid to show that.” Why she wasn’t the most popular person out there, she defended the initial strong alliance of Rowland, Egginton and Victorian Brooke Jowett, who were dubbed “mean girls” by some fans. “I definitely think it was completely undeserving that they were labelled mean girls,” she said. “They had an incredibly strong alliance, so good on them. “It they can create a strong alliance, they deserve to be there.” However Bennett admitted it was incredibly frustrating at times to try and penetrate the alliance, but she figured out a way. “It was frustrating, because coming in you are in an absolutely minority,” she said. “It was such a tight knit alliance, so you couldn’t play a text book game. “But I don’t believe there is one way to play Survivor. “I believe you can play Survivor with alliances, or without alliances.” Bennett has enjoyed watching every minute of her show, with her Dad by her side, just like it was when she was eight years old. “It’s an absolute dream,” she said. “It is so surreal to be sitting their watching it with him, and doing exactly what we did when I was eight, but I’m on the show.” Jennah-Louise voted out of camp 0:24 Jennah Louise becomes the fourth member of the jury after being voted out of her tribe. Courtesy: Australian Survivor/Channel 10 Sue is eliminated from Australian Survivor 0:32 As alliances start to crumble, Sue is voted out of Australian Survivor. Courtesy: Network Ten Kylie is eliminated from Survivor 0:30 Kylie was voted out over Sue and becomes the second member of the Jury in Australian Survivor. Courtesy: Network Ten Nick is voted out of Australian Survivor 0:41 Nick gets voted out of the tribe and is the first person on tribal council - Credit: Australian Survivor Channel 10 will show episodes of Australian Survivor from 7.30pm on Sunday and Monday, with the season finale on Tuesday2ch is in uproar after the publication of an article which alleges the type of man Japanese women find most undesirable are none other than the extreme rightists of 2ch. The article in question: We decided to survey local women, asking them to identify “the men you’ve seen online who you would absolutely not want to date.” Right at the top was “net-uyo.” [“Net-uyo” – Internet slang for “net-rightwingers,” a vocal and largely 2ch-based population of ultra-rightists who generally seek to blame all of Japan’s ills on foreigners, and Koreans and Chinese in particular.] The term “Net-uyo” is disparagingly used to identify the net right, who operate solely on the Internet making baseless and irrational attacks on China and Korea. It generally excludes those who have actual reasons for criticising these nations, and who do not rely solely on
do with the racism American society is built on. As if people want to be out of work and want to be poor and want to get in trouble with the police. Television is constantly shifting the blame from whites onto blacks. It blames blackie, but “blame whitey” covers over all that. So in just two words “blame whitey” does three things that whites often do in an argument about race in America: Say that blacks are racist too. Say that blacks are mostly to blame for their troubles. Present stereotypes about blacks as fact and insight. Or, more generally, it is a case of blame shifting that accuses blacks of shifting the blame! See also:With the advent of Internet TV and YouTube, the popularity of the traditional podcast is currently on the decline. Also, the huge fan following and dominance of iTunes and iPods has restricted the popular medium only to the classes. That said, it’s not as if podcasts are obscure; in fact, notable celebrities like Stephen Fry, Jeremy Clarkson, and Ricky Gervais have gained huge popularity through this then-evolving medium. Moreover, the vogue of this format was such that even the German Chancellor Angela Merkel once launched her own video podcasts Even though, now, as the medium is losing the fame that it once enjoyed, it’s not completely outmoded. In fact, there are some highly popular shows like The Linux Action Show and Linux Outlaws that still enjoy a huge fan following. So, if you’re one of those people who’re still hooked on to the medium then here’s a list of the best podcast software/tools for Linux. gPodder Podcast Client gPodder supports RSS, Atom, YouTube, SoundCloud, Vimeo, and XSPF feeds. And don’t worry if you have nothing to listen to at the moment, the podcast directory feature lets you look for the best podcasts around without leaving the app. Furthermore, if you use gPodder on multiple devices you can easily sync between them using the gpodder.net service. gPodder is a free and open-source podcast aggregator for Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X. It downloads and manages your audio and video content and also lets you listen to it directly without the need for any external application.gPodder supports RSS, Atom, YouTube, SoundCloud, Vimeo, and XSPF feeds. And don’t worry if you have nothing to listen to at the moment, the podcast directory feature lets you look for the best podcasts around without leaving the app. Furthermore, if you use gPodder on multiple devices you can easily sync between them using the gpodder.net service. Miro Player Miro is a FOSS video player that also acts as a full-fledged podcast manager. With a sleek, easy-to-use interface, Miro scans and plays songs/videos from your music library, converts and syncs files with Android and Kindle Fire, and yeah, lets you find, browse, and manage podcasts. Not only can you listen to/watch your favorite shows, you can also convert them to your favorite formats and transfer them to your mobile device. Amarok Amarok is perhaps the best media player available on the Linux platform. Equipped with a feature-laden podcast manager, the KDE-based player lets you discover, manage and play shows without the need for any other player. Banshee Banshee is currently the default music player in Ubuntu, and it too, like the aforementioned Amarok, comes with some solid podcast management and playback features. The open-source application connects with the popular Miro Guide to give you a great selection of all the latest audio and video shows. You can either stream them directly or download them to your computer. Furthermore, as Banshee supports a lot of phones, you can later transfer those files to your mobile device. Rhythmbox Rhythmbox is the soon-to-be default player in Ubuntu. Like Banshee and other mature music players, Rhythmbox too has a well-designed podcast manager that lets you stream and download the latest content without any hassles. Command Line Podcast Software Tired of all those clunky GUI apps? Then, here’s a nice selection of some of the best command line podcast clients: Podget So, in short, don’t expect anything fancy with this application; however if you’re a fan of everything Bash, then this is the perfect app for you. According to the website, “ Podget is a simple podcast aggregator optimized for running as a scheduled background job (i.e. cron), with support for folders and categories, importing servers from OPML lists & iTunes PCAST files, automatic playlist creation and cleanup.”So, in short, don’t expect anything fancy with this application; however if you’re a fan of everything Bash, then this is the perfect app for you. BashPodder BashPodder is a command-line utility that lets you download and aggregate your favorite podcasts, across all platforms. The app is quite mature and stable despite having just a few lines of code. To install, all you need to have is a Bash shell and some time to get used to the program. Once you’re set up, you can start subscribing to, and downloading your favorite podcasts right away. Though not an application for the faint-hearted, BashPodder still is one of the best CLI-based podcast aggregators around.Colombia's anti-kidnap chief's daughter abducted by unknown assailants Updated Unknown assailants have abducted the daughter of the man who heads Colombia's National Protection Unit (UNP), the force charged with guarding people at risk of kidnapping or assassination. Daniela Mora, 11, the daughter of UNP chief Diego Mora, was abducted as she left school in Cucuta, a city on the Venezuelan border, authorities said. An armoured vehicle driving her home was intercepted by the kidnappers in circumstances which remain unclear, Colombian media reported. "The government is doing everything possible to get her back," said president Juan Manuel Santos, after national security officials held an emergency meeting in Cucuta. The UNP is charged with protecting about 7,500 people deemed to be threatened by Colombia's five-decade civil war, a conflict rife with kidnappings and assassinations. Created in 2011, the agency spends $600,000 a day guarding politicians, journalists, activists and others deemed to be at risk. National police chief Rodolfo Palomino said the motive for the girl's kidnapping appeared to be "purely economic, for extortion". But interior minister Juan Fernando Cristo said officials were not ruling out any possibility. Defence minister Juan Carlos Pinzon announced a reward of $96,000 for information leading to the girl's recovery, increased from an initial amount of $38,000. The local unit of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights condemned the "despicable practice" of kidnapping, saying it "must end immediately". Cucuta, a northern city of 650,000 people, suffers rampant crime, drug trafficking and smuggling. The area is a bastion for the country's two largest rebel groups, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and National Liberation Army (ELN). AFP Topics: law-crime-and-justice, crime, crime-prevention, colombia First postedThe Economics of the NSDAP Right Wing Sandwich Blocked Unblock Follow Following Sep 17, 2017 The reality of how the economy of the Third Reich functioned is steeped in mystery and deception. Those in the mainstream right will claim that it was a socialistic and communistic centrally planned economy with no room for the individual businessman, while those on the mainstream left will claim that it was an oligarchy ruled by and in favor of capitalist interests. Obviously, as is the case when it comes to many other political questions, both mainstream left and right are grossly incorrect. The Third Reich’s economy can best be described as economically pragmatic, translating realpolitik from the language of foreign policy to economy. This proved enormously successful. Germany managed, under the Hitler government, to enable social mobility and private initiative, more than double the German birth rate, and increase wages by over twenty-five percent. This economic success is not owed to free market capitalism nor strong armed communism, but to the economic third position and National Socialist principles. Now, with an understanding of the situation and catastrophic problems which Germany and its economy faced (see my essay on Germany after WWI), we can finally delve into the economic policy of the NSDAP. In 1932, an election year for Weimar Germany, the NSDAP released an ‘emergency program’ for economic growth and recovery. This program focused heavily on putting Germany back to work through a combination of private business and state initiatives, which involved now-famous public works projects, the most notable being the world renowned Autobahn system. The 1932 emergency program always comes back to jobs. It describes each and every German as having a “right to work.” In the first section of the pamphlet, titled “The Reasons for Creating Jobs,” it is explained that employment creates prosperity. It says, “Just as the individual sinks into poverty when he no longer has a job, so also must a whole people sink into poverty when it does not use its productive strength and tolerates a political-economic system that hinders people’s comrades [Volksgenossen] who are willing and able to support themselves.” Ridding Germany of unemployment was not merely a talking point for National Socialist politicians, it was an ideological necessity. The consequences of tolerating unemployment, according to this pamphlet, include “hunger, poverty, and wage cuts.” The reasoning given for this is sound, “With less labor, less is produced, and therefore less can be consumed.” One of the most important elements of the economic program of the NSDAP is increasing production, which will in turn increase employment and bring down prices, allowing in turn for more consumption and further growth. Exponential growth of industry and production such as this played a major part in Germany’s economic recovery. The first and second points of the first section of the emergency economic program revolve around unemployment and capital. Outlining the ideas that “unemployment causes poverty, employment creates prosperity,” and “capital does not create jobs, rather jobs create capital.” The complete and total elimination of unemployment is central to National Socialist economics, and was especially important to the German National Socialists of the 1920s and 30s, given Germany’s situation. The more work is done, the more capital is produced, and therefore the results of labor (lowering of prices and an increase in purchasing power) will be greater. A prerequisite to production is employment. In other words, the only way to produce is to labor. The third point in the first section, titled “Unemployment Benefits Burden the Economy, but Job Creation Stimulates the Economy,” it is made clear that the National Socialists were conscious of the inevitable downwards spirals which are welfare and business/bank bailouts, writing; “The unemployed must [then] be supported by the community, which means an increase in public expenditures. The result: the collapse of public finance, despite an increase in taxation.” Then described is the decrease in contributions to the unemployment fund (welfare) due to widespread poverty. Tax revenue will then decrease due to poverty, while the same poverty forces many more people to rely on tax-funded welfare programs, plunging the nation into debt as it borrows to make up for a lack of tax revenue. Taxes are then raised, and small business is ruined by additional taxation. Large businesses are forced to be bailed out by the state, as their bankruptcy would cause even further economic misery. As a result of this neverending spiral of debt, irresponsible government spending, and economic misery, crushing debt which is to be placed on the shoulders of those still unborn is built up. The paragraphs which follow these predictions, proved to be true by the failures and crushing debts of countless welfare states, makes clear that a combination of welfare programs, excessive taxation, and widespread unemployment is a death sentence for any nation and its economy. Of circumstances like these, the National Socialists say this; “Unemployment, poverty, and deficits have to get worse, the general situation more hopeless, as long as there is not complete change.” To make effective use of public resources is emphasized, “If public means are no longer wasted, but rather are used to create jobs, our labor will no longer be wasted, but rather used productively, which will result in improvements everywhere: an increase in production, increased purchasing power, reduction in taxes, a general improvement in the economy.” With this reasoning, the National Socialists advocated for responsible and limited government spending, and wished to ensure that taxpayer money was allocated to projects which would have a return greater than the expense. The idea that all those who are available should labor (literally) for the good of the country, is prominent in National Socialist ideology. Without the efficient use of labor, there was to be no economic recovery. In order for Germany to reclaim its title as industrial powerhouse of Europe (which was lost after WWI), every German worker who was unemployed needed to be put back to work. Note that this is greatly different from the Marxist concept of employment, where work is viewed as a scourge and the employer as a ruthless exploiter. When Hitler and the NSDAP took power in 1933, Hitler pledged to destroy unemployment within four years. By 1936, three years later, five million Germans had been put back to work. By 1938, there was a labor shortage. How did Hitler accomplish this? First he stimulated private industry through limited subsidies and tax rebates. He encourage spending through marriage loans, giving 1,000 Marks to each newlywed couple. For every child the couple had, a quarter of the loan was forgiven. The money was spent on and used to care for the children, stimulating industries which manufactured household goods and helping to increase the birth rate by easing the financial burdens on families. Housing projects for German industrial workers were greatly expanded, giving durable homes to German families and work to previously unemployed workers. Achieved alongside this was a 21% increase in weekly earnings from 1932 to 1938, as well as declines in the costs of heating and light. The NSDAP outlines the German ability to create jobs in Section B, titled “Methods of Creating Jobs,” of the 1932 programme, “1. We have the productive capacity for more jobs. The stupidest objection to job creation is the claim that we lack the productive capacity. We have the land to produce more food (see section C). We have the machines and factories necessary to produce anything we can think of. Today, however, the land is not cultivated, mines shut down, factories close their gates, and machines rust. Our economy is ailing not because we lack productive capacity, but rather because the existing productive capacity is not being used.” The National Socialists planned to develop and revitalize this industry (through tax rebates and the occasional subsidy, as mentioned earlier) in order to eradicate unemployment. German National Socialists expressed a great desire for self-sufficiency, an autarchy, and they aimed to achieve this by massive expansion of domestic industry. In point two, the NSDAP addressed the claim that there would be no markets for these new German goods (the United States had closed its doors to German goods, despite being Germany’s number one export partner). They said, “Markets for German production must exist as long as the needs of the last German people’s comrade [Volksgenossen] are not met. Today, 6 million people’s comrades are unemployed. They are starving, and they and their families suffer the most bitter poverty. And how many of the other people’s comrades today have what they need to live? In the face of such bitter poverty, the capitalist press dares to write about overproduction. The opposite is true. German production today is far under what our people needs. It can, therefore, be greatly increased.” Germany suffered from demand without the supply, and the National Socialist answer was this; German production for German consumption. The third point in this section addresses the miserable failure of the previous governments to increase exports in an effort to find markets for German goods. The solution to declining German industry being pursued by previous administrations was idiotic, and failed to realize that domestic markets were available. I quote, “If the German economy is to meet its real task — meeting the needs of the German people — there are vast opportunities that are not today being met. Previous economic policy has aimed above all at increasing German exports, which has disrupted the domestic market in the interests of our ability to compete on the world market. (For example, pressure on wages, insufficient protection of domestic production against competition from abroad.) This economic policy has failed completely. Despite all efforts, German exports fell from a monthly average of 1.2 billion Marks in 1927 to 506.9 million Marks in the first five months of 1932. The current system destroyed the domestic market while simultaneously losing ground on the world market.” The economics of the NSDAP were undeniably protectionist, seeking to shield domestic German industry from the destructive, low “dumping prices” of the export economies of the U.K. or France, for example. Instead of advocating for catering to foreign markets, the NSDAP suggested that Germany’s industry focus on meeting the needs of the German people. Increased production brings both decreased unemployment and lower prices, resulting in a general improvement of the economy. One of the ways which the NSDAP hoped to accomplish this economic refocusing onto the domestic market was to increase agricultural production. The aim of this was to both increase employment through additional labor and to create a Germany which was “independent of foreign foodstuffs.” The next step would be to “free to worker.” The pamphlet defines “freeing the worker” as this; “Refocusing the German economy on the domestic market can succeed only if the masses of the people have sufficient purchasing strength to absorb the increased production. That, in turn, can happen only if each German has the right to a job, and when each worker receives a decent income that corresponds to his achievements. These are the foundations for freeing the worker.” The expanding of agriculture would be done by strengthening the “independent small and mid-sized farmers,” freeing agriculture from the grip of hyper-capitalist and international financial interests. The second to final point in this section explains what exactly needed to be done in order to accomplish this reorientation of German industry. “The following steps must be taken to refocus the German economy on the domestic market: Promoting the fertility of German soil by land reclamation (see Section C). Building developments with single-family houses for workers to promote the deproletarianization of working people, strengthening the purchasing power of workers, and encouraging a reduction in the industrial working day (see Section D). Building roads, canals, etc, to support the domestic exchange of goods, settling people in the East, and loosening the hold of big cities. [And] a general financing of production to promote private industry.” The next Section, titled “C. Land Reclamation,” goes even further into detail on the process of the expansion of German agriculture. Estimated costs and benefits are included, with the execution of this plan costing “around 2 billion Marks.” The amount of arable land estimated to be gained by these reclamations was 18 million hectares — another 70,000 square miles of farmland. The next point deals with housing. Housing projects were commissioned by Hitler after he came to power, with the goal of building single-family homes for working families. From the pamphlet; “Along with food and clothing, housing is one of the necessities of life. The majority of those who live in big cities today do not live in decent apartments, but rather in terrible confined quarters without light and fresh air. The bad effects of such apartments on people is clear from the general state of health and decline in the birthrate in big cities, which are far below average. The number of deaths exceeds the number of births. Big cities would die out if people did not keep moving in. Expanding big cities is impossible for military reasons (air attacks, gas).” The housing situation in Germany was unsatisfactory for many Germans, with rundown apartments and slums being commonplace in large cities. This ultimately had a negative effect on the birth rate, morale, and overall health of the urban population. The previous Bruning administration had also attempted to expand housing, but the plan of the NSDAP bore several distinctions from this failed program. “Our plan is entirely different than Bruning’s. The new private homes will not be dog houses, as Bruning’s System planned, but rather solid, useful homes in which the owners will take pleasure. Furthermore, Bruning’s housing developments would surely be threatened as he reduces unemployment payments, without the settlers being able to support themselves from their tiny plots of land. National Socialist housing developments will benefit from the general improvement in the economy, which will guarantee that the homeowners will have jobs (usually part-time employment).” The housing program proposed that 400,000 private homes be built per year. That, as estimated, will provide employment for one million Germans. Each worker which was willing and able to purchase a single-family house would receive a grant from the state for 40% of the value of the house. If he was employed, the rest of the money used to pay for the house could be borrowed from a state bank, which would guarantee “favorable terms and a quick decision.” If unemployed, the purchaser would be paid to help construct the house, providing employment for both the new house owner and an entire construction crew. A percentage of the unemployed homeowner’s pay will be required to be diverted to cover the cost of the house. Noted in this section is this, “(the larger the building program is, the greater can be the number of unskilled workers).” The private home is defined as a “productive space.” To keep with this definition, each home built by the housing projects will have a yard of ¼ hectare. “That,” says the program, “will allow a worker to raise a significant part of the food he needs from his own land.” This was built in as a kind of insurance policy against possible future economic downturns, and to increase the flexibility of the family who owned the house. “His life thereby becomes more secure, and he is less dependent on his employer. If the worker becomes an owner who is assured work and the results of his labor on his own land, he will be able to survive necessary reductions in working hours that under current economic and social conditions can result only in absolute poverty for workers.” Objections to this policy included the assertions that agriculture and farmers’ markets would be hurt by household gardens, to which the NSDAP responded with this, “Homeowners will be unable to raise either grain or animals on their piece of land. They will have to buy these, as before, from farmers. Their produce will harm no one, for it will not replace existing production… Homeowners will not sell their produce, but rather usually consume what they produce themselves. Farmers sell little directly to workers. But even if sales decline slightly, it will be made up ten times over by increased sale of young plants, seeds, etc., to homeowners.” The export market of Germany had dried up since the closing of US markets to German goods at the beginning of the Great Depression. After Hitler came to power in January of 1933, the head of the Jewish War Veterans called for an American embargo of German goods at a rally organized by the American Jewish Congress. This rally helped to kick off an international movement to boycott German goods. Anti-German movements sprang up in Lithuania, France, Holland, Great Britain and Egypt, willing to “use the most radical means of defense by boycotting German imports.” The Daily Express wrote, “In New York, Paris, Warsaw, Jewish businessmen are united to go on an economic crusade.” Later, the German government attempted to halt the boycotts by initiating a counter-boycott of Jewish-owned businesses in Germany. This lasted one day, as the German people largely ignored it and continued to buy from Jews. This was later circumvented by bartering with other nations using ‘real goods.’ The 1932 program opens its section on foreign trade with a summary of the current situation; “Since the middle of last year, foreign countries began systematically to strangle German exports. The result has been a decline in German exports of about 35%, more than a third, in the first four months of 1932 as against the previous year, while German imports declined about 8% during the same period. This attack by foreign nations on the German economy has worsened our condition significantly. It is time to take defensive measures to rescue our economy.” One of the largest weights which prevented economic growth in Germany was the foreign debt of twenty-two billion Marks, which Germany had accumulated through both borrowing in order to pay reparations and foreign trade. The NSDAP believe it was an “irresponsible waste” to accept a negative balance of payments in the future, but vowed to repay Germany’s debts (after restructuring them). Import restrictions were sometimes put into place, but only “when the result will be work for the German worker or the German farmer.” National Socialism opposed the “liberal world economy, as well as the Marxist world economy,” and sought to produce all the items which its people consumed. The rejection of predatory hyper-capitalism and international finance forms the basis of the anti-capitalist sentiments which can be seen in some of the NSDAP’s policies and rhetoric. Under National Socialist rule, the banks were nationalized. The reason given for this was, “Bank presidents do what they want, and the state pays the bills.” Bankers had invested money foolishly, and then demanded that the state pay for their mistakes. The government did not directly control the functions of the banks, however, and this action only gave the government power to intervene in bank affairs. Other measures introduced to curb the poor investment choices of banks included a mandatory monthly statement which detailed all “positions and important changes.” In the 1932 economic program, it is said that the state will take a “supervisory capacity.” Banking reforms such as the expansion of the checking system. Additional laws to punish those who issued checks for money they didn’t have were put in place. The ability of the state to put price controls in place was expanded. This was to prevent the “socially unjust” and “economically dangerous” overpricing of goods such as fertilizers, salt, and radio tubes. The objection, “This is harmful intervention by the state,” is included in the pamphlet and is responded to with this; “If prices are reasonable, state intervention is unnecessary. And the freedom of creative economic activity must not be confused with the freedom to ruthlessly exploit others.” Along with this, the NSDAP advocated for the shrinking of Germany’s bureaucracy. “To provide the funds for job creation, the state must exercise the greatest economy, just as in private industry. Party book officials, who do nothing for the general good, and who waste public resources, must be eliminated. Administration must be simplified, respecting the well-earned rights of the professional civil service. Expenses for prestige projects must be radically reduced. This includes limitations on the use of government automobiles, etc. As long as cities do not have enough funds for welfare payments, they should not spend a penny for ceremonial activities.” The NSDAP advocated very strongly for responsible spending, and thus did not allocate public resources to any venture it deemed unnecessary. The plan for tackling corruption is also outlined. For example, laws which banned civil servants from interacting in any way with companies which their offices had business relations, and doctors were not allowed to have any connections to pharmaceutical factories or other manufacturers of medications or health products. The death penalty for black marketeers was also introduced. Circling back to farming, the pamphlet then gives a five point overview of the current agricultural situation in Germany and what must be done to remedy it. As mentioned before, Germany needed foreign foodstuffs to avoid starvation. This had pushed down the prices of food to a level which the German farmers could not compete with, and production costs routinely outweighed sales. This, coupled with unbearable interest and tax rates, led to German farmers holding a combined fifteen billion Marks in debt. The German farmer had no money to pay for seeds or for other material necessary for production. Farmers, left with unpayable debt and taxes, could no longer make a living. This caused Germany to even further lean on foreign farmers, and increased unemployment and poverty in the rural areas of Germany. Only three quarters of Germany’s demand for food was met by domestic production. The NSDAP proposed to rectify this by putting selective tariffs in place, and by lifting the interest and tax burden (described as “tax Bolshevism” by the program) on German farmers. How was this renaissance of German agriculture supposed to occur? As mentioned previously, land reclamation campaigns would play a major role; making up for the farmland lost in the Treaty of Versailles. Eight policies are proposed, which include the raising of agricultural products by cutting off imports from nations which do not accept German exports, which corrects the inequity in the prices for agricultural and industrial products without increasing prices in shops. The elimination of “unjust profiteering by middlemen” is the second policy proposed. During the hyperinflation of 1923, many German properties had lost their value and gone “underwater,” meaning that the actual value of the property was less than the value of the mortgage. This forced many Germans to sell their properties at a loss to foreign investors (mostly Jews, one reason for rising anti-Semitism in Germany). The eliminations of foreign investors and predatory loans, said the NSDAP, would help to life some of the financial problems which faced the German farmer. Points three and four make clear the necessity of reducing the interest burden and the price of fertilizer, both to further increase purchasing power among Germans. The reevaluation of long term loans and the suspension of interest and principal payments until the agricultural industry is able to recover is also proposed, along with a suspension of the government’s ability to seize agricultural products. It is also proposed that about three-hundred-thirty-one million Marks be set aside for land improvement loans and grain elevators. The concept of resettlement in the East is mentioned again, and it’s goal is to reestablish the lost German agriculture in the East. In conclusion, the economic policies of NSDAP can best be seen as economically pragmatic; not wholly protectionist or pro-free trade, and not wholly pro-free market or pro-central planning. Both the entrepreneur and the worker hold honored places in National Socialism, with an emphasis on social mobility and advancement based on merit. During the peacetime years of the Reich, wine consumption rose by 50%, champagne consumption by five fold, and between 1932 and 1938 tourism into Germany more than doubled. Automobile ownership more than tripled during the 1930s. The economics of National Socialism were constructed based upon circumstance rather than any defining set of ideals, such as the economics of Anarcho-Capitalism or Communism. There is much we can learn from the German economic recovery, National Socialist economic principles and work ethic, and the spirit of camaraderie and pragmatism cultivated by Hitler’s National Socialism.The safety of our consumers is our top priority at Kao USA Inc. and we are committed to manufacturing products that not only meet, but exceed, the highest industry standards. All Jergens® products purchased by retailers directly from Kao are authentic, high quality and safe to use. Kao is warning consumers about counterfeit lotion that has been sold in some retail locations. To date, the counterfeit product has been located only in the Northeastern United States. This counterfeit product is falsely labeled as Jergens® Ultra Healing® 10 oz. & 21 oz., Jergens® Original Scent 21oz, and Jergens® Soothing Aloe 10 oz. & 21 oz. Because counterfeit items labeled as “Jergens” are not Kao products and are not subjected to our rigorous quality control, we cannot guarantee the performance or safety of these counterfeit products. Without proper quality control to ensure the right formulation in each product, the counterfeit item may seriously put the safety and health of consumers at risk. Only a small number of counterfeit products has been identified by our Consumer Care Center and Quality teams. While we have not received any reports to date of adverse health effects or injury, consumers, particularly those with impaired immune systems, should be careful not to use the counterfeit lotion. IDENTIFYING THE COUNTERFEIT PRODUCTS The counterfeit manufacturer has replicated or removed the Lot Codes on the back of the package. Falsely labeled Jergens® 10 oz. Ultra Healing® (Lot Code X0G30055) Falsely labeled Jergens® 21 oz. Ultra Healing® (Missing Lot Code) Falsely labeled Jergens® 21 oz. Original Scent (Lot Code X0G13154) Falsely labeled Jergens® 21 oz. Original Scent (Missing Lot Code) Falsely labeled Jergens® 10 oz. Soothing Aloe (Lot Code X0G30615) Falsely labeled Jergens® 21 oz. Soothing Aloe (Lot Code X0G11144) In some cases the Lot Code Area is hidden with a False UPC Sticker Most noticeably, the discovered counterfeit product has a thin, watery consistency, unexpected or unpleasant texture, color or odor If you have any of these lot codes on your products or suspect you may have purchased counterfeit product, please discontinue use, retain the product and contact the Kao USA Consumer Care Center at 1-800-742-8798 or [email protected] CODY HAS made two changes to the starting XV that had 12 points to spare over Dublin in the Leinster final as Kilkenny get set to take on Limerick in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship semi-final this Sunday. Michael Fennelly lines out at centre-half forward with O’Loughlin Gaels’ Mark Kelly manning the edge of the square. Walter Walsh and John Power are the two to miss out and they’ll be joined on the bench by a fit again Richie Power. Their Munster opponents named their team, with one change, last night. Throw-in on Sunday is at 3.30pm. KILKENNY 1. David Herity (Dunnamaggin) 2. Paul Murphy (Danesfort) 3. JJ Delaney (Fenians) 4. Jackie Tyrrell (James Stephens) 5. Joey Holden (Ballyhale Shamrocks) 6. Brian Hogan (O’Loughlin Gaels) 7. Cillian Buckley (Dicksboro) 8. Richie Hogan (Danesfort) 9. Conor Fogarty (Erins Own) 10. Padraigh Walsh (Tullaroan) 11. Michael Fennelly (Ballyhale Shamrocks) 12. TJ Reid (Ballyhale Shamrocks) 13. Colin Fennelly (Ballyhale Shamrocks) 14. Mark Kelly (O’Loughlin Gaels) 15. Eoin Larkin (James Stephens) SUBS 16. Eoin Murphy (Glenmore) 17. Brian Kennedy (St. Lachtains) 18. Kieran Joyce (Rower Inistioge) 19. Lester Ryan (Clara) 20. Tommy Walsh (Tullaroan) 21. Henry Shefflin (Ballyhale Shamrocks) 22. Aidan Fogarty (Emeralds) 23. Richie Power (Carrickshock) 24. Walter Walsh (Tullogher Rosbercon) 25. John Power (Carrickshock) 26. Jonjo Farrell (Thomastown)Posted 6 years ago on May 1, 2012, 4:34 a.m. EST by OccupyWallSt Legalize! Organize! Unionize! We want to be heard! We need to be heard! We will be heard! We are here to celebrate May Day. We are here to celebrate our power as people who have found unity of purpose. Today we assert our power as working people. We declare our solidarity with all people of the world. We affirm our rights to economic security, to meaningful work, to health care, to public services, to safe and healthy communities, to free, quality public education from pre-K to college, and to civil liberties. Today, we stand in solidarity with all who take popular action to secure such rights, as we begin to form genuine alliances that challenge a system that breeds inequality. We are here to decry the rampant growth of social, political and economic inequality. We seek an end to an era wherein a handful of political and economic elites govern in the name of democracy. We want an end to assaults on our human rights. We want an end to tax breaks for the rich. We want an end to the attacks on our right to organize. We want an end to the mass incarceration of people of color. We want an end to all wars and an end to the militarization of our foreign policy. We want an end to our current political system that is bought and paid for by 1%- ers. We want legalization, equal rights, civil rights, and a path to citizenship for immigrant working families. And we want citizenship to mean, as it should, that all people are to be treated justly and equally by their government. Recall that for over a century May Day has been a time when the stirrings of spring lead people of good will towards visions of revolutionary renewal. The powerful wish to take these dreams away from us. They never will. And so it is on this Mayday, in the wake of a growing planetary uprising for justice, we dare to look forward to a world when the borders that divide us will be made meaningless, to the birth of genuinely democratic culture of communities managing their own resources for the common good, and where the value and dignity of no human being on this planet is considered inferior to any other. We the people, including organized and unorganized workers, employed and unemployed, public and private, documented and undocumented, here, today, re-commit ourselves to being in solidarity with all people of the world. Our revolutionary spirit will only grow and deepen. We are here to announce that "Another world is not only possible, but is on her way." We are Tahrir Square. We are Santagma Square. We are Puerta Del Sol. We are Wisconsin. We are Ohio. We are New York. We are Puerto Rico. We are Los Angeles and Oakland and a multitude of cities across the country and the world. We are the 99%! Our time has come. Let freedom spring! ¡Si se puede! --joint declaration from May 1st Coalition, Labor union representatives, La Fuente, New York Immigration Coalition, New Immigrant Communities Empowered (NICE), El Centro de Inmigrante, National Institute for Latino Policy, Mothers on the Move, National Lawyers Guild, Occupy Wall Street Immigrant Worker Justice Working Group, Occupy Wall Street en Espanol, Occupy Wall Street Latin America, National Lawyers Guild, Community Farmworker Alliance, Adelante Alliance, Jornaleros Unidos, Restaurant Opportunities Center-NY, Domestic Workers United, New York Taxi Workers Alliance, Laundry Workers Center United, Brandworkers International
said a diplomat of an eastern European country which, like all 28 members, can veto a deal. Photo: Getty After last week's dinner at Chequers between Mr Cameron and the French president Francois Hollande, described as "businesslike", officials in Paris said they were also waiting for a 10-page British document on its outline proposals before any serious negotiations could begin. They also made clear the limits of French willingness to grant major concessions, fearful that other EU countries with rising anti-EU sentiment would make their own demands, unravelling the EU's political fabric. “We need to avoid seeing Cameron declare next year that he got three quarters of what he asked for and then have the next country turning up with a shopping list saying, 'the British got all these concessions, why not us?',” a source close to Emmanuel Macron, the French economy minister, said. That source added that France – backed by Germany – has made clear that anything that called into question “the essential and fundamental freedoms of the treaties” would be “extremely problematic.” Mr Hammond conceded that the British demands on benefits “did challenge a principle of non-discrimination” and would require treaty change to avoid challenges in the European courts. Photo: AP/Evan Vucci, Pool “It is not a highly flexible thing: it is a very clear ‘ask’ with a very specific timescales attached to it,” Mr Hammond said, “But we will take that package of asks into a negotiation process, of course we will. It is perfectly possible – whether it is politically palatable is another question.” Lawyers in Brussels say opposition to British demands on changing benefit rules is not only political but also legal. Among the "fixes" being discussed is to bundle up British demands in a future round of EU treaty modifications at an unspecified date, most likely as a result of fiscal consolidation of the Eurozone countries. However Jean-Claude Piris, the European Union's former top lawyer, told The Sunday Telegraph that a political commitment would have “no legal value”. Asked if there was a name for a political commitment to change the treaty at some point in the future, Mr Piris replied, “Yes, it’s called bulls**. There is no possibility to make a promise that would be legally binding to change the treaty later.” Some experts have referred back to treaty promises given to the Danes in 1992 and the Irish in 2009 as a possible model for the British negotiation, but in both cases, Mr Piris said, the changes conformed to existing EU treaties, while the British demands clearly did not. His assessment is said to be widely shared in Brussels. In advance of the Conservative party conference next week, the delays have angered eurosceptics on Mr Cameron’s backbenches as well his European “partners”. “Members at Conference want to be sure that there is something tangible that makes a fundamental change in the relationship between ourselves and the EU,” said Sir Bill Cash, the chairman of the European scrutiny committee. “That is what he said he would do and that is what he is looking for, but there is no evidence of it at the moment.” A Government spokeswoman insisted that talks are "on track" and "progressing well". “We don’t recognise these issues. It was agreed at the June European Council to kick off technical discussions on the four areas the Prime Minister raised and to return to the issue at the December European Council. Those technical talks are progressing well and Ministers have been meeting regularly with counterparts across the EU, with the institutions and at officials level with the Commission, to ensure plans are on track.”Intel’s Ivy Bridge (IVB) has been one of the hottest tech topics of the past 12 months — we haven’t seen this much interest in a CPU since Intel launched Nehalem. Ivy Bridge is the first 22nm processor at a time when die shrinks have become increasingly difficult, the first CPU to use FinFETs (Intel calls its specific implementation Tri-Gate), and it’s a major component of Intel’s ultrabook initiative. If all goes well, Ivy Bridge will usher in a new series of 15W ultra-mobile parts, though these won’t reach the market for a little while yet. Ivy Bridge is a “tick” in Intel’s tick-tock model, but the company is referring to its latest architecture as a “tick+.” The reason for the change is the disparity of improvement between Ivy Bridge’s CPU and GPU components. IVB’s CPU core is a die-shrunk Sandy Bridge (SNB) with a few ultra-low-level efficiency improvements. Performance improvements on the CPU side are in the 5-10% range. Unlike Westmere (Nehalem’s “tick”), which offered 50% more cores, Ivy Bridge keeps Sandy Bridge’s quad-core configuration. At 160mm2 and 1.4 billion transistors, Ivy Bridge is just over half the size of Sandy Bridge, with 61% more transistors. It therefore follows that Ivy Bridge’s transistor density is substantially higher than anything Intel has previously built. Intel has decided to keep Ivy Bridge focused on lower power, rather than ramping its clock speed. Rumors have flown recently that the TDP on the Core i7-3770K has been raised to 95W, but Intel’s press materials state 77W. It’s possible that the company is planning two different versions of the chip, or that the part may have two different steppings. Either way, 77W appears to still be on the table. Intel also isn’t changing its product differentiation; there’s no way for an enthusiast to buy an unlocked CPU that also offers access to technologies like vPro or VT-d. If Ivy Bridge’s CPU is a bit boring, the new GPU more than makes up for it. Ivy Bridge’s integrated graphics core increases the total number of execution units by 33% (to 16, up from 12), and implements support for DirectX 11, OpenCL 1.1, and OpenGL 3.1. There are now two texture units instead of one, and the GPU can issue twice as many MADs (Multiply-Add) per clock. Ivy Bridge incorporates a small, dedicated L3 cache of its own, but retains its ability to share data across the high-bandwidth ring bus that connects it to the processor, if necessary. Other improvements include better Z-culling, an improved anisotropic filter, and better image post-processing capabilities. Intel claims its new chip can boost performance by up to 60% compared to Sandy Bridge. The Quick Sync video technology that debuted with SNB last year also gets a performance boost from these new features, and IVB supports up to three displays (up from Sandy Bridge’s two). Backwards compatibility One of Ivy Bridge’s other features is that it’s backwards compatible with Intel’s Series 6 chipsets — with a few strings attached. Once your motherboard vendor makes the appropriate BIOS updates available, you’ll be able to drop an IVB into an old board, or re-use a Sandy Bridge part in a Series 7 system. Intel’s stance on PCI-Express 3.0 is that you’ll have to buy a Series 7 motherboard to take advantage of it; the company has no plans to support the new standard on Series 6 or X79-based motherboards. These limitations remove most of the potential incentive of going the hybrid route, but this level of compatibility makes it easier to repurpose hardware or upgrade systems on a budget. Next page: Ivy Bridge benchmarks…Rep. John Conyers is in the hospital for a stress-related illness, a family spokesperson says. RELATED: Sam Riddle, a political consultant who is acting as the family spokesperson, talked to reporters outside of the Conyers home this morning. "The Congressman is resting comfortably in an area hospital," Riddle said. "He's doing OK -- as well as can be expected for a gentleman that's approaching 90 years of age." Riddle says Monica is by his side at the hospital. Riddle also made comments in regards to the sexual harassment claims: "These serial accusers have done this before, we're used to it. We don't condone sexual harassment on any level, but we hope that you will pray for the Congressman's good health and we hope that you will also understand that there is a bitter double-edge sword to those that would accuse, especially when they're serial accusers," Riddle said.Brendan Rodgers provided an update on striker Divock Origi today, explaining that discussions have been taking place this month in regard to his immediate future. Liverpool completed the signing of the Belgium international from Lille last summer and, as part of the agreement, he remained with the French side on a season-long loan. The manager was asked at his pre-match press conference whether the Reds would attempt to move that transfer forward to January and bring Origi to Anfield now. Watch the video here » Rodgers commented: "He's a player that will definitely be here next summer. Whether he'll be here or not in January is something that there has been discussion [about]. "But there is nothing to report on it. The agreement with Lille was for him to stay there. So we'll see how that works. "But, if not, we've got players here that are developing and working well, and we'll go with what we've got."Iran expressed deepening fury at Israel and the United States on Thursday over the drive-by bombing that killed a nuclear scientist in Tehran the day before, and signaled that its Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps might carry out revenge assassinations. News of the scientist’s killing dominated Iran’s state-run news media, which were filled with vitriolic denunciations both of Israel, seen in Iran as the main suspect in his death, and the United States, where top officials have gone out of their way to issue strongly worded denials of responsibility. Israeli officials, who regard Iran as their country’s main enemy, have not categorically denied any Israeli role in the killing, which came against a backdrop of growing pressure on Iran over its disputed nuclear program. Western nations suspect that Iran is working toward building a nuclear weapon, despite Iran’s repeated assertions that its program is peaceful. Iran’s official government reaction to the scientist’s killing on Wednesday was more restrained, saying that Iran would not be dissuaded from its right to peaceful nuclear energy and demanding that the United Nations Security Council investigate and condemn the attack. The Iranian ambassador to the United Nations, Mohammad Khazaee, said in a letter to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that the killing was part of a campaign of terrorist acts against Iran committed by “certain foreign quarters,” an oblique reference to Israel and the United States. Advertisement Continue reading the main story A much stronger call for retribution came Thursday from one Iranian newspaper in particular, Kayhan, a mouthpiece for the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and for the Revolutionary Guards.Allison Janney, Emma Stone, and Roslyn Ruff in The Help. Photo by Dale Robinette/DreamWorks II Distribution Co. LLC In September, 10th-grade students at a Maryland private school were asked to write a historical essay about the black experience in the South during the Jim Crow era with “specific examples of prejudice” taken from their summer reading text. The three books the students could choose from were presented as equally valid sources for an American history essay on Jim Crow. The books: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, The Secret Life of Bees, and The Help. The idea of introducing students to the history of America’s own violent, terror-driven apartheid era through a reading list that is two-thirds books written from the white perspective by white authors is absurd; the idea that The Help should be used as some kind of primary text for understanding the black experience in this country is ludicrously offensive. Yet The Help in particular has turned up on many reading and resource lists for English and history classes in recent years, and some teachers use the book and its movie adaptation as a way to explore the civil rights movement. One high school in Ohio assigned the book as the lone summer reading for every English class, from ninth-grade language arts through 12th-grade British literature. School reading guides and online study sites are filled with questions about the state of race relations in 1963 Mississippi, with answers drawn only from the “history” presented in The Help. One teacher on E-notes reassures a student asking about historical fiction that The Help is “considered to be [a] reliable account of the events and emotions of the times.” The Help follows an aspiring writer, Skeeter, as she realizes the injustices suffered by the black women who have raised white children—including herself—for generations. Skeeter undertakes a secret project: stories from the perspective of “the help” (parts of the book are written in the “dialect” of Aibileen and Minnie, the two principal black characters). In the process, Aibileen shares her pain, Skeeter gets to move to New York, and Minnie bakes a pie so humiliating that it shames the white villainess, Hilly, into keeping their identities secret. Though Aibileen is fired and must leave the little white girl who loves her, she feels “lighter” and decides to be a writer herself. The book aims to assure readers that the lines that divide people are, as Aibileen says, “in our heads. Lines between black and white ain’t there neither. Some folks just made those up, long time ago. And that go for the white trash and the so-ciety ladies too.” Like The Help? Fine. The Help is a readable, sometimes charming, sentimental work of fiction, and this is not a critique of its merits as a novel. Want to use The Help to teach about the civil rights movement or the history of American race relations? No. As a work of history, or even historical fiction, The Help is at best a gross oversimplification and at worst a horrible lie of a book. When The Help is used as an educational resource, the terror-filled realities of the time are glossed over or omitted in favor of a heartwarming—and entirely fictional—idea that racial equality came about because white people realized their unfairness and did something about it. The book perversely downplays hard-won victories within the black community by transferring ownership of momentous societal shifts to good-hearted white Mississippians. What kind of historical understanding can we expect of students fed these kinds of fictions? It’s easy to see why The Help is appealing to many teachers and curriculum committees. Kathryn Stockett’s writing is accessible, and it must be a relief for beleaguered teachers to present material that’s already familiar to students thanks to the Oscar-winning film. (Plus, screening the movie takes up three full 45-minute periods.) And The Help’s neat narrative enforces a noble idea of history: When a minority group peacefully demands full status and rights, the American people, as a whole, always come to understand that it is only right, proper, and American to treat people equally. It is an attitude that doesn’t dwell in details or complicated counternarratives. It’s easy to understand this kind of history and easy to teach. But aside from being willfully oblique, this idea of history also denies the ignoble aspect of our American story, the part that makes history whole and real. The larger American culture may often deny history’s harder realities, but it is essential that teachers do better. The problem in 1963 Mississippi wasn’t solely that the Aibileens and Minnies carried the inhuman burden of the mammy. It was a set of objective circumstances that were horrifically violent and dehumanizing. Jim Crow was a time of systematic oppression, when an entire population was terrorized because of the color of their skin. Lines were not, as Stockett has Aibileen say, in anyone’s head. They were real. Rape, lynchings, firebombings, beatings, burnings, and police brutality were used as tools to control a group of people whose continued subjugation fueled a racist culture and economy. And Mississippi? A state, as Martin Luther King Jr. said, “sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression”? Mississippi was the most dangerous state in the country for anyone seeking racial justice. Between Reconstruction’s end and the early ’60s, according to historian Charles Payne, the state recorded 539 lynchings, the highest rate in the country. In 1963, the year in which The Help is set, there were 21 reported acts of violence that fell within the FBI’s definition of terrorism—shootings, firebombs, murders—in Mississippi, more than any other state. And though this number comes from the exhaustively researched Political Violence and Terrorism in Modern America: A Chronology, the actual number of racially motivated crimes is undoubtedly far higher, as many crimes—like rape, assault, and harassment—often went unreported, unprosecuted, or completely ignored by complicit police. In March of 1963, after a particularly gruesome spate of attacks on civil rights workers, the Commission on Civil Rights recommended withholding federal funds from Mississippi for being “in defiance of the Constitution.” Mississippi was the front line for virulent, hardline segregationists and an epicenter of racial violence. When not employing outright Klan-style violence, groups like the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission and the White Citizens’ Council silenced integrationists, civil rights workers, and even moderate sympathizers through the more genteel power structures—banks, courts, businesses, and politicians—they ran. Everything from libel and blackmail to severe economic reprisals and police violence were used on anyone remotely connected to integration. Historian Joseph Crespino writes, “Because of the Council’s influence, no place in the United States … came closer to resembling the repressiveness of apartheid South African than did Mississippi.” The White Citizens’ Council is the group to which The Help’s villain, Hilly Holbrook, belongs, and though she is a vile creature, she is ultimately silenced through the subversive actions of two black women. This kind of resolution trivializes the power of the White Citizens’ Council—essentially a racist cabal of upper-class Southern whites—and diminishes the tremendous courage and sacrifice of the real people who fought this power. The problem was not that a few bad apples like Hilly Holbrook were especially cruel to their maids. Hilly Holbrook would have been one of countless white citizens who enforced a racist caste system, decades in the making, that crushed resistance through reprisal and violence. Brave individuals risked everything to fight this brutal repression, and their struggle demands an accurate historical telling. These gains were not achieved though sympathetic white girls and poop pies. There are so many excellent books that use the power of narrative to bolster historical understanding—books that are richer, deeper, and just so much better than The Help. Those seeking fiction that focuses on Jim Crow and racial injustice can read Invisible Man, The Street, Passing, or the more recent Bombingham. For riveting, narrative nonfiction about the forces and shifts that shaped race in this century, Sons of Mississippi and The Warmth of Other Suns are essential. Anne Moody’s memoir Coming of Age in Mississippi is a vivid, historically detailed look at black life in rural Mississippi, written by a woman whose involvement in the civil rights movement is made all the more remarkable because of the often terrifying historical context she provides.* She Would Not Be Moved sheds fresh light on Rosa Parks and dissects the sexism and racism that transformed a dedicated activist into a tired old lady in the public eye. James Baldwin’s writing remains clear, compelling, and moving, and The Fire Next Time and Go Tell It on the Mountain are classics. 12 Million Black Voices presents lives of black people—in both the rural South and urban North—in the 1930s, with prose by Richard Wright accompanying powerful photographs by Dorothea Lange and Walker Evans, among others. Of course, there are even more unsettling stories, like Your Blues Aren’t Like Mine and the lyrical A Wreath for Emmett Till, but because they seek to capture the actual brutality and ugliness of Jim Crow, they’re often deemed too disturbing for students—which should be the point but is often the problem. Because if you’re really teaching students how to think about history, the content must be deeply upsetting at times. A serious study of history requires a confrontation with the failures of courage and conscience that have often marked our times. Acknowledging this history doesn’t diminish the gains our society has made; it makes them all the more extraordinary. Glossing over actual history for ahistorical, largely blameless fictions like The Help doesn’t give young people nearly enough credit. Some educators assign these books under the misguided assumption that white kids will relate to a book about the struggle for equality only if it features a white protagonist and a “happy” resolution. But in my experience, teenagers are far more fluid in their conception of identity than older people and far more cognizant of unhappy endings and ambiguities than infantilizing adults think they are. As long as there’s a point of connection—and injustice is one to which all teenagers relate—students devour stories of people different from themselves. To my mind, if you’re going to assign The Help to teach about civil rights, you might as well assign Life Is Beautiful to teach about the Holocaust. Both rely on a simplification that makes a hard subject seem palatable and resolved, while giving viewers that lovely self-righteous feeling that keeps us from recognizing the discrimination around us now. People didn’t make concentration camps happy places through clowning, and the legalized system of oppression that ruled the South for more than 100 years was not undone by white girls and their mammies. Of course, we teach the Holocaust with Anne Frank’s diary or Elie Wiesel’s Night, books that don’t shield young readers from the realities of history nor from the way history echoes into the present. Racism is not a problem that Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks and Skeeter fixed, as demonstrated by the gutting of the Voting Rights Act, the murder of Trayvon Martin, and the everyday lives of high schoolers of color. But that’s the kind of stagnant historical understanding I see in students who only read neat narratives of struggle and redemption. I’ve heard dozens of white students talk about how “crazy” things were before the civil rights movement changed everything, with no sense of present connection (“Now we have a black president”) or the struggles that persist today. I have also seen the opposite—young people righteously incensed over racial injustice in Black Boy, glued to a documentary about the Scottsboro Boys, able to make modern connections about discrimination through The New Jim Crow, poring over pictures of life in the segregated South. When I asked a student about The Help essay her school had assigned about black life under Jim Crow, she told me that the saddest part of the book was when Aibileen had to leave Mae Mobely, the little white girl she cared for. “It was so sad,” she said, “because she loved Mae Mobley, and Mae Mobley loved her, but Aibileen got fired even though she didn’t do anything wrong.” Her takeaway was not unjustified—the book and the film set this scene up as a wrenching, tear-jerking moment, so it was simply hitting its intended mark—but it points to the awful, intractable problem with using The Help for historical purposes. This student will be fortunate enough to read other texts and explore better history, and I’m sure her understanding will grow deeper. But until that time, she will believe that taking away a black woman’s ability to care for an adoring white girl best captures the racial injustice of 1963 Mississippi. Correction, Dec. 2, 2013: This article misspelled the first name of author Anne Moody. (Return.) — See all the pieces in this month’s Slate Book Review. Sign up for the Slate Book Review monthly newsletter.An accuser can be prohibited from using the word rape on the witness stand Usually we leave it up to the linguists and philosophers to muse on the crazy relationship between words and their meanings. In the law, words—the important ones, at least—are defined narrowly, and judges, lawyers, and jurors are trusted to understand their meanings. It’s precisely because language is so powerful in a courtroom that we treat it so reverently. Yet a Nebraska district judge, Jeffre Cheuvront, suddenly finds himself in a war of words with attorneys on both sides of a sexual assault trial. More worrisome, he appears to be at war with language itself, and his paradoxical answer is to ban it: Last fall, Cheuvront granted a motion by defense attorneys barring the use of the wordsrape, sexual assault, victim, assailant, and sexual assault kit from the trial of Pamir Safi—accused of raping Tory Bowen in October 2004. Safi’s first trial resulted in a hung jury last November when jurors deadlocked 7-5. Responding to Cheuvront’s initial language ban—which will be in force again when Safi is retried in July—prosecutors upped the ante last month by seeking to have words like sex and intercourse barred from the courtroom as well. The judge denied that motion, evidently on the theory that there would be no words left to describe the sex act at all. The result is that the defense and the prosecution are both left to use the same word—sex—to describe either forcible sexual assault, or benign consensual intercourse. As for the jurors, they’ll just have to read the witnesses’ eyebrows to sort out the difference. Bowen met Safi at a Lincoln bar on Oct. 30, 2004. It is undisputed that they shared some drinks, and witnesses saw them leaving together. Bowen claims not to have left willingly and has no memory of the rest of that night. She claims to have woken up naked the next morning with Safi atop her, “having sexual intercourse with her.” When she asked him to stop, he did. Bowen testified for 13 hours at Safi’s first trial last October, all without using the words rape or sexual assault. She claims, not unreasonably, that describing what happened to her as sex is almost an assault in itself. “This makes women sick, especially the women who have gone through this,” Bowen told the Omaha World-Herald. “They know the difference between sex and rape.” Nebraska law offers judges broad discretion to ban evidence or language that present the danger of “unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues or misleading the jury.” And it’s not unheard-of for judges to keep certain words out of a courtroom. Words like victim have been increasingly kept out of trials, since they tend to imply that a crime was committed. And as Safi’s lawyer, Clarence Mock, explains, the word rape is just as loaded. “It’s a legal conclusion for a witness to say, ‘I was raped’ or ‘sexually assaulted.’ … That’s for a jury to decide.” His concern is that the word rape so inflames jurors that they decide a case emotionally and not rationally. The real question for Judge Cheuvront, then, is whether embedded in the word sex is another “legal conclusion”—that the intercourse was consensual. And it’s hard to conclude otherwise. Go ahead, use the word sex in a sentence. Asking a complaining witness to scrub the word rape or assault from her testimony is one thing. Asking that she imply that she agreed to what her alleged assailant was doing to her is something else entirely. To put it another way: If the complaining witness in a rape trial has to describe herself as having had “intercourse” with the defendant, should the complaining witness in a mugging be forced to testify that he was merely giving his attacker a loan? The fact that judges are not rushing to ban similarly conclusory legal language from trial testimony—presumably one can still say murder or embezzlement on the stand—reflects not just the fraught nature of language but also the fraught nature of rape prosecutions. We as a society still somehow think rape is different—either because we assume the victims are especially fragile or because we assume they are particularly deceitful. Is the word rape truly more inflammatory to a jury than the word robbery? Yes, the question of the victim’s consent surely makes a rape trial more complicated than some other kinds of criminal trials. But the fact that the evidence may be more equivocal hardly makes the underlying word more likely to incite blind juror outrage. Wendy Murphy teaches at the New England School of Law and has spent years studying the relationship between language and the courts. She describes Judge Cheuvront’s order as part of a growing trend on the part of the defense bar to scrub the language of trial courts, one that has “really blossomed after the Kobe Bryant trial.” The big shifts she’s noticing: Whereas defense attorneys once made motions to limit the use of the word victim in trials, there is an uptick in efforts to get rid of the word rape. Moreover, she points out, these strategies used to be directed toward prosecutors, but they are now being directed toward witnesses as well. Do a Lexis search on the influence of inflammatory language on juror perceptions. Try to find some social science data on the effect of loaded courtroom words on conviction rates. Not much out there, notes Murphy. That’s one of the things that makes the Nebraska case so maddening. If judges are going to take it upon themselves to issue blanket orders that would have witnesses testifying that black is white, one might hope that they are trying to remedy some well-documented evidentiary problem. You needn’t be a radical legal feminist to cringe at the idea of judges ordering rape complainants to obliterate from their testimony any language that signifies an assault. At worst, that judge is ordering her to lie. At best, he is asking her to play at being a human thesaurus: thinking up coded ways to describe to the jury what she believes to have happened. If Mock, Safi’s attorney, is correct in stating that “trials are competing narratives of what happened,” why should one side have a lock on the narrative language used? Can it really be that the cure for the problem of ambiguous courtroom language is to permit less of it? And there’s another problem underlying Cheuvront’s order: Jurors will not be told of it. Not only is the “dangerous” language to be hidden from them, but the fact that it’s been hidden will be concealed from them as well. They are not merely too emotional to hear the phrase rape kit. They are also evidently too emotional to know it’s been hidden from them in the first place. Professor Robert Weisberg teaches criminal law at Stanford Law School, and he acknowledges that judges in rape trials face a particularly complicated challenge when it comes to keeping prejudicial or conclusory language from a jury. He has no problem, for instance, with the fact that courts have gradually jettisoned the word victim for the less loaded complainant. The former proves too much. But he cautions that there is no value-neutral word for unwanted sex and that the word intercourse “understates what happens in a rape case.” He warns that a blanket ban on the word rape may in fact be the worst solution. A jury instruction from the judge or gentle admonitions that witnesses watch their language throughout the trial is the better, more transparent fix. “That,” says Weisberg, “is what judges get paid for.” If we’ve learned anything from the dreary wars over politically correct language in America, it’s that purging ugly words from the lexicon hardly makes the ugly ideas they represent go away. Trials exist to ferret out facts, and papering over those ugly facts with pretty—or even “neutral”—words doesn’t just do violence to abstractions like language and meaning. When it’s done in a courtroom, the real victim—if I may still use that word—may well be the truth.The dew point temperature is the temperature at which the moisture in the air begins to condense into dew or water droplets. The accurate estimation of the dew point temperature is very important as it controls the heat stress on humans, detects fluctuations of evaporation rates, and humidity trends. The dew point temperature is a significant parameter particularly required in various hydrological, climatological and agronomical related researches. This study proposes Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Extreme Learning Machine (ELM) models for the estimation of daily dew point temperature. The daily measured weather data (Wet bulb temperature, relative humidity, vapor pressure and dew point temperature) of humid and semi-arid regions of India were used for model development. The statistical indices, namely Mean Absolute Error, Root Mean Square Error, and Nash Sutcliffe Efficiency were adopted to evaluate the performances of these two models. The merit of the ELM model is evaluated against SVM technique in the estimation of dew point temperature. The proposed ELM models demonstrated much greater capability than the SVM models in the estimation of daily dew point temperature.INTRODUCTION Salome MC is known as Iran's first female rapper. She grew up in Tehran, Iran and as a teenager got involved in graffiti then rap as a way to communicate. After some time the urban life started to put a strain on her, emphasized by struggles in her personal relationships. The chaos that occurred in the post election fall out of 2009 was the last straw, convincing her that it would be best to leave and find her utopia somewhere else. Salome ended up in a small city in Japan, where she found her peace - which is also what her name, Salome, means. Living in Japan now she is involved in fine arts in contemporary forms, while still continuing Hip-Hop as a means to share her experiences. I'm Sahar Sarshar, a filmmaker who got in touch with Salome in March of this year. I asked if she would be interested in me filming a documentary about her. She requested that we first get to know each other further. And in these past few months we have communicated back and forth getting to know each other as artists, collaborators, and friends. We finally decided it was time to work together to make not only a documentary but also a music video for her song: "Price Of Freedom" from her latest album: "I Officially Exist". Salome is a true underground artist with an inspiring story to tell that her fans in Iran have been eagerly waiting for. So to fund both projects we decided that our best approach would be crowd funding. This way it will be an bigger collaborative process than we ever imagined. Our budget is small but our ideas on this project are large. So to all hip hop, music and art lovers, please join us in creating a project that we can all be moved and proud of. We have some wonderful rewards in exchange and are excited for you to join in this process with us! Google+ Website for Project THE MUSIC VIDEO To create the music video, PRICE OF FREEDOM, we will be filming the in Japan, America, and Iran. The video from Iran will be filmed by the Iranian audience who will send us video of street life, street art, daily life, parks, cafes, themselves (if they want) etc. In America and the rest of the world, we will also ask for footage. The song, PRICE OF FREEDOM, is about Salome's struggles with society when she lived in Iran, and how she freed herself from societies burden little by little. But with this kind of freedom, there are prices that you have to pay. The song explains how the prices you have to pay for freedom are worth it. Since the song is very urban, both in the lyrics and the way it is produced, we will be filming Salome in an urban setting in Japan - as well as incorporating the urban footage from the audience in Iran and all over the world. This song also features another rapper, SplytSecond- who will be filmed in the USA - as he is based there. THE DOCUMENTARY The documentary, SALOME'S TALE, will be a profile piece about Salome's life - starting from Iran, where she grew up. She is known as Iran's first female rapper. And she was also the first female there to begin in graffiti. There are a lot of political thoughts about Iran, Iranians, and Salome, and even though she experienced the 2009 Post Election fall out in Iran, it wasn't just politics that made Salome change her life. She also grew tired of the urban life and along with other struggles, she knew it was time for a change. She now lives in a small town in Japan where she has changed her life drastically. The documentary will follow her as she goes through school, works on her art, and also attends some spiritual retreats in Japan. But we will also bring up the past in Iran and her rap - which she continues to work on. Salome's songs and lyrics are very inspiring to many Iranians. It is time for more of the world to know about what she has learned from her struggles and how she works to keep peace. The production of both projects will last three weeks. One week in the US, and two weeks in Japan. Post-production should last about a month or two. We hope to have both finished by December 2013 / January 2014. ------- IN THE PRESS Salome's Tale Project featured on Aslan Media Iranian Rapper Salome: Scream to Let Your Voice Be Heard Interview with Aslan Media Who is Salome MC? VIDEOS FILMMAKER BIOGRAPHY Sahar Sarshar is a filmmaker, video journalist, and visual story teller. Sahar received a Master of Arts in Film and Video at Emerson College and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at George Mason University. Telling other people's stories is not only a joy for Sahar but a huge responsibility. Her visual stories tend to be more personal and her philosophy is that she is just there to connect the audience to the subject of the documentary - nothing more. In 2012, with this philosophy and background in mind, Sahar decided to create ZirZameen, a Persian and English series of short documentaries on underground artists and activists around the world. Her work as Executive Producer, Director, and Filmmaker of ZirZameen has received national and international attention. Sahar gained national attention for encouraging Iranians to join the Harlem Shake craze (MSNBC) and international attention when she received an exclusive interview with an underground rap group still residing in Iran. Salome's Tale (the documentary) and Price of Freedom (a music video) is her next passion and venture, as she begins to collaborate with someone whom she not only admires but calls a friend. WEBSITE FACEBOOK YOUTUBE VIMEO ------------------------------Chuluaqui Quodoushka (CHOO-la-kway Kwuh-DOE-shka) is a collection of sexual techniques and theories developed and promoted by the Deer Tribe Medicine Society, a New Age new religious movement and business co-founded by Harley Reagan and Diane Reagan in 1986. Reagan cites a variety of ancient and contemporary cultures as the inspiration for these practices including the Olmec, the Mayan and the Toltec, though previously he claimed that these practices were Cherokee. Reagan has come under heavy criticism and his teachings have been denounced by the tribes whose ways he has claimed to teach.[1][2][3][4] Overview [ edit ] According to Reagan and
the point, as you'll see as we make out way through this comparison. The iconic, bug-eyed look of the 911 has been tweaked since the car was introduced in 1963. Poetically for our purposes, the Mustang debuted in 1965 and has achieved equally iconic status. In my experience, most people — Stang fans or not — love the way the Stang looks. The 911, not so much. It's an acquired taste. But nothing else resembles it, so the 911 announces itself just as surely. My feeling is that I never avidly want a 911 in my driveway, but when I have one parked there, I believe it looks dang good. In the vast lineup of 911 variants, the GTS sits at the top of what you might call the lowest tier. It's the best "entry-level" Porsche money can buy. To jump up a tier, you need to buy the 911 Turbo. As it turns out, the Mustang GT is similarly situated, above the base Stangs with four-cylinder turbo engines, but below the mighty Shelby GT350. And both our competitors here were hardtop coupés with nominal back seats, although the Stang's are a bit more accommodating of adults. Let's get down to it. First up, Mr. Mustang GT. What was a muscle car is now a muscular sports car, as Ford has updated the driving dynamics. Mustangs are now quite effective at going around corners, as I discovered while canyon carving in LA. The heart of the Mustang GT is 5.0-liter V8, making 460 horsepower, a bump on the 2017 car thanks to reengineered fuel-injection technology. This isn't the delicious flat-crank V8 found in the GT350, but it's a fine motor that on startup growls menacingly and at idle doesn't let you forget that menace. Where the rubber hits the road, the 420 pound-feet of torque is extremely compelling. The 0-60 mph dash takes place in under 4 seconds. It's easy to take GT's 5.0 for granted, as it's always been such a staple of the machine. What's great about it isn't fuel economy — the small tank and thirsty combustion means that you'll have to enjoy visits to the pump — but rather the pure visceral delight of hearing and feeling the rumble of an all-American eight-banger up front. The ponies and torque are piped to the rear wheels via an exceptional six-speed manual transmission. The Stang provides multiple drive modes, with Sport and Track perhaps holding the most appeal for spirited driving (there's also a drag-strip option). The interior is purposeful but relatively comfy, making it possible to conceive of the GT as a daily driver rather than as a weekend plaything. The overall vibe is certainly still Detroit, even though the Mustang has been tweaked to offer more of a Euro-racer impression. The touchscreen running Ford's SYNC 3 system is responsive and not at all laggy, if modestly scaled in this car. There's all the usual stuff: navigation, a dandy audio system with SiriusXM, USB/AUX ports, Bluetooth connectivity, Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto. No doubt about, the Mustang GT is a blast to drive. You gotta let this pony run! And I did, as much as I could on canyon roads and LA's freeways. Because I drive so many different types of high-performance cars, I try to make sure that I properly slot them into their segments. The Mustang naturally lines up against the Chevy Camaro and the Dodge Challenger. But because the Stang is a rear-wheel-drive V8 that, over more than 50 years, has evolved into a viable performance-racing platform (not unlike it slightly older companion, the Corvette), I can't help think about it when sampling V8-powered supercars and European speedsters that match up in terms of horsepower. But as good as the GT is to drive under all circumstances, where it truly shines is in serving up emotional and physical experiences. Yes, it's more of a thinking person's car than it used to be. But you still don't have to think that much. I've honestly come to absolutely love it as much as I love cars like the Mazda Miata. We turn now to perhaps the greatest sports car ever made, the 911. Nothing about the 911 makes objective sense, but Porsche has spent so many years compensating for everything that's wrong with the 911 that the car is now a masterpiece. For example, nobody puts the engine over the rear wheel anymore for a reason. The front end is frankly weird-looking. The 911 simply isn't anything a modern designer would emulate. But it all works, when taken together and integrated with the 911's long history. When you beef the base car up as Porsche has with the GTS, you also start to see how blissfully versatile this sport-car platform is. With a Mustang, the motor lives up front. With a 911, the motor is over the back wheels. Logical, right? Rear-wheel-drive car, rear-engine design — right? Except that it objectively makes the 911 a tail-heavy thing, and the trick forever with the car has been to overcome that by undertaking a multi-decade balancing act. The motor itself is like the "Coyote" V8 in the Stang, a legend. It's a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged six-cylinder making 450 horsepower with 405 pound-feet of torque. Porsche's "boxer" engine can lay claim to being the best in the world, perhaps the best of all time. I know, we're putting a turbo six against a naturally aspirated V8. With the Stang, the car sucks in air, squirts in gas, blows it all up, and puts that violence onto the pavement. The 911 spins a pair of turbos to bolster compression and achieve horsepower numbers that more or less match up. Same power, different means of getting there. But the best part of driving the 911 GTS, much like the Stang GT, is firing up the engine, listening to that initial roar, and then having the sweet rumble of much, much power fill your imagination with alluring images of open roads. By the way, whereas the GT's spoiler is fixed, the GTS's will automatically extend at higher speeds. The 911 GTS's power is sent to the rear wheels through a seven-speed stick. Seventh gear is sort of pointless, as the lack of it in the Stang reveals. In both machines, you can happily hang out in third all day long, given the ability of both the six and eight to rev free and high before asking for a break. The extra gear in the GTS does improve fuel economy. But not by much. The GTS's interior is a lot more cockpit-like than the Stang's. And a lot more luxurious. Look, you're dropping well over 100,000 bones for this thing, so you expect exquisite leather and acres of Alcantara. That said, the GTS isn't a compromised 911. For example, the dreadful Porsche cupholders are still stowed in the dashboard and swing out; their skeletal nature as much as says "Skip the Starbucks and focus on driving." Like the Mustang, the Porsche has a pretty small infotainment screen. But it does all the same stuff. I prefer Sync 3, but Porsche's system gets the job done. Both my testers came with premium audio setups, an acoustically, I thought the Mustang sounded better, but chalk that up to a bit more interior space (and don't forget that the louder V8 in the GT means that you have to up the volume to hear your tunes). Driving the 911 is what you'd expect: 450 horses and a 911 to the the core. Bottom line: It's a 911 with American V8 power. In a sense, the 911's driving dynamics are what the Mustang is trying to get closer to. And the 911's power is aiming to mimic the Stang's straight-line gusto. Thus a 911 0-60 mph time of less than 3.5 seconds. The Porsche weight over 500 pounds less than the GT and its shows on the road. Not always a good thing, as all that horsepower and torque sitting inside a lightweight package can make the GTS difficult to manage under normal driving conditions. The Stang is a tamer horse in this respect. The 911 GTS likes to hang out on the edge, particularly in Sport and Sport Plus modes. That said, the GTS like all 911s is magical in that once you get the hang of it, the car tells you how to drive it. No car puts you into a corner with more confidence, guiding you in and guiding you out as you feather the power and massage the brakes. True, you can slip the rear end quite easily. But chalk that up to the torque and how effective the high-tech GTS is at getting it to the rear wheels. Don't worry, the suspension and the traction control and the brakes and the electric steering can keep it in check. Not to mention the rear-axle steering. Ironically, the Mustangs of old used to present more oversteering thrills on this front, but the newest iteration of the GT has been domesticated. The Stang is much easier to drive than the GTS, although it lacks the GTS's aristocrat-of-speed spirit. What's true of both is that you can really feel the power. The GTS just sneaks it up on you, while the Stang announces it right away.That plan—a single-payer, “Medicare for all” option in which taxpayers contribute to a national health-insurance program—remains something of a third rail in Washington, and it’s opposed by more than a third of the U.S. population. The opposition is, in part, rooted in the economy: It’d necessitate raising taxes or adding significantly to the deficit. And there’s philosophical opposition, too. Some Americans simply don’t think they should have to pay more to ensure coverage for their fellow citizens, while others are wary of how foreign the system would be. Before I enlisted, it never occurred to me that universal health care, let alone socialized medicine in any form, was a desirable option in the United States. Government health care in any form seemed oppressive to me, a limit on my freedom. But I found that, in many ways, the opposite was true. While any type of universal health-care system would have economic consequences, the associated gains—no longer worrying about coverage loss after a job change, for example, or feeling stressed about finding in-network doctors—for me outweigh that burden. As a 2016 RAND Corporation study suggested, the U.S. government is capable of providing medical care that’s on par or better than many private alternatives. While it is something of a sport both within the military and among veterans to complain about the care they receive—and the system has seen its fair share of problems and failures—surveys show that in recent years, they are happier with their care than civilians with private providers. Some critics argue that government-run health care is inefficient, pointing to long wait times at veterans’ hospitals. But, again, compared with the private sector, the waits may not be all that bad. If Anthem, Cigna, or another large U.S. health-insurance company were subject to the same level of congressional scrutiny as the military’s systems, I’m not sure they’d fare much better. The VA is maligned for its failures because, in the eyes of many Americans, it should be held to a high standard as the care provider for men and women who have put their bodies on the line for their country. But the medical needs for which I’ve sought aid through the VA and military systems haven’t been extraordinary—only the cost and access to care have been. During my Army service, I did my job, lived my life, and didn’t think twice about premiums, deductibles, or annual limits. Treatment was seamless, automatic, and focused on helping me perform my duties as a soldier. When I broke my thumb while playing in my unit’s annual turkey bowl in South Korea—a decidedly non-mission-essential endeavor—X-rays, physical therapy, and an on-base orthopedic specialist were provided. So was my time off from work to make my appointments: To the Army, soldiers’ return to duty as quickly as possible is so important that they are often reprimanded by superiors if they miss scheduled appointments. A year later, after I’d changed stations to Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state, I sliced open my leg in a hiking accident. After driving myself to the emergency room of Madigan Army Medical Center on base, I limped through the doors, got some stitches, and received easily accessible follow-up treatment. My unit’s embedded physician’s assistant worked out of an on-base clinic three blocks from my motor pool. The rationale behind this type of care is clear: The Army understands that healthy soldiers are more effective soldiers. A national health-care system that treats all citizens this way may offer similar benefits. Chief among them is what I discovered earlier this year with the help of a Google search, when I realized I could get care when I needed it: a better quality of life. We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to [email protected] Trump said what happened in Berlin is “an attack on humanity.” The president-elect spoke briefly with reporters on Wednesday as Michael Flynn, his chosen national security adviser, stood over his shoulder. “It’s an attack on humanity,” Trump said when asked about a statement from his transition team that said it was an attack against Christians. “That’s what it is. An attack on humanity and it’s got to be stopped.” WATCH: “Terrible. Terrible. What’s going on is terrible, terrible. All along, I’ve been proven to be right. 100% correct. What’s happening is disgraceful.” Trump added that he had not spoken with Barack Obama in two days. (RELATED: As Suspected Terror Rages In Berlin, Obama Hits Hawaiian Golf Course) A manhunt is currently underway for a 24-year-old Tunisian man after someone plowed an 18-wheeler into a crowded Christmas market in Berlin, killing at least 12 people and leaving dozens more injured.GRAYSON, Ky. (Reuters) - Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue same-sex marriage licenses, walked out of jail on Tuesday after a federal judge who found her in contempt said he was satisfied licenses were being issued in accordance with a U.S. Supreme Court decision. U.S. District Judge David Bunning ordered her release after six days in jail, saying she “shall not interfere in any way, directly or indirectly, with the efforts of her deputy clerks to issue marriage licenses to all legally eligible couples.” The issue of same-sex marriage licenses in Kentucky and other states has become the latest focal point in the long-running debate over gay marriage in the United States. The Supreme Court’s decision in late June legalized it in all 50 states, but a small number of elected clerks and lower level judges have voiced opposition on religious grounds. Some in Texas, Alabama and elsewhere have refused to issue licenses to anyone, gay or straight. In Rowan County, Kentucky, where Davis is the clerk, five of her six deputies issued licenses to several same sex-couples while she was in jail. If she interferes with the deputies, she will have violated the order and could face sanctions, Bunning said. Hours after the judge’s order, Davis climbed a podium in front of the Carter County Detention Center with her husband Joe, Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee and lawyer Mathew Staver. As loud speakers blared the rock band Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger”, the music theme to the Rocky III boxing movie, they held their hands up in triumph. Greeted by roughly 4,000 singing and shouting supporters, an emotional Davis thanked everyone and said: “I just want to give God his glory.” Staver said Davis is considering what day this week to return to her $80,000-a-year job, but that she has not changed her mind on issuing licenses. That leaves open the question on whether Davis could be brought back before Bunning. “We likely could be because nothing has been remedied, nothing has been solved by the situation,” Staver told Reuters. “She will do her job good and she will serve the people as they want her to serve. She will also be loyal to God and she is not going to violate her conscience,” Staver, the founder of Christian religious advocacy group Liberty Counsel, told the crowd. Kim Davis, flanked by Republic presidential candidate Mike Huckabee (L) and and Attorney Mathew Staver (R) speaks to her supporters after walking out of jail in Grayson, Kentucky September 8, 2015. REUTERS/Chris Tilley He added that Davis would continue to ask for an accommodation to remove her name and her authority from the marriage certificates. Huckabee called her a “brave lady” for her willingness to go to jail for what she believed. Another Republican president hopeful, Ted Cruz, was seen entering and leaving the detention center. Both candidates are running far behind billionaire businessman Donald Trump in the early opinion polls for the Republican nomination in the November 2016 presidential election. “Well I saw where Mr. Huckabee was coming into town and I’m assuming he is trying to generate some publicity because the last polls... But I really don’t think this is going to help him much in any way,” Democratic Governor of Kentucky Steve Beshear told reporters after a speech in Lexington. A significant majority of Americans, 59 percent, in a recent Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll say government officials should issue licenses regardless of their religious beliefs. The poll of 1,211 adults taken Sept. 5-8 showed 29.8 percent disagreed. It had a credibility interval of 3.2 percentage points. SETBACKS Davis’ case is a setback for religious conservatives who oppose same-sex marriage. State Representative David Hale, a Republican and Davis supporter who attended the rally, said he will push for legislation to take marriage licenses out of the hands of county clerks and move it to the Office of Vital Statistics. Not everyone in the crowd was a Davis supporter. “I am only OK with it if she agrees to do her job,” said Beth Baker of Grayson. As an Apostolic Christian, Davis says she believes a marriage can only be between a man and a woman. She has refused to issue any marriage licenses since the U.S. Supreme Court in June made same-sex marriages legal across the United States. Davis, who is nine days shy of her 50th birthday, was ordered into custody by Bunning on Sept. 3 after continuing to defy his order to issue the licenses. Slideshow (5 Images) Bunning secured the assurances of five of six deputy clerks who stated under oath that they would comply with the court’s orders and issue licenses to all legally eligible couples. The deputies will need to file status reports every 14 days to prove they are in compliance, the order said. Davis, a Democrat, was elected to her position in November 2014 after 27 years as deputy clerk of Rowan County. She took over the office from her mother, who served for 37 years. Her son Nathan, a deputy clerk, was the only one not to pledge compliance with the judge’s orders.Menards Renews ARCA Racing Series Support For 2017 Posted by: newsla on Dec 12, 2016 - 05:43 PM Menards Renews ARCA Racing Series Support For 2017 Officials from Menards Inc. have announced that the Wisconsin-based home improvement retailer will once again serve as the presenting sponsor of the ARCA Racing Series for 2017. Jeff Abbott, Promotions Manager and Spokesperson for Menards, made the announcement Saturday night, during the annual ARCA Racing Series Championship Awards Banquet in downtown Indianapolis. "We are very excited to return for an eighth season as the series presenting sponsor," said Abbott while announcing the contract extension. "This is such a great, grass roots series and the competitive nature of the driving continues to improve. But, more than anything, what keeps us coming back is how we feel so connected with those who follow this series throughout our markets as we sell tickets to races, run contractor events and continue to promote the Menards brand. 2017 should be exceptional and we're glad to remain a part of it." The sponsorship renewal announcement extends Menards affiliation as the series presenting sponsor to eight consecutive years, and their overall involvement with ARCA dates back to 2009. The marketing program, and sponsorship, is based on Business to Business relationships and collaboration with suppliers to Menards, the country's third largest home improvement retail chain. "Menards is a very, very important business partner to ARCA," said Mark Gundrum, VP business development and corporate partnerships for the Temperance, Michigan-based stock car sanctioning body. "Their support goes far beyond sponsorship, and our gratitude for their involvement and patronage is immeasurable." PaddockTalk Perspective"But let us never forget, either, as all conventional history of philosophy conspires to make us forget, what the 'great thinkers' really are: proper objects, indeed, of pity, but even more, of horror." David Stove's "What Is Wrong With Our Thoughts" is a critique of philosophy that I can only call epic. The astute reader will of course find themselves objecting to Stove's notion that we should be catologuing every possible way to do philosophy wrong. It's not like there's some originally pure mode of thought, being tainted by only a small library of poisons. It's just that there are exponentially more possible crazy thoughts than sane thoughts, c.f. entropy. But Stove's list of 39 different classic crazinesses applied to the number three is absolute pure epic gold. (Scroll down about halfway through if you want to jump there directly.) I especially like #8: "There is an integer between two and four, but it is not three, and its true name and nature are not to be revealed."Honda Performance Development is still expecting to have all six of its new HPD ARX-04b cars on the grid next year, despite Andretti Autosport’s late decision to not go ahead with its plans. The reigning Indianapolis 500 winning squad is understood to have had a verbal agreement to run two of the California-based manufacturer’s P2 cars in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship but revealed earlier this month that its plans had fallen through. According to HPD VP and COO Steve Eriksen, additional team(s) are still in the pipeline to take delivery of the new Wirth Research-designed closed-top prototype. “Unfortunately with the Andretti plans coming apart at the last minute, what we’ve done is essentially taken the next groups in the queue and drop them in,” Eriksen explained. “We had people queued up that were disappointed, because we said we were only going to do six cars. They were kind of hanging in the wings, and as soon as [Andretti Autosport] dropped out, they dropped in.” Eriksen, however, is unsure how many of the cars, if any, would be competing in the TUDOR Championship next year, as Extreme Speed Motorsports, the only announced customer to date, has yet to firm up its 2015 program. ESM is expected to take part in early season FIA World Endurance Championship races in preparation for its debut in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, an event which is in the team’s contract to run the new ARX-04b. “It’s really down to the individual teams of where they want to end up going,” Eriksen said. “I think everybody’s monitoring the situation in TUSC to decide where’s their best chance to compete. I hope they continue to make changes to improve that.” Tony DiZinno contributed to this reportRoy Jones Jr. Vladimir Putin Was Honored to Meet Me Roy Jones Jr. -- Vladimir Putin Was Honored to Meet Me (VIDEO) EXCLUSIVE When Vladimir Putin asks for a meeting, you give him that meeting... so says boxing legend Roy Jones Jr. who says it was Vlad who arranged their teacup summit in Russia. Roy just Facetimed into "TMZ Hollywood Sports" from his hotel room in Russia to give us the blow-by-blow of his meeting with Putin this week. Jones says he agreed to the meeting because he loves the United States -- and wants to do everything he can to thaw relations between the two super powers. He also says he looked Putin right in his eyes and got a good feeling about the guy -- "I felt his respect." Check out the video... we also asked if the move was inspired by "Rocky IV" and if he cleared the trip with the White House before sitting down with the world leader. And if that wasn't enough, Roy is also promoting a brand new single... which he plans on dropping in both the USA and Russia. #BusyGuyposter="http://v.politico.com/images/1155968404/201610/172/1155968404_5178876069001_5178873505001-vs.jpg?pubId=1155968404" true Key Obamacare premiums to jump 25 percent next year Premiums for a crucial category of Obamacare plans on HealthCare.gov will rise by 25 percent on average next year, more than three times larger than this year's price increases, the Obama administration said Monday. By comparison, average prices for the second cheapest silver-level plan — which is used as the benchmark to determine premium subsidy levels — had increased by just 7.5 percent on average in 2016 and 2 percent in 2015. Story Continued Below The Department of Health and Human Services report, released just two weeks before Election Day, is sure to provide fresh fodder for Donald Trump and Republicans in down-ballot races to attack the law. Democrats, who have increasingly warned about the escalating costs of Obamacare coverage in some areas, have pushed for Republicans to give up on repeal and work on fixes to the law. Federal health officials also confirmed that roughly one in five people in the states that use HealthCare.gov must shop from only one insurer following decisions by several major national and regional insurers to pull back from the Obamacare marketplaces in 2017. On average, exchange customers will have 30 plan options to choose from for 2017, down from 47 this year. The average rate increases outlined in the report do not account for premium subsidies for which the majority of exchange customers qualify. HHS officials said nearly three-quarters of exchange customers will be able to find a plan for $75 a month or less after subsidies. “Even in places with high rate increases this year, consumers will be protected,” said Kathryn Martin, HHS acting assistant secretary for planning and evaluation. HHS officials said their outreach and advertising will emphasize that most exchange customers won't pay the massive premium increases featured in headlines this year. The enrollment period begins Nov. 1 and lasts three months. Still, the spike in benchmark plan prices may pose an additional obstacle in getting more people enrolled next year, especially young adults who administration officials are targeting. As in past years, premiums vary greatly across the country. Some states will see average monthly prices for benchmark silver plans spike at least 50 percent for 27-year-olds. Those states include Arizona, Alabama, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. The price increase for Arizona's benchmark plan, at 116 percent, is the highest of any state. By contrast, Indiana's average benchmark plan price will decline by 3 percent for 27-year-olds. Arkansas, New Hampshire and Ohio will each see only a 2 percent increase. Because the law's subsidies are tied to the cost of the benchmark plan, bigger premium increases mean the government will spend more to help lower costs for subsidy-eligible customers. HHS says 15 new insurers will enter the exchanges in 2017, while 83 insurers are dropping off the marketplaces. About 80 percent of customers will have at least two companies to choose from; just more than half will have at least three. The Obama administration expects 13.8 million people nationwide to pick a plan during the upcoming open enrollment season, about 1 million more than signed up this year.Transformers Subscription Service 4.0 Singles Now Available in Club Store Saturday, August 20th, 2016 1:13AM CDT 35,004 Topic Options: View Discussion · Sign in or Join to reply If you are unsure about these figures then click the following links to see individual galleries for Grabuge, Spinister, TF FSS 4.0 singles now in store. Month 1-Needlenose Month 2-Grabuge Month 3-Spinister Month 4-Windsweeper Month 5-Bludgeon Brian Credit(s): Transformers Collectors' Club If you missed out on the order period for the Transformers Subscription Service 4.0 or just want only a couple of them, the first 5 are now available at the club store If you are unsure about these figures then click the following links to see individual galleries for Needlenose Windsweeper and Bludgeon. These guys combine to form the mighty Thunder Mayhem Search Got Transformers News? Let us know here! Re: Transformers Subscription Service 4.0 Singles Now Available in Club Store (1816929) Posted by Roughly $370 shipped. Can anyone remind me what it was originally? I've got them all sitting in the cart....! It hits all the right nostalgia notes for me, and I feel like a fool for missing out on it initially.. Posted by itscramtastic on August 20th, 2016 @ 7:05am CDT Re: Transformers Subscription Service 4.0 Singles Now Available in Club Store (1816947) Posted by If you signed up for the subscription it was only slightly less than that. I think I ended up paying around $360 but the subscription also comes with Impactor and the bonus figure. Posted by LOST Cybertronian on August 20th, 2016 @ 8:42am CDT Re: Transformers Subscription Service 4.0 Singles Now Available in Club Store (1816953) Posted by itscramtastic wrote: Roughly $370 shipped. Can anyone remind me what it was originally? I've got them all sitting in the cart....! $297 before shipping. $297 before shipping. Posted by Sabrblade on August 20th, 2016 @ 8:53am CDT Re: Transformers Subscription Service 4.0 Singles Now Available in Club Store (1816963) Posted by I'd say this is great news, but, like ramjet before, I can't get any of these, screw this Posted by Hellscream9999 on August 20th, 2016 @ 9:31am CDT Re: Transformers Subscription Service 4.0 Singles Now Available in Club Store (1816984) Posted by Thanks for the info kids!! So not terribly more expensive then, just minus the bonus of Impactor. Maybe just Needlenose, Spinister and Bludgeon..hmmm..ponder this, I will. Posted by itscramtastic on August 20th, 2016 @ 10:30am CDT Re: Transformers Subscription Service 4.0 Singles Now Available in Club Store (1816990) Posted by itscramtastic wrote: Thanks for the info kids!! So not terribly more expensive then, just minus the bonus of Impactor. Maybe just Needlenose, Spinister and Bludgeon..hmmm..ponder this, I will. I guess it's a matter of interpretation. I see it as "more than $50 over the entire subscription (add shipping to both, of course), and I don't even get two figures." (Remember, not just Impactor, but the mystery figure as well). I mean, I'm glad that folks who just want one or two have the opportunity, but as someone who wanted the entire combiner, I'm VERY glad I got the subscription pricing. I guess it's a matter of interpretation. I see it as "more than $50 over the entire subscription (add shipping to both, of course), and I don't even get two figures." (Remember, not just Impactor, but the mystery figure as well).I mean, I'm glad that folks who just want one or two have the opportunity, but as someone who wanted the entire combiner, I'm VERY glad I got the subscription pricing. Posted by G.B. Blackrock on August 20th, 2016 @ 10:45am CDT Re: Transformers Subscription Service 4.0 Singles Now Available in Club Store (1816993) Posted by Good point G.B. And I just realized Windsweeper came with the corrupt Matrix..which I would need..dang it! Oh well. It was a fun idea while it lasted. Posted by itscramtastic on August 20th, 2016 @ 11:03am CDT Re: Transformers Subscription Service 4.0 Singles Now Available in Club Store (1817039) Posted by That combiner mode looks terrible but Spinister and Needlenose would've been cool for the sake of adding to my IDW collection. But the $70 before shipping only reminds me why I hated Funpub in the first place! I'll just invest hope into Hasbro doing the right thing within the next couple years and release popular IDW characters at retail more efficiently. As for Botcon/Funpub.....GOOD RIDDANCE! Posted by YoungPrime on August 20th, 2016 @ 2:19pm CDT Re: Transformers Subscription Service 4.0 Singles Now Available in Club Store (1817041) Posted by It's unfortunately just what these types of exclusives cost to make. I believe that the eHobby Convobat is about $70 retail as well. And becomes almost $90 through importers. Posted by TF_JW on August 20th, 2016 @ 2:29pm CDT Re: Transformers Subscription Service 4.0 Singles Now Available in Club Store (1817064) Posted by TF_JW wrote: It's unfortunately just what these types of exclusives cost to make. I believe that the eHobby Convobat is about $70 retail as well. And becomes almost $90 through importers. Yup, but, they've just gotta make it past that limit of making you need it. As for these, I think the only logical thing would be to massively step up production, lower the costs, and them reap the increased profit from selling to everyone, therefore making everyone happy Yup, but, they've just gotta make it past that limit of making you need it. As for these, I think the only logical thing would be to massively step up production, lower the costs, and them reap the increased profit from selling to everyone, therefore making everyone happy Posted by Hellscream9999 on August 20th, 2016 @ 3:59pm CDT Re: Transformers Subscription Service 4.0 Singles Now Available in Club Store (1817079) Posted by TF_JW wrote: It's unfortunately just what these types of exclusives cost to make. I believe that the eHobby Convobat is about $70 retail as well. And becomes almost $90 through importers. Convobat is $50 plus tax Emerje Convobat is $50 plus tax direct from e-Hobby. The subscription figures probably sell far lower numbers thanks to the additional cost of membership, but somehow I doubt they'd lower the price even if they were pushing the same number of figures as e-Hobby.Emerje Posted by Emerje on August 20th, 2016 @ 4:30pm CDT Re: Transformers Subscription Service 4.0 Singles Now Available in Club Store (1817081) Posted by https://twitter.com/RID_NightViper/status/767096875296129024 https://twitter.com/RID_NightViper/status/767097329082048513 https://twitter.com/RID_NightViper/status/767097680946429952 https://twitter.com/RID_NightViper/status/767098989254770688 A few images of Impactor: Posted by TF_JW on August 20th, 2016 @ 4:36pm CDT Re: Transformers Subscription Service 4.0 Singles Now Available in Club Store (1817084) Posted by TF_JW wrote: A few images of Impactor: https://twitter.com/RID_NightViper/status/767096875296129024 https://twitter.com/RID_NightViper/status/767097329082048513 https://twitter.com/RID_NightViper/status/767097680946429952 https://twitter.com/RID_NightViper/status/767098989254770688 A few images of Impactor: The painted rims are exceptionally appreciated He looks really great The painted rims are exceptionally appreciatedHe looks really great Posted by Hellscream9999 on August 20th, 2016 @ 4:40pm CDT Re: Transformers Subscription Service 4.0 Singles Now Available in Club Store (1817093) Posted by Woah woah woah when is he supposed to be in? I'm moving to Florida on Wednesday and I didn't have a chance to change my shipping address because I've been so busy. I assumed there would be a reminder email. Posted by steals_your_goats on August 20th, 2016 @ 5:10pm CDT Re: Transformers Subscription Service 4.0 Singles Now Available in Club Store (1817117) Posted by steals_your_goats wrote: Woah woah woah when is he supposed to be in? I'm moving to Florida on Wednesday and I didn't have a chance to change my shipping address because I've been so busy. I assumed there would be a reminder email. looks like hes just starting to arrive, meaning im gonna be checking my mailbox daily now looks like hes just starting to arrive, meaning im gonna be checking my mailbox daily now Posted by grimdragon2001 on August 20th, 2016 @ 7:51pm CDT Re: Transformers Subscription Service 4.0 Singles Now Available in Club Store (1817163) Posted by steals_your_goats wrote: Woah woah woah when is he supposed to be in? I'm moving to Florida on Wednesday and I didn't have a chance to change my shipping address because I've been so busy. I assumed there would be a reminder email. The reminder emails are for the three payment installments. The third one has already come to pass for Bludgeon and Impactor. The individual figures themselves don't get emails alerting their shipping, as their arrivals are each supposed to be a surprise. Your best bet right now is, unfortunately,
to figure out, face to face, what’s going on in Israel, the United States, and the world. The foremost topic was: Will Israel attack Iran? Will the United States allow it to happen? Will we facilitate the attack? Nobody knew the answer, but the concern itself showed how far the Zionist regime was ready to take the whole world for the sake of its own survival. Lately, this concern has spiked. I have already posted a report about Russian troops in the Caucasus being put on high alert in case an Israeli attack triggers warfare along Iran’s borders with Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. It was also reported, or rather, underreported, that on Dec. 16 President Barack Obama met behind closed doors with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak. The meeting was held in the outskirts of Washington, D.C., at the Gaylord Hotel, National Harbor, Maryland. It focused on the issue of a U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran. Since Obama has already said he takes “no options off the table,” one might suspect, as Michel Chossudovsky of Global Research does, that the attack on Iran could include the use of tactical bunker-buster nuclear weapons that only the United States has and that Israel may request to make the attack effective. These bunker busters have an explosive capacity between one third and six times that of the Hiroshima bomb. Most fittingly, at least, in the popular psyche, 2012 is the year of Armageddon. Fiat justitia, pereat mundus, “let justice be done even if the world shall perish”: this was one of the philosopher Immanuel Kant’s maxims. Whether this Latin motto stems from ancient Rome or Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I (1503-1564), its grave implications are no longer philosophical. Nor are they metaphorical. Whatever pretext Israel and the United States (for consistency) might find for the war they threaten, at stake is the existence of the world as we know it. Even a triumph of their justitia may turn utterly hollow, for there might be no people to celebrate it. So the real question that Jews and non-Jews alike face today is: Is the world for Israel or are Jews for the world? We know how Rabbi Berger would have answered.Conrab Mbewe is a man who wears many hats and who fulfills many different responsibilities, but above all else he is a preacher of God’s Word. MacArthur introduced him by explaining that he wished to have Mbewe at the event because the charismatic movement has done devastating damage in Africa and he wanted an insider’s perspective. Mbewe titled his message “The African Import of Charismatic Chaos.” Here are some brief notes. Sponsor Show Your Support Become a Patron Conrad Mbewe Mbewe decided to provide a brief overview of the charismatic movement in Africa. It is a movement he has observed for over thirty years and one that is of great concern to him. This is not something he has learned about by reading books, but something he comes across literally every day. He warned that some of what he would say would be somewhat foreign to a Western mindset, but he felt it necessary to speak from his African background. He went to John 17:17 and said the charismatic chaos we see would never have been the case if this verse had been taken seriously. This verse comes near the end of Christ’s ministry, on the eve of his crucifixion. He is seeking to convince his disciples concerning how they ought to live in his absence, and his great desire is for God to be glorified. In the time between Jesus’ ascension and his return, God’s Word is to remain serving and sanctifying his people. This is what Jesus desires, yet the African charismatic movement has come about because of a failure to hold to the centrality and sufficiency of Scripture. The charismatic movement has flooded the African continent south of the Sahara Desert where it has become the most visible form of “Evangelicalism.” The phrase “born again” is equated to that form of Christianity. Its spread has largely come through the use of crusades, radio, television and free literature. Most of this literature has been shipped from the United States and it contains the kind of heresy that has become a common diet in the health and wealth movement. Invariably, this has been riding on the back of the old time conservative Pentecostalism which found its way into much of English-speaking Africa in the second half of the last century. That opened the doors slightly but they have now been blown wide open. Many people ask the question, “Why in this short time has there been such an acceptance, a multiplication of churches that can be described as charismatic?” The answer is that this form of Christianity has appealed to the African worldview in terms of its understanding of the spiritual world. Almost invariably the messages you hear are like this: Come and receive your deliverance, your healing, and your breakthrough. As an African, there is a whole world in his mind that this invariably floods into. The word “breakthrough” is really saying to the common African man that if you are struggling in your marriage or struggling to conceive or struggling to maintain a job (and so on), it is because between you and God there are other layers that need to be dealt with. One of those layers is that of angels and demons and the other is that of your ancestral spirits. Until those layers are broken through, you will not get what you want. This is what the charismatic movement has taken on when dressed in African attire. The language that has already been there for centuries in Africa is given a thin veneer of Bible verses. You can understand, then, that if men and women are running in throngs to the witch doctor, they will rush in throngs to these so-called churches because it boasts the same power they are looking for. What is happening today has gone a number of steps further than where the charismatic movement began. This has happened because the Word of God is no longer playing the role of governing our thinking and our practice. His concern is that when a lot of people look at the full to overflowing churches in Africa and the apparent excitement in the church, they cross back to the USA and say, “There is revival there.” But the fact is, they are seeing bad news, not good news. It is bad news primarily because of John 17:17. It is bad news because of the absence of serious interaction with the Word of God within the movement. Thirty years ago you could attend a Pentecostal church in Africa and a pastor would stand in the pulpit and give you some kind of biblical exposition. You might disagree, but there would be some attempt to teach what the Bible is saying. There would be a mid-week Bible study. That is now almost completely absent. You cannot have spiritual life when the Bible is closed! The gospel has been lost and what has replaced it is twenty minutes of motivational speaking followed by an opportunity to bring your problems to Jesus so Jesus can help you get over your problems. Unfortunately, this is drawing people so that droves of them are responding to this message. They want their problems to be handled. The result is that churches are full of goats, not sheep. Where the word of God is closed, the Gospel has been lost and the way of life becomes sinful and self-centered. This leads to a loss of true worship. Mbewe references the evening worship saying that Pentecostals in Africa have no real interest in singing the kinds of songs that were sung that evening at the conference. Rather, people are singing to danceable tunes. They repeat little phrases over and over again. You can say little phrases that are biblical about the glory of God, but that does not make it worship. They proclaim that the extraordinary revelatory gifts are still operational today, but the moment you open that door a little bit, where do you stop? There are different levels to the practice, but so many are taking advantage of it for selfish sexual or financial gain. How do you examine your life in comparison to others who have opened their life to these gifts and have taken them to their logical conclusion, those who are successful in areas where you have not been? Mbewe followed this by using himself as an example for taking Pentecostalism to its logical conclusion. He proposes, “What’s to stop someone like me from coming up with irrational ideas because I’ve been empowered to do so?” He has counseled many, many people who are caught in these scandals—sexual scandals about spiritual husbands and wives, where a messenger from God, a pastor, steps in to be sexual partner with someone because of the authority that they have from God. These people keep God’s Word closed. He concluded by emphasizing his main point about the centrality and sufficiency of God’s Word. God’s Word must be taught and applied. He then shared two reasons why we should be concerned about these issues in Africa. First, Africa’s current population is over a billion people. God is concerned about these people and, therefore, we should be concerned with these people. Second, Africa is strategically placed to be the next major force in world missions and it will be an utter disaster if this is what they export to the rest of the world. Everyone who has the cause of Christ at the center of his or her heart should be concerned about this. His final remarks expresed his relief to see the Reformed movement growing on the African continent, though it is still in its infancy there. He exhorted us all: We have got to pray and get back to the Bible! Today we are not saying enough that this book is sufficient. It is sufficient!Four-sided spinning top used on Hanukkah A dreidel (Yiddish: דרײדל‎ dreydl plural: dreydlekh,[1] Hebrew: סביבון sevivon) is a four-sided spinning top, played with during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. The dreidel is a Jewish variant on the teetotum, a gambling toy found in many European cultures. Each side of the dreidel bears a letter of the Hebrew alphabet: נ (Nun), ג (Gimel), ה (Hei), ש (Shin), These letters were originally a mnemonic for the rules of a gambling game played with a dreidel: Nun stands for the Yiddish word nisht ("nothing"), Hei stands for halb ("half"), Gimel for gants ("all"), and Shin for shtel ayn ("put in"). However, nowadays they are commonly regarded to represent the Hebrew phrase nes gadol hayah sham ("a great miracle happened there"). For this reason, dreidels in Israel replace the letter Shin with a letter Peh, to represent the phrase nes gadol hayah poh ("a great miracle happened here").[2] Origins [ edit ] Wooden dreidel According to most scholars, the dreidel developed from an Irish or English top introduced into Germany known as a teetotum,[3][4][5][6][7] which was popular around Christmas time[6] and dates back to ancient Greek and Roman times.[5] The teetotum was inscribed with letters denoting the Latin words for “nothing,” “half,” “everything” and “put in.” In German this came to be called a trendel, with German letters for the same concepts. Adapted to the Hebrew alphabet when Jews adopted the game, these letters were replaced by shin (=shtel arayn, put in); nun (=nit, not, i.e., nothing); gimel (=gants, whole/everything); and he (=halb, half). The letters served as a means to recalling the rules of the game.[6] This theory states that when the game spread to Jewish communities unfamiliar with Yiddish, the denotations of the Hebrew letters were not understood. As a result, there arose Jewish traditions to explain their assumed meaning. However, in Judaism there are often multiple explanations developed for words. Some claimed the 4 letters cyphered Babylon, Persia, Greece and the Roman Empire, the four ancient empires that tried to destroy Israel; a gematriya reading yielded the number 358, identical to the value of the 4 letters used for Moshiach (Messiah). A third popular conjecture had it that the letters abbreviated the words "nes gadol haya sham" (a great miracle happened there), an idea that became attached to dreidels when the game entered into Hanukkah festivities.[8] According to a tradition first documented in 1890,[4][7][9][10][11] the game was developed by Jews who illegally studied the Torah in seclusion as they hid, sometimes in caves, from the Seleucids under Antiochus IV. At the first sign of Seleucids approaching, their Torah scrolls would be concealed and be replaced by dreidels.[12][13] The variant names goyrl (destiny) and varfl (a little throw) were also current in Yiddish until the Holocaust.[8] In the wake of Zionism, the dreidel was renamed sevivon in modern Hebrew, and the letters altered, with shin generally replaced by pe. This yields the reading nes gadol haya po (a great miracle happened here.')[8] Etymology [ edit ] The Yiddish word dreydl comes from the word dreyen ("to turn", compare to drehen, meaning the same in German). The Hebrew word sevivon comes from the Semitic root "SBB" ("to turn") and was invented by Itamar Ben-Avi (the son of Eliezer Ben-Yehuda) when he was 5 years old. Hayyim Nahman Bialik used a different word, "kirkar" (from the root "KRKR" – "to spin"), in his poems,[14] but it was not adopted into spoken Hebrew. In the lexicon of Ashkenazi Jews from Udmurtia and Tatarstan the local historian A.V. Altyntsev was fixed several other appellations of a dreidel such as "volchok", "khanuke-volchok", "fargl", "varfl", "dzihe" and "zabavke".[15] Symbolism [ edit ] Some rabbis ascribe symbolic significance to the markings on the dreidel. One commentary, for example, connects the four letters with the four nations to which the House of Judah was historically subject—Babylonia, Persia, Seleucid Empire and Rome.[16] While not mandated (a mitzvah) for Hanukkah (the only traditional mitzvot are lighting candles and saying the full hallel), spinning the dreidel is a traditional game played during the holiday.[17] Rules of the game [ edit ] Each player begins with an equal number of game pieces (usually 10–15). The game pieces can be any object, such as chocolate gelt, pennies, raisins, etc. To start the game, every participant puts one game piece into the center "pot". Every player also puts one piece into the pot when the pot is empty or there is only one game piece in the pot [18] Each player spins the dreidel once during their turn. Depending on which side is facing up when it stops spinning, the player whose turn it is gives or takes game pieces from the pot: If נ ( nun ) is facing up, the player does nothing. If ג ( gimel ) is facing up, the player gets everything in the pot. If ה ( hei ) is facing up, the player gets half of the pieces in the pot. If there are an odd number of pieces in the pot, the player takes the half the pot rounded up to the nearest whole number. If ש ( shin ) or פ ( pe ) is facing up, the player adds one of their game pieces to the pot (sometimes accompanied by the chant "Shin, Shin, put one in" [19] ). In some game versions a Shin results in adding three game pieces to the pot (one for each stem of the Shin). If the player is out of pieces, they are either "out" or may ask another player for a "loan".[20] These rules are comparable to the rules for a classic four-sided teetotum, where the letters A, D, N and T form a mnemonic for the rules of the game, aufer (take), depone (put), nihil (nothing), and totum (all). Similarly, the Hebrew letters on a dreidel may be taken as a mnemonic for the game rules in Yiddish. Occasionally, in the United States, the Hebrew letters on the dreidel form an English-language mnemonic about the rules: Hay or "H" for "half;" Gimel or "G" for "get all;" Nun or "N" for "nothing;" and Shin or "S" for "share". Analysis [ edit ] Thomas Robinson and Sujith Vijay have shown that the expected number of spins in a game of dreidel is O(n2), where n is the number of game pieces each player begins with. The implied constant depends on the number of players.[21] Robert Feinerman has shown that the game of dreidel is "unfair", in that the first player to spin has a better expected outcome than the second player, and the second better than the third, and so on.[22] Collections [ edit ] Childhood enjoyment of dreidels has led to interest in collecting them in adulthood.[23] Jewish institutions such as the Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership, Yeshiva University Museum and Temple Emanu-El in New York, house dreidel collections, as do museums such as the Spinning Top and Yo-Yo Museum in Burlington, Wisconsin.[23] Tournaments [ edit ] Dreidel is now a spoof competitive sport in North America. Major League Dreidel (MLD), founded in New York City in 2007, hosts dreidel tournaments during the holiday of Hanukkah. In MLD tournaments the player with the longest time of spin (TOS) is the winner. MLD is played on a Spinagogue, the official spinning stadium of Major League Dreidel. Pamskee was the 2007 MLD Champion. Virtual Dreidel was the 2008 MLD Champion.[24] In 2009, Major League Dreidel launched a game version of the Spinagogue.[25] In 2009, Good Morning America published a story on Dreidel Renaissance reporting on the rising popularity of the dreidel.[26] Dreidel games that have come out on the market since 2007 include No Limit Texas Dreidel,[27] a cross between traditional dreidel and Texas Hold'em poker, invented by a Judaica company called ModernTribe.[28] Other new dreidel games include Staccabees[29] and Maccabees.[30] See also [ edit ]UN lines up behind Arab League-Turkey action against Syria By Jean Shaoul 24 November 2011 The United Nations General Assembly’s human rights committee voted on Tuesday to “strongly condemn” Syria’s crackdown on opposition protests and to call on Damascus to implement an Arab League plan to end the violence. The resolution has no legal force. But it provides a pretext for the major powers to justify action outside of the UN—supporting the isolation and destabilisation of Syria, with the ultimate aim of regime change. The resolution was passed in the wake of the Arab League’s decision to expel Damascus for failing to submit to a provocative and one-sided ultimatum. The Arab League demanded the Syrian regime of Bashir Assad halt its bloody attacks on protesters, withdraw tanks from restive cities, engage in a dialogue with the opposition and admit observers into the country. No corresponding demands were made on oppositionists, who are engaged in an armed struggle politically backed by imperialist powers and other regional governments. The demand was made while the Arab League extended de-facto recognition to the opposition Syrian National Council, which rejects dialogue with Assad other than the terms of his departure, and with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Lebanon and others backing the insurgency with money and arms. Most important of all was the presence of Turkey at the proceedings, which is home to the Syrian National Council and the Free Syria Army. With both Turkey and Lebanon discussing the establishing of no-fly zones on Syrian soil, the basis for a military intervention has already been laid. The United States, Britain, France and Germany have all been involved in discussions with Ankara, Riyadh, the opposition and other concerned parties. Having secured the desired refusal from Syria, the UN resolution was moved as a means of bypassing opposition to action against Syria on the Security Council. The NATO powers intend to make an end run around Chinese and Russian vetoes of a similar Security Council resolution condemning Syria. The resolution was sponsored by Britain, France and Germany. It won the support of 122 nations, with 13 voting against and Russia and China along with 39 others abstaining. It will now go forward to the UN General Assembly where it is assured a majority. Bashar Ja’afari, Syria’s UN ambassador, accused the three European powers of “waging a media, political and diplomatic war against Syria” and encouraging armed groups to engage in violence, rather than national dialogue with the government. He added, “It is not a secret that the United States of America is the mastermind and main instigator of the political campaign against my country.” Susan Rice, Washington’s UN ambassador, issued a statement endorsing regime change, declaring that the committee’s resolution “has sent a clear message that it does not accept abuse and death as a legitimate path to retaining power.” Washington has also said that Robert Ford, its ambassador, would not be returning to Syria as originally planned, following his recall after angry protesters attacked the US embassy in Damascus. Military intervention against Syria, even if waged by a proxy force led by Turkey, would be aimed at installing a more pliant pro-Washington regime that is no longer aligned with Iran, but with the Sunni Gulf monarchies. Such an intervention threatens a far wider conflagration, destabilising the entire region. As in the case of Libya, the imperialist powers are relying on the 22-member Arab League—made up of feudal despots and the military junta in Egypt who are all involved in their own lethal crackdown on protesters—to legitimise this criminal venture. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé said he hoped that the Arab League “would go further” in its actions against the Assad regime, which he said “has lost its legitimacy.” The Assad regime is the focus of justified hostility amongst the impoverished Syrian people, motivated by the same desire for change that is sweeping through the Middle East. But dissident former regime supporters and Islamists, with external backing, have sought to take advantage of the movement for their own ends. Armed insurgents, led by Islamists and backed by the Gulf monarchies, and Saad Hariri’s pro-Washington faction in Lebanon, are playing a leading role in the protests. They have now been joined by army defectors, led by Colonel Riad Asaad in the self-styled Free Syria Army, who has called for international backing for a no-fly zone and two buffer areas inside Syria to support his attempts to unseat Assad. Turkey, NATO’s sole member in the Middle East, is crucial to Washington and the European powers’ bid to unseat Assad. Last week there were newspaper reports that Ankara had plans to set up a no-fly and two buffer zones inside Syria. The no-fly zone would provide air cover for military attacks launched from the buffer areas against Syrian security forces. Ankara, one of Syria’s major trading partners, is also to impose economic sanctions against Damascus. This will have a major impact on Syria’s economy, which is suffering from the loss of tourism, the withdrawal of investment from the Gulf States, and armed attacks on its energy pipelines. The Syrian National Council is a fractious umbrella group of discredited former regime supporters, CIA assets, Islamists and Kurds, which has called for a no-fly zone and Turkish military intervention in the country to “resolve” the situation. Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has held discussions with leaders of the SNC, which is meeting in Cairo today under the auspices of the Arab League, whose foreign ministers are also there. Last Saturday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Ergodan called on Assad to step down—comparing him with various fascist leaders and threatening him with the brutal fate of Libya’s Muammar Ghaddafi. “If you want to see someone who has fought until death against his own people, just look at Nazi Germany, just look at Hitler, at Mussolini, at Nicolae Ceausescu in Romania,” he said. “If you cannot draw any lessons from these, then look at the Libyan leader who was killed just 32 days ago in a manner none of us wished…” It was the first time the Turkish leader had directly called for Assad to go, and follows King Abdullah of Jordan’s call for Assad to step down. On Monday, Turkish President Abdullah Gul started a three day visit to London, where the Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition has colluded with the Syrian opposition for months. The same day, Foreign Secretary William Hague held talks with the SNC, the National Coordinating Committee for Democratic Change, another umbrella group of oppositionists, and other oppositionists. After the meeting, Hague said, “I think the Assad regime will find that more and more governments around the world are willing to work with the opposition.” “We want to continue to step up the international pressure on the Assad regime, a regime that has long since lost its legitimacy in the eyes of the wider world.” The meeting paves the way for the SNC’s formal recognition as the country’s representative in place of Assad, although officials denied this was imminent. Later, both groups met senior officials in Downing Street. Last week, Frances Guy, a former ambassador to Lebanon who has been involved in three months of secret discussions, was appointed to liaise with the SNC. Canada has also announced that it will keep its navy in the Mediterranean for another year, despite the completion of its Libyan mission, indicating a possible NATO intervention against Syria. Defence Minister Peter MacKay announced the decision on Sunday, at the end of an international meeting of security and defence officials that discussed the situation. Behind these criminal and reckless manoeuvres against Syria lies the concern of Washington and its regional allies over Iran’s rising influence in the region. The US’ withdrawal from Iraq and Tehran’s alliance with Damascus and Hezbollah, which last January brought down the pro-Washington Hariri government in Lebanon, gives Iran a sphere of influence from western Afghanistan to the Mediterranean. By neutering Iran’s key ally, Syria, and hence Hezbollah, Washington seeks to reverse the situation in its favour.Emotional intelligence (EI) involves using cognitive and emotional abilities to function in interpersonal relationships, social groups as well as manage one's emotional states. It consists of abilities such as social cognition, empathy and reasoning about the emotions of others.[1][2] Current literature finds women have higher emotional intelligence ability than men based on common ability tests such as MSCEIT and the newer Test of Emotional Intelligence.[3][4] Reviews, meta-analysis and studies of physiological measures, behavioral tests and brain neuroimaging also support such findings.[3][5][6][7][8][9] However, the field of emotional intelligence is relatively new because it has only existed since the late 1990s, and therefore the literature has not built up everything known about sex differences in emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence [ edit ] Emotional intelligence (EI) involves using cognitive and emotional abilities to function in interpersonal relationships, social groups as well as manage one's emotional states. A person with high EI ability can perceive, comprehend and express emotion accurately, and also has the ability to access and generate feelings when needed to improve one's self and relationships with others. According to the ability model, there are four abilities that exist for emotional intelligence:[1][10] Perception – the ability to detect and decipher emotions in faces, pictures, voices, and cultural artifact. Also includes the ability to identify one's own emotions. Perceiving emotions represents a basic aspect of emotional intelligence, as it makes all other processing of emotional information possible.[1][10][11] Facilitation – the ability to use emotions for various cognitive activities such as thinking and problem solving as well as interacting with others. The emotionally intelligent person can capitalize fully upon his or her changing moods in order to best fit the task at hand for example using emotions to motivate themselves.[1][10] Understanding – the ability to process emotion language and understand why they someone or they themselves might feel a certain way.Understanding emotions also encompasses the ability to be sensitive to slight changes between emotions, and the ability to recognize and describe how emotions evolve over time.[1][10] Management – the ability to manage one's emotions as well as manage emotional relationship with others. An emotionally intelligent person can also use any type of emotions and apply them in pursuit of a goal.[1][10] Social cognition – Psychological processes that allow individuals to interpret and adapt to a social group. Social cognition is an important part of emotional Intelligence and incorporates social skills such as processing facial expressions, body language and other social stimulus.[12] Empathy – Emotional intelligence includes key aspects of empathy especially that part of empathy having to do with recognizing others’ feelings which falls under the "Perception" facet in the ability model of emotional intelligence[1] Sex differences in emotional intelligence [ edit ] The Mayer Salovey Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) [ edit ] A 246 university sample study published in the 2004 journal Personality and Individual Differences found women scored significantly higher than men on all scales of the MSCEIT.[13] Another 330 sample study published in the same year and same journal also found women scored significantly higher in emotional intelligence ability than men.[14] A 2006 sample study of 946 participants involving the University of Málaga and Yale University as well as researcher Peter Salovey found significantly higher scores obtained by women on overall scale and branches.[15] A 2010 meta-analysis published in the Journal of Applied Psychology by researchers Dana L. Joseph and Daniel A. Newman found that women scored higher than men by around half a deviation which amounts to 6–7 points difference.[3] A 2013 study published in the Journal of Personality Assessment by researchers Antonietta Curci and Tiziana Lanciano found that results are in line with those of previous studies showing that women consistently expressed higher emotional intelligence abilities than men (Brackett et al., 2004; Extremera et al., 2006; Salguero et al., 2012).[16] A 2014 study published in the journal PLoS ONE by researchers Jerzy Wojciechowski, and Maciej Stolarski found differences favoring women for performance-based EI ability tests supporting the held common hypothesis that women have higher EI scores than men do.[17] A 2016 study by researcher Tiziana Quarto published in the journal PLoS ONE found women had higher EI abilities among a group of 63 participants.[18] Test of Emotional Intelligence (TIE) [ edit ] A 2014 study plus meta-analysis published in the journal PLoS ONE with a sample size of 8979 participants found higher overall score by females on all facets of ability emotional intelligence. The analysis was conducted by researchers Magdalena Śmieja, Jarosław Orzechowski and Maciej S. Stolarski in various universities across Poland.[4] They also found in another study that although genders were equally adept at detecting consistency with basic emotions, women were superior at detecting deception in both basic emotion and inconsistent emotions conditions or in other words complex and subtle emotions.[19] The deviation size differences were 0.32 and the researchers attributed this to women's greater emotional intelligence.[19] Behavioral tests [ edit ] A 2011 study published in the journal Sex Roles by researchers Matthew J. Hertenstein and Dacher Keltner found that within a behavioral experiment study of 212 participants, women shared more emotions, felt more prosocial emotions and communicated much more happiness levels in one on one dyadic interaction.[8] Results also found that 79% of female decoders accurately identified male emotions and 96% accurately identified female emotions (both ps <.01). For male decoders, 70% (p =.052) correctly identified male encoders and 81% (p <.01) correctly identified female encoded emotions. Results conformed with findings from past literature.[8] Social cognition [ edit ] A 2012 review published in the journal Neuropsychologia found that women are better at recognizing facial effects, expression processing and emotions in general.[9] Men were only better at recognizing specific behaviour which includes anger, aggression and threatening cues.[9] A 2012 study published in the journal Neuropsychology with a sample of 3500 individuals from ages 8–21, found that females outperformed males on face memory and all social cognition tests.[20] Another 2014 study published in the journal Cerebral Cortex found that females had larger activity in the right temporal cortex, an essential core of the social brain connected to perception and understanding the social behaviour of others such as intentions, emotions, and expectations.[21] In 2014, a meta-analysis of 215 study sample by researcher A.E. Johnson and D Voyeur in the journal Cognition and Emotion found overall female advantage in emotional recognition.[5] Other studies have also indicated greater female superiority to discriminate vocal and facial expression regardless of valence, and also being able to accurately process emotional speech.[22] Studies have also found males to be slower in making social judgements than females.[23] Structural studies with MRI neuroimaging has also shown that women have bigger regional grey matter volumes in a number of regions related to social information processing including the inferior frontal cortex and bigger cortical folding in the Inferior frontal cortex and parietal cortex.[23] Researchers have indicated that these sex differences in social cognition predisposes to high rates of autism spectrum disorders among males which is characterized by lower social cognition.[23] Two 2015 reviews published in the journal Emotion review also found that adult women are more emotionally expressive, especially for positive emotions.[24][25] Empathy [ edit ] A 2006 meta-analysis by researcher Rena A Kirkland in the North American Journal of Psychology found significant sex differences favoring females in "Reading of the mind" test. "Reading of the mind" test is an advanced ability measure of cognitive empathy in which Kirkland's analysis involved 259 studies across 10 countries.[26] Another 2014 meta-analysis in Cognition and Emotion, found overall female advantage in non-verbal emotional recognition across 215 samples.[5] In a study published in 2006, neuroscientist Tania Singer showed that empathy-related neural responses are significantly lower in males when observing an "unfair" person experiencing pain.[27] Another 2014 study by researchers Chiyoko Kobayashi Frank, Simon Baron-Cohen and Barbara L. Ganzel found that on average women use networks in the brain associated with both cognitive empathy ( higher activity in mPFC) and emotional empathy (non-activity in the vmPFC) more than men, in which they inferred can somewhat explain why women have better performance in theory of mind or cognitive empathy skills.[7] A 2014 analysis from the journal Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews also found that there are sex differences in empathy from birth, growing larger with age and which remains consistent and stable across lifespan.[6] Females were found to have higher empathy than males at all ages, and children with higher empathy regardless of gender continue to possess high empathy throughout development in life.[6] Further analysis of brain tools such as event related potentials found that females who viewed human suffering had higher ERP waveforms than males, an indication of greater empathetic response.[6] Another investigation with similar brain tools such as N400 amplitudes found higher N400 in females in response to social situations which then positively correlated with self-reported empathy.[6] Structural fMRI studies have also found females to have larger grey matter volumes in posterior inferior frontal and anterior inferior parietal cortex areas which have been correlated with mirror neurons indicated by the fMRI literature.[6] Mirror neurons are crucial for many if not most aspects of empathy. Females were also found to have stronger link between emotional and cognitive empathy.[6] The researchers found that the stability of these sex differences in development are not likely explained by any environmental influences but instead might have some roots in human evolution and sex biased genetic inheritance.[6] Throughout prehistory, females nurtured and were the primary caretakers of children, so this might have led to an evolved neurological adaptation for women to be more aware and responsive to non-verbal human expressions. According to the Primary Caretaker Hypothesis, prehistoric males did not have the same selective pressure as primary caretakers and therefore this might explain modern day sex differences in emotion recognition and empathy.[6] See also [ edit ]In a press release filed Friday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced that they apprehended an individual illegally entering the United States across the southern border who had previously been convicted in the States for sexually assaulting a minor. Border patrol agents at the Ajo station near Tuscon, Arizona apprehended the pervert sneaking into the country on Thursday. After running a background check, authorities discovered that 29 year-old Raul Cano-Garcia had been convicted in Fresno, California for having sex with a child under the age of 14. Cano-Garcia was sentenced to three years, but it is unclear if he ever actually served any jail time or was simply deported. President Donald J. Trump received massive criticism for kicking off his 2016 presidential campaign with comments saying Mexico was sending "rapists" when illegal aliens entered the country. Cano-Garcia, however, is one of many illegal aliens from Mexico who have been convicted in American courts for some kind of sexual offense. Statistics are not available right now for how many illegal aliens in jails across America are sex offenders, but a report out of Oregon last spring showed startling numbers within the state. According to the Washington Examiner, nearly half of the illegal aliens in Oregon's jails are convicted sex offenders. 83% of those individuals convicted are from Mexico. The Examiner also reported last spring that under President Obama, ICE released nearly 600 sex offenders "for legal reasons." Many of these individuals were sent back to their native countries, but 151 one of them were denied admittance by those nations. Many of these individuals were released back into the streets of America. Dale Wilcox, executive director of the Immigration Reform Law Institute, told the Examiner these numbers highlight the need for serious immigration reform.Every time a new multi-platform console game readies itself for release, a certain section of the gaming community wants to know two things above all else: resolution and framerate. Especially now in the dawn of the Xbox One/PS4 generation, people want to know if these new numbers will prove that the PS4 is more powerful, that the Xbox One is weaker, or that both consoles are infinitely inferior to their PC brethren. The magic numbers are 1080p and 60 FPS. Far Cry 4 creative director Alex Hutchison, however, has a different take: nobody cares. "Five per cent of the audience is online commenting [about resolution], and 95 per cent are just buying them
My response to Al Cardenas: And the same to you, amigo! I’d never heard of you, either—but I’m not running a major Conservatism Inc. Beltway Bandit conference, just a grassroots website devoted to principles, policy, patriotism, ideas and ideals. (That’s IDEALS—look it up in the dictionary.) Incidentally, as far as I can make out, Cardenas (and his “staff”) never did approach my sponsor. So I guess I’m ACU-certified!—unless Cardenas is a blow-hard and a liar. I said that National Review editors don’t slum at CPAC. That’s because the conference’s great strength (and value) is that it is a grass-roots event—albeit brutally exploited by a Conservatism Inc. Beltway in-group. And CPAC obviously faces serious ideological problems. CPAC superstar Ann Coulter is not allowed to give a speech at CPAC this year like she did last year—when she delivered a brilliant attack on the Amnesty/ Immigration Surge. Now she has to “debate” a liberal. "Official" CPAC topics are tellingly bland. CPAC has rescinded its exhibit booth to the American Atheists under pressure from L. Brent Bozell’s Media Research Group. But American Atheists were at initial planning meetings in January, and its booth was listed on the website, well before ACU is now claiming it first announced it. The group is headed by President David Silverman, a man well known as a guest on various TV talk shows where he can be seen delivering direct, frontal attacks on Christians and Christianity. What was CPAC thinking? A CPAC victim writes: I wanted to clue you in on some of the problems that are observable for this year's CPAC. First, if you didn't make their "early bird rate" ($3 grand just to be an exhibitor), you saw Exhibitor prices jump up to $4,000. Not only is this an increase from the previous year—both for early bird rates and post-early bird rates—they're including less tickets for groups. So organizations are forced to buy additional tickets if they want to have enough of their group manning the booths. And individual tickets have gone up as well. If you missed the early bird rates, a regular individual ticket is $300. And look at the rates to be a sponsor or co-sponsor! And what do these higher co-sponsor and sponsor rates get you? Not much, from what I could tell. In the past, co-sponsors were allowed to hold their own events concurrently with the official CPAC events. This allowed for Breitbart and Judicial Watch to hold events on topics the officials do not like. But now, if you're a sponsor, you are given no extra rooms to hold your own events, like groups in the past were. In other words, much tighter ideological control. But also price-gouging: It looks like CPAC even cut back on the banquet tickets they usually throw at groups who sign up for sponsor ship levels. The location is at the pricey Gaylord Hotel at the National Harbor—far from a Metro, making it inconvenient for college kids, traditionally the heart of CPAC. Speaking of Conservative Inc., look who is organizing CPAC for the ACU—a group called MRA Services. This group handles logistics for all manner of conferences and conventions across the country. It used to be the only thing ACU did was create Congressional scorecards and organize CPAC. Now they don't even organize CPAC anymore. Ideologically, the result is secession. Here’s Breitbart’s Uninvited II. Here’s NPI’s Unconference. Sort of like the GOP. Previous CPAC Coverage Peter Brimelow is the editor of VDARE.com. His best-selling book, “Alien Nation: Common Sense About America’s Immigration Disaster,” is now available in Kindle format.Chelsea striker Diego Costa has played down his bust-up with Pedro during the Blues' 2-0 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday night (4 January), claiming that the former Barcelona winger is like a "brother" to him. The two Spaniards got fans talking in the opening stages of the London derby, becoming embroiled in a heated argument after failing to link up with one another during a counter-attack. A furious Costa appeared to reproach Pedro when his compatriot failed to run into space to collect an assist. However, speaking to IBTimes UK after the game to explain the incident, the Chelsea hitman said: "Nothing happened. We have a great understanding with each other. When you have a trusted relationship and intimacy with a teammate it is normal for these things to happen. It was just a moment during the game, and that's it. It was nothing. I told him: 'You have to get in there, why didn't you go?' He said 'I went' and I said he didn't. That's it. Pedro is my brother and we love each other." The game was goalless at that point, but two identical goals by Dell Alli either side of half-time saw Chelsea's 13-game winning streak come to an abrupt halt at Tottenham. However Costa believes there is nothing to worry about, as the Blues kept on fighting until the game's final second. Questioned about Antonio Conte's mood in the dressing room following the reverse, Costa replied: "We have to be aware that we have lost just one game in the last 14. The boss knew that this moment could come. But the important thing is that the team have fought to get a result. We are hurting, but there is a great spirit in the dressing room. We are not happy when we lose, but that's it. "We were playing against a great rival and in their own home. We already knew it was going to be a difficult game. We made two mistakes and they were have able to take advantage of their opportunities to score." Chelsea remain top of the Premier League, five points ahead of second-placed Liverpool and seven clear of Tottenham and Manchester City. Costa believes those four sides, along with Arsenal and Manchester City, will make it a six-way challenge for the title this year. "I think the six teams that at the top of the table are all candidates to win the Premier League. During the first part of the season every game has been different. We have sometimes played against teams from the bottom of the table that tested us a lot and then we beat some top teams easily. Tottenham have a great squad, they play very well and are a very tough team to beat," Costa said. "In Spain when a team like Real Madrid or Barcelona have a big gap at the top of the table it is said that La Liga is over, but in the Premier League it is different. Here any team can beat you, you lose two games and everything is even again."Right off the bat: we’re going to be talking about abusive relationships. This is a subject that can be touchy for some people, so proceed with all caution. So with all that said: I write a lot about men behaving badly. In fact, I’m regularly accused — with some accuracy — of being much harder on men than I am on women. This is because, frankly, I want men to be better. I want masculinity to be something positive, not something toxic that mistakes violence for power, anger for strength, sex for value. Sometimes that means talking about things men are doing wrong, so they can recognize it and do better. Sometimes it means teaching men how to help themselves… even when the world tells them that they can’t. Which is why I want to talk about a subject we don’t hear much about: when men find themselves trapped in abusive relationships. In a lot of ways, men are frequently invisible victims of relationship abuse. When we think of abusive relationships, we often default to the idea of a woman as the victim with a man as the perpetrator. Rarely do we imagine men as the victims. To do so is almost comical – literally. The image of the angry housewife — usually fat and unattractive – waiting for at home for her milquetoast husband with curlers in her hair and a rolling pin, ready to dispense retributory violence for some slight, has been around for generations. But despite the jokes and cartoons about “henpecked husbands,” more men than many would expect are trapped in abusive relationships. It spans the gamut of ages and ethnicities, of sexual orientations and gender identities. So today I want to shed some light on the subject – as well as talk about how to recognize an abusive relationship and how to leave one. Male Victims In Abusive Relationships: Understudied, Severely Under-Reported. In a lot of ways, men are frequently invisible victims of relationship abuse. When we think of abusive relationships, we often default to the idea of a woman as the victim; rarely do we imagine men. But male victims of domestic abuse and abusive relationships are more common than many people think. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control, up to 26% of homosexual men, 29% of straight men and 39% of bisexual men have reported being the victims of domestic violence. Even more men – up to 48% – experienced psychological and emotional abuse at the hands of their partners. But even these statistics are somewhat in question. It’s incredibly difficult — even more so than with women — to get accurate statistics on how many men have been abused by their partners. In fact, it can be difficult to get men to admit they’re in an abusive relationship in the first place. Men, after all, are taught that they’re not allowed to be victims… especially by someone perceived as being “weaker” than they are. To be a “man” is to be strong; allowing a woman (or a “fag” — gay men, after all, are automatically seen as weak and “feminine” in traditional masculinity) to hurt you means that you clearly aren’t a man. And if the abuse is emotional… what, are you letting some names bother you? Letting some woman bully you? Say mean things? Hurt your feelings? What are you, some kind of pussy? It can be difficult for a man to find someone willing to believe that they’re a victim of abuse. The prevailing image of “man as aggressor” or “men are stronger” leads to the common belief that he’s somehow “earned” his abuse by provoking his abuser. Other times, they fear — with justification — being ignored or mocked for “allowing” their partner to hurt them. In the popular portrayal of the henpecked husband, the man is frequently shown as being a weakling who’s incapable of standing up to his wife and thus “earns” his abuse as punishment for being so weak and unmasculine. All of this means that authorities are less likely to take reports of domestic violence with a male victim seriously. As is frequently the case with male victims of rape, male victims of domestic abuse are often told it’s “not that bad” or that they “must be ok with it”; after all, they could always defend themselves against the “little lady,” right? And if the victim happens to be gay, bisexual or trans… well the authorities have frequently shown a lack of interest in getting involved at all. “Why Doesn’t He Just Leave?” In any abusive relationship, there will always be people who want to know: why don’t they just leave? For men the answer to the question is often for the same reasons why women don’t. To start with, it can be hard enough to admit you’re in an abusive relationship in the first place. Many men internalize the guilt of “letting” themselves be abused; they may believe that they “deserve it” or that they should be able to endure the pain because men are supposed to be able to take it. They may feel that the abuse is because they’ve failed – as a man, as a provider, as a father. They may believe that this is all they can get or that this is what relationships are like. Sometimes there’s a religious component; that marriage is for life and leaving one’s spouse — no matter how bad things get — is a sin. Leaving one’s spouse would mean also being forced to leave the community – regardless of the circumstances. Men in gay or bisexual relationships often have their orientation used against them. They may fear leaving because their partner could threaten to out them to coworkers or family. If the victim is young or inexperienced, the abuser may keep them around by telling him that leaving would be tantamount to admitting that same-sex relationships are inherently “deviant.” The abuser may have convinced their partner that they can’t leave because the authorities would never believe a gay man anyway. Men may stay because they’re afraid of reprisals if they do try to leave. Often, when a victim of abuse tries to leave, the abuse will intensify, to punish them for trying to leave. While women are much less likely to stalk or murder a romantic partner than men are, it can happen and can be a valid fear. Similarly, gay men can find themselves at risk of a partner threatening their lives or stalking them if they leave. Some may stay because they fear being accused of being the abuser rather than the victim. Many abusers are skilled manipulators and don’t hesitate to cast themselves as the victim and their partner as the real villain in the piece. Other times, men may not leave because they fear for the safety of others. Many people stay in abusive relationships because they have no way of leaving without taking a beloved pet with them; the abusive partner may threaten them or take out their anger on the innocents they were forced to leave behind. It gets even more complicated if there are children involved. Many men stay because they feel that they’re shielding their children from the abuse; if they left, then the abusive partner might turn their anger on the kids instead. Still more fear losing custody or contact with their children — obtaining custody can be difficult and there are no guarantees that even if he could gain custody that he could afford to raise them alone. And — most perniciously — they may not be able to afford to leave. When you’ve been with someone for a long time, the odds are good that your finances are tightly entangled with theirs and it can be difficult to separate them enough to make a clean getaway. Other times, the abuser may restrict the victim’s finances in order to control them and prevent them from leaving. If you’re not financially independent — and in this economy, many of us aren’t — then leaving an abusive relationship can mean finding yourself out in the world without anywhere to turn. There are very few resources out there for male victims of domestic abuse. Many domestic abuse hotlines are set up with women in mind and aren’t trained or prepared to handle issues involving male or LGBT victims of abuse. Similarly, the vast majority of shelters for victims of abuse are exclusively for women, leaving men who flee abusive relationships with few places to turn. Signs Of An Abusive Relationship It can be difficult for men to recognize when they’re in an abusive relationship. We tend to think of “abuse” as physical violence – slapping, kicking or striking one’s partner, throwing them into walls and the like. But not every abusive relationship is quite so obvious – especially when the victim is a man. Emotional abuse is the most common form of abusive relationships – and it’s often hard to detect because it is so rarely overt. An abuser may: Insult you or humiliate you, especially in front of your friends and colleagues Belittle you, minimize your accomplishments and repeatedly tell you that you’re worthless or a failure Tell you that their abusive behavior is your fault Constantly accuse you of being unfaithful or require you to “prove” you’re not cheating on them Keep constant tabs on you, demanding that you check in with them regularly. They may also monitor where you go and with whom Isolate you from your friends and family Accuse your friends and family of lying in order to “drive you apart” Restrict your access to money or finances Use or deny sex and intimacy as a form of control Snoop through your emails, texts, instant messages, phone calls and social media profiles Hide your keys or your phone to keep you from seeking out help Use false accusations (or the threat of accusations) of abuse to keep you in line On average, men are larger and stronger than women – as a result, female abusers are less likely to physically abuse a male partner. This doesn’t mean that she won’t. Because of the size and strength difference, women who are physically abusive are more likely to threaten with a weapon like a knife or a household object. Other times they may strike their victims while they sleep or are incapacitated or catch them by surprise. They may throw things, especially breakables like dishes and glassware. But physical abuse doesn’t just include overt violence. Other forms of physical abuse can include: Physically isolating or abandoning you Restricting access to medication you need Preventing you from sleeping Intimidating you through threats to others including pets Pinching, spitting on and slapping you Driving in a threatening manner, including speeding or threatening to run off the road or into obstacles It’s important to note that rape is also a frequent tool for abuse in relationships. Men — gay, bi and straight — can be raped by their partners. This doesn’t just mean being forcibly penetrated – being forced into sex against your will is still rape. Just because you have an erection doesn’t mean that you “really want it” and being coerced or abused doesn’t mean that you won’t get an erection. In fact, many abusers will use the presence of an erection as proof that this is what you “really want,” regardless of whether you consent or not, just as they might use a woman’s vaginal lubrication as “proof” that she wants it. What Can You Do When You’re In An Abusive Relationship? The first and most important part of leaving an abusive relationship is to realize this fact: This Is NOT Your Fault. Repeat this to yourself over and over again. It is not your fault that you’re being abused. You did not cause this, you do not deserve this and this is not because you can or should do “better.” You are being abused. You are not a failure. You are not weak. And – importantly – you are not alone. If at all possible — leave. Get out of the house, go somewhere safe and find a place where you can stay. If you can’t leave or you’re staying to protect children, siblings or pets, call the police. Whatever you do, do not retaliate against your abuser. I can’t emphasize this enough — fighting back or using force to escape will only make things worse. This will allow your abuser — especially if she’s a woman — to claim that they’re the victim. As a result, the odds are much higher that you will be the one arrested or forced to leave if the police get called. If you’re in an abusive relationship, then one thing you want to do is to document the abuse — especially if it’s physical. Keep a journal of your abuse; record all instances of abusive behavior, with dates, times and as much detail as possible. If there are witnesses, try to include their names and contact information. If at all possible, get video or photographic evidence, especially documenting any injuries. If at all possible, get a doctor to document them and keep copies of all records. Important: medical personnel are not likely to ask a man if he’s being abused or is a victim of domestic abuse and are thus less likely to photograph or document your injuries. It’s on you to make sure that photographic records are taken. Equally important: keep this evidence safe. If at all possible, you want to have multiple copies, especially if you can stash them out of the house and in a place where your abuser can’t easily access them. This may be with a friend or in a privately rented safety deposit box. If you’re keeping digital records, consider offsite digital storage like a private Dropbox account or other cloud-storage solutions. Be sure to password protect any and all files as well as your storage solutions. To make doubly sure of your security and safety, you may only want to access these files from computers outside your home. Many abusers will go through their victims’ computers, social media profiles and email to keep track of them; using outside computers makes it harder for them to track the websites and programs you’ve been accessing. Prep a go-bag if possible — keep an emergency stash of cash, a cellphone, your ID (driver’s license and passport) and copies of your evidence of abuse stashed somewhere safe, preferably at a trusted friend’s house. You may have to leave without warning or time to prepare. Whether you leave or stay, call a domestic abuse hotline for advice and help. They can help you find resources for filing restraining orders, obtaining counseling and many other issues involved in escaping and recovering from abusive relationships. When you do leave, it’s important to get support whether that support is your family, friends or a domestic abuse support group. You want to surround yourself with people who are going to love, comfort and support you and help you recover. It can also be incredibly helpful to get counseling to help overcome the pain, guilt and shame that result from being in an abusive relationship. If you can’t afford traditional therapy, I have a list of low-cost (or even free) therapy and counseling options here. And again: it is not your fault. Resources For Victims of Domestic Abuse: The National Domestic Abuse Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 Domestic Abuse Helpline for Men and Women: 1-888-743-5754 Love Is Respect.Org: 1-866-331-9474 The National Domestic Abuse Hotline, StopRelationshipAbuse.org, Love Is Respect and RAINN have a number of links and phone numbers with information for people suffering in abusive relationships, including resources specifically for LGBTQ issues. If you have other resources for male victims of domestic abuse or abusive relationships — especially ones for gay or trans men and non-US based groups — please share them in the comments. (Please Note: I am not including the ManKind Initiative or links to the group because — frankly — I’ve seen enough to make me mistrust them.) This post originally appeared at Dr. NerdLove.By Linda Zavoral You’d be hard-pressed to find a Bay Area restaurant these days that doesn’t keep its diners entertained with flat-screen TVs mounted in every corner. Silicon Valley engineer-turned-entrepreneur Mark Williams has the amusement factor covered at his new restaurant too. But his business concept is firmly rooted in the years from 1900 to 1925, so he’s filled his Orchestria Palm Court in downtown San Jose with a dozen of the mechanical music machines of that era — from player pianos to nickelodeon-style jukeboxes. Just as the 1973 movie “The Sting” attracted a new generation to composer Scott Joplin’s ragtime music, Williams hopes to ignite interest in these machines and the classic melodies, operettas, jazz, rags and novelty tunes they play. “I want to reintroduce people to this great old music,” he said. “I think there is a whole generation that doesn’t know about this at all and will be excited.” Step into the vintage brick building and you’ll find yourself transported into another time by several player pianos and what are known as orchestrions — machines with two instruments or more that are designed to sound like a band or orchestra — including a rare model nearly 10 feet tall with a full percussion section. Williams’ favorite piece because it’s the most technically intricate is the Violano-Virtuoso, a violin-playing machine that was advertised as the 8th Wonder of the World when it was invented a century ago. (Let’s face it, the Great Pyramid of Giza just sits there. It doesn’t play “Puttin’ on the Ritz.”) The restaurant’s first days have drawn preservationists and downtown residents curious about what had been going on behind the doors of 27 E. William St., near the San Jose Stage Company theater in the artsy SoFA (South First Area) district. “It’s great to have a place that is a tribute to old technology in a place where we worship new technology,” said customer Barbara Goldstein, an arts consultant who formerly headed the city’s public art program. Sandy Swirsky, herself a collector of music machines, booked the Orchestria for a San Jose Woman’s Club luncheon. “I think it has wonderful potential,” she said. “There have been pizza parlors with pipe organs, but most of those are gone now.” Indeed, Williams believes his restaurant will win over anyone whose only contact with player piano music has been at an amusement park or pizza parlor where one tinkly tune played ad nauseam. He has more than 500 paper rolls of music and countless 78 RPM records for these beauties — and beauties they are, antiques crafted of mahogany or quarter-sawn “tiger oak,” a wood-grain pattern that was “all the rage in the teens and twenties, then just fell out of fashion,” he said. Many have their original stained-glass embellishments. These machines were the technological marvels of the time, and — in the days before radio and amplified sound became common — any restaurant, bar or movie theater that couldn’t afford to hire a house band had one, Williams said. He’s been amassing these behemoths — it takes four people to move each one — since the mid-1990s and meeting with other aficionados in the Automatic Musical Instrument Collectors’ Association, an international society founded in San Francisco. A decade ago he came up with the restaurant plan and purchased this 1910 building that was originally an auto showroom. Earthquake retrofitting came next, then fleshing out his vision. The result is a music palace with an organic, locally sourced menu, a wine/beer/coffee bar, an antique peanut “toasting” machine and a soda fountain that serves vintage beverages like the Poppy Dew and the Arctic Phosphate. Oh, and if you can’t hear your cellphone call because one of the machines is playing, just step into the old wooden phone booth for some quiet and privacy — as San Jose Stage executive director Cathleen King had to do during her post-theater snack Friday night. At a nearby table, Goldstein and her husband, John Pastier, an architecture critic, were dishing on dessert and nostalgia while a rendition of “Swanee” played on the piano near the front door. “It’s a nice curiosity” — and a good addition to the neighborhood, Pastier said. “I wonder if this is a sign that downtown San Jose is finally going to gel.” Then they hopped up to examine the Violano-Virtuoso and try to figure out what substituted for a violin bow. “It’s like three little rotating elements are pulling the strings,” Goldstein guessed. Williams later explained that the manufacturer, the Mills Novelty Co. of Chicago, invented a circular stack of celluloid pieces — revolutionary for its time — to emulate a bow. With the company still in business, he can purchase replacements whenever the faux bow wears out. There’s no problem getting new paper rolls of music either; any time old rolls are found, someone recuts them, he said. And a Turlock company turns modern songs into player-piano versions. But don’t expect to hear Rihanna or Carly Rae issuing forth from the bellows of the machines at Orchestria Palm Court. Williams first has to introduce a whole new generation to Margie, Minnie, Lulu and a few other gals. “You can bring Pearl, she’s a darn nice girl, but don’t bring Lulu. You can bring Rose, with the turned-up nose, but don’t bring Lulu.” (1925, by Billy Rose, Lew Brown, Ray Henderson.) Contact Linda Zavoral at [email protected] on fully embracing Nike Flyknit and full-length Zoom Air when it comes time for Olympic basketball in Rio this summer. As part of Nike’s massive unveiling of Olympic-related product in Manhattan, we got a look at the new KD9 and Hyperdunk 2016, two sneakers coming at us in full Flyknit and, for the first time, full-length Zoom Air. The low cut KD9, designed by Leo Chang, uses a Flyknit—yarn engineered down to each pixel—upper with a honeycomb pattern for structure to provide stability during the “multidimensional movement of basketball.” By engineering the yarn, Nike says it can cut down on excess material and weight while maximizing strength and allowing the foot to move naturally in a stable environment. • MORE OLYMPICS: Analytics will be key for USA basketball roster selection Courtesy of Nike The Flyknit goes a bit taller in Hyperdunk 2016. Eight years after the silhouette’s launch ahead of the Beijing Olympics, the ultra-high Flyknit upper was designed by Chang to offer “enhanced locked-in feel.” Embedded Flywire cables in the forefoot accentuate stability while allowing the Flyknit to have zones designed specifically for support, stretch and breathability. An added heel counter increases stability on the Hyperdunk. Subscribe Get the best of Sports Illustrated delivered right to your inbox The SI Extra Newsletter With the uppers situated, both shoes offer full-length Zoom Air units for the first time in Nike basketball. The KD9 uses a visible, tapered unit from heel to toe, a component that took three years of wear testing to solidify. Filled with fibers that compress upon each step before springing back into position, the unit is 16 millimeters thick at the heel and narrows to 10 millimeters at the forefoot, a design meant to balance impact protection with cushioning throughout the length of the foot. Courtesy of Nike The KD9 includes an anatomical flex groove in the forefoot designed to allow for natural foot movements and heel notches to add stability for lateral movements. Courtesy of Nike On the Hyperdunk’s Zoom Air unit, which is also full-length, Nike opted for a uniform unit and then created a hollow core between the unit and the outsole—which features herringbone traction—for, as Nike says, greater trampoline effect. Courtesy of Nike Aesthetically, both sneakers get defined by the Flyknit uppers—especially the honeycomb pattern on the KD9—and the underfoot systems, such as the visible Zoom Air on the KD9. • MORE OLYMPICS: Q&A with U.S. boxer Claressa Shields With the 2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony kicking the Games off on Aug. 5, the KD9 launches on June 20 and the Hyperdunk 2016 in July, both in plenty of time for Durant and a full compliment of athletes to don them for the Rio Olympics. Tim Newcomb covers sports aesthetics—stadiums, sneakers, uniforms and more—for Sports Illustrated. Follow him on Twitter at @tdnewcomb.A new study has found that food brand recognition puts preschoolers at risk of obestiy later in life. Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI \| License Photo May 3 (UPI) -- Research at the University of Michigan suggests preschoolers who recognize food name brands are at an increased risk of becoming obese later in life. The study, published in the journal Appetite, found the risk of weight gain appeared to occur independently of other factors, including family demographics and television viewing. The study included 247 preschoolers with an average age of 4.5 years who completed recognition and recall tests for 30 food brands and had their body mass index, or BMI, measured. Study participants were given three food choices to match with each brand logo. The most popular food brand, Pepperidge Farm Goldfish, was recognized by 96 percent of the children. The least recognized brand was SpaghettiOs, which was recognized by 41 percent of the preschoolers. RELATED Young American children eat more fries than vegetables Researchers report that overweight children recognized 10 food brands -- M&M's, Cocoa Puffs, Keebler cookies, Pringles, Rice Kristpies, Coca-Cola, KFC, Cap'n Crunch, Hamburger Helper and Planters peanuts -- more than healthy-weight children. The fast-food chain McDonald's had the highest recall among overweight children, with the golden arches recognized by 62 percent of the participants. "It is interesting that despite very low recall rates for some foods, recognition rates were still high," Kristen Harrison, a professor of communication studies at the University of Michigan, said in a press release. Factors such as higher parent BMI, child race or ethnicity, and lower child vocabulary were all associated with higher BMI percentiles in children. Preschoolers in the study did confuse brand names with the types of foods -- for example, the Keebler logo was recognized as matching cookies by 86 percent surveyed, but just 1 percent were able to name the brand.Full disclosure: This is purely an opinion piece however it is informed by the actions of the past. When #GamerGate, The Quinnspiracy and the various events surrounding the Internet Culture War that spun out of it started two years ago, no one thought for a moment that it would last even a month. Now, however, Gawker is bankrupt, Twitter is dropping faster than a crackwhore, and the rest of the media sees gamers as perpetual boogeymen. Why is this? Because gamers won the battle long before they were even attacked the first time. I’m not talking about the abuses of the past few years. I’m talking since the original Senate hearings back in the early 1990s. I bet you are really wondering what I’m talking about here, so let’s analyze this from the beginning. Before the video game industry crash of 1983, video games or interactive media was a rapidly growing industry because it stimulated creative thinking. Now if you ask most avid gamers they do tend to be extremely creative people who are successful in what they do. The all also believe in meritocracy, hard, work and support honest equality. Now even back in the early 80’s Warner Bros saw how this was going when they bought out Atari. After the crash occurred I don’t believe for a second that any of the media moguls expected gaming to make any sort of comeback, much less in the way Nintendo pulled it off. In fact, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if the original crash was engineered because they saw so much free thinking coming out of gamers. In an oligarchy, such people are dangerous to the political and corporate elite. Fast forward 10 years and the people in charge saw video games coming back with a vengeance, so they had to try and demonize and regulate them. Say hello to the ESRB and the senate hearings that led to them. Now they think they’ve put the cap on this powder keg that threatens their hold over the normies. What? This industry is still growing…we need a scapegoat! Here comes Michael Carneal, a bullied and unfortunate soul who ended up committing the first in a series of highly popularized school shootings that came to a head with Columbine. Just so you know when Carneal was shooting up Heath High School I was in a neighboring school district at Reidland Middle School, so I can count as second-hand coverage. So they find a new target with Doom, claiming it taught people how to aim a firearm. Anyone who played that game can tell you that’s ridiculous. By the end of all that we have the entire Jack Thompson debacle, and the media still couldn’t win against gaming. The medium kept growing. Fast forward again to 2012 and several more attempts then it comes to them. “Wait, I think I figured out how we can make games evil to the public finally! We’ll say that they hate women!” Now if they tried this approach in 1990 they could have possibly destroyed the industry then because the research to disprove it couldn’t have been done. But now with the resources we have they can’t hide the truth. But now it has led to #Gamergate being the thing that frightens them the most. This is because they know that they have nothing to disprove us seriously and that they can’t control the truth any longer. The Mainstream Media has been complacent for too long and are now complicit in their own destruction. In an attempt to demonize the most intelligent and unique thinkers of our age, the true revolutionaries, they signed their own suicide note because they know that such people only mean a true restoration of democratic power in the Western world and a fall to aristocratic and oligarchical rule across the face of the Earth. The collectivist populism of the 20th century has run its course and they know it. This is why we have won. We see that we are entering the age of individualist rule. We have the tools to encourage creative and positive thinking, to embolden people to live truly free from the controls of others, and to pull a complete Robin Hood on the power of the oligarchs. Take their power away and give it back to the people. I say at the end of most of my articles to “Game Freely”. I say this because I believe in living free under one’s own flag, under one’s own state of mind. As such in my logo there is a black skull and crossbones, denoting the influence that the image of the pirate as an outlaw free of the bindings of the state has on my character. I live free under the symbol I use and under the symbol of the Honey Badger. This is a black skull and crossbones also because I will keep fighting until my bones are ash. That my spirit is indomitable, such a spirit frightens those in charge of the media because it threatens their weak hold on power. We don’t have that fear because we know the true source of our power and how it can’t be taken away. This is why we’ve already won: We are a symbol, an idea that people can live under that embraces and encourages their own personal control of self as well as the justice of self-determination. To reinforce this opinion and show why I’ve embraced being a Men’s Rights Advocate I want to make a suggestion. Nothing extreme, I just wish to suggest that everyone watch something that has highly influenced my views in life; the anime Arcadia of My Youth. It’s a Japanese subtitled-only work really, as the My Youth in Arcadia dub is agreed to lose the entire point. But it shows I think the true empathy, compassion, and beauty of men, nay, of humanity! There is one scene in particular half way through that to this very day no matter how many times I watch it I cry. I cry because it shows what it truly means to be a man, because while sad it is also uplifting and beautiful. It also shows the true heart of geek culture and why the mainstream will never accept us. With that I will end this with a statement from the end of Arcadia of My Youth: ”We will not pray for anything, nor will we seek help from anyone. Never again will we fight under another’s flag. We will keep on fighting, only for what we believe in, only under our flag, for as long as we live. Under my flag!” byThe first thing that strikes
Organizations Not Affiliated with the Department of Defense.” However, CIFA did not comply with the 90-day retention review policy specified by that directive and the CORNERSTONE database did not have the capability to identify TALON reports with U.S. person information, to identify reports requiring a 90-day retention review, or allow analysts to edit or delete the TALON reports. In August the Defense Department announced that it would shut down the CORNERSTONE database on September 17, with information subsequently collected on potential terror or security threats to Defense Department facilities or personnel being sent to an FBI data base known as GUARDIAN. A department spokesman said the database was being terminated because “the analytical value had declined,” not due to public criticism, and that the Pentagon was hoping to establish a new system not necessarily a database to “streamline” threat reporting, according to a statement released by the Department’s public affairs office. (Jeffrey Richelson, “The Pentagon’s Counterspies: The Counterintelligence Field Activity,” The National Security Archive, September 17, 2007) Last year Antifascist Calling reported that when CIFA was shut down, that organization’s TALON database was off-loaded to the Defense Intelligence Agency’s Defense Counterintelligence and Human Intelligence Center and the FBI’s GUARDIAN database that resides in the Bureau’s Investigative Data Warehouse (IDW). The IDW is a massive repository for data-mining. As I reported in May, citing the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s revelations, the IDW possesses something on the order of 1.5 billion searchable files. In comparison, the entire Library of Congress contains 138 million unique documents. EFF has called the IDW “the FBI’s single largest repository of operational and intelligence information.” In 2005, FBI Section Chief Michael Morehart said that “IDW is a centralized, web-enabled, closed system repository for intelligence and investigative data.” Unidentified FBI agents have described it as “one-stop shopping” for FBI agents and an “uber-Google.” According to the Bureau, “[t]he IDW system provides data storage, database management, search, information presentation, and security services.” As the Wired investigation reveals, NSAC intends to expand these data-mining capabilities. Currently, NSAC employs “103 full-time employees and contractors, and the FBI was seeking budget approval for another 71 employees, plus more than $8 million for outside contractors to help analyze its growing pool of private and public data.” Long-term, according to a planning document, the FBI “wants to expand the center to 439 people.” While John Poindexter’s Total Information Awareness program may have disappeared along with the Bush administration, it’s toxic heart lives on in the National Security Branch Analysis Center. TIA, IDW, NSAC: What’s in an Acronym? Plenty! When the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) stood up the Information Awareness Office in 2002, the office’s stated mission was to gather as much information on American citizens as possible and store it in a centralized, meta-database for perusal by secret state agencies. Information included in the massive data-sets by IAO included internet activity, credit card purchase histories, airline ticket purchases and travel itineraries, rental car records, medical histories, educational transcripts, driver’s licenses, social security numbers, utility bills, tax returns, indeed any searchable record imaginable. As Wired reported, these are the data-sets that NSAC plans to exploit. When Congress killed the DARPA program in 2004, most critics believed that was the end of the Pentagon’s leap back into domestic intelligence. However, as we have since learned, the data-mining portion of the program was farmed out to a host of state agencies, including the National Security Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the FBI. How to Disappear: The... Frank M. Ahearn, Eilee... Best Price: $200.00 (as of 04:55 EST - Details) Needless to say, private sector involvement and lucrative contracts for TIA projects included usual suspects such as Booz Allen Hamilton, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, The Analysis Group and SAIC, as well as a number of low-key firms such as 21st Century Technologies, Inc., Evolving Logic, Global InfoTech, Inc., and the Orwellian-sounding Fund For Peace. These firms, and many more, are current NSAC contractors; to all intents and purposes TIA now resides deep inside the Bureau’s Investigative Data Warehouse and NSAC’s Foreign Terrorist Tracking Task Force. While the FBI claims that unlike TIA, NSAC is not “open-ended” and that a “mission is usually begun with a list of names or personal identifiers that have arisen during a threat assessment, preliminary or full investigation,” Wired reports that “the FBI’s pre-crime intentions are much wider that the bureau acknowledged.” This will inevitably change and not for the better as NSAC expands its brief and secures an ever-growing mountain of data at an exponential rate. In this endeavor, they will be aided by the U.S. Senate. With three provisions of the draconian Patriot Act set to expire at years’ end, the Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VI) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), a member of the committee and chairwoman of the powerful Senate Intelligence Committee, stripped-away privacy protections to proposed legislation that would extend the provisions. Caving-in to pressure from the FBI which claims that protecting Americans’ privacy rights from out-of-control spooks would jeopardize “ongoing” terror investigations, Leahy gutted the safeguards he had espoused just last week! Claiming that his own proposal might hinder open-ended “terror” investigations Leahy said at the hearing, “I’m trying to introduce balances on both sides.” The original amendment would have curtailed Bureau fishing expeditions and would have required an actual connection of investigated parties to terrorism or foreign espionage. Leahy was referring to Section 215 of the Patriot Act that allows the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) to authorize broad warrants for nearly any type of record, including those held by banks, libraries, internet service providers, credit card companies, even doctors of “persons of interest.” An amendment offered by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) to repeal the Leahy-Feinstein amendment was defeated in committee by a 415 vote. As the Senator from the FBI, Feinstein said that the Bureau did not support Durbin’s amendment. “It would end several classified and critical investigations,” she said. Or perhaps Durbin’s amendment would have lowered the boom on a host of illegal programs across the 16-agency U.S. “Intelligence Community.” As Antifascist Calling reported in July, a 38-page declassified report by inspectors general of the CIA, NSA, Department of Justice, Department of Defense and the Office of National Intelligence collectively called the acknowledged “Terrorist Surveillance Program” and cross-agency top secret “Other Intelligence Activities” the “President’s Surveillance Program,” PSP. The IG’s report failed to disclose what these programs actually did, and probably still do today under the Obama administration. Shrouded beneath impenetrable layers of secrecy and deceit, these undisclosed programs lie at the dark heart of the state’s war against the American people. The Department of Justice’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) described FBI participation in the PSP as that of a passive “recipient of intelligence collected under the program” and efforts by the Bureau “to improve cooperation with the NSA to enhance the usefulness of PSP-derived information to FBI agents.” The OIG goes on to state that “further details about these topics are classified and therefore cannot be discussed here.” As The New York Times revealed earlier this year in April and June, the NSA’s STELLAR WIND and PINWALE internet and email text intercept programs are giant data-mining meta-databases that sift emails, faxes, and text messages of millions of people in the United States. Far from being mere passive spectators, the FBI’s Investigative Data Warehouse continues to be a major recipient of NSA’s STELLAR WIND and PINWALE programs. As Marc Ambinder reported in The Atlantic PINWALE is “an unclassified proprietary term used to refer to advanced data-mining software that the government uses. Contractors who do SIGINT mining work often include a familiarity with Pinwale as a prerequisite for certain jobs.” As the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s report on the IDW revealed, the FBI closely worked with SAIC, Convera and Chiliad to develop the project. Indeed, as EFF discovered “The FBI set up an Information Sharing Policy Group (ISPG), chaired by the Executive Assistant Directors of Administration and Intelligence, to review requests to ingest additional datasets into the IDW, in response to Congressional ‘privacy concerns that may arise from FBI engaging in ‘data mining.’ In February 2005, the Counterterrorism Division asked for 8 more data sources.” The names of the data sources were redacted in three of the eight datasets reviewed by EFF while three came from the Department of Homeland Security. All of which begs the question: what is the FBI hiding behind its reorganization of the FTTTF and IDW into the National Security Branch Analysis Center? What role does the National Security Agency and private contractors play in standing-up NSAC? And why, as EFF disclosed, is the Bureau fearful of including Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs) that might raise “congressional consciousness levels and expectations” in the context of Bureau “national security systems”? Indeed, as the American Civil Liberties Union stated, “once again, the FBI has been found to be using invasive ‘counterterrorism’ tools to collect personal information about innocent Americans,” and it “appears that the FBI has continued its habit of gathering bulk amounts of personal information with little or no oversight.” Not that congressional grifters and their corporate cronies, who have much to gain from billions of federal dollars pumped into these intrusive programs, actually care to explore what becomes of data illegally collected on innocent Americans by NSAC. The civil liberties watchdog concludes they have “long suspected that the congressional dissent over and public demise of the Pentagon’s TIA program would result in a concealed and more invasive version of the program.” Plus a change, plus c’est la mme chose. Somewhere near Washington Admiral Poindexter is leaning back in his chair, filling his pipe and smiling… This article originally appeared on GlobalResearch.ca. October 12, 2009 Tom Burghardt is a researcher and activist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition to publishing in Covert Action Quarterly and Global Research, an independent research and media group of writers, scholars, journalists and activists based in Montreal, his articles can be read on Dissident Voice, The Intelligence Daily, Pacific Free Press and the whistleblowing website Wikileaks. He is the editor of Police State America: U.S. Military “Civil Disturbance” Planning, distributed by AK Press. The Best of Tom BurghardtAlso included are gloves designed with skeleton hands and a'spartan patch' Includes a helmet and body armor carrier with an Arabic inscription The bundle is intended for 'patriots' without'military An online company specializing in military equipment and firearms for 'patriots' is selling so-called 'ISIS Hunting Kits' for $470. The package is aimed at potential customers with 'limited military or law-enforcement experience' who have asked for help in building their collection. The deal, offered by TacticalS***.com, includes a helmet and a body armor carrier complete with an Arabic inscription on the front. 'ISIS Hunting Kit': The package is aimed at 'patriots' with 'limited or no law-enforcement experience' and comes complete with a helmet and an body armor carrier with an Arabic inscription on the front Gloves designed with skeleton hands, a black cap with a United States flag emblem and a'spartan patch' can also be purchased as part of the pack. There is limited advice on how the equipment should be used, but if buyers are not sure on the color, there is a choice of either tan or black. The description of the product reads: 'This bundle makes it easy just in time for hunting season.' On Facebook the company, advertises the product by saying: 'Have you gotten your ISIS Hunting Kit yet? 'These kits are a great way to bundle together several of our products to get on big discount. The store also offers an ISIS hunting 'permit' for $10, a badge with the slogan 'pork eating crusader' and a bottle of 'Liberal tears' gun oil for $16.95. The site describes itself as a'social community of shooting enthusiasts, law enforcement, military and special operators. A short summary adds: 'Our tactical gear includes; PVC & Velcro Morale Patches, Tactical Tee Shirts, Gun Parts, Tactical Edged Weapons and Metal Shooting Targets.' Deal: Customers can buy the bundle of military items for $470.65. The company say it is 'easy just in time for the hunting season'The nonprofit birthed out of Sen. Bernie Sanders Bernard (Bernie) SandersSenate Dems seek to turn tables on GOP in climate change fight Bernie Sanders Town Hall finishes third in cable news race, draws 1.4 million viewers Woman to undecided Biden: 'Just say yes' to 2020 bid MORE's presidential bid is backing a handful of progressive state-level candidates as well as one U.S. House candidate. ADVERTISEMENT The group is the Vermont Independent's attempt to continue to flex his political muscle after a surprisingly competitive campaign in the Democratic primary. While he's not officially a part of it, the group is helmed by his wife and several Sanders staffers. The group, Our Revolution, announced the seven endorsements Wednesday — five state representative candidates, one secretary of state candidate and Thomas Nelson, running for the U.S. House in Wisconsin. Nelson is running for the seat being vacated by retiring Rep. Reid Ribble Reid James RibbleSetting the record straight about No Labels With Trump, conservatives hope for ally in 'War on Christmas' GOP rushes to embrace Trump MORE (R). The group's other endorsements include state legislature candidates Wenona Benally (Ariz.), Owen Carver (Nev.), Chris Rabb (Penn.), Marcia Ranglin-Vassell (R.I.) and Jason Ritchie (Wash.). Oregon secretary of state candidate Brad Avakian also won an endorsement. All of the Our Revolution-backed candidates are running as Democrats. "We must continue to work towards electing local leaders who will work tirelessly for social and economic justice,”said Shannon Jackson, the group's executive director. “These candidates are dedicated to fighting for under-served communities and committed to advancing policies that would give their constituents access to universal health care, a free college education and a livable minimum wage. They embody the progressive values that fueled the political revolution and we are honored to give them our support.” The group launched late last month by endorsing 63 candidates, including many who backed Sanders's campaign. But it has had its share of bumps in the road, including an exodus of staffers in the days before the launch. Sanders himself also endorsed four Democratic senate hopefuls in tight races — Katie McGinty (Pa.), Maggie Hassan (N.H.), Ted Strickland (Ohio) and Catherine Cortez Masto (Nev.) — but the group has not officially endorsed any of those candidates.Team of archaeologists will research ancient Koryo dynasty capital in Kaesong in unprecedented collaboration between rival Koreas. NK News reports North and South Korean researchers are collaborating on the excavation of an ancient historical site at Manwoldae, home to the Koryo dynasty’s royal palace, in an unprecedented joint project between the two countries who have technically been at war since the 1950-53 Korean conflict. Historians and archaeologists from the South crossed the border to the North Korean city of Kaesong yesterday to begin the work, hoping that the project will build awareness of the common history between the Koreas. North and South Korea: can Seoul's plans for reunification work? Read more “It is the first time since the division [in 1945] that Southern and Northern members have worked at the same place for 40 to 60 days per year. There were wars of nerves between South and North scholars due to differences in methodologies, but we were in a same boat on the achievement of this excavation,” a project statement reads. Approximately 80 South Koreans historians and archaeologists will work from Kaesong over the next six months. Although the project began in 2007, it has had a fitful few years due to fluctuations in inter-Korean relations. Last month, the South Korean Ministry of Unification highlighted the importance of finding common ground between the countries through sports, co-excavation on historical sites and cultural communication, and confirmed that this project is a partial fulfilment of its May statement. “North Korea has already recognised the necessity for long-term excavations, but it was hard to get permission from the South Korean government. The budget for this project decreased after the change of administrations to former president Lee Myung-bak (in 2008),” said Shin Joon-young, secretary general at the Council of South and North Korean Historians. Writing in the magazine Archeology, Kim Hyung-eun says that both country’s see the collaboration as a way of preserving their shared history: “Manwoldae is equally important to both nations as evidence of their past.” Kim writes that the project also offers the North the chance to share in new archeological technologies previously unavailable due to the country’s economic difficulties. World heritage site During this current phase of excavation the team will focus on Manryeong-jeon, the king’s bedroom. About 15 members of the team will commute between the site and the Kaesong Industrial complex. North Korea has recognised the necessity for long-term excavations, but it was hard to get permission from the South Shin Joon-young Kaesong was the capital of Korea during the Koryo dynasty between 935–1392. Manwoldae is 10 minutes by car from the centre of Kaesong, now an industry centre in the North. The ancient palace utilises the slanted shape of its home at the foot of Mount Songak, without damaging the original environment. Manwol means “full moon”, a name chosen due to the palace’s shape. The site was designated as a Unesco World Heritage site in 2013. The organisation describes the ancient city as containing: “palaces, institutions and tomb complexes, and defensive walls and gates”, that embody the political, cultural, philosophical and spiritual values of the region’s history.Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Most large industrialised nations have their own steel-making capabilities for strategic reasons, says Admiral Lord West. The former First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff has told the BBC that it would be "unforgiveable" if large scale steel production ended in the UK. Speaking as the fate of thousands of steel jobs hangs in the balance, Lord West said that UK production was vital for the defence sector. He argued that all countries that are members of the United Nations Security Council had major steel plants to support their defence industry. "I cannot think of another major military power that doesn't have its own indigenous steel production capabilities," Lord West told the BBC. "Certainly none of the members of the UN Security Council have jettisoned that capability and I find it extraordinary to think that we as a nation would do that." Lord West, the former security minister in Gordon Brown's government, and now a member of Parliament's Joint Committee on National Security Strategy, said that having an indigenous capacity was vital. "Steel is fundamental to industrial output," the Labour peer argued. "It's seen as one of the key things that a nation produces. "It's fundamental to the production of cars, warship building, ship building more widely and the construction industry. The nuclear power stations being built will have an awful lot of steel in them. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Steel is fundamental to the production of defence and other products, Lord West says "And any nation with any clout of any significance has its own steel industry, because any nation of any clout - and we are the fifth richest in the world - [well] I'm afraid in the next 50 years there might well be people who don't like Britain in that position, and who knows what's going to happen. "And it's important we have our own indigenous capability so that when push comes to shove and our backs are to the wall we can still produce things vital to ensure the survival and safety of our population." Senior figures in the defence industry have told me that steel production in the UK is "preferable" to sourcing supplies from abroad and that the manufacturing skills base in the UK would be undermined if the steel industry was wound down. Some 94% of the steel being used to build the UK's two new aircraft carriers is British made. But despite the calls for support for the mass steel industry, some business leaders are urging caution when the government considers how best to react. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Workers from the Longbridge Rover plant taking part in a rally in 2000 Simon Walker, director general of the Institute of Directors, told the BBC the MG Rover debacle - when the government financially supported the retention of car production at the Longbridge plant which later collapsed - showed that large amounts of money can be wasted trying to defy economic gravity. "There's always a temptation for politicians to intervene when this many jobs are concerned," he said. "I don't think it is the right approach. "There is a future for British steel but it's not about basic steel products. "It's about advanced high tech products like vessels for nuclear reactors. "British manufacturers consume far more steel than is produced. It's a far bigger part of that economy, and I'm afraid cheaper steel is in the interests of those industries. "So my focus would be on helping the people who have been affected and retraining them, reskilling them into other kinds of jobs, because I'm afraid this just isn't the future of British manufacturing. "The government poured tens of millions [of pounds] into MG Rover when that looked as if it was going to collapse in 2005 and what do you know, it did and the money was all lost. "We're talking a million pounds a day that is being lost [by Tata Steel at Port Talbot]. "You can't just say the tax payer will pick up the tab. It's a temptation for politicians but it isn't the right thing to do."Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Hywel Griffith has a taste of life in The Clink A restaurant situated next door to a south Wales prison and staffed by inmates has opened to the public. More than 30 low risk prisoners from Cardiff and Prescoed jails work at The Clink Cymru, a 96-cover restaurant next to Cardiff prison. Set up by The Clink charity and the prison service, it is aimed at reducing reoffending rates by helping low-risk prisoners develop employable skills. The charity said the project was "a positive influence" on rehabilitation. The inmates, all Category D, work full-time in the restaurant and its kitchen, before returning to their prisons at the end of the day. In doing so they are training towards gaining City and Guilds NVQ qualifications and, on their release, the charity will help them find employment within the Welsh catering and hospitality industry. Training A further 15 prisoners work within the farms and gardens department at Prescoed jail, in Usk, Monmouthshire, where they plant, maintain and harvest crops while working towards horticultural qualifications. Image caption The restaurant is designed to look like a like a high-end restaurant Welsh-born Michelin star-winning chef Stephen Terry has been appointed chef ambassador of The Clink Cymru. The restaurant has been designed to look like a high-end restaurant using lighting, furniture and finishing touches that have been created by prisoners from across the UK. It is currently open to the general public for breakfast and lunch from Monday to Friday. From January, it is planned to open for evening reservations from Monday to Thursday. Each year we hope to release 50 well trained and highly qualified graduates into employment Jeremy Wright, UK Prisons Minister The restaurant was officially opened by UK prisons minister Jeremy Wright. He said: "Each year we hope to release 50 well trained and highly qualified graduates into employment within the hospitality and farming industry." The concept was devised by award-winning chef Alberto Crisci, who set up a similar restaurant at High Down prison in Surrey in 2009. The charity said fewer than 30% of those participating in the scheme had found themselves back behind bars, compared with the UK average reoffending rate of 61%. "I wanted to give something back and help people," said Mr Crisci. 'Vital experience' "I was amazed by some of the talents that some of the inmates had, and it seemed to me that it was such a waste these talents were not put to good use. ABOUT THE RESTAURANT For every Clink Restaurant that is built approximately £500,000 of funding is required. As The Clink Cymru is situated outside the walls of Cardiff prison, diners are not subjected to the same checks as at HMP High Down. There, they must leave their belongings in lockers before going through prison security. For the same reason the cutlery in The Clink Cymru is made of metal as opposed to plastic. Diners must pre-book and there is no alcohol on the premises. Source: The Clink Charity "So, setting up a restaurant and a system where prisoners would get qualifications as well vital experience seemed like the next logical step." Richard Booty, governor of HMP Cardiff Prison, said the project was not about being nice to prisoners or going soft on them. "Prison is about learning to be respectful and decent members of society," said Mr Booty. "Part of my mission is to ensure that the public remains protected but another is to reduce the risk of reoffending for those who will be released. "This scheme would not be running if there was not some positive outcomes at the end of it." The prisoners working at The Clink Cymru will be paid £12 a week in return for 39 hours' work split over five days. 'Shocked and outraged' The restaurant opening follows a row over prisoners from HMP Prescoed working in a call centre in Cardiff on low wages. Part of my mission is to ensure that the public remains protected but another is to reduce the risk of reoffending Richard Booty, Governor, HMP Cardiff Both that scheme and the restaurant have been criticised by a group campaigning to protect jobs. The Right to Work campaign said it was "shocked and outraged" at the low pay offered to prisoners. "At the moment in Britain 1 in 12 people are unemployed while more than 20% of young people aged 16-24 are without work," said the group in a statement. "These prison labour schemes will only accelerate this trend as firms out source operations into prisons in a bid to boost profits." The Ministry of Justice said the prisoners' wages were in line with remuneration offered across the prison service for different types of skilled labour.Welcome to the source of all Godville information. Anybody can edit any article here. If you have the time, we would like you to write a short article on a particular Monster, Artifact, Skill, Tavern, Quest or piece of Equipment that has caught your eye. If you have no experience, then read the Creators Manual for a simple guide. Thank you for all your contributions! If small edits are more your thing, visit the Maintenance Section. If you want to write one of your own articles from scratch, but don't know where to get started, why not take a look at the following guidelines to make sure that your article fits in with similar ones in the same category? You can also ask at Help:Requests if you're unsure about something, or you'd like an assist with something you're working on — whether it's to check your spelling and grammar, or something technical about GodWiki features. The Discussion area for Godwiki's frontpage — that's the one you're viewing now — is a good place to look for wiki-wide announcements and notes of interest to Godwiki editors. It's also where you can ask general questions that don't pertain to any specific article. (For those, use the article's corresponding Discussion page. For questions about the Godville game itself, the forums are usually a better place to ask.)Two late goals saw Northern Ireland lose to World Cup-bound Chile in a friendly in Valparaiso. Michael O'Neill's side held their own for 79 minutes but saw their resistance broken by substitutes Eduardo Vargas and Mauricio Pinilla. Vargas headed the opener, before Pinilla raced through to shoot low past Northern Ireland keeper Roy Carroll. As with Northern Ireland's 1-0 defeat in Uruguay, it was a performance O'Neill could take heart from. But it was still another loss - their sixth in eight games - and a fourth successive outing without scoring. Goalscorers Vargas and Pinilla started on the bench, along with Barcelona star Alexis Sanchez, but Chile needed all three to ensure they completed their World Cup preparations with a victory. Media playback is not supported on this device Northern Ireland fall to late goals in Chile The South Americans will face Australia, Netherlands and Spain in Group B in Brazil. But they could have fallen behind in the first half against Northern Ireland, as the hard-working Ryan McLaughlin won a couple of free-kicks on the right wing. Brother Conor McLaughlin's 20th-minute header, following Shane Ferguson's tempting delivery, was goalbound when Johnny Herrera made a smart save. Oliver Norwood went direct in the 38th minute, whipping a shot to the near post which Herrera scrambled to safety. Chile dominated possession but Fabian Orellana's scuffed effort was the best they could offer. As the hour mark approached, Jorge Valdivia saw what appeared to be a cross veer towards the top corner, but Carroll backtracked and clawed to safety. Valdivia then headed against the post from six yards out when he should have scored after Gary Medel's flick. Moments later, Sanchez made his belated arrival and was almost gifted a bizarre goal when Conor McLaughlin's clearance cannoned off him and needed a sprawling save from the alert Carroll. The strength of Chile's bench eventually told, Sanchez's chipped through-ball teeing up Vargas for the headed opener 10 minutes from time. He appeared to be marginally offside, but the result was sealed with a second when Pinilla raced into space before depositing a clinical low shot across Carroll.Parents are angry after a kindergarten lesson had a student's transgender reveal occur mid-class. The incident took place last year after a Rocklin Academy Gateway teacher gave the lesson on transgenderism because a boy in the class is transitioning to a girl, reported FOX40. The California charter school and parents are now battling over whether the lesson was appropriate or if the kindergartners were too young to understand. Parents of students at Rocklin Academy Gateway in Rocklin, California, are angry after a kindergarten lesson had a student's transgender reveal occur mid-class in June 2017 (Pictured, parents at a school board meeting on Monday night) The kindergarten teacher (pictured), who has not been named, read two books meant to explain 'transgenderism' to children between ages four and eight because a student in her class was transitioning from boy to girl The teacher introduced the five-year-old student to the class as a boy. He went to the bathroom and emerged dressed as a girl, revealing her 'true identity' (pictured, Rocklin Academy Gateway) During the lesson on the second-to-last day before summer break, the teacher, who has not been named, read two books, I am Jazz and The Red Crayon. Both are meant to explain 'transgenderism' to children between ages four and eight. However, in what critics are calling a 'transition ceremony', the teacher introduced the five-year-old student to the class as a boy. The student then went into the bathroom and emerged dressed as a girl. The teacher then reintroduced her to the children, and explained she was now a girl with a girl's name and was to be called that from now on. Many parents said they had no idea the lesson was coming and weren't notified it occurred until a week later when a letter was sent out. Concerned parents went to the Pacific Justice Institute and the California Family Council to represent them. 'These kids who had never struggled with their gender identity before are all of a sudden scared they could be turned into a boy,' Greg Burt, director of capitol engagement with the California Family Council, told FOX40. The teacher who read the books defended her actions during a school board meeting on Monday night. 'I'm so proud of my students, it was never my intent to harm any students but to help them through a difficult situation,' she said. Many parents said they had no idea the lesson was coming and weren't notified it occurred until a week later when a letter was sent out (Pictured, parents speak at Monday's school board meeting) The district says the books were age-appropriate and fell within their literature selection policy. Unlike sex education, the topics of gender identity don't require prior parental notice (pictured, one of the two books read to the class) However, the school conceded a policy change and said outside books will now be approved by administration (pictured, one of the two books read to the class) But parents say they should have been told. 'My daughter came home crying and shaking so afraid she could turn into a boy,' one parent said. The district says the books were age-appropriate and fell within their literature selection policy. Unlike sex education, the topics of gender identity don't require prior parental notice. The school also argued that not reading the books would have put them at risk of discrimination and could expose them to a potential lawsuit. However, Rocklin Academy conceded a policy change and said outside books will now be approved by the administration. Legislative manager at Equality California Jo Michael, who is a transgender male himself, told FOX40 early education is key to helping children understand transgenderism. 'Most people have a sense of their gender identity at age three or four,' he said. 'It's important to note that the other students really do need to have that opportunity to engage and hear from the transgender student.'Image copyright AP Image caption Mr Trump is spending the holiday season in Florida, where he will be golfing on Friday with Tiger Woods US President-elect Donald Trump's transition team have released a letter that they say was sent to him by Russian President Vladimir Putin. "A very nice letter from Vladimir Putin; his thoughts are so correct," Mr Trump said about the note, which is dated 15 December 2016. On Thursday the two leaders called for their respective nations to boost their nuclear arsenals. Earlier, Mr Trump seemed to welcome the notion of a nuclear arms race. "Let it be an arms race because we will outmatch them at every pass and outlast them all," MSNBC journalist Mika Brzezinski says the President-elect told her in a statement over the phone, in response to a question about his tweet from the day earlier. On Thursday Mr Trump tweeted that the US "must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability", only after hours after President Putin had called for his own military to "strengthen the military potential of strategic nuclear forces". Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Russia is stronger than any potential foe, Mr Putin told his advisers on Thursday, hours before Mr Trump's tweet In the letter released by the Trump transition team, Mr Putin says he hopes that "we will be able - by acting in a constructive and pragmatic manner - to take real steps to restore the framework of bilateral cooperation in different areas as well as bring our level of collaboration to the international scene to a qualitatively new level". Experts believe that Mr Putin hopes that the next US president will remove economic sanctions by the US Department of Treasury which have been placed on Russian officials following the invasion and annexation of Crimea. At an annual media briefing on Friday in Moscow, the Russian president said he saw nothing remarkable in Mr Trump's tweet, making it clear that he does not view the US as a potential aggressor. Image copyright AP Image caption Masks of the two leaders sell on the streets of St Petersburg, Russia Donald Trump has been seen as close to Mr Putin and the Russian government, and drew condemnation from both Republicans and Democrats when he announced his selection of Rex Tillerson to be secretary of state, the top US diplomat. The CEO of ExxonMobil has worked closely with Russian state oil company Rosneft, spoken out against international sanctions imposed on Moscow, and in 2013 was awarded an Order of Friendship by the Kremlin. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Which countries have nuclear weapons? In response to the note from Mr Putin, the Republican president-elect praised the Russian president's words, calling them "so correct". "I hope both sides are able to live up to these thoughts, and we do not have to travel an alternate path," the New York billionaire concluded.Wait, what? We’re not going to put a price on carbon? Or not, at any rate, at the national level? That’s no longer federal Liberal policy? We’re to be deprived of the edifying spectacle, come the next election, of the federal Conservatives roaming up and down the land warning of the “tax on everything” the Liberals have planned? No, hang on, they’ll do that anyway. But it would certainly appear the Liberals have just discarded one of the few distinctive policies they had hitherto been good enough to share with us. Or what else are we to make of Justin Trudeau’s comments on an Ontario radio station this week? In an interview with AM980 in London (picked up by an alert CBC reporter), Mr. Trudeau appeared to back away from any commitment to federal action on climate change. Rather, the role he envisages for it now seems confined, in essence, to cheering on the provinces. “We’ve had nine years of Stephen Harper’s government,” he told his host, “where there’s been absolutely no leadership on the environmental file, and failing that kind of leadership … a number of different provinces have moved ahead.” Specifically, on pricing carbon: “B.C. has a carbon tax, Alberta has picked up a sort of a carbon tax, Ontario’s bringing in its own plan. Quebec is part of a cap and trade with some other regions.” So if the Harper government has failed to provide “leadership,” would he? Not exactly. Rather, it “should be up to various provinces because they’ve already taken the lead on that, and what the federal government needs to do is co-ordinate that and oversee the implementation.” This is fairly spectacular, even by the standards of federal politics. Hardly a speech has passed Mr. Trudeau’s lips in the last two years that has not included some reference to the need to “put a price on carbon.” For example, in a speech in Calgary in October 2013, he called for “a national approach” to energy development, “within an overall framework that includes a policy that puts a price on carbon.” The clear implication, if not the explicit statement, was that the Liberals
, as the object of that kind of love, becomes a vehicle for transition, a path between the life Kraus has and the life she thinks she wants. And isn’t it so much more fun to write when you know exactly who you’re writing to? By traditional narrative conventions, the climax of I Love Dick occurs on the first (and last) night Kraus sleeps at Dick’s house. If you wanted to miss the point, you could say it’s the only real action in the entire doomed trajectory of their "relationship." Kraus drives alone to Dick’s strong-’n’-silent-type cabin, not so much by invitation as through passive consent; Dick knows about the letters, and refers to them with embarrassment as Kraus and her husband’s little game. (“How could I make you understand,” she writes, “the letters were the realest thing I’d ever done?”) Dick remains detached as the night leans predictably toward sex — as always, any real, driving action happens in Kraus’s writing, almost completely untethered from Dick as he exists — but it happens anyway, a few times. In the morning, the fantasy deflates with one cruel prick. At the idea of seeing one another again, Dick’s passivity turns to rage. “You were assuming a position, mockery heightening your face into a mask. Ultra-violence,” Kraus writes. (Indeed.) “I don’t owe you anything,” snarls Dick. “You barged in here, this was your game, your agenda, now it’s yours to deal with.” Kraus, still naked in Dick’s bed, is numb with disappointment. “‘Look,’ I said, ‘I’ll admit that eighty percent of this was fantasy, projection. But it had to start with something real. Don’t you believe in empathy, in intuition?’ ‘What?’ you said. ‘Are you telling me you’re schizophrenic?’” Dick then tells Kraus he didn’t need the sex, “though it was nice.” His single, final letter to Kraus, opened the morning of her film’s premiere, is a photocopy of a letter he’d written to her husband, expressing with composed disgust his wish to be removed from their bizarre love triangle. It is riddled with misspellings of her name. A perfectly fucked ending. If there is any real resolution, I Love Dick does not let on. If Kraus’s manic reclamation of her own subjectivity has inspired some shift in power, a windfall of respect and acclaim, we are none the wiser. (And if the nearly two decades it took for I Love Dick to be taken seriously are any indication, the answer is a resounding “yeah, right.”) Maybe the most resonant shared element between I Love Dick, The Love Witch, and Lana Del Rey’s songs is an undercurrent of futility, a sighing realism that grounds even the most sublime fantasy. That morning-after between Kraus and Dick reminds me of one of The Love Witch’s final scenes, when a police officer named Griff, with whom Elaine spent one perfect fairy tale day, turns against her. (Is there any better name for an emotionally stunted embodiment of “when men were men” — Dick, obviously, aside — than fucking GRIFF?) “Your creepy little sexy act doesn’t work with me,” he spits. “I don’t love you!” And though it is Elaine’s sole empowerment, the one way she knows how to control her own narrative, even witchcraft is tainted with male authority. Meeting her coven members at the town’s cabaret, Elaine is greeted with unconsented kisses on her face and body by Gahan, the group’s male leader. “Dancing is such a powerful thing for women and girls,” he preaches smarmily as a burlesque dancer unzips her dress on the stage behind them. “All witches need to figure out where their power lies, and we feel women’s greatest power lies in her sexuality.” Self-serving as his claims may be, it isn’t that they negate the speech his partner Barbara then delivers on the history of witch-burning and the demonization of female sexuality. But they complicate things, obfuscating the clear hierarchy of power. When Barbara solemnly emphasizes, “We need to teach men how to love us in ways they can understand,” it feels impossibly loaded in the same way Kraus publishing I Love Dick through her husband’s press does, or Del Rey singing “Fucked My Way Up to the Top” does. Those who would call any of this hyperbolic fail to see how clearly it all reaffirms the contradictions of attempting a meaningful life as a woman. Nothing is going to work out the way you think it is, these works scream. “You get ready, you get all dressed up / To go nowhere in particular.” There is another form of the female gaze suggested in Kraus’s, Biller’s, and Del Rey’s works. It is a gaze that doesn’t meet its opposite, but looks infinitely past it toward the void beyond, the gaping and intransferable space between fantasy and reality. There is progress implied in Soloway’s conception of the returned gaze, an active reallocation of power meant to right historical wrongs. This other gaze, toward the unreachable horizon of what might have been, is aware but inert. It does not “rise above,” or impart some hard-fought moral of defying the status quo. It speaks not to how things should be, but to how things are. This gaze works overtime, straining to anticipate the criticisms it will certainly receive from critics unwilling to see as it sees; it self-edits only to be further misread. And perhaps the stories inspired by this gaze are so often misread because, as Kraus suggests in I Love Dick, they aren’t the stories women are supposed to write — the kind grounded in the lie of denying chaos. Attempting to define this gaze, I’ve found my thoughts drifting to a specific fairy tale, Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid.” In it, the mermaid falls in love with a human prince — moreso, really, with the idea of humanity itself — after saving him from shipwreck during her journey to the surface of the waves. But the prince hasn’t awakened in time to see her, and beyond that exists a greater incompatibility: Where humans possess immortal souls, mermaids cease to exist after death, dissolving into the foam on the ocean’s surface. The only path to immortality, the little mermaid’s grandmother warily explains, is through a human’s true love: “Then his soul would glide into your body and you would obtain a share in the future happiness of mankind.” The mermaid can’t forget the prince — “he on whom my wishes depend” — so she journeys to the grim whirlpool where the sea witch resides. The witch offers the mermaid a potion that will transform her tail into human legs and feet, though at a cost. “You will still have the same floating gracefulness of movement, and no dancer will ever tread so lightly; but at every step you take it will feel as if you were treading upon sharp knives.” There are two more stipulations: If the prince marries another woman, the mermaid will immediately meet her end among the foam of the waves; and in exchange for her magic, the witch must take the mermaid’s perfect voice. “But if you take away my voice,” the mermaid asks, “what is left for me?” “Your beautiful form, your graceful walk, and your expressive eyes,” the witch replies. “Surely with these you can enchain a man’s heart.” The transformation complete, the mermaid silently enters the prince’s world. He loves her as one would love a little child, playing with her hair and regaling her with stories of the strangeness of life as a sailor. “She smiled at his descriptions, for she knew better than anyone what wonders were at the bottom of the sea.” But the mermaid cannot convey to the prince that it was she who once saved him from certain death, and he soon falls in love with an even more beautiful princess, who he is certain was the one who came to his rescue. This, the mermaid knows, is her end. The night before the prince’s wedding is a party of lavish proportions, and the mermaid watches the dancers, dizzy with loss. “[She] could not help thinking of her first rising out of the sea, when she had seen similar festivities and joys; and she joined in the dance, poised herself in the air as a swallow when he pursues his prey, and all present cheered her with wonder. She had never danced so elegantly before. Her tender feet felt as if cut with sharp knives, but she cared not for it; a sharper pang had pierced through her heart. She knew this was the last evening she should ever see the prince, for whom she had forsaken her kindred and her home; she had given up her beautiful voice, and suffered unheard-of pain daily for him, while he knew nothing of it. This was the last evening that she would breathe the same air with him, or gaze on the starry sky and the deep sea; an eternal night, without a thought or a dream, awaited her: she had no soul and now she could never win one. All was joy and gayety on board ship till long after midnight; she laughed and danced with the rest, while the thoughts of death were in her heart.”On Friday Chicago Police Department officials proposed limiting when officers can use lethal force against suspects, asking officers to focus instead on ways to “de-escalate” the situation. These proposals came two days after a female officer was beaten to the point of hospitalization, yet refused to use her gun against the suspect for fear of public backlash against her family and the Chicago PD. According to ABC 7, Chicago PD superintendent Eddie Johnson said,“ She thought she was going to die. She knew that she should shoot this guy, but she chose not to, because she didn’t want her family or the department to have to go through the scrutiny the next day on national news.” Now the Chicago PD is pushing to make the use of guns even less frequent. The New York Times quoted Johnson saying, “The business of being able to de-escalate situations, I think, is paramount to what we’re going to do.” Dean Angelo Sr. is president of the union that represents Chicago officers and he does not like the proposals. He fears they will hinder officers’ use of lethal force in time of need and lead to more instances of officer injury and death. The overwhelming trepidation that prevented the female officer from using lethal force Wednesday is a good example. Angelo stressed that officers are not getting the gratitude they should be getting for the work they already do to save lives, and he appeared to indicate that he hopes officers continue to take whatever actions necessary to save their own lives when push comes to shove. He said: At the end of the day, when an officer is confronted in that alley or an officer is confronted in a life-or-death situation, they are going to do what they is necessary to go home. If they getting written up for it, so be it. My concern is that these guys and girls go home to their families. A report from a task force assembled by Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D) is a driving force behind the proposed limits on use-of-force. The task force concluded their report by writing, “C.P.D.’s own data gives validity to the widely held belief the police have not regard for the sanctity of life when it come to people of color.” It follows that part of the new proposal is a requirement that officers “consider a suspect’s race” before drawing their guns. AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at [email protected] difficulty of finding clean drinking water in some parts of the world is well know. But there is less discussion about the challenge of bringing clean water from its source to where it's needed. David Fischer, CEO of the industrial packaging manufacturer Greif Inc. in Delaware, Ohio, saw this challenge first-hand while visiting Haiti in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake. [Editor's note: The original version of this blog post misspelled Mr. Fischer's name.] “I found myself watching women pour clean water into jerrycans that once held agricultural chemicals or into buckets that were long past their prime and were filthy,” Mr. Fischer said in a recent interview. “No doubt that the nonprofits there were working on the important function of re-establishing clean water sources – a critical need. But watching how the clean water became dirty water quickly because of what it was carried in, well, this was my ‘aha’ moment.” Inspired to take action, and drawing on his background in the packaging industry, Fischer returned home and challenged his team to find an alternative. In two years’ time, Greif had designed, manufactured, and tested what has since become known as PackH2O, a specially designed water backpack with a removable liner that can be sanitized in the sun. The pack is collapsible and made from industrial-grade, woven polypropylene. It can hold 5.3 gallons, or about 20 liters, yet it is seven times lighter than the jerrycans that are typically used to transport drinking water in many parts of the world. “We designed the PackH2O so that we can keep clean water clean and make it easier to carry water,” Fischer says. A roll-down closure reduces the risk of contamination, while a protected spout keeps the water inside clean for drinking. The packs also have no chemical coating and are designed to be ergonomically comfortable. They carry the weight of the water on the backs and hips of users, rather than on their heads, as in the case of jerrycans. To date, more than 500,000 packs have reached areas where they are neeeded. Greif, a private firm, works closely with nonprofits that secure funding for the packs and work to distribute them in areas of need, Fischer says. Individuals can also donate the cost of a pack for someone in need for just $10. The product makes an immediate difference in the lives of its users, Fischer says. “I have had the opportunity to travel to a few of the places where the pack has been distributed and heard firsthand how it affects people’s lives,” he says. “I find it personally rewarding because it utilizes what we do best, packaging, and I feel honored to have had the opportunity to make this decision and see it through.” For Fischer, the desire to give back came in part from a personal battle with an illness that began more than a decade ago. Today he has fully recovered. “Because of the battle, I am in a rush – a rush to give back,” he says. “I look at issues from that experience, apply a business and engineering perspective, and ask two questions: Why should we tolerate what can be solved — and what can we do today?” He continues: “These views can shape both a personal and corporate mission to take action that improves lives – while creating opportunities for better health and better economic opportunities for people in some of the world’s least-developed economies and create market opportunities for business.” Despite the success of the PackH2O, Fischer’s mission is far from over. Close to 1 billion people still live far from the nearest source of clean water, and many are forced to carry water long distances. With a need that large, he says, more needs to be done. Get the Monitor Stories you care about delivered to your inbox. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy Moving forward, he plans to work on creating opportunities for entrepreneurs in emerging markets to manufacture and sell the PackH2Os themselves, extending the distribution of the product while providing employment opportunities at the same time. • For more information on Greif Inc. and the PackH2O, visit http://greif.com/outreach/packh20.@bacon_wav Baconwave by Baconwaveラジオ France \| Weekly Saturdays \| 22:00-23:00 [GMT] frissionradio.com/listen TRACKLIST : 00:00 §E▲ ▓F D▓G§ - COME UNTO ME 03:20 FRANKJAVCEE - BROCEANGRUNGE 04:52 §E▲ ▓F D▓G§ - ASCENDING [§E▲ ▓F D▓G§ - BACONWAVE MIX] 07:19 GORGEOUS☵GORGIAS - A WANDERING MAN ARRIVES IN WEARINESS 13:41 §E▲ ▓F D▓G§ - IT'S OVER 17:26 TWISTPILLAR - L❙FE 20:34 RESHINARAX - POPULAR CREEK 23:06 2047 부드러운 아픈 - 그들은 지금의 필요성을 느끼기 시작합니다 의 읽을 수있는 무언가를 가지고. 그리고 그들은 시작하면 − 소년 오◞ 소년 오! 당신은 천천히 성장하는 기쁨을보고 즉◞ 자신의 마음을 채 웁니다. 그들은 너무 예민한 자랄거야 26:11 DEIPHIX - CONCEPTION 28:45 §E▲ ▓F D▓G§ - [UNRELEASED] 30:19 BLANKET SWIMMING - LET'S GO 33:24 POSEIDON IN CHAINS - GOD IS ALIVE 38:48 TWISTPILLAR - DΞAL 41:12 ZHUTCHKA - 105 RETTO 45:33 §E▲ ▓F D▓G§ - [UNRELEASED] 47:14 POSEIDON IN CHAINS - ERASED 50:52 RESHINARAX - SINKING 52:17 PZA - JUNK SAIL [FEAT. CHUNGKING MANSIONS] 55:56 RAIDENメガドライブ海 - OUTRO / MYSTERY STAGE [SIDE B] 57:44 Z△RC0 YSs - MYSTIC FOG Baconwave : Frission Radio : frissionr...Three members of a University of Virginia fraternity sued Rolling Stone magazine Wednesday for a discredited story accusing frat members of gang raping a woman. The suit also names the magazine's publisher, Wenner Media, and the reporter, Sabrina Erdely. The suit was filed in Manhattan federal court on behalf of George Elias IV, Stephen Hadford and Ross Fowler. The three men, who graduated in 2013, were members of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity that was cited in the Rolling Stone story. They are seeking unspecified damages for defamation. The Rolling Stone article did not name the three men, but Elias lived in the frat's bedroom that fit the description of the room "most likely" to be where the rapes took place, the suit states. It claims that the three former students were "devastated" and "humiliated" by the magazine's allegations. Related: Rolling Stone reporter apologizes The 2014 story titled "A Rape on Campus" described in lurid details how a woman identified only as "Jackie" was allegedly invited to a party at the frat and lured to a bedroom where she was raped by frat members during a three-hour ordeal. The story created a storm of criticism and the fraternity was suspended by UVA. But questions arose over the magazine's reporting and the details of the story until Rolling Stone was forced to retract it. A postmortem conducted by the Columbia Journalism School found numerous flaws in the magazine's reporting and editing that allowed the bogus story to get into print. Related: Major failures found in Rolling Stone story The fraternity itself hasn't filed a lawsuit, but it said in April that it "plans to pursue all available legal action against the magazine." The lawsuit was the second to be filed against Rolling Stone because of the story. Nicole Eramo, a UVA associate dean of students, sued the magazine and Erdely for $7.5 million, claiming the story depicted Eramo as a callous bureaucrat during the aftermath Jackie's supposed assault. The Future of Media, a customized magazineThe guys at emlid have developed Navio a navigation/flight controller sensor shield for the Raspberry Pi targeting robotic models like cars, boats, submarines, multirotors and planes. With a lot of projects in the field of flight/navigation controller hardware moving away from 8-Bit to 32 Bit MCU for better performance, it seems that it was about time that someone developed something like that for the Pi. While you would think that it’s generally a bad idea to have a control loop running in a non-realtime environment, realtime kernel extensions like for example Xenomai make things like this possible and manageable. All while running in a linux environment with all the features of an OS and the command line magic of the tools you love available at your fingertips. In case of the Pi you have the added benefit of comparatively large processing power that makes things like streaming video of a camera or even running image recognition on top of it possible, especially if you incorporate the GPU. Apart from that the possibility to for example add Wi-fi or 3G connectivity by simply plugging in a device into the USB port seems also a plus. This are the features the shield adds to your Pi: 13 PWM outputs to control servos 9DOF inertial measurement unit Pressure and temperature sensor GPS with carrier phase measurement External GPS antenna 4-channel 16bit ADC 1 trillion read/write cycles FRAM. An interesting feature as in my experience the SD card read/write access, if necessary, is often a problem if you want to achieve realtime performance. Bright RGB LED I2C, SPI, UART ports. On the software side of things emlid is planing to port ArduCopter to the Pi.Electoral reform is the unloved dope amidst the feel-good clichés of the Trudeau government’s Sunny Ways. It lacks the immediate appeal of middle-class tax cuts or cabinet parity, and is about as sexy as infrastructure spending, without the nerdy zing of the long-form census. If “meaningful action on climate change” is the Michael Corleone of campaign promises, electoral reform is Fredo Corleone, Marlon Jackson and John Oates rolled into one. That said, electoral reform was part and parcel of Justin Trudeau’s “real change” narrative that so compelled cameras and voters alike in the last election. Changing Canada’s first-past-the-post voting system, in which the winner reaps all the electoral booty no matter how slim a victory, was nothing short of the Liberal plan to “restore democracy,” as Trudeau put it last June. This bit of hyperbole underscored Trudeau’s narrative: that prime minister Stephen Harper had cynically exploited the winner-take-all formula to usurp and maintain power. Harper did so, Liberals suggested, by favouring rural ridings over big cities and fostering a split of the progressive vote. Though hardly as nefarious as the Liberals made it sound, the numbers seem to bear the theory out. In the 2011 federal election, it took an average of 35,134 votes to elect each Conservative member of Parliament. It took 43,771 for each NDPer. Meanwhile, the Liberals needed an average of nearly 82,000 votes to elect an MP—more than double that of the Conservatives. “We will make every vote count,” read the Liberals’ 2015 electoral platform. Translation: Harper hijacked the electoral system, and we’re taking it back. And yet through a series of flubs and unforced errors, the issue has gone from breezy sell into a slow-motion legislative car crash. Trudeau’s now-famous elbow aside, the government’s handling of the file threatens to be the first bit of shade cast upon the Liberals’ Sunny Ways. First, there was Minister of Democratic Institutions Maryam Monsef’s rebuffing of a (very legitimate) question from Conservative MP Jason Kenney: why not have a referendum on the issue? Flawed as it may be, after all, the current system of electing government has served the country decently enough for nearly 150 years, and is in use by some of the choicest democracies in the world. Monsef responded by saying a referendum would exclude “those who do not traditionally engage in the democratic process, like young people, women, Indigenous persons, those with disabilities and exceptionalities, and living in remote and rural regions of this country.” Apart from the preening political correctness oozing from this answer, the minister’s notion is demonstrably wrong. No non-coercive electoral system can ensure universal participation, yet referendums in this country generally strike a chord with the voting public. Seventy per cent of the population voted in this country’s plebiscite on conscription in 1942. Roughly the same percentage turned out 50 years later to vote in the referendum on the Charlottetown accord. Either the minister of democratic institutions isn’t aware of this, or chose to ignore it. Either way, it’s an astonishing oversight. Still, the Liberals could have sicced a defter maw on the electoral reform file and it wouldn’t have done much to alleviate the party’s headache. Why? Canadians don’t much care about electoral reform. A bid to “restore democracy” sounds grand, yet when Abacus Data polled 3,100 people on their priorities for the next government last October, all of four said electoral reform was a priority. Those are Fredo Corleone numbers. There is a final irony in all of this. The system that the Trudeau government is so eager to replace is itself responsible for the election of so many Liberals in last year’s election. As Andrew Coyne pointed out in January, it took an average of just 38,000 votes to elect a Liberal MP in the 2015 election—far fewer than the 57,000 Conservative votes and 79,000 NDPers. The party was handed the keys to the country with just 39 per cent of the popular vote, and has since behaved with a wholly appropriate level of entitlement. The very committee tasked with changing the electoral system is stacked with Liberals—as it should be. The opposition has howled—as it should. To the victor go the spoils, and everyone else complains. It’s the Canadian way. You needn’t change the system to rid the country of an allegedly hated political dynasty. All you need is a telegenic leader running an efficient campaign. Trudeau’s Sunny Ways, that ruthlessly cheerful moniker, is itself a product of our electoral status quo. Odd that he is so bent on changing it.Russia’s position at the Rio Olympic Games is still somewhat up in the air. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has yet to decide whether to allow over a hundred Russian athletes to compete in the Summer Games beginning on Friday (Aug. 5). If the decision doesn’t go their way, Russians at least have one chance this summer to cheer on their countrymen—just with army personnel instead of amateur athletes. Russia kicked off its International Army Games last weekend (July 30) in Kubinka, near Moscow. While these competitions reportedly happened in the Soviet Union during the 1980s, Russia has recently gone to great lengths to revive these games into an annual spectacle. This one is taking place all over Russia and in Kazakhstan, too, and will run until Aug. 13. Russian minister of defense Sergei Shoigu said in a poorly translated statement: “A year ago we held first International Army Games designed as a form of combat training of the armed forces. They have become a bright event and a have attracted the great interest in our country and abroad.” Let the games begin. Some of the athletes/future defendants at a war crimes tribunal. Aim… Over 3,000 military personnel from 19 countries are expected to take part in the games, competing in 14 disciplines and 23 competitions. Russia has reportedly invited 47 countries, including the US. Greece is the only NATO country to take part. China’s military has a huge presence, participating in 22 competitions. The games will include a so-called tank biathlon, where tanks navigate an obstacle course at high-speed before firing at targets. Russia won the tank biathlon last year. Other competitions include “gunsmith master,” the “sniper frontier,” and the “keys to the sky” contest, where armies get to show off their air defense missiles. Glorious! Faster! Faster! The world is watching. The always beloved “maul a Chechen separatist” event. You can watch a Russian-language webcast of the games here.Looking for news you can trust? Subscribe to our free newsletters. Even Wisconsin Republican Governor Scott Walker’s home redecorating plans have caused an uproar. In his first six months in office, Walker sparked a national controversy by trying to curb collective bargaining rights for most public-sector unions, not to mention slash education funding and social and health services for his state’s citizens. Now, Walker has made headlines again after he removed a painting depicting three Wisconsin children—one had been homeless, one came from low-income family, and a third who had lost family members in a drunk-driving accident. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the painting was one of numerous pieces of art commissioned by the fund that operates the governor’s mansion—works that were intended to remind the governor of the constituents he or she represents. Here’s the Journal Sentinel on the painting by artist David Lenz: In an interview, Lenz said he carefully selected the three children portrayed in “Wishes in the Wind.” The African-American girl, featured in a Journal Sentinel column on homelessness, spent three months at the Milwaukee Rescue Mission with her mother. The Hispanic girl is a member of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee. And the boy’s father and brother were killed by a drunken driver in 2009. “The homeless, central city children and victims of drunk drivers normally do not have a voice in politics,” Lenz explained in an email. “This painting was an opportunity for future governors to look these three children in the eye, and I hope, contemplate how their public policies might affect them and other children like them.” He added: “I guess that was a conversation Governor Walker did not want to have.” A Walker spokesman insisted that the replacement of Lenz’s work with a Civil War-themed painting depicting a bald eagle was not a criticism of the painting. The spokesman said the Lenz painting was likely going on loan to the Milwaukee Public Library. By ditching Lenz’s painting, Walker has taken a page from Maine’s Republican Governor Paul LePage. This spring, LePage demanded that a union-friendly mural inside the state’s Department of Labor be removed because it wasn’t pro-business enough for his liking. The decision outraged Democrats, labor unions, artists, and many more, and the US Labor Department told LePage to either put the federally-funded mural back in its place or return the work to the federal government. Currently the mural remains in limbo; three lawyers have filed a restraining order demanding LePage reverse his original order. A trustee for the library connected Walker’s anti-union bill with the painting brouhaha. “This is indicative of [Walker’s] tone-deafness,” the trustee, John Gurda, said. “My point of view is this is not the Walkers’ house, this is Wisconsin’s house. This was commissioned by an organization that was there long before Scott Walker came in and will be there long after he is gone.”NASA has released an 18-minute Ultra HD 4K video tour of the International Space Station (ISS), showing the ISS in its full high-definition glory and also revealing what life onboard ISS is like. The Space Station Fisheye Fly-Through 4K (Ultra HD) video has been captured and produced by Harmonic company for NASA TV UHD, which is available on the AMC 18C satellite. According to Harmonic website, the firm captures ‘beautiful imagery from the space program’. The firm uses Ultra HD cameras on-board ISS to provide footage to the NASA TV UHD. The video is also available on YouTube. The video tour takes viewers through the ISS, which has a living space equivalent to that of a five-bedroom house, from module to module. This small, metallic abode – weighing 990,000 pounds (450,000 kg) – floats in space while housing thousands of scientific instruments and crew members in microgravity. While filming this video tour, Harmonic used “a fisheye lens for extreme focus and depth of field”, according to NASA. The video shows most of the cabins in ISS as well as a view of the Earth from inside the ISS. The video was released on October 27 and is also available on YouTube. Established in 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration or NASA is the space agency of United States of America and is responsible for the civilian space program and aeronautics/aerospace research. Since being established in 1958, NASA has led US in its space exploration efforts, including the Skylab space station, the Apollo moon-landing mission, and Space Shuttle. NASA also shares its data with various national and international organizations. In the past 50 years, NASA has carried out a variety of manned and unmanned spaceflight programs. Unmanned programs included launching the first American artificial satellites into Earth orbit, sending scientific probes to different planets such as Mars and Venus, and others. Manned programs included sending the first Americans into low Earth orbit (LEO), accomplishing successful human landing on Moon in 1969 through Apollo program, and developing semi-reusable LEO Space Shuttle and space station. Currently, NASA is working in association with Russia and European Space Agency to manage the International Space Station. The agency is also overseeing the development of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, Commercial Crew vehicles, and the Space Launch System.Working-class zero. Six days after taking the oath of office, President Trump announced “the hour of justice for the American worker has arrived.” “It’s time to restore the civil rights of Americans to protect their jobs, their hopes, and their dreams for a much better future,” Trump told congressional Republicans at their annual retreat. Congressional Republicans applauded Trump’s sentiment — and, shortly thereafter, voted to allow companies that routinely violate their workers’ rights to receive federal contracts again. On Monday, Trump signed that measure into law. Specifically, Republicans voted to repeal the Obama administration’s Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces executive order. That rule discouraged the General Services Administration from awarding federal contracts to companies with a history of stealing their employees’ wages, violating workplace safety standards, and/or illegally discriminating in hiring or pay. The order also required contractors to provide their employees with “the necessary information each pay period to make sure they are getting paid what they are owed.” Now, companies will once again be free to underpay their workers, or evade safety regulations without fear of losing access to Uncle Sam’s deep pockets. Republicans struck down the rule by deploying the Congressional Review Act (CRA) — a law that gives Congress the power to fast-track the reversal of regulations. Before Trump took office, the CRA had only been used to strike down one federal regulation in its 21-year history. Congress has, historically, been reluctant to use the CRA because regulations overturned through the law can never be reinstated by the executive branch, barring the approval of Congress. On Monday, Trump struck down three other Obama-era regulations via the CRA. One gave the federal government more discretion in land-use decisions (a move despised by the energy industry), while two others were concerned with ensuring the quality of teacher-training programs and the enforcement of public-school performance standards. Trump and the GOP have now permanently eliminated seven Obama-era rules using the CRA. While the president’s gift to labor-law violators may be out of step with his populist rhetoric, it’s perfectly consistent with his pledge to run the country like a business. After all, the idea that you don’t really need to pay workers what they’re owed has long been a core tenet of Trump’s corporate philosophy.You can find all sorts of good reasons to start a redecorating task. Circulador de Ar Projects may be found in all types of styles and might be completed in a few months. Whatever the sizing and scope of the task, wise planning and rendering will lead to saving money. You may even find that it is exciting! Reading on offers you some helpful tips that you could will need. Would like to help save a cover or 2 of painting? Once you are painting hardwood or drywall that must be primed first tint the primer to match your closing fresh paint color. By tilting the primer you will lessen the number of layers you must paint the top by a jacket or two. Repair slots in drywall using fine mesh. Initial spread a covering of drywall dirt into the hole and around its edges. Then click the repair to the mud to ensure that it sticks equally on the top of the wall surface. Trowel the dirt carefully over the repair, let to free of moisture, after which beach sand to easy. Center on external surfaces lights for your forthcoming home improvement undertaking. Setting up a backyard action sensor is a great decision the indicator will ensure that the lighting only arrives on when you really need it to. Besides this save you money on vitality charges, but the action detector is also a very good stability feature. It alerts you if someone is walking around your house. Even …11:37 p.m. update: For those wondering what happens to Sheehan's Ward 2 city council seat now that he is on his way to Ottawa, SooToday spoke to city clerk Malcolm White about the possibility back when Sheehan was first nominated to run federally. From that story: The first step in filling the vacancy would be a report from the city clerk's office outlining options for council to consider. "When there's a vacancy on council, council has to make a decision on how to fill the vacancy, so they either fill it by appointment, and if they fill it by appointment they are not restricted to appoint a runner up from the last election," said Malcolm White, city clerk, speaking to SooToday. "They can appoint whoever they want, as long as the person is eligible to hold that office…or they would decide to hold a by-election (called a special election in municipal cases)." An appointee must be at least 18 years old, a Canadian citizen and reside in Sault Ste. Marie. A common practice, used in the past, would involve council asking the third place candidate (in this case, John Duke) if he would be interested in being appointed to the vacant council seat. However, an interesting aspect is that neither Duke nor Selvers have filed their election campaign financial statements with the city clerk's office in accordance with Ontario's Municipal Act. Failure to do so prohibits them from running in the next municipal election campaign in 2018, as well as a special election, and also excludes either candidate from being asked to fill Sheehan's place. 11:24 p.m. update: In his interview with Village Media, Sheehan chalked up his win to hard work, and to the economic plan the Liberals put forward. “We really knocked on doors. Everyone says they knock on
ott unleashed on the executives and managers at the Digital Business World Congress in Madrid in May. special report Download the Blockchain Guide You can read this executive guide as a PDF (free registration required). Read More He argued that Blockchain will disempower banks, make the energy grid far more efficient, fix the music industry, and save journalism. And the craziest part was that his arguments came across a lot more like an entrepreneur explaining a pitch deck than a snake oil salesman peddling a crackpot theory. Tapscott is the co-author of the book Blockchain Revolution and he gave the opening keynote on day two of DES 2017, where ZDNet and TechRepublic are media sponsors. Internet technology is based on the concept of sending copies of files and retaining the original every time information is accessed. It functions like a digital printing press. "It's good to have a printing press for information," said Tapscott. "But, it's not good to have a printing press for money or assets." That's where Blockchain comes in. What is Blockchain? Blockchain is the technology behind cryptocurrency Bitcoin--an application that runs on top of the Blockchain platform. Blockchain provides a distributed transaction ledger in which each transaction is connected to several transactions nearby and protected by encryption. In order to hack it, you would need to hack all of the transactions nearby and all of the other parts of the ledger that have already replicated it (which is virtually impossible to figure out). SEE: How blockchain will disrupt business (ZDNet special report) \| Download the report as a PDF (TechRepublic) If all of that sounds confusing, just know that Blockchain allows for the tracking of digital assets so that they can be verified as authentic and cannot be copied without permission. That obviously makes it invaluable for currency, but it is also being used to exchange other kinds of digital goods as well as for contracts and other verified assets. For example, in the future it could be used for property deeds and election votes. How can Blockchain disrupt society? The key to Blockchain is trust. Today, society and the global economy is based on trust of powerful intermediaries such as governments, banks, and now large internet companies like Google and Facebook. In the business world, some of the largest companies and fortunes are made by businesses that insert themselves in the middle of transactions as trusted intermediaries and then extract some of the value from the transaction. These intermediaries do a fairly good job but they have their limitations, said Tapscott. "They take cost and slow things down," he said, and "anything that's centralized is vulnerable." But above all, they "capture an asynchronous benefit" for what they provide. In other words, they take too much money while adding little value. Their main commodity is trust, and it's based on the perception that they aren't going anywhere. Blockchain has a different kind of trust, based on the fact that it's decentralized and managed by the public so that no one entity can manipulate or control it. That's ultimately made it even more trustworthy, leading The Economist to label it "The trust machine" and The Wall Street Journal to refer to it as the "democratization of trust." That trust can be used to establish a form of currency, verify a document, record a vote, or transfer a digital asset--with no middleman needed in between. SEE: Executive's guide to implementing blockchain technology Tapscott calls it the second generation of the internet because it evolves "from an internet of information to an internet of value." Since a lot companies make money by sitting in the middle of transactions between consumers and products, this is going to change the equation for a lot of industries. "Blockchain is going to have a profound impact on businesses everywhere in the world," said Tapscott And it's not just the lumbering dinosaurs of industry that will be affected. "Blockchain disrupts the disrupters," Tapscott said. "It disrupts business models that are only 4 or 5 years old." Take Uber, for example. It makes its money by being an intermediary between drivers with cars and people who need rides. Implicitly, Uber manages the identity and reputation of drivers and passengers, the social contract between them, and the payment. In the future, all of these things could be handled by Blockchain (or services running on top of Blockchain), with individuals only sharing the appropriate information necessary for the transaction. And the transaction savings could be passed on to both of the parties. Image: Jason Hiner/TechRepublic For more on how this could work in practice, let's look at the four examples we started with at the beginning of this article. Banks Because of Bitcoin, we already know that banks have a lot to lose from Blockchain removing them as intermediaries that make a hefty profit from controlling the flow of currency. Tapscott compared the way mobile payments are currently handled to a Rube Goldberg machine. They are unnecessarily complex and slow. In the future, Blockchain-powered transactions will simply require different levels of engagement from the customer. For a payment, all that's needed is data on whether the customer has the currency to pay. For a mortgage, the customer will have to provide additional data about income, assets, financial transaction history, etc. Banks are unlikely to go away, but they will have to migrate toward more value-producing activities than moving money around. Energy grid In a similar way, today's energy is managed by centralized entities, power companies that manage and control the grids that distribute power. However, the drastic improvements in solar (and other renewable energy sources) and in batteries is leading to innovations such as microgrids in communities. So if you generate solar power on your house or office, save it to your batteries, and have more than you need, then you can sell it to your neighbors at market value. This can save energy by keeping it local--because the further energy travels the more is wasted--and enables sellers and buyers to save money on the transactions, which could be managed by Blockchain. Currently, the power companies are the trusted arbiters in the middle that buy and sell power at the prices they set because they control the infrastructure. With Blockchain and microgrids that could soon change. Music industry With the internet, musicians were promised that they would be able to break free of the record labels and sell their songs directly to their fans. Instead, their music got copied freely and is now streamed and it's driven its value down to zero. With Blockchain, each song file can have its royalty and licensing rights built in. It can automatically trigger tiny micropayments for use and the artist can get paid first instead of last (if it all). Artist Imogen Heap is among the first musicians to start experimenting with Blockchain as a new model for music. Journalism Similar to the music industry, Tapscott said Blockchain-verified micropayments could also change the equation for journalism. Stories could have their rights embedded in each file and readers could be charged tenths of a penny for each piece of content they actually consume, for example. The result could be that readers think about which stuff is worth consuming and the best journalism could get funded "This could be the payment system we need to let journalism fight back against fake news," he said. As a media professional, I'd have to say that the challenge, of course, is that slideshows of celebrities get far more visits than investigative pieces about terrorists and social issues. But, this would be a worthy experiment. Final word Make no mistake, a lot work still needs to be done to make Blockchain a technology that will be used by average citizens. Using it today often involves jumping through a lot of very technical hoops. And it likely won't be Blockchain itself, but the services built on top of it that will become household names in the years to come. Also, the Blockchain revolution doesn't mean there won't be businesses to be built and money to be made, but it's likely to reset the equation and require that companies provide a lot more value than simply conveying a transaction. By not concentrating so much power and wealth into a few trusted entities, it will likely allow for a lot more competition and let a lot more flowers bloom. Nevertheless, as Tapscott said, "The opportunity to re-engineer the economic power grid is enormous." We have to consider the fact that Blockchain could rewrite some of the rules of capitalism, which naturally favors concentrations of wealth. Tapscott thinks of it not so much as redistributing wealth as "pre-distributing" it by opening up more opportunities to more people, by default. Also seeStephen Hawking may be best known as a physicist, cosmologist and one of the world's smartest people, but these videos are proof he should add 'comedian' to his already robust résumé. Be sure to catch the premiere of a new Science Channel special, Stem Cell Universe with Stephen Hawking, on Monday, Feb. 3 at 10/9c. 10. Why are books about anti-gravity such good reads? 9. What does a subatomic duck say? 8. Higgs Boson walks into a church... 7. What did Mars say to Saturn? 6. What is a black hole? 5.Two atoms were walking across the road... 4. A neutron walks into a bar... 3. Why does the noble gas always cry? 2. Knock, knock... 1. Two satellites got married... Stem Cell Universe with Stephen Hawking airs Monday, February 3 at 10/9c on Science Channel.Community College Myth vs. Fact Second-rate. Inferior. Last resorts. What do these words have in common? They are just a few of the terms that have been used to describe community colleges over the years. If the individuals uttering these words took a moment to look past the hearsay, however, they’d realize it’s high time to give community colleges another look…and some much-deserved credit. In fall 2008, 44 percent of all undergraduates in higher education, or about 7.3 million students, were enrolled at community colleges. And this percentage is continuing to grow in spite of long-standing stigmas. Whether you’re considering taking some or all of your classes at a community college, here are a few myths about these institutes of higher learning we’d like to clear up once and for all: Myth #1: Students go to community college because they weren't accepted by a four-year school. Fact: There are many reasons students attend community colleges instead of traditional four-year colleges. Sure, a year or two in community college is necessary for some students to improve their grades and adjust to the challenges of a collegiate lifestyle but cost is one of the biggest incentives. According to the College Board, tuition and fees for public two-year schools averaged just $2,544 during the 2009-2010 school year – far less than the $50,000+ price tags of schools like UC Berkeley and Sarah Lawrence – which means students take out fewer loans and leave school with much less (if any) debt). Also, since schedules are much more flexible, even full-time community college students have the time to work while in college and save money without compromising their education. When all of these factors are paired with federal aid, scholarships and grants, students could go to a community college almost for free. Talk about the right way to manage your money! Myth #2: If you decide to switch schools, very few credits will transfer. Fact: Choosing the right classes is vital at any school but for community college students intending to transfer to a four-year school, it’s even more important. The best way to ensure the majority of your credits will transfer is to meet with an adviser or counselor prior to or during your first semester. By explaining your goals, your adviser can help you design the schedule to achieve them most efficiently; this can include guidance to the classes that offer the most credits to reviewing articulation agreements, which are negotiated documents that clarify what's needed to transfer from one school to another. By choosing the right classes before you transfer, you may even be ahead of students at your new school! Still curious about the transfer process? Check out our section on transferring for more specifics. Myth #3: If it costs less to attend, the quality of education must be worse. Fact: We touched on this while clearing up Myth #1 but let us elaborate: Attending a community college allows students to get far more bang for their educational buck. The classes are nearly identical and oftentimes, community college faculty members also hold teaching positions at other four-year colleges in the area. The woman teaching your history class could actually be the same professor educating your best friend at Big State College or Private U. across town...but you’re on a first-name basis with her instead of being just another face in a 300-person lecture hall. Community college courses aren’t just watered-down versions of the ones taught at traditional schools, either; in fact, this Washington Post article cited some classes are even more challenging because professors are motivated by their students, who often display more drive than their four-year counterparts. Myth #4: All community college students are “grown ups.” Fact: While a number if community college students return to school in order to gain additional training, switch careers or finish up a degree they had put on hold, don’t think all your classmates will have gray hair, three kids and first-person tales from the original Woodstock. It’s quite the opposite, actually: The American Association of Community Colleges reveals the average age of a community college student is 28 and just 16 percent of community college students are 40 or older. And don’t be surprised to see some even younger faces around campus because some community colleges allow middle and high school students who have outgrown the curriculum at their schools to audit or enroll in classes. Myth #5: The degree you earn at a community college won’t get you as far career-wise as a degree from a four-year school will. Fact: Excuse us for a moment while we laugh out loud because this assumption is just plain silly! Countless community college attendees have gone on to become household names in every sect of society. Who, you ask? There’s Oscar winners Tom Hanks, Morgan Freeman and Clint Eastwood, presidential candidate H. Ross Perot, fashion designer Calvin Klein, Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg, astronauts James McDivitt, Eileen Collins and Fred Haise, MasterCard founder Melvin Salveson and the man responsible for many of our fondest childhood memories, Walt Disney. Your college experience is what you make of it regardless of where you go to school and these individuals certainly used every resource to their advantage!We don’t usually answer President Trump’s tweets, but on Thursday he linked to a Post column along with “The failing @nytimes has disgraced the media world. Gotten me wrong for two solid years. Change libel laws?” The failing @nytimes has disgraced the media world. Gotten me wrong for two solid years. Change libel laws? https://t.co/QIqLgvYLLi — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 30, 2017 Bad idea, sir — just as it was when you floated it during the campaign. The New York Times is indeed disgracing itself with nonstop anti-Trump hysteria. The lines between opinion, reporting and advocacy keep getting ever-fuzzier. But fiddling with libel law — even if Congress and the Constitution allowed it — is not just the wrong answer, but a terrible one. Everyone has the right to slam any media outlet — the John Crudele column the president cited was a harsh slap at the Times, and we’ve editorialized along similar lines. But that give and take is all part of the debate. Heck, Trump and his team pull no punches in savaging a host of outlets. Just as Mayor de Blasio regularly trash-talks The Post. All of which is fair play — the give and take of public debate, with citizens free to judge for themselves who has what right. Fighting back, as Trump does so relentlessly, is part of the solution. So is waiting for events to show the truth. Notably, all the breathless, anonymously sourced “news” on the Russian connection is going to look awfully stupid if in the end there’s nothing really there, as the president has repeatedly said is the case. Between the FBI investigation and the Senate Intelligence Committee hearings, the nation will eventually know. Meddling with libel law in the name of reining in “irresponsible” journalism will do nothing to encourage truth-telling, and far too much to stifle the free press — particularly the small players who can’t afford high legal bills. (Thus, it would increase the power of the “establishment media.”) One problem is who gets to define “irresponsible.” Today’s libel law gives private citizens extensive safeguards against media abuse, so any tightening must really be about “protecting” public figures — meaning, mainly, the politicians who write the laws. Yet it was precisely to allow free political speech that the Founders included freedom of the press in the First Amendment. Stifling criticism, however off-base, doesn’t serve the public. The answer to lies is the truth, and the answer to a media establishment that regularly pushes one partisan agenda is to add new voices.Des Moines County Attorney Amy Beavers has elected not to file charges against the Burlington Police Officer who fatally shot a woman while responding to a domestic dispute in January. In an eight page memo sent to Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation Agent Matthew George, Beavers lines out her reasoning behind choosing not to file criminal charges against Sergeant Jesse Hill in the death of Autumn Steele. “After reviewing the complete DCI investigation, there were no criminal charges that applied to the circumstances of this case,” Beavers told KBUR. According to the narrative contained in the memo, on January 5th, 2015, Autumn Steele was arrested for serious domestic abuse for an assault on her husband, Gabriel Steele. After a no-contact order was filed with the Des Moines County Court between the couple, Autumn Steele was released from police custody. On the snowy morning of January 6th, shortly after her arrest, Autumn Steele returned to the home she shared with her husband. Gabriel Steele contacted police to report that Autumn was assaulting him. Hill responded to the scene where he saw Autumn Steele pulling Gabriel Steele’s shirt and hitting him in the back of the head while Gabriel held the couples son. After advising dispatch that two individuals were fighting, Hill activated his body-mounted video camera. Upon approaching the couple in an attempt to separate the two, the couple’s dog, Sammy, began to growl, ultimately biting the officer on the thigh–an injury that Beavers says was photographed. After asking Gabriel to restrain the dog, Hill drew his gun. The dog continued to approach. This, according to DCI’s investigation, is when Hill fell backwards, firing two shots: at least one of the bullets grazed the dog and struck Autumn in the chest Immediately after he fell, Hill was apparently not aware that Autumn had been shot until informed by her husband. She died shortly afterwards. In the memo, Beavers explains that neither murder, nor manslaughter (voluntary or involuntary), apply to the case. She explains that Sgt. Hill firing his weapon was justified, as the dog, according to eyewitnesses, jumped on Hill’s back. Hill was the only responding officer. She goes on to explain that Hill did not opt to utilize a taser against the dog due to an incident several months prior where Hill, responding to a vicious animal complaint, used a taser against a Pit Bull which did not incapacitate the animal. Beavers called the incident a tragedy. “A very tragic, accidental death,” said Beavers, “[That’s] what I would characterize it as.” Hill has been on paid administrative leave since the January incident. It’s unknown whether or not he will return to duty with the Burlington Police Department.I wouldn't say they perform better than ever without Twilight and Sunset. I wonder if Adagio is trying to incite a battle of the bands "We've thought of something that is better. Something that changes all the rules." Applejack's bass guitar—you can actually count the four strings—is really screen accurate, save for the head which is slightly different. Rainbow's… I wonder if Dusky Katt would offer to build a show accurate one if it ever comes to the states. If this show ever comes to the US, Trixie seriously needs to be added into the mucisal. If for no other reason than to just see Seth's reaction to having Trixie appear live on stage before him.In preperation for the show in Singapore, more photos from the MLP Musical: Rainbow Rocks have been released to help hype up the show! With every photo that's released, I become more and more impressed with what's going on with what this show has been able to accomplish. Especially with regards to how accorate the costuming and set designs are to the movie.Below the break you'll be able to find three additional shots from some of the other musical numbers in the performance. Hopefully if the show ever comes to the states my guesses as to whatthese are will have been right.With Robert Griffin III on the mend from major knee surgery, the Washington Redskins are down to Kirk Cousins, Rex Grossman and the unproven Pat White at quarterback. The little we saw of Cousins last season was promising, but the Redskins quickly ditched their read-option package when Griffin wasn't on the field. Cousins said last week he wanted to "explore" running more option plays this offseason, but Grossman doesn't sound overly hopeful. "(Offensive coordinator) Kyle Shanahan could not call (read-option plays) without laughing while he called it for me," Grossman told WTEM-AM on Wednesday. "Whether Kirk could, we'll see. But it takes some getting used to, and if they are gonna run it with Kirk, they'd definitely need to practice it a lot." Grossman isn't sure when Griffin will step back on the field, but said "it sounds like he will be" ready for the regular season. In his absence, the more mobile White is better equipped to operate out of the Pistol and mimic a Griffin-led attack than anyone else on the roster. Watching Grossman attempt the same would be painful, and the Redskins know it. Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.Updated Debian 7: 7.6 released July 12th, 2014 The Debian project is pleased to announce the sixth update of its stable distribution Debian 7 (codename wheezy ). This update mainly adds corrections for security problems to the stable release, along with a few adjustments for serious problems. Security advisories were already published separately and are referenced where available. Please note that this update does not constitute a new version of Debian 7 but only updates some of the packages included. There is no need to throw away old wheezy CDs or DVDs but only to update via an up-to-date Debian mirror after an installation, to cause any out of date packages to be updated. Those who frequently install updates from security.debian.org won't have to update many packages and most updates from security.debian.org are included in this update. New installation media and CD and DVD images containing updated packages will be available soon at the regular locations. Upgrading to this revision online is usually done by pointing the aptitude (or apt) package tool (see the sources.list(5) manual page) to one of Debian's many FTP or HTTP mirrors. A comprehensive list of mirrors is available at: Miscellaneous Bugfixes This stable update adds a few important corrections to the following packages: Package Reason apache2 Support ECC keys and ECDH ciphers; mod_proxy: fix crashes under load; mod_dav: fix potential DoS [CVE-2013-6438]; mod_log_config: fix cookie logging apt-cacher-ng Fix cross-site scripting via 403 responses [CVE-2014-4510] automake1.9-nonfree Add empty prerm to ensure a clean upgrade path in case of install-info removal base-files Update for the point release catfish Fix regression from previous security update clamav New upstream release; fix a crash while using clamscan cmus Fix build failure related to the libmodplug upgrade in DSA 2751 cups Fix XSS in the CUPS web interface; fix syntax errors in Hungarian templates cyrus-imapd-2.4 Fix missing GUID for binary appends; fix broken nntpd dbus Fix denial of service [CVE-2014-3477] duo-unix Update upstream HTTPS certificates; improve support for SHA2 in HTTPS eglibc Fix issues which could break dynamic linker on biarch systems; fix regression in IPv6 name resolution; fix February month name in de_AT locale; fix backtrace() on mips; fix nl_langinfo() when used in static binaries elib Rebuild with current debhelper firebug Take over xul-ext-firecookie, as firebug now provides all its functionality; remove copyrighted ICC profile hdf5 Rebuild against current wheezy gfortran intel-microcode Updated microcode; new upstream release ldns Fix default permissions on private DNSKEYs generated by ldns-keygen [CVE-2014-3209] libdatetime-timezone-perl New upstream release libdbi-perl Remove dependency on to-be-removed libplrpc-perl libflickr-api-perl Update URLs in line with upstream changes libjpeg6b Fix memory disclosure vulnerabilities [CVE-2013-6629 CVE-2013-6630] libjpeg8 Fix memory disclosure vulnerabilities [CVE-2013-6629 CVE-2013-6630] libopenobex Fix segfault when transferring files maitreya Replace font to avoid copyright issues mobile-broadband-provider-info Update included data nostalgy Add support for newer icedove versions openchange Remove packages which depend on previously removed samba4 packages openssh Restore patch to disable OpenSSL version check openssl Don't prefer ECDHE_ECDSA with some Safari versions; actually restart the services when restart-without-asking is set policyd-weight Fix infinite loop if resolver only reachable via IPv6 proftpd-mod-geoip Remove useless and buggy proftpd-mod-geoip.postrm script py3dns Fix timeouts associated with only one of several available nameservers being unavailable; correctly deal with source port already in use errors pydap Add dap to namespace_packages in setup.py quassel Fix certificate permissions scheme48 Fix insecure use of temporary file [CVE-2014-4150] sieve-extension Add support for newer icedove versions sks Fix cross-site scripting [CVE-2014-3207]; improve Berkeley DB upgrade handling squid3 Fix sporadic assertion failure under high load suds Fix insecure creation of cache paths tor New upstream release tzdata New upstream release unbound Fix crash when using DNSSEC and num-threads > 1 win32-loader Update embedded dependencies wireless-regdb Update data xmms2 Fix build failure related to the libmodplug upgrade in DSA 2751 Security Updates This revision adds the following security updates to the stable release. The Security Team has already released an advisory for each of these updates: Removed packages The following packages were removed due to circumstances beyond our control: Package Reason whatsnewfm Obsolete as freecode.com no longer accepting submissions libplrpc-perl Security issues firecookie Obsolete; superseded by firebug freecode-submit Obsolete as freecode.com no longer accepting submissions URLs The complete lists of packages that have changed with this revision: The current stable distribution: Proposed updates to the stable distribution: stable distribution information (release notes, errata etc.): Security announcements and information: About Debian The Debian Project is an association of Free Software developers who volunteer their time and effort in order to produce the completely free operating system Debian. Contact Information For further information, please visit the Debian web pages at https://www.debian.org/, send mail to <[email protected]>, or contact the stable release team at <[email protected]>.I arrived home today and saw a strange package...and what do you know, I have been expecting a strange package to arrive. I look at the mailing label, and sure enough, it is from my Secret Santa! Quickly, I take my camera and hurry to my room to open it. Upon opening it I find a humorous but thought-out gift: a Scottish outfit! I did say I was into souvenirs from other countries/cultures after-all. My Secret Santa got me socks, boxers, a shirt, a hat, and a shot glass! Thank you Secret Santa!!! While it did arrive 5 days after Christmas, it arrived just in time for me to wear some of it to a Reddit meetup tomorrow! Unfortunately, my Secret Santa didn't give me his/her username so all I could go off is the mailing signature: Thanks R. Brown!! Hope you see this!!France is on fire after the cowardly attack on Charlie Hebdo, and the spectacular developments afterwards. The newspaper Libération, where next week’s satirical magazine – fortunately – will be produced, has recently fallen in the hands of a descendant of the famous bankers’ dynasty De Rothschild. But the buying of the newspaper did stir up a serious discussion within the De Rothschild family, reveals Philippe baron de Rothschild in an exclusive interview with Quote, which was published in our January edition. ‘There has been quite some discussion about the takeover of Libération by my uncle Édouard baron de Rothschild’, says Philippe. ‘Some family members wanted to block the purchase, because the medium would make us a political force. We wanted to avoid that at all cost. We have no interest in politics, at least not towards the outside world. In the end, the critics within our family were overruled.’ The interview with the De Rothschild descendant took place in his office at the Champs-Élysées, quite some time before the terrorist attacks. The complete interview can be read here (€, Dutch): ‘People will always remain jealous.’ Dutch version.Remember when you tried to get creative and bejewel your jean shorts or decorate your new tennis shoes with a Sharpie pen? Well this is not that. In the Omo Valley of southern Ethiopia, the Surma and Mursi people don’t have glue guns, sewing machines, sequins or Sharpies to accessorise with. Inspired by the tools and textiles provided by nature alone, these ancient African tribes manage to create their own unique fashion that could easily rival and certainly influence the avant garde looks of Haute Couture Fashion Weeks around the world. These rare photographs of what is believed to be among the most unique and remote tribal people in the world, were captured by German-born artist Hans Silvester. Born in 1938, with an impressive career behind him, Hans has documented everything from the ravages of deforestation in the Amazon to the lives of women in the Great Indian Desert. Body accessories and spectacular avant-garde looking headpieces are made with just flowers, leaves, grass, shells and animal horns. They have an exquisite and innate sense of form, shape and colour. Because they are a nomadic people without permanent architecture on which to express their art, they use their bodies as their canvases, embelleshing their skin with mineral pigments from powdered volcanic rock and dressing themselves in “textiles” obtained from the natural world around them. For his most recent work featuring the Surma and Mursi people, the photographer immersed himself into daily tribal life to chronicle and “save…as much as possible of this truly living art.” The two tribes reaching the southern end of Ethiopia and the northern part of Kenya share a similar culture. Their homelands are remote, located in desolate mountains in a largely unexplored region. But as civilization encroaches and civil war becomes more violent, Hans worries that these people will lose their beautiful tradition. They have practised some of the same traditions that their ancestors did centuries ago living in the same remote area, but most tribes now carry AK47s to hunt or protect themselves from tribal rivalries, provided by parties in the Sudanese Civil War. Police allow foreigners to travel there only with a hired armed guard. It’s also reported that visitors to the region are seeing the artistic traditions of the tribes being exploited for tourism, fueling fantasies of exoticism. Other photographers have expressed their disappointment at witnessing a “fancy-dress parade”, performed solely for the benefit of the visitor who pays for the privilege of photographing it. While this leaves plenty of room for discussion on the corruption of tourism and its effects on these ancient tribes, it still does not take away from the fact that these women and adolescent children in particular, show an innate and unprecedented artistic sense. Whether they actually dress like this on a daily basis or just once a year for a wedding, the fact is, they are clearly capable of creating something truly exquisite that deserves recognition. Why shouldn’t their talent for fashion be celebrated? Are we the only ones allowed to have fashion parades every season and do photo shoots for magazines? What I love most about it is that it’s 100% original. You can be certain the tribespeople aren’t flicking through the pages of Vogue or looking back at style icons of the 60s for inspiration. Their fashion is truly inventive and they are each natural born fashion designers– even if it is just for a Westerner’s camera. It’s still art and surely, it shouldn’t be dismissed for those reasons… Far from the runways of Paris, the fashion houses of Milan and the glossy magazines at your local news stand, they are from an alternate fashion world, where what you wear is subject to mother nature’s infinitely changing elements, the colours “in season” truly do depend on the season, and individuality is the only trend. Photographs via the Marlborough Gallery. P.S. Thanks for the tip Brian!The team behind Football Manager 2017 have produced a stunningly detailed collection of football data. In this short film, Copa90 find out how they did it “The last time we tried to calculate our strike rate it was around 99.5%,” says Football Manager head honcho Miles Jacobson. For him and his team at Sports Interactive, the aim is always to create the most real-life representation of football year after year. Creating Football Manager 2017 has not just been about building a commercial product. It’s also about constructing a game they want to play over the next year until they release the next edition. Jacobson strives to build the most realistic game yet so he can live out his dream of leading Watford to the Premier League title, albeit with the heavy heart that comes after he has relieved Walter Mazzarri of his duties in the process. Football Manager 2017 review – the best in the series, but only for dedicated fans Read more For the people who build Football Manager and enjoy it, the detail is what makes the game so compelling – detail built out of Sports Interactive’s pride and joy, their database. The Football Manager database originally included around 4,000 players and staff but it’s now nearing 700,000. The players in this database have been rated by an on-the-ground network of roughly 1,300 scouts who span the globe – a network that football clubs would only dream of possessing. “If a football club is going to sign a player they might watch him 10 times, where as we’re watching them over years and years,” says Jacobson. Football Manager’s local scouting team means they can find that next big thing quicker than anyone, whether the player is from Gibraltar or Guatemala. These scouting assignments judge a player on everything from their acceleration to work rate, place of birth to preferred moves. This information offer managers, virtual or professional, the insight needed to decide whether they players are worth buying or not. How an obsession with Football Manager could earn you a career in the game Read more Ever since André Villas-Boas openly admitted to using the database to help source players during his time as chief scout at Chelsea, there have been a string of stories of Football Manager’s role in the professional game. While these stories are always countered by critics who focus on the few players who failed to live up to their potential – “But what about Freddy Adu, Maksim Tsyhalka, Andri Sigþórsson, Cherno Samba and Fábio Paím?!” – there’s no denying that the successes have massively outweighed the disappointments. And, from licensing data to football clubs to Sky Sports News’ use of the data to compare players, the Football Manager office’s desire to create the most realistic football simulation game has had an impact on the sport they’re trying to simulate. This is how they do it: Follow Copa90 on YouTube, Facebook and TwitterMedia playback is unsupported on your device Media caption How often do you get offered a large coffee with cream? The UK's obesity crisis is being fuelled by businesses pushing unhealthy food and larger portions on shoppers, according to health experts. The Royal Society for Public Health warned consumers were being tricked by a marketing ploy known as upselling. The tactic involves shops, cafes and restaurants encouraging customers to upgrade to larger meals and drinks or adding high-calorie toppings and sides. A poll suggested eight in 10 people experienced it every week. How upselling fuels obesity 78% of people experience upselling each week 106 upsells per person per year 35% added sides like chips to meal 34% bought a larger coffee 17,000 extra calories on average over a year PA The most common upsells to be taken included larger coffees, bigger meals, sweets and chocolates and extra sides such as onion rings and chips. Royal Society for Public Health chief executive Shirley Cramer said the industry was pressuring the public into buying extra calories, which then added up "without us noticing". She said businesses needed to stop training staff to upsell high-calorie food and instead focus on healthy alternatives. The findings were drawn from a poll of more than 2,000 UK adults by the RSPH and Slimming World. Those who had experienced upsells had been targeted more than twice a week on average, with younger people the most susceptible. The most common place for it to happen was restaurants, followed by fast-food outlets, supermarkets, coffee shops and pubs and bars. The research showed many of the upsells were unhealthy options, with the average person who fell victim to the technique consuming an average of 17,000 extra calories a year, enough to gain an extra 5lbs (2.3kg) over 12 months. What are your views? Join the debate on our Facebook page. 'I kept falling for upsells' Image copyright other Liam Smith, 25, from West Yorkshire, is just one of the many people who have been persuaded by the marketing ploy. But since recognising he was eating too much he has lost 6st (38kg) and now refuses upsells. "Being able to 'go large' on a meal for 30p extra was always a no-brainer for me, as was a few pence more for a large cup of hot chocolate or paying £1 more to turn a single burger into a double. "Afterwards, I'd wish I hadn't done it though - I can only describe it as a major feeling of guilt." The top 10 places for upselling Restaurants Fast-food outlets Supermarkets Coffee shops Pubs and bars Cinemas Planes and airports Petrol stations Newsagents Railway stations The practice occurs at the point-of-sale and is not
courageous choice also does not mean abandoning accountability—it simply means holding ourselves accountable first. If we are people of faith, we hold ourselves accountable for living that faith by practicing grace and bringing healing.” If you understand and support the recent policy changes, ask your mourning friend why it hurts. I’m not asking you to change your convictions, I’m asking you to, perhaps, enlarge your heart. If you don’t have any friends who are hurting over this—look again. Someone you know is gay—or they love someone who is gay. And they are hurting. Maybe not because they disagree with the policy changes, but because they know the impact and the toll it will have. We come from the same spiritual lineage. My ancestors bloodied the Great Plains with their feet. I stand in wonder at the sacrifices those first Christian disciples endured for their beliefs – just as you do. And so, my brethren and sisters, my dear friends, all I ask of you is that you see us. That your hear us. That you listen to us. That you sit with us. Thank you. -A AdvertisementsEvery time I return to India to visit colleagues and family, I’m amazed to see how quickly smartphone adoption has overtaken the country. On my visit to Bangalore last month, seemingly every person I passed on the street was focused on their smartphone — not just tech workers in India’s growing middle class, but street vendors and food hawkers, who looked more eager to accept payment from India’s version of Square than cold hard rupees. It’s one thing to know intellectually that India has replaced the U.S. as the world’s second largest smartphone market and that smartphone penetration is forecast to reach one in three of the 1.3 billion population this year, and another to see this burgeoning ecosystem first hand. Every time I return home to Cupertino, however, I’m just as amazed by how little Silicon Valley investors are focused on the Indian market. While most Sand Hill VCs frequently reference China’s WeChat or Tao Bao, they rarely mention PayTM or FlipKart (the PayPal and Amazon of India, respectively), which have nearly as many users. I suspect this is partly due to India’s startup industry being relatively small. In all candor, it’s also possible that some California investors have an unconscious blind spot to India, having pigeonholed the entire country by its outsourcing industry. This is a massive missed opportunity, especially with the arrival of mobile data plans in India with speeds rivaling even the best American carriers. To be sure, India’s smartphone market is significantly different from that of the U.S. or China and is heavily shaped by local policy and market history. Here’s a quick cheat sheet to start understanding the ecosystem. 1. Thanks to government intervention, digital payments are being widely adopted in India The growth of India’s smartphone market is partly due to the “Digital India” movement instituted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who devalued high currency notes late last year. This has posed a huge problem for India’s middle class, who typically use 500 and 1,000 rupee notes on a regular basis, but his goal was to curb money on the black market while also pushing Indians to use digital payments. PayTM, roughly the PayPal/Apple Pay of India, was not strongly succeeding until this policy shift. Now, even street vendors are rapidly adopting mobile payments. But digital payments require smartphones with data plans — which brings me to my next point: 2. Indians tend to be very price-conscious about mobile data consumption Up until very recently, mobile data usage on Indian smartphones operated on a “pay as you go” model, with carriers typically selling data as premium add-ons to their voice package. Consumers were hesitant to use their data unless absolutely necessary. People would use mobile data to check email and make quick digital payments, but not for entertainment. (Until, that is, they could access Wi-Fi from home or elsewhere.) All of this has greatly influenced adoption patterns for mobile apps. WhatsApp is much more popular in India than Facebook, in great part because WhatsApp data usage is more economical. Indians have also come to perceive online entertainment apps as something to do at home and/or connected to Wi-Fi but not while traveling or outdoors. It’s not that they don’t want to consume and share YouTube videos and other entertainment while on the road, just that the cost of doing so has been so prohibitive. For this reason, Snapchat, with its “share whatever you do, wherever you are” model, will probably not succeed in India in the short term; same goes for Periscope and other live streaming services. I wrote “short term” because something just changed in India: 3. Extremely fast broadband use is now catching on quickly Due to the cost concerns I mentioned, Indians have largely used data plans only for “useful” apps like payment services or ordering rides from Uber or the local incumbent, Ola Cabs. In fact, many would simply turn off their cellular data most of the time, enabling it only when absolutely needed. Then late last year, Reliance, one of India’s largest mobile carriers, took a different approach, launching its “Jio Mobile” service, offering free voice calls from anywhere to anywhere within the country — but also requiring that customers buy a data plan. This has created a huge adoption wave in India, with many migrating from AirTel (the local leader) to Reliance, the first carrier to start competing purely on data package. In response, AirTel and other carriers now offer competing plans. It’s important to emphasize how great these data plans can be. On my visit last month, I tested the data speed from Reliance Jio and was blown away to see it was 25 Mbps (on LTE) during non-peak time, and still around 5 Mbps during peak time. This is not only faster than in-home Wi-Fi speeds typical for India four years ago, it’s faster than my current AT&T plan in the U.S! You can probably see where I’m going with this: 4. This is the time for Western broadband-dependent apps to enter India Competition is causing rapid adoption of mobile data usage across India, which will keep driving prices down and broadband speeds up, quickly changing the Indian consumer’s attitude from “use data only when necessary” to “Kuchh masti waala dikhao!” (“Show me entertaining stuff”). Indian consumers will soon be hungry for app-based content that Western developers can easily provide — especially to the 125 million+ Indians who are already English-fluent. Apps like Netflix, Spotify, and Saavn (the Pandora of India) are likely to see much more usage on mobile. It’s still common for Indians to use DVD and thumb drives to watch videos while traveling, or play downloaded mobile games, but all that will soon change. We should also expect to see livestreaming services from journalists, reporters, and celebrities, all hugely popular on cable TV in India. “That’s interesting,” I already can imagine my Valley colleagues saying, “but how do we monetize it?” Which brings us to my final point: 5. App monetization in India: Less about IAP, more about carrier partnerships Since popular digital payment services are local, their usage probably won’t carry over soon to non-Indian, transaction-based apps such as Amazon or eBay. Similarly, in-app payments are still not very common in India, especially for companies or brands that consumers aren’t readily familiar with. Instead, it’s better not to directly charge consumers. For apps, the best strategy in India is to work with a mobile carrier and monetize through carrier billing. For instance, partner with a carrier to offer an app as part of a bundled, premium data package, and earn based on a revenue share. As I noted, data plan competition has become incredibly hot in India, so carriers are eager to add well-known apps to their plans. It’s possible I’m being too bullish about this market. But if India smartphone trends follow the U.S. and China, I doubt it. When I visit Bangalore next year, I fully expect to read about U.S.-India content partnerships coming to the country’s biggest mobile carriers. And when I’m back in California, I expect to hear from VCs angrily kicking themselves for not getting into India sooner. Balaji Krishnan is founder and CEO of DabKick, a live media sharing service, and Snapstick, a mobile-to-TV streaming technology acquired by Rovi.Picture this: It's a relaxing spring evening and you're listening to your favorite jazz record as you sip an expertly made French 75 cocktail—gin, champagne, lemon juice, and a bit of sugar—while lounging…on a dowdy brown Barcalounger. Wait. That doesn't feel right. Now imagine you're sipping that same French 75, this time on a chair that makes you feel like a true furniture connoisseur: the Eames lounge chair. Better, isn't it? Where you drink is as important as what you drink. Let's embark on a journey into the art of Interior Mixology, or pairing interiors with drinks. There are millions of potential combinations, and we're asking you to share your ideal drink-and-interior pairings in the comments section below. Remember, this is more an art than a science. To kick things off, three suggestions: 1. Papa Bear Chair and Gin Gimlet When drinking a cocktail in your reading nook is the perfect way to spend the evening. We’d be drinking a gin gimlet in this #HansWegner #PapaBearChair situation, but what about you? Tell us in the comments! @ronenandlev. #chairdesign A photo posted by Curbed (@curbed) on Mar 16, 2016 at 6:23pm PDT World-renowned Danish furniture designer Hans Wegner mastered the balance of form and function in his work. His Papa Bear Chair, for example, is perfect for cozying up at the end of the day for a long reading session and yet it's got serious style. A drink of equal caliber is required. A drink that's easy to make but difficult to master. There's one classic cocktail that fits the bill: the Gin Gimlet. Gin, lime juice, and simple syrup. That's it. Simplicity is bliss, isn't it? 2. Peacock Chair and Mojito Next up, let's look at a seat with a long history. From its origins as a throne in East Asia to its renaissance as the chair du jour in the free-wheeling 1960s, it's Morticia Addams's favorite piece of furniture, the Peacock Chair. The Peacock Chair is all about sun, chill vibes, and sitting like a boss. When it comes to drinks that can match its energy, there's none more suited to the task than the dangerously refreshing Cuban mojito. Originally called "El Draque" in honor of the explorer Sir Francis Drake, this cocktail—white rum, sparkling water, lime juice, mint, sugar—has the same effervescent spirit as the Peacock Chair's, each of which nods at mingled cultures in an era of globalization. 3. Conversation pit and Negroni Though Finnish-American modernist Eero Saarinen is most widely known for his TWA Flight Center at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City and the St. Louis Arch, he also designed a handful of homes. Perhaps his most prominent residential work is the home of wealthy industrialist J. Irwin Miller. Its centerpiece: a luxe conversation pit. This living room fixture is the life of the party, where discourse and hilarity ensue comfortably separated from everyday life. What drink is also the life of the party, tastes like candy, and oozes classiness? A quintessential Italian cocktail, the Negroni. Next time you stumble upon a conversation pit, peel those oranges, break out the Campari and Vermouth, and have a ball. These are our ideas. Now we want to hear about your dream drink-and-interior pairings! Go wild in the comments, and send us photos of your pairings by tagging #curbed on Instagram. Next week, we’ll share our favorites. ∙ Inside a 17th-Century Danish Manor Filled with Iconic Hans Wegner Designs [Curbed] ∙ Eero Saarinen and His Father Built Some Fab Homes Together [Curbed]A 44-year-old Queens man plummeted to his death from his fourth-floor apartment after he was allegedly caught groping a six-year-old boy Thursday morning. Police in New York City say Edgar Collaguazo was killed while trying to flee after the alleged victim’s parents called 911 at around midnight Thursday and locked him inside his room. When officers responded to the scene at 35-15 9th Street in the Jackson Heights section of Queens, they found the suspected child molester lying unconscious and unresponsive outside the building. Edgar Collaguazo, 44, was found mortally injured outside his 95th Street apartment building in Queens after allegedly molesting his tenants' six-year-old son Collaguazo was transported to Elmhurst Hospital, where he was pronounced dead from his injuries. The 44-year-old had been renting out a room in his apartment to a family. On Wednesday, Collaguazo's tenants hosted a birthday party for their son, who was turning six, and invited several children over, reported the New York Daily News. While the adults were celebrating, Collaguazo reportedly invited the birthday boy, his 5-year-old female cousin and another boy to watch a movie in his room. At around midnight, the girl's mother went to check on the kids and allegedly busted Collaguazo with his hand down the six-year-old’s pants as he was sitting on the man's lap. The girl who was present later claimed that Collaguazo also had kissed her on the mouth and told her to keep it a secret, according to the New York Post. The male victim’s relatives began beating up Collaguazo, and then confined him to his room to await the arrival of police officers who were summoned by the boy’s mother. Collaguazo, who was reportedly drunk, tried to escape through the window, but instead landed belly first onto a metal fence outside the apartment building before hitting the ground. In an attempt to flee before police arrived, Collaguazo jumped out the window and landed belly first on this metal gate, then bounced off onto the ground Security footage caught the sickening moment the man's body struck, then bounced off of, the metal gate, landing onto the pavement like a rag doll. A witness likened the sound Collaguazo’s body made on impact to a pumpkin falling off a roof. Collaguazo was married but estranged from his wife, and had a criminal history, which included five prior arrests on unspecified charges. The mother of the six-year-old boy told the Daily News she had no idea that their landlord, who had been friendly with her son, had pedophilic tendencies.Vice Presidential Debates Have Mattered Before. Here's A Look Back Amid the clamor of the battle between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, two much lower-key fellows who are also nominees for national office will take the stage Tuesday night in rural Virginia and try to be heard. Democrat Tim Kaine and Republican Mike Pence will talk about policy and their competing visions for America. They will almost surely offer more substance on issues than we heard in the first debate between the presidential nominees a week earlier. But any news that comes from Tuesday's Battle of the Twos will most likely be something one or the other says about Trump or Clinton. We can expect both running mates to arrive bearing briefing books full of accusations on emails, taxes, foundations, beauty queens, White House infidelities and foreign entanglements. How much of all that ammo gets unloaded may depend on which campaign wants to fire first. But going after the ticket's headliner has been "mission critical" for running mates since long before these TV debates began. Not a few vice presidents have been tapped for the role specifically for their slash-and-burn skills, or their talent for getting under the skin of the other party. But the 2016 campaign has flipped the script in this respect, as in so many others. Unlike running mates of the past, Pence and Kaine have not been unleashed as "attack dogs" to chew viciously on their adversaries. This year, the headlines about outrageous charges have come from the top of the ticket — with help from various TV surrogates and the rest of the media chorus. Kaine and Pence, by contrast, serve to soften the image of the national tickets. They are Tim and Mike, known by the friendlier, shorter versions of their first names. Both have made their way in politics as loyal party men, to be sure, but as warmer and more personable versions of their respective partisan stereotypes. And both have been known for their ability to maneuver and adapt to changing political circumstances. So far, at least, both have performed admirably in their subordinate roles. It might even be said that both have exceeded expectations in their assistance to the nominees who chose them. Kaine has been a prolific fundraiser as well as an affable and effective salesman on the stump. Pence has been enormously influential in bringing religious and social conservatives around to accepting and endorsing Trump. Even some who had pleaded for primary voters to pick anyone but Trump have come on board this fall, however reluctantly; and several have done so after meeting with Pence. Former rival and bitter critic Ted Cruz is one example. The religious element is also significant for Kaine, who is a champion of the Catholic left and spent part of his law school years as a missionary in Central America. He has reached out to social moderates in his party without generating controversy or alienating Clinton's hardcore feminist backers (at least so far). Either man might well be embarking on a career at the top levels of our national political conversation. Trump at 70 would be the oldest president ever elected, and Clinton is not far behind. Together, they represent the oldest brace of nominees in our history. But even now, it is possible to find those in either party who would be far more comfortable with their respective tickets if the current running mate were the nominee. So, assuming they both perform well, Pence and Kaine will not be making a final bow when they leave the stage at Longwood University in Farmville, Va., Tuesday night. The Debate Tradition With the exception of 1980, every presidential election cycle since 1976 has included a live, televised debate between the major candidates for vice president. These events have not drawn the viewership of the presidential debates, and some regard them as a sideshow of little consequence — much as the office of vice president is sometimes mocked as vestigial and meaningless. But this is 2016, the most super-charged and unpredictable collision of a national election in memory. No clash between these campaigns, their candidates, their surrogates or stand-ins can be anything but portentous. It may be hard to find a vice presidential debate that turned the November election or changed the trajectory of the campaign. But these debates have served not only to define the character of the running mate but also to reinforce the narrative for each campaign and amplify the choice facing the voters. So do these debates matter? A case can be made that the person who gets the upper hand in the VP debate has wound up winning in November, more often than not. In any event, the ticket that eventually won the presidency, came away with no worse than a draw in eight of the nine VP debates to date. The one clear exception was 1988 with Dan Quayle, a senator at the time and the running mate for GOP presidential nominee George H. W. Bush. The Bush-Quayle ticket prevailed that year, but few would say Quayle did much to make that happen — especially in his debate with Democratic nominee Lloyd Bentsen of Texas. (See below.) Moreover, in recent cycles the vice presidential debate has been at least as entertaining as those between the ticket toppers. Going back over the 40-year history of the event, memorable moments abound, and the list of "greatest hits" is as easy to define as it is for the presidential debates. 1976: Republican Bob Dole versus Democrat Walter Mondale The inaugural episode saw two longtime Senate colleagues square off as stand-ins for incumbent President Gerald R. Ford (a Republican who had taken over the Oval Office when Richard Nixon resigned in 1974) and upstart Democratic nominee Jimmy Carter, the former governor of Georgia. The most memorable moment came when Dole, the often irascible Kansan who was wounded in World War II, referred to that conflict and other 20th century conflagrations as "Democrat wars." A throwback perhaps to isolationist sentiment in the Midwest between the world wars, the remark nonetheless struck many as historically off-key. YouTube 1980: (There was no VP debate in this cycle) The two major campaigns could not agree on the inclusion or exclusion of a third-party option. At the top of the ticket, Democratic President Carter objected to debating both his GOP challenger, Ronald Reagan, and the independent John Anderson (whose running mate was former Wisconsin Gov. Pat Lucey.) So there was only one presidential debate between Carter and Reagan and no VP debate at all. 1984: Republican George H.W. Bush vs. Democrat Geraldine Ferraro It was Ronald Reagan's re-election year and he was on his way to winning a 49-state landslide. But Democratic nominee Walter Mondale surprised the nation by naming a congresswoman from Queens as his running mate — the first woman on the national ticket of either major party. A former prosecutor, Ferraro held her own in the debate against Bush, then the sitting vice president. Some women felt Bush had condescended to Ferraro, and Mondale's late rallies gained some verve from this theme. But the debate had no discernible effect on the election. YouTube 1988: Republican Dan Quayle versus Democrat Lloyd Bentsen Quayle had been tapped by Bush to fill the job Bush himself had filled for Reagan for eight years. But the Republicans' campaign was stunned by media resistance to Quayle, the scion of a powerful Indiana newspaper family who had been elected to the Senate in his mid-30s. Quayle's Vietnam-era service in the National Guard was also portrayed as a form of draft-dodging, and his early appearances as Bush's wing-man were near-disasters. In the debate, Quayle sought to address the question of his youth by saying he had as much experience as John F. Kennedy had when the latter ran for president. That prompted Bentsen to intone his famous put-down: "Senator, I knew Jack Kennedy; I worked with Jack Kennedy; Jack Kennedy was my friend. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy." YouTube 1992: Quayle versus Democrat Al Gore and Independent James Stockdale After four sometimes rocky years in the nation's second-highest office, Quayle was again the running mate for President Bush. That year, the Democratic nomination went to Al Gore, a senator from Tennessee who'd been chosen by presidential nominee Bill Clinton. But much of the attention that fall was on the third-party foray by independent Ross Perot, a businessman, and James Stockdale, a retired Navy admiral who had been the senior-most U.S. officer serving as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. Stockdale had a sterling record and reputation, but was not a stage performer. He began the debate asking: "Who am I; why am I here?" The questions were rhetorical, but asked in a tone that sounded truly quizzical. Stockdale also had trouble with his hearing device during the debate and did not fully engage at times. YouTube 1996: Democrat Al Gore versus Republican Jack Kemp Four years later, Gore was the incumbent vice president and quite confident he could defend the administration's record of peace and prosperity. The GOP nominee for president was Bob Dole, who surprised many by bestowing the VP slot on Jack Kemp, with whom he had often been at odds. Kemp brought his well-known energy and charm but did not make much of a case for Dole in the debate. The event did not capture much attention, nor did it alter Clinton's re-election trajectory. YouTube 2000: Democrat Joseph Lieberman versus Republican Richard B. Cheney When Gore was himself the nominee four years later, he picked another senator to run with him. Lieberman was a Democrat from Connecticut known for his centrist politics and Orthodox Jewish faith. Gore seemed to think a personally conservative back-up would help him counter the battered image of the Clinton White House (the president had been impeached in 1998 and acquitted by the Senate in 1999). The Republican nominee, George W. Bush, chose Cheney, who had been leading his VP search. Cheney had been White House chief of staff, a top leader in Congress and secretary of defense. He was exceptionally well prepared in their debate (conducted sitting down) and seemed calmly magisterial compared to the deferential Lieberman. YouTube 2004: Cheney versus Democrat John Edwards Cheney, after four years as vice president, was once again the man in charge, while Edwards tried to play the sly but respectful critic. At one point, Edwards, a one-term senator from North Carolina, tried to unnerve the vice president by stating his admiration for the way Cheney and his wife had "embraced" their daughter's lesbian relationship. Cheney stared back coldly while accepting the tribute. But at another point, Cheney unnerved Edwards by saying he had "never laid eyes" on him in the Senate — strongly suggesting the Democrat had often been absent from floor proceedings. The suggestion, while misleading (Cheney's official role in the Senate rarely brought him to the chamber), put Edwards at a psychological disadvantage from which he never recovered. YouTube 2008: Republican Sarah Palin versus Democrat Joe Biden The nomination of Palin was the highlight of the GOP convention in St. Paul that August, and through the first half of September, her star power seemed to energize presidential nominee John McCain and transform the race. But when the full extent of that fall's financial crisis began to be felt across world markets, Palin's brand of populism seemed beside the point. Senior Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware was the Democratic nominee, chosen by Senate colleague Barack Obama. In their debate, Palin, the governor of Alaska at the time, was coherent, confident and relieved not to be asked the kind of questions that had tripped her up on national TV before. But, in the end, the most memorable exchange may have been her asking, "Can I call you Joe?" and Biden smiling broadly as he said, yes. YouTube 2012: Biden versus Republican Paul Ryan The candidates agreed to sit at a console and have a conversation with moderator Martha Raddatz of ABC News. All parties were calm, serious and thoughtful, prompting much speculation about the political future of Ryan, the running mate of Republican nominee Mitt Romney. Ryan, the future Speaker, was then a fresh face from Wisconsin known as the detail-oriented budget chairman in the House. Respectful as the proceedings were, Biden had a characteristic moment calling Ryan's critique on foreign policy "malarkey."This past Friday, Intel and AMD announced a settlement in their acrimonious antitrust dispute, with AMD clearly coming out on top to the tune of $1.25 billion in cash and a host of concessions. Both companies hosted conference calls that Friday morning, and later in the day the released excerpts from the agreement that makes up the non-cash portion of the deal, in which Intel agrees to a number of conditions that should make life much easier for AMD and its fab spinoff, GlobalFoundries. A hard reset "With this agreement, we are trying to reset the relationship between AMD and Intel," said an AMD exec on the conference call. And a hard reset it is, given what Intel has conceded. The first thing that the two parties have agreed on is that Intel won't engage in the sorts of anticompetitive practices that were outlined in AMD's suit and in the NYC Attorney General's suit of the week before. The lawsuits and Friday's settlement go into specifics of the different types of proscribed behavior, but they all boil down to accusations of Intel strong-arming OEMs and ODMs into either not using AMD CPUs in their systems, or into severely handicapping their AMD-based products by launching them late or placing hard limits on the number of them that are shipped. Intel allegedly had a variety of mechanisms for carrying out such strong-arming, some of which we've described previously. All of them involved either the granting or withholding of monetary inducements—i.e., giving cash kickbacks (dressed as rebates and other incentives) to OEMs for playing along, or withholding money or technical help to OEMs who flirt with AMD a little too much. The key point, according to AMD, is that "Intel will not be able to condition doing business with them on not doing business with us." To ensure that Intel toes the line and to keep these issues from spilling back over into the courts again, Intel and AMD have set up arbitration and audit mechanisms for checking compliance and resolving future disputes. On the Friday conference call, Intel executives claimed that they had never done any of this alleged bad behavior to begin with, so it was no problem for them to agree not to do it going forward. "We continue to believe that we've not violated any laws or regulations in these areas," said an Intel spokesperson. "However, it makes a lot of sense for us to stipulate that we won't do things that we both agree are wrong... from our side, we won't do those things, we haven't done those things, so there's no difference carrying forward." And if it wasn't clear that Intel plans to brazen it out and insist that it's agreeing to refrain from activities that it never engaged in anyway, different executives repeated this line with varying levels of intensity throughout the call. In the Q&A, a reporter from the Financial Times asked, "So this involves no changes at all in Intel's behavior, full stop?" One of the Intel execs replied, "No changes at all." Intel is double-plus insistent that the only new thing that this agreement brings to the table are the compliance and arbitration mechanisms, which are, of course, in place to ensure that Intel doesn't do what it hasn't been doing, and thus they don't really mean anything. But no one should expect Intel to take any other position, because the chipmaker still has antitrust proceedings against it in progress, so any admission of guilt on its part would immediately bring the full force of the law down on it from the quarters where it's still threatened. Benchmarks and fabs There are other components to the agreement besides the alleged inducements, and these are also important to AMD. One of the clauses stipulates that Intel won't attempt to rig compilers and benchmarks—either Intel's own or those of a third party—to "artificially impair" AMD's chips. Also critical for AMD are the licensing portions of the agreement. AMD's licensing agreement with Intel had previously forced GlobalFoundries to remain a "subsidiary" of AMD, or else the fab would lose its license to fabricate x86-compatible processors. Under the settlement, however, AMD can now fully and finally spin off GlobalFoundries as a completely separate entity, without having to worry that the new fab will lose AMD as a customer. It's a little late, but here's hoping The AMD that scored Friday's victory is, in many ways, a shadow of the AMD of earlier years. A combination of major execution missteps and the economic downturn have contrived to greatly weaken the AMD side of the merged AMD/ATI entity. AMD has cut staff, gutted its R&D budget, thrown its promising Imageon line overboard, and generally behaved like a starving character in a Stephen King novel (eating one's own limbs and such) in its recent effort to attain the barest sliver of profitability—$35 million in the green this past quarter, AMD's first profitable quarter in years. In short, over the course of the past two years, AMD has essentially retreated back into its core businesses—x86 server and desktop CPUs, and GPUs—and is now attempting to rebuild from there. Before Friday's settlement, their odds were passing slim. But the company that opens its doors Monday has at least a fighting chance, if Bulldozer and Bobcat can deliver the goods in 2011.So, as I mentioned earlier, my philosophy is the higher the better. I like hills, I love mountains, and I appreciate both exponentially more when I’ve reached the top. So when heading to Eastern Slovakia this past weekend, I had no choice but to stop by the Northern Slovakian mountain range, the High Tatras, for some hiking along the way. Prior to my own excursion to Eastern-Central Europe, I had never even heard of this mountain range. More than likely, this is far more due to my own ignorance rather than their lack of reputation. However, if as few people outside of Slovakia realize what they are missing as I suspect, the High Tatras and the towns that lie in their shadow are being shorted of the reputation they deserve. I could go on for hours describing the undisrupted natural beauty, but the pictures tell a far better story than I ever could, so enjoy! As far as mountain homes go, this is pretty near perfection. And the way grew treacherous. The other side of the mountain A hike-in, hike-out restaurant which was totally packed. As wonderful as our snacks were, it was absolutely wonderful to come across six hours into hiking. Just when my soggy feet were starting to get really cold, the sun finally decided to show itself. AdvertisementsVideo allegedly shows a bomb blast, which injured multiple people in New York City. The Port Authority Bus Terminal was temporarily closed by authorities after the incident. THE alleged New York bomber had a deadly Christmas motive when he detonated an explosive device on a bustling subway, it has been revealed. Akayed Ullah, a 27-year-old Bangladesh immigrant, reportedly told investigators he targeted the area because of Christmas posters that lined the underground tunnel between the bus depot and the Times Square subway, according to the New York Post. ‘He acknowledges he purposely set it off then and there,’ a senior law enforcement official said. The festive imagery triggered his desire to follow ISIS Christmas propaganda released just weeks ago, which featured a picture of Santa Claus in Times Square next to explosives and the phrase “We meet at Christmas in New York... soon,” according to terror watchdog group Site Intel. It is understood Ullah used Christmas tree lights to make the bomb, which also used a length of pipe, a battery and sugar. Ullah had wires attached to him and was armed with a pipe bomb and a battery pack, which he tried to set off in the subway around 7.20am (11.20pm AEDT) Monday local time, according to police sources. In disturbing CCTV footage of the incident (which can be viewed in the video player above), the man can be seen walking along a subway tunnel before attempting to detonate his device, before terrified commuters run for their lives. According to the New York Post, the pipe wasn’t packed tightly enough to explode, so when the festive lights sparked the matches, it just blew the ends off the pipe rather than sending the shrapnel flying. Christmas tree lights are often used as detonators in homemade bombs — the Boston marathon and London subway terrorists both used the seasonal decor to ignite their charges. According to the reports Ullah had travelled on the subway from Brooklyn with the bomb strapped to him before detonating it. CHRISTMAS LIGHTS A TOOL FOR TERRORISTS Christmas lights have been used by other terrorists in their makeshift devices. A bucket nail bomb that went off on a crowded London Tube train in September included a detonator made from Christmas lights. The device could have killed dozens but for a suspected faulty timer. The Sun reported the timer malfunctioned — setting it off earlier than planned and failing to ignite the main bomb. The homemade device was described as having “a certain level of sophistication” and also comprised Christmas lights and a circuit board. Major General Chip Chapman told Sky News at the time: “It seems to be this bomb either malfunctioned or it’s not TATP (triacetone triperoxide), the explosives used by groups like ISIS. “It’s more like the Boston bomb. It’s almost like a pressure cooker device.” The 2013 Boston Marathon bombing featured two homemade explosive devices that were detonated 12 seconds apart from one another, killing three and injuring 280. The pair responsible for the attack used pressure cooker devices — containers packed with explosives and loaded with nails and ball bearings to inflict maximum damage. The Bostom bombers also used Christmas lights in the devices. FBI Special Agent Edward Knapp testified at the 2015 trial of the surviving terrorist Dzhokhar Tsarnaev that the lights acted as an “initiator”. “It’s not that sophisticated,” Knapp said in Boston Federal Court, The New York Daily News reported. “It’s not too difficult a system to build.” According to the publication, the instructions were discovered on Tsarnaev’s laptop computer in a document titled ‘How to build a bomb in the kitchen of your mum’. The article was reportedly from Inspire, an online magazine published by al-Qaeda in the Saudi Arabian Peninsula. SUSPECT’S FAMILY SLAM AUTHORITIES Ullah’s family has slammed authorities over their investigation into the suspected terror attack, hitting out over what they say are heavy-handed tactics from law enforcement. The New York Postreports, the family were “outraged” by the work of investigators, in a statement released on their behalf. “We are heartbroken by the violence that was targeted at our city today and by the allegations being made against a member of our family,” said the statement read by Albert Fox Cahn, the Legal Director for the NY Chapter Council for Islamic Relations. “But we’re also outraged by the behaviour of the law enforcement officials who held children as small as four years old out in the cold and who pulled a teenager out of high school classes to interrogate him without lawyer, without his parents.” It was not immediately clear if the four-year-old or the teenager were related to the suspect. The family continued to criticise the way the investigation was handled. “These are not the sorts of actions we expect from our justice system,” the statement read. “We have every confidence that our justice system will find the truth behind this attack and that we will in the end be able learn what occurred today.” New York mayor Bill de Blasio said the incident was being treated as a terror attack by one man “who thank God, was unsuccessful in his aims”. New York Police Commissioner James O’Neill described it a “terror-related incident.” Governor Andrew Cuomo said of the device: “It was not a sophisticated device, it was a homemade device. He did detonate it, but it did not fully have the effect that he was hoping for. The explosive chemical did ignite. It was in a pipe, but the pipe itself did not explode. So he wound up hurting himself.” The New York Post reported the alleged bomber was a former New York taxi driver who told investigators he carried out the attack for revenge on recent Israeli actions in Gaza. “They’ve been bombing in my country and I wanted to do damage here,” police sources quoted the bomber as saying. CNN reported Ullah had pledged allegiance
your browser. Other songs worth mentioning include the chorus version of “Reflectia,” which is a nice throwback to PA Works’ earlier anime and still stands as an OP theme I tune into once in awhile. “Radiant Melody” is also fantastic on account of the way the song bursts with energy while incorporating “Kokoro no Senritsu” into the mix. Finally, “Amigo! Amigo!” bears mentioning for its bemusement (and amusement) value as it’s a Spanish-inspired melody. While it’s a fun piece to listen to, Spanish-inspired is about as far as one can describe it, mostly because the lyrics are made to sound like Spanish without it actually being Spanish. Reflectia Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. Radiant Melody Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. Amigo! Amigo! Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. With Tari Tari’s soundtrack, Shiro Hamaguchi’s has a clear winner on his hands and the only criticism that can really be leveled against it is that it’s not more memorable than it is because it lacks the overall impact and melodic development that characterizes excellent anime scores. But I speak merely as one who consumes much in the way of anime soundtracks and tilts towards certain musical biases. Regardless, Hamaguchi’s recently been on a roll, first with a competent effort in Hanasaku Iroha and now, with the enjoyable Tari Tari. I’m certainly not going to complain if he turns out to be the go-to composer for PA Works’ future high school drama projects. Rating: Very Good Like this: Like Loading...Image copyright Purestock Image caption The National Living Wage rate is currently £7.20 for workers aged 25 and over Seventeen Northern Ireland businesses - including a recruitment agency - have been "named and shamed" for underpaying workers. They are among hundreds of employers recently fined by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). The government said the list of 360 employers from across the UK "is the largest ever" record of companies that broke regulations on the national minimum or living wage. It includes the retail giant Debenhams. According to HMRC, the hairdressing, hospitality and retail sectors are "the most prolific offenders". As well as recovering the arrears for workers, HMRC issues penalties to the offending businesses. Image copyright Thinkstock Image caption HMRC said the hairdressing, hospitality and retail sectors were "the most prolific offenders" A firm based in Portadown - WH Recruitment Limited - topped the list of Northern Ireland businesses which were fined. It failed to pay 143 workers a combined total of £26,418. A spokesman for WH Recruitment told the BBC: "We are a registered agency and put our hands up. This was to do with the accommodation offset regulation." BC Plant Limited, another of the companies fined by HMRC, told the BBC the discrepancy in payments was due to the difference in the overtime rates for apprentices and other employees: "The oversight concerned overtime payments to apprentices which were paid at a rate of time and a half of the minimum apprentice rate as opposed to time and a half of national minimum wage. This was an oversight and all employees involved were reimbursed immediately once the error came to light." The National Living Wage rate is currently £7.20 for workers aged 25 and over. The full list of Northern Ireland employers fined by HMRC is:In recent years the acai berry diet has quickly become the most popular diet in the world, while the acai berry itself has become the most popular antioxidant diet supplement in world. Combined with a colon cleanser, a sensible diet, and a moderate exercise routine, the acai berry can help you lose fat faster than you ever thought possible, and its antioxidant health properties will keep you feeling youthful and energized every day. With just Acai Pills you can lose up to 15 pounds in just 30 days. Combine Acai with a Colon Cleanser to lose an additional 5-10 pounds. Combine Acai with the diet and fitness routines I’ve outlined below and the fat will simply melt off you. What are Acai Berries? Acai berries – acai is pronounced ‘a-sigh-ee’ – are small, black, and round, and they resemble small grapes. There is not much acai fruit on each individual berry. Rather, each acai berry has a large seed that is surrounded by a small amount of pulp. Harvesting. When harvesting the acai berries, harvesters must remove the pulp from the outside of the berry, and process it immediately into an acai product or flash freeze it for shipping to a manufacturing facility. The acai fruit will spoil if left unprocessed for several days. Acai Products. The fruit from the acai berry is often used in a variety of dietary supplements, healthy foods, ice cream, sorbet, juices, and other common grocery store items. Best of all, the acai berry is the most important food used with the acai berry diet. With the highest antioxidant concentration of any known food, the acai berry is now known as the most important superfood for a maintaining proper health. Bad Products. Some common commerical acai products, like Monavie and Amazon Thunder are just juices, which really don’t have a place in the acai berry diet. Juice is, after all, full of sugars and other un-diet-like ingredients. Some of the products like Leanspa Acai, Acai Burn, and Acai Plus are now known as scams. They get you to buy into a 6 month supply, send you an initial shipment, then take the rest of your money and run. Good Products. One of the best products I’ve had a chance to use is Acai Berry Select, which contains is 100% pure concentrated acai – a complete antioxidant, weight loss powerhouse – plus high effective energy boosters and other great thermogenic ingredients. Another awesome product is Pure Raspberry Ketone. This has a highly potent combination of 5 popular superfoods: Acai Berry Pomegranate Green Tea African Mango Raspberry Ketone African Mango and Raspberry Ketone are both fairly new to the super-food world. African Mango extract is really high in antioxidants, while Raspberry Ketone is an effective FDA approved fat loss supplement. Sambazon acai juice is the best juice product I’ve tried, but it does contain extra calories so is not the best product for an acai berry diet. The Health Benefits of Antioxidants I am psyched because I am always talking about the benefits of antioxidants, and in particular how acai is currently the food with the highest antioxidant concentration in the world. The ORAC rating for acai beats out even that of pomegranate and blueberries! The antioxidant benefits of the acai berry rival several other superfoods, including: blueberries goji berries mangosteen Amazon mango pomegranate strawberries and pretty much any vegetable you can think of The super healthy vitamin, mineral, and macronutrient concentrations in acai berries blend together in your diet and in your body, to exert a powerful effect on your mind, body, health and overall well-being. For those of us looking for protection from cancer, weight loss, help with diabetes, better cardiovascular health, or just to look and feel healthy, should consider giving the acai berry a try. Learn more about the history of the acai berry itself on WikiPedia. [ top ] Oxygen Radical Absorbence Capacity (ORAC) Oxygen Radical Absorbence Capacity, or ORAC, is the measurement of the antioxidant concentration of individual foods. The foods that have a higher ORAC value have a higher concentration of antioxidants, which means they are more effective at fighting the cellular damage caused by free-radicals. We want to load our diet up on fruits and vegetables if we wants to fight skin wrinkles, cancer, and various other diseases associated with toxins and aging. As you can see by the chart below, the acai berry’s powerful 18,400 ORAC rating is the highest of any known fruit or vegetable. As a side note, I should let you know that the Maqui berry has taken over the ORAC crown, but acai berries are still better for weight loss. When used in amounts up to 1000 mg a day, acai berry supplements will help to decrease the cell oxidization damage caused by free radicals pretty significantly, even when used for just 14 days. Of course, long term use is recommended since the antioxoidant benefits will cease a couple days after you stop using acai. Even WebMD agrees that the acai berry diet is the healthiest nutrition plan to follow for life. [ top ] Acai Berry Diet Benefits Most people who use the acai berry diet report the following healthy effects: Increased weight loss Higher energy levels Faster recovery from workouts Faster recovery from injury More strength and stamina Digestive function improved Full body cleansing Better focus and mental clarity Increased libido Better sexual performance Healthier immune system Younger looking skin Circulation is improved Sleep patterns regulated Better clarity of vision Other known benefits of the acai berry diet: Important vitamins and minerals Decreased inflammation High in fiber Fights cancerous cells Healthier heart function Helps prevent atherosclerosis Helps control diabetes Anti-aging Normalizes cholesterol levels Helps control blood sugar Helps regulate blood pressure [ top ] Why Use Acai Berry Supplements? In our generation, the world is full of chemicals, phytoestrogens, pesticides, herbicides, nuclear waste, and other harmful environmental toxins. Personally, I enjoy the acai berry diet because it allows me to maintain a healthy low body fat, and my antioxidant intake is sky-high. Even at age 33 I feel like I am still 21! Anyone specifically looking to combat the effects of aging, recover from injury, and lose excess bodyfat should definitely looking into using the acai berry, temporarily if not indefinitely. Other reasons you should try the acai berry diet: again, if you need to lose body fat, and quick! combat the pain and suffering caused by fibromyalgia you are looking for better control over diabetes you live with the daily strain of arthritis if you have a desire to feel and look years younger sexual dysfunction is getting the best of you you have gastrointestinal or digestive problems rehabbing and/or healing from a recent injury [ top ] Acai Berry Diet Testimonials [ top ] Step 1: Speed Up Weight Loss With Acai I wrote earlier that acai berry supplements are a great weight loss aid, but I didn’t get into all the details. Well, here are the specific details about why the acai berry is so helpful when you are trying to lose fat. The acai’s natural concentration of fiber, fatty acids (including essential fatty acids – EFAs), raw amino acids, and phytosterols work in unison to assist your body with burning fat more efficiently. All of these nutrients will help your digestive system to process food faster and more efficiently, which will help your body to burn its stored fat quicker than diet and exercise alone. Dietary Fiber 85% of the carbohydrate content of acai is dietary fiber. As we all know, fiber helps your body to move food through the digestive tract. Excess food and calories are therefore eliminated quickly, rather than being absorbed into the bloodstream and stored away as excess adipose tissue (fat mass). A high fiber diet is also known to reduce hunger, curb the appetite, and eliminate cravings. Make sure your regular diet is full of healthy fruits, vegetables, and whole grains; then supplement with acai berry every morning and you’ll be virtually guaranteed to lose weight and maintain regular bowel movements. Fatty Acid Content 56.2% of the fat content of acai is oleic acid, which in simple terms, is olive oil. Know how nutritionists are always telling us to use olive oil in our recipes because it’s so healthy? Well there you go! Supplementing with acai berry is like supplementing with olive oil. But that’s not the best part… Additionally, your body is unable to produce Omega 3 or Omega 6 essential fatty acids (EFAs) naturally, which means you’ll have to make it a point to supplement with fish oil or eat foods with high concentrations of those EFAs. Conveniently, these EFAs are plentiful in acai berries, making up the additional 43.8% of fat. That means you can say supplementing with acai berry is like supplementing with fish oil! Just some of the benefits of supplementing with EFAs include: improvements in the cardiovascular and circulatory systems reduction in the chance of developing blood clots decreased inflammation and relief from arthritis healthy cholesterol and triglyceride levels healthy heart, brain, and memory functions decreased insulin resistance, better control over diabetes optimal development of a child’s brain, nerves and eyes while breast feeding and during pregnancy Amino Acids Acai berries are chalk-full of amino acids, widely known as the building blocks of protein. In order for your muscles to recover from workouts or even just to function properly, you need an adequate intake of amino acids. I recommend.8 grams of protein in your diet per pound of goal body weight, so that’s a lot of amino acids. Furthermore, when dieting, a lack of amino acids leads to muscle catabolism (muscle loss), which in turn leads to a slower metabolism, less stamina, fatigue, and loss of strength. Supplementing with acai berry gives you those extra amino acids that your body needs to function at optimal levels, especially when following a regular exercise routine. Phytosterols Phytosterols such as ß-sitosterol, which is prevalent in acai, decreases cholesterol levels by inhibiting cholesterol absorption in the intestines. When phytosterols are absorbed in the intestines, they are transported into the cell membrane where they bind to micelles in place of dietary cholesterol. This means that when your diet contains cholesterol, it is more likely to be transported from the body, rather than absorbed into the bloodstream. There are 2 ways to add acai berries to your daily diet: Order a free trial of acai so you can test it out for 14 days. Click here to order. Order a 1 month or 3 month supply and get a free bottle depending on how much you order. Click here to order. [ top ] Step 2: Accelerate Fat Loss With Colon Cleansing Disgusting, harmful toxins infiltrate your body at work, at home, in the car, when you eat, when you sleep, and even when you breathe. They are on the vegetables and fruits you buy, they are in your meat, in your dairy products, on your clothes, in your deodorant and perfume, and even in the air. Furthermore, in westernized culture, we eat more sugary, processed, and fried food than ever. We poison our bodies with a variety of sedatives, stimulants, pain relievers, and a million other medications. A high percentage of these medicine and food toxins build up in our liver, kidneys, and colon. They pollute our body and stress out our digestive systems. To combat these toxins, we sometimes resort to enemas, detox diets, cleansing drinks, and colon cleansers. Our main goals is to cleanse the colon walls of stagnant toxic waste build up, which we can do cheaply and comfortably by using a colon cleansing dietary supplement. By using a colon cleanser you will increase your vitality, improve your digestion, and lose weight. When combined with an acai berry diet, using a colon cleanser regularly will help to keep your intestines clean and your body free of toxins. It is recommended to use a colon cleansing supplement for 14-30 days, 4-6 times a year. While not mandatory for the acai berry diet, using a colon cleanser will make the detox process much easier and faster, and it will help your efforts to lose weight. I’d choose a colon cleanser before I’d choose an enima, that’s for sure. There are 2 ways to add colon cleansing to your daily diet: Order a free trial of Colon Cleanse so you can test it out for 14 days. Click here to order. Order a 1 month or 3 month supply and get a free bottle depending on how much you order. Click here to order. Clear here to read more about colon cleansing on Project Swole. [ top ] Step 3: Fat Loss Workout Routine to Use With the Acai Berry Diet To maximize your weight loss on the acai diet, you should be working out at least three times a week for at least 30 minutes per session. Exercise is not mandatory on the acai berry diet, but it will help you lose fat even faster. The best fat loss workout routines on Project Swole are: These routines prescribe 6 days of exercise per week, and consist of 3 intense full body weight training workouts and 3 cardiovascular routines. Use these workouts to kick your fat loss into overdrive! [ top ] Step 4: Intermittent Fasting to Accelerate Fat Loss Even More An intermittent fast is the best approach to losing fat quickly on the acai berry diet. Intermittent fasting calls for a 6-8 hour feeding window, where you eat all of your calories for the day in 2 or 3 meals. Don’t eat after 8pm or before noon. Drink only water, tea, or coffee in between. Like colon cleansing and the fat loss workout routines, fasting is not mandatory for the acai berry diet. However, intermittent fasting is a great lifestyle eating plan if you can get accustomed to it. Whole-day fasts are not typically recommended for those of us looking to build or maintain muscle mass, but intermittent fasting is a great solution. Click here to read more about intermittent fasting on Project Swole. How to Order a Free Trial or a Full Supply of Acai and Colon Cleanse Once again, here are the instructions for ordering the best acai and colon cleansing supplements online. The free trial offers provide you with an inexpensive solution, while a full order will let you stock up and possibly get a couple free bottles. Just click on a link, submit your address, and away you go! The 2 ways to add acai to your daily diet: Order a free trial of acai so you can test it out for 14 days. Click here to order the free trial. Order a 1 month or 3 month supply and get a free bottle depending on how much you order. Click here to order a full supply. The 2 ways to add colon cleanse to your daily diet: Order a free trial of Colon Cleanse so you can test it out for 14 days. Click here to order a free trial. Order a 1 month or 3 month supply and get a free bottle depending on how much you order. Click here to order a full supply. [ top ] Frequently Asked Questions Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about acai. You can read the whole list here: Acai Berry FAQ Q: How much acai berry should I take each day? A: It is recommended to take between 500 mg and 1000 mg (1 g) each day. This can be taken all at once or divided into several doses. See the previous question for more information on timing your acai intake. Q: How much weight will I lose by taking acai? A: You can lose between 1-2 pounds a week on a healthy diet and exercise plan. When taking acai you may lose at least twice that many pounds. You could definitely lose up to 12 or even 15 pounds a month by using acai, as long as you continue eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly. Q: Will I gain the weight back after I stop using acai? A: As long as you maintain a healthy diet and keep exercising, you will not gain fat just because you stop using acai. You might experience decreased weight loss or a plateau in your fat loss progress, but you will not suddenly start gaining it back. Q: Can my pre-teen or teenage, son or daughter use acai? A: Acai berries are fruit just like blueberries, oranges, and apples. It makes sense that if you are old enough to eat other fruit, then you are old enough to eat acai. The one caveat is that the supplement must be 100% pure acai. If your acai pill or juice contains other ingredients like Hoodia, caffeine or another thermogenic compound, I can’t promise it will be good for your kid. Q: What are the side effects of acai berry supplements? For 100% pure acai supplements, there are no side effects, just as there would be no side effects to taking a highly concentrated blueberry supplements. Sometimes acai berry pills have added ingredients such as caffeine, green tea, or hoodia, which could cause some acai berry side effects like increased energy and heart rate. This doesn’t make them dangerous by any means, but it should be noted that some acai berry supplements do have added ingredients. Q: When should I take my acai berry supplement? A: If you have an acai supplement with added ingredients like caffeine and hoodia, then you should only take your acai berry supplement in the morning. If you have a 100% pure acai supplement, then it is OK to take it in the morning and before bed, however I recommend you consistently take your acai supplement once per day, in the morning with breakfast. Q: How many calories are in the acai berry supplements? A: There are a ton of calories in the acai juices. Upwards of 200-500 calories per serving, depending on the product. I don’t recommend the juices for a weight loss diet, although they can fit nicely into a regular breakfast or as a pre-workout drink. The acai berry pills have negligible calories in comparison, and even then the calories are attributed to fiber, healthy fatty acids, and amino acids, as I mentioned above. Q: Is the acai berry a scam? A: No! This question frustrates me, because the acai berry diet is now receiving unnecessary negative publicity thanks to a few shady businesses. The acai berry received a bad rap in recent years because some companies took huge orders over the course of several months, shut down their customer service departments, and ran for the hills. When you consider the health benefits of the acai berry itself, the proof is in the pudding… the acai berry pudding. Antioxidants are very real, and the acai berry is very high in antioxidants. If you ever wanted to take a supplement that could help you lose weight, stay healthy, and feel young, then the acai berry is for you. [ top ] Tags: acai, acai benefits, acai berries, acai berry, acai berry diet, acai cleanse, acai reviews, acai weight loss, antioxidants, berries, extreme acai, free trial, max acai, reviewsVia Arcade Heroes comes news of SEGA Amusements’ lineup for IAAPA 2016, the biggest arcade and amusement industry trade show. Headlining what SEGA Amusements plans to have on show includes a new entry to the Ghost Squad series entitled Target Bravo: Operation Ghost. The game is described as a new two-player game which sees players sitting in a 55″ theater cabinet. The game features new weapons, gadgets and equipment as well as the ability to start at any stage in the game. Given Target Bravo: Operation Ghost contains the Operation Ghost name, which was the 2011 sequel to Ghost Squad, it is likely based on the title and description that this is a reworked version of Operation Ghost with a stage select, new items, a sit down cabinet and possible graphical enhancements being what sets it apart from Operation Ghost. So while this is not likely the true third game in the series, it is very cool to see SEGA keeping the franchise alive. After the break read SEGA Amusements’ press release for Target Bravo: Operation Ghost and learn about what other games SEGA has to show at IAAPA 2016 Target Bravo: Operation Ghost press release: First up in the video category is Target Bravo: Operation Ghost a brand new two-player game brought to life in a 55” atmospheric theatre cabinet. Players are put in the shoes of a highly trained Special Forces agent. Then using precision shooting, quick reactions and brand new tools at their disposal players must complete their missions. With new weapons, gadgets and equipment, Target Bravo: Operation Ghost also allows players to start at any stage of the game, thereby encouraging them to come back and play their favourite stages again and again! Also appearing at IAAPA is Let’s Go Island Dream Edition. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because Let’s Go Island Dream Edition released back in 2010. However, this new version of the game uses the Dream Raiders cabinet – Dream Raiders being a SEGA Amusements title that released in 2014 which we reviewed. The new cabinet allows for the addition of motion and wind effects, as well as a nicely sized 55″ screen. While the game itself seems unchanged, this should give arcade goers a new reason to play this classic. The press release for Let’s Go Island Dream Edition is below: Also in the video category is Let’s Go Island Dream Edition a reimagined game that is a follow-up to Sega’s number one action adventure game ‘Let’s Go Jungle’. With Let’s Go Island Dream Edition players are on a South Pacific island diving tour and soon end up in trouble with dastardly pirates. Players must work together to survive everything the island has to throw at them. The huge 55” screen, rapid-fire gameplay and brand new family fun dream motion seat all combine to make Let’s Go Island Dream Edition a fun adventure game. [Source: Arcade Heroes]Selections for “China: Through the Looking Glass” are seen during a media preview in May at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. (Stephanie Keith/Reuters) Last Friday, commentator Cathy Young published a piece for PostEverything criticizing the way people sometimes talk about cultural appropriation today. As is often the case when I read her, Young seems to have more faith that a new world order is at hand than I do, and she has no shortage of examples to draw on here. “The hunt for wrongdoing has gone run amok,” she intoned grimly. “The recent anti-appropriation rhetoric has targeted creative products from art to literature to clothing. Nothing is too petty for the new culture cops: I have seen them rebuke a Filipina woman who purchased a bracelet with a yin-yang symbol at a fair and earnestly discuss whether it’s appropriation to eat Japanese, Indian or Thai food. Even Selena Gomez, a Latina artist, was assailed a couple of years ago for sporting a Hindu forehead dot, or bindi, in a Bollywood-style performance. … I once read an anguished blog post by a well-meaning young woman racked with doubt about her plans to pursue a graduate degree in Chinese studies; after attending a talk on cultural appropriation, she was unsure that it was morally permissible for a white person to study the field.” For all the extreme examples that Young cites, there are still plenty of cases where asking whether or not something is cultural appropriation might be a useful gut check for personal behavior. Thinking about throwing that racially or ethnically themed fraternity or sorority party? Leave the sombrero or conical hat on the shelf at the costume store. Contemplating gushing over how cute something is without context or even clear understanding of what the object or practice actually is? Show your enthusiasm by actually learning something and being able to talk in some detail about what an object or practice means to you. As a critic, my concern isn’t really that overreaching charges of cultural appropriation are about to bring to an end to millenniums of cultural exchange and the monetization of one community’s culture by another; I think there’s little danger (or in some cases, hope) of that. And if some overzealous advocates are speaking for communities who are perfectly capable of speaking for themselves, well, that’s hardly a new problem, either. Instead, I worry that if we reach a place where a charge of cultural appropriation becomes a trump card, instantly condemning a work of art, a fashion line or a fitness craze, we won’t delve deeper on the important questions raised by cultural exchange. What is it about the cultural image, practice or artifact in question that make it so powerful outside of its original context? What are the accused appropriators doing with the culture they’re allegedly making off with? And what are they looking for in someone else’s culture that they feel they lack in their own? One of the best illustrations of this idea I’ve ever seen appears in the text for “China: Through the Looking Glass,” the terrific exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York that’s on display through Sept. 7. Early in the show, the curators introduce Edward Said’s ideas about “Orientalism,” which show up in Young’s piece, too, before taking them in a different direction. “Through careful juxtapositions of Western fashions and Chinese costumes and decorative arts, [the show] presents a rethinking of Orientalism as an appreciative cultural response by the West to its encounters with the East. The ensuing dialogues are not only mutually enlivening and enlightening, but they also encourage new aesthetic interpretations and broader cultural understandings,” the curators argue. “As if by magic, the distance between East and West, spanning perspectives that are often perceived as monolithic and diametrically opposed, diminishes. So, too, does the association of the East with the natural and the authentic and the West with the cultural and the simulacrum. As these binaries dissolve and disintegrate, what emerges is an active, dynamic two-way conversation, a liberating force of cross-cultural communication and representation.” This mission statement isn’t meant to excuse the potentially harmful impacts of embracing another culture without paying attention to the context from which art emerges. “China: Through the Looking Glass” is blunt about the racism that put a hard ceiling on Chinese actresses’ careers in the United States, and the exhibit discusses the way fashion designers continued to see “Zhongshan suits” as expressive of both Chineseness and social utopianism long after the garment became less common and the brutal failure of Chinese communism ought to have been clear. “This exhibition is not about China per se but about a collective fantasy of China,” the curators continue in a subsequent gallery. “It is about cultural interaction, the circuits of exchange through which certain images and objects have migrated across geographic boundaries. Moreover, it points to the aesthetic importance of exploring all the products of our cultural fantasies. As opposed to censoring or disregarding depictions of other cultures that are not entirely accurate, it advocates studying these representations on their own terms, appreciating them from the outset as having been infused with creativity, and discovering in this complex dialogue of elided meanings, a unified language of shared signs.” It’s just simply not enough to say that this “collective fantasy of China” — 0r any other attempt to adopt or remix something from another person’s culture — amounts to cultural appropriation or that it’s racist. Without looking at precisely what it is that Western designers and artists take from China and examining exactly what they do with the cut of a suit, or a reproduction of a porcelain pattern, we can’t know what it is about Chinese art, design and tropes that travels across geographical and cultural boundaries, or what happens to those things when they arrive at their destination and begin the process of transformation. If we look at a white woman wearing a qipao or a kimono, or a white designer making riffs on both of those garments, and say that it’s appropriation and that’s the last word, we’re missing an opportunity. It’s far more interesting to try to suss out the specific appeal these clothes might have for Western designers; what they might see in these forms that feels lacking in Western styles of dress; what versions of femininity they represent. Maybe the answers are stereotypes: Maybe white designers see either submission or aggression in Chinese and Japanese women that they think Western women lack. But you can learn a lot about someone from their stereotypes, and you don’t have to adopt stereotypical views to try to understand where they come from and what they mean. And you can examine stereotypes and cultural appropriation without letting those things erase the real, vibrant people and originals they distort and borrow from. If Christian Dior looks at calligraphy and sees only a potential fabric pattern, rather than a discussion of digestive troubles, or if Yves Saint Laurent lets the opium trade become a stand-in for Chinese culture as a whole, those choices deserve careful examination for what they say about Dior and Saint Laurent, their curiosity, and the reach of their vision, rather than for anything they say about China. Young’s wrong that we should stop talking about cultural appropriation. It’s just that identifying cultural exchange and cultural appropriation should be the beginning of our conversations, not our final verdict.Oswald did not act alone. If you believe the polls, Donald Trump will effectively clinch the Republican nomination in Indiana tonight. Across the country, GOP voters are souring on Cruz and rallying around their front-runner. At this point, there’s no reason — at least, no political reason — why Trump hasn’t already morphed into the disciplined, conventionally “presidential” candidate he has promised the GOP Establishment he can be. So, of course, the presumptive GOP nominee suggested that Ted Cruz’s dad may have been involved in the Kennedy assassination Tuesday morning. “I mean, his father was with Lee Harvey Oswald, prior to Oswald being shot,” Trump told Fox & Friends, referring to a weeks-old “exposé” from the National Enquirer that identified a Cuban-looking man handing out pro-Castro flyers with Oswald in August 1963 as Rafael Cruz. “And nobody even brings it up!” “What was he doing with Lee Harvey Oswald shortly before the death, before the shooting?” Trump asked, suggestively. This brave line of inquiry came in response to a clip of Rafael Cruz imploring all Christians in Indiana to follow the Bible and vote for his son. Trump’s thoughts on those specific remarks were even more disconcerting. “I think it’s a disgrace that he’s allowed to do it, I think it’s a disgrace that he’s allowed to say it,” Trump said, ostensibly calling the First Amendment a national embarrassment. In comparison, Trump’s musings on Oswald were fairly benign. In fact, the Donald’s insinuation does have some explanatory power: If Rafael Cruz were involved in killing Kennedy it would shed some light on how his son, the infamous Zodiac Killer, learned his murdering ways. Still, if the presumptive GOP nominee believes everything he reads in the National Enquirer, then he’d have to be under the impression that Hillary Clinton is literally dead right now. Though, maybe he is — that does appear to be a necessary precondition for his winning the presidency this fall. Now Watch: Donald Trump Had A Disastrously Insane 1988LUCKNOW/MUMBAI: After hitting the headlines for greeting Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the self-appointed caliph and head of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), Sunni theologian Maulana Salman Nadvi of Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama, in an open letter, has asked the Saudi government to prepare an army of five lakh Indian Sunni Muslim youth to fight against the Shia militias in Iraq and elsewhere.The letter has generated strong reaction within the Muslim community across the country. Although Maulana Salman could not be contacted despite repeated efforts for his comments about his letter to the Saudi government, he has in the recent past admitted to have accepted Bagdhadi's "caliphate".Maulana Mahmood Daryabadi of All-India Ulema Council, the umbrella organization of clerics, refused to believe that Maulana Nadvi could have written such a letter. "If this is true, it's unfortunate. Indian Muslims share the pain of their brothers elsewhere but it's futile to see the crisis in Iraq and Syria from the Shia-Sunni prism. Some forces are bent on dividing the Muslims. Such letters will only widen the gulf between the two sects," said Maulana Daryabadi.Maulana Athar Ali, executive committee member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, said instead of writing to the Saudi government, Nadvi should appeal to the Union government to try and impress upon the world community to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Iraq."What will the Saudi government do in this crisis? There's no point trying to create an army of youth. This will only worsen the situation and lead to further radicalization," said Maulana Athar Ali.In his earlier letter, Nadvi expressed confidence that Iraqi Sunnis were with ISIS and that Bagdhadi's "clean and pious character is worth praise". He also criticized Iraqi prime minister Nouri Maliki, and hoped that under al-Baghdadi's leadership, justice would prevail. The grandson of well-known Nadwa rector and late president of AIMPLB Abul Hasan Ali Nadvi (popularly Ali Miyan), Maulana Salman's stance has left other Muslim clerics uneasy, more so because of the influence he wields among the faithful.Imam of Eidgah Lucknow Khalid Rashid Firangi Maheli refused to comment. It is learnt that senior clerics of Nadwa too are unhappy by his observations. Senior executive member of AIMPLB and additional advocate general Zafaryab Jilani condemned the letter in which Salman had praised Baghdadi. "Such a letter was not in the interest of the country as it would unnecessarily cause Shia-Sunni tension," Jilani had said.With Worst Cooks over, and Top Chef All-Stars almost over, the next cable culinary competition on the horizon (March 6th) is Food Network's Chopped All-Stars. Ted Allen has returned to usher Chopped through its fifth season (the first All-Stars). Chefs like Geoffrey Zakarian, Aarón Sanchez, Robert Irvine, Anita Lo, and Anne Burrell will try to combine disparate mystery ingredients in winning dishes. Read interviews with host Ted Allen, judge Alex Guarnaschelli, and several All-Star competitors. How do the baskets come together? Ted: The mystery basket ingredients are chosen by an evil cabal in Food Network's culinary department. While the foods might seem random, or even designed to be impossible together, that's actually not true. There's usually a sort of riddle in the three or four ingredients — say, if you had
- Resolved issue where thumbs up and thumbs down icons when browsing the list of claimants did not match if they could be invited to court or not. - Fixed bug for Muslim rulers where your latest wife was set as your First Wife, instead of the wife you first married. - Fixed bug where AI republic characters with other titles did not build trade posts. - Fixed bug where the graphic for special units changed when merged with troops of another culture. - Resolved issue where Muslim male characters could not get married if betrothed to a minor. - Fixed issue where revolt occupations were removed when another revolt claimed the contested title. - Improved AI decision-making for inviting vassals to celebrate Ramadan. - Faction backers are now removed from the faction upon death. - Now properly shows the special unit icon in the reorganize unit view. AI: - Fixed a bug where the AI would repeatedly raise and disband holy orders. - Fixed several 'blockers' where the AI would not use Holy Orders in situations where it made sense for them to do so. - Fixed a bug where the AI would repeatedly raise and disband its vassal levies. - Fixed a bug where the AI would ignore small rebel stacks that were moving around. CONVERTER: - Converter missing cultures should now be fixed - Invalid icons for converter should now be updated to latest version of eu4 - Fixed another crash in converter associated with major revolt titles. MODDING: - demesne_size modifier is now possible to set in laws - Added demesne_size modifier (incremental, not multiplicative) - Added local_speed_modifier - PAPAL_SUCCESSION_PASS_ON_HOLDINGS to defines - PAPAL_SUCCESSION_LOSE_MINOR_TITLES to defines - Split ARMY_LOAD_UNLOAD_MOVE_COST into two separate defines - Added on action on_create_title - Added on action on_settlement_looted - Added on action on_navy_returns_with_loot - Added on action on_new_holder_usurpation - Added on action on_new_holder_inheritance - Added on action on_new_holder - Added <religion>_opinion for Hindu, Jain, Buddhism, Indian, Orthodox, Pagan and Aztec - Added moddable opinion for brother - Added moddable opinion for half-brother - Added moddable opinion for sister - Added moddable opinion for half-sister - Added moddable opinion for grandfather - Added moddable opinion for grandmother - Added moddable opinion for grandchild - Added moddable opinion for uncle - Added moddable opinion for aunt - Added moddable opinion for nephew - Added moddable opinion for niece - Untangled and made cardinal election moddable - Now possible to mod papal succession to not lose holdings or minor religious titles - Added dynasty_head scope - Added history command disallow_random_traits - Added set_graphical_culture effect - Added effect scope any_allied_character - Added effect scope random_allied_character - Added remove_nickname effect - Added is_variable_equal trigger - Added is_looting trigger - Added is_looting_in trigger - Added num_of_max_settlements trigger - Added num_of_empty_holdings trigger - Added borders_major_river trigger - Added trigger is_allied_with - Added trigger scope any_allied_character - check_variable trigger now take a scope or second variable as a right-side argument - Added subtract_variable, multiply_variable and divide_variable effects - All variable effects now take a scope or second variable as right-side argumentSt. Louis police say two black men robbed six people at gunpoint Saturday night, invoking the name of Michael Brown as they shook the victims down for their belongings. Three couples, whose ages range from 59 to 61, had just left a restaurant in the 1100 block of Mississippi Avenue about 11 p.m. They were walking north on Mississippi when the suspects approached them. One of them pointed a silver handgun at the group and demanded their belongings, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. One of the suspects reportedly said, “This is for Michael Brown,” before they both fled the scene, police said. Both were black men in their early 20s. One wore a white tank top and blue jeans. The other wore all black clothing and a black ski mask, the Post-Dispatch reported. St. Louis police are asking anyone with information to call CrimeStoppers at 866-371-8477. Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.The Canadian Press A discredited former engineer who declared an Ontario mall structurally sound just weeks before its deadly collapse five years ago was acquitted of criminal negligence on Thursday. While critical of how Robert Wood conducted himself, Superior Court Justice Edward Gareau in Sault. Ste. Marie, Ont., nevertheless found insufficient evidence to convict him. Teresa Perizzolo, daughter of one of the two women who died in the mall collapse, said she was disappointed, but said Gareau had done his best. "I was hoping somebody would get nailed with it," Perizzolo said in an interview. "But the law's the law, right, so it's pretty much done the proper way I guess." On June 23, 2012, part of the rooftop parking garage at the Algo Centre Mall in Elliot Lake, Ont., crashed into the shopping area below. Evidence was that a key steel support had rusted due to years of leaking and salt-water penetration. The leaking was so pervasive, some members of the community dubbed the centre the "Algo Falls." Wood had pleaded not guilty to two counts of criminal negligence causing the deaths of Lucie Aylwin, 37, and Doloris Perizzolo, 74, who died in the rubble. He had also pleaded not guilty to a third count of criminal negligence causing bodily harm to 80-year-old Jean-Marie Marceau, who was badly hurt. Faced with the unstable building, emergency crews spent days frantically trying to reach the victims before officially calling off the search, much to the consternation of the community. Wood, who is now in his mid-60s and retired, inspected the building in 2009 and again in 2012 in the weeks before the collapse. In May 2012, he told the mall's owner that steel supports at the shopping centre showed surface rusting, but were otherwise "structurally sound." He testified both at a far-reaching judicial inquiry and during his trial that he saw nothing to indicate that any imminent danger existed. However, he did admit to having changed his final inspection report by, among other things, deleting photographs of a corroded steel beam and yellow tarps strung to collect water leaking into a mall store. Wood, who had been stripped of his professional engineering licence in November 2011 for misconduct unrelated to the mall, did not mention the changes to his partner, who had signed off on the inspection report. Wood did not comment after Gareau spent four hours explaining how he had arrived at an acquittal. However, his lawyer Robert MacRae said the verdict was "certainly bittersweet." "It's still a very terrible tragedy," MacRae said. Given the acquittal, MacRae said a constitutional challenge based on the lengthy delay between charges being laid and the trial was now deemed abandoned. A hearing had been set for July. Gareau had reserved his decision in February after about four months of hearings. Police charged Wood criminally in January 2014. It was not immediately clear what would now happen to charges laid earlier under provincial worker-safety rules that were put on hold pending disposition of the criminal case.EXCLUSIVE: Flint 6 To Face No State Charges For Town Hall Arrests On Thursday, Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton will announce there will be no misdemeanor or felony state charges brought against six Flint residents arrested at a town hall on April 20th. The decision by the prosecutor, which he told TYT Politics, can be reviewed by the Flint City Attorney for potential city ordinance violations, comes after a month of uncertainty for the six residents as to whether they’d face prosecution and jail time following their arrests at a church town hall. “I believe we acted timely and appropriately,” Leyton told TYT Politics Wednesday evening. “Received the reports Monday, read them Tuesday, discussed them Wednesday and made a decision. The city and the county are separate entities. I don’t tell them what to do and vice versa. Nor do I arrest people. We review warrant requests and, and based on the law and circumstances, determine whether to authorize or not.” As I previously reported, concerns over the arrests developed due to the unusual process surrounding them. As ACLU attorney Gregory Gibbs, who represented five of the six arrested residents, told me, the arrests weren’t by the book. “What I think is unusual in this case is that the parties were arrested, confined in a jail overnight and released pending further investigation,” Gibbs had told me. “It is unusual because if they were considered to be so dangerous as to require immediate incarceration, then the usual procedure would be to immediately charge them and bring them before a judge rather than release them the next day pending further investigation.” Gibbs had sent a letter to Leyton and Interim Flint City Attorney Angela Wheeler on April 27th notifying them the ACLU would represent the residents; Gibbs never received a response. As one of the only national reporters covering the town hall that night, I observed an aggressive tone set from the beginning by Police Commissioner Tim Johnson, who, in an opening comment, warned that he’d be determining what is and isn’t appropriate conduct for outraged and frustrated poisoned citizens. “Please don’t be in here trying to disrupt this meeting,” Johnson said at the open of the town hall, adding, “because if you do I’m going to escort you out and I’m only going to take you to the back door and then you’re going to jail. I’m not going to play with nobody tonight.” Johnson also labeled the lead-poisoned residents who spoke out at the town hall as “agitators” following the arrests — a common phrase label applied by law enforcement and many conservative media figures to protesters, or, in this case, victims of government-made poisoning. In follow-up interviews by TYT Politics with five members of the Flint 6, a similar pattern emerged: None had a clue what they were arrested for, what stage the supposed investigation into their alleged crimes is at, or when the uncertainty would end. Although the prosecutor’s office won’t bring charges, he did suggest potential charges aren’t completely off the table. “The matter should be returned to the Flint City Attorney for her review,” Leyton said. “If she believes misdemeanor charges are warranted, that’s up to her to issue them under city ordinance.”More Attack on Titan statues are coming. Japanese toy company Sentinel is releasing yet another Attack on Titan statue- this time Eren 1/8 scale statue. The figure will come in his warrior appearance. Most importantly, the statue will come with a spare hand that put Eren right before he transforms into a titan. There will also be a special cleaning version, where you can dress Eren up in his cleaning outfit, similar to the Levi one previously announced. The cleaning version will come with everything the regular version has, including a bucket, mask and more. The statue is set to release in September. The regular version for 8, 200 yen. The cleaning version for 9, 200 yen. Cleaning Version: Further reading: Attack on Titan Brave-Act 1/8 Scale Levi Figure Share this: Facebook Twitter Google Tumblr Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Email Print PocketBEDFORD HEIGHTS, Ohio -- A suspended Bedford Heights police officer is accused of choking a woman and slamming her head against the wall during a domestic violence incident in Stark County, according to a police report. The woman suffered bruises on her face, arms and shoulders Dec. 9 at a house in Canton, a Stark County Sheriff's Office deputy wrote in the report. Bedford Heights patrolman Douglas A. Dardzinski, 39, is charged with domestic violence, a first-degree misdemeanor, in connection with the incident. Dardzinski also faces domestic violence and kidnapping charges from the same date in Akron, records show. Defense attorney William Vasiliou said Tuesday that Dardzinski is planning to contest the charges. Dardzinski is scheduled to stand trial Jan. 9 in Canton Municipal Court; his next appearance in Akron Municipal Court has not been scheduled, records show. "There are two sides to every story," Vasiliou said. "We look forward to being able to present our version of the events." Dardzinski has been placed on unpaid administrative leave while the Bedford Heights Police Department performs an internal investigation, Chief Michael Marotta said last week. The woman who filed the domestic violence complaint said Dardzinski attacked her on several times after she told him she wanted to break up with him. Dardzinski also threatened to send private photos and videos to her coworkers if she reported the attacks, the woman told sheriff's deputies. On Dec. 9, the woman met Dardzinski in his car outside her Akron workplace. He began assaulting her while demanding he return a ring he gave her, the report says. Dardzinski drove the woman back to the house in Canton, where he picked her up and slammed her on the floor several times, deputies said. Dardzinski pulled her hair and slammed her head against the wall while telling her "goodnight," the report says. Dardzinski pinned her on a bed and slapped her face several times, the report says. At one point he put his hands around her throat and squeezed, making it difficult for her to breathe, the report says. Dardzinski eventually stopped and seemed to realize what he'd done, the woman told sheriff's deputies. He apologized and handed his gun to her, then asked her to shoot and kill him, the report says. When the woman refused, Dardzinski cleaned up the mess created by the attack. He then drove her back to her car in Akron and left, the report says. The woman took photos of her injuries and provided them to sheriff's deputies. Deputies also noted that she had bruises on her face, the report says. Dardzinski has been disciplined during his tenure with the Bedford Heights Police Department, Marotta said, but he declined additional comment. Cleveland.com has filed a public records request to review Dardzinski's personnel file. If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Tuesday's crime and courts comments section.If viewing in the app, click here for full story A Seattle artist is the man behind a giant, inflatable chicken with a hairdo reminiscent of President Donald Trump. The chicken was displayed a few yards from The White House on Wednesday. The chicken balloon was designed by Seattle artist Casey Latiolais, 31, and produced in China. It was placed on the Ellipse, just south of the White House and near the Washington Monument. Latiolais describes himself on his Twitter profile as "Birther of the Trump Chicken." Concept art for the giant Trump Chicken balloon. (Credit: Casey Latiolais) Latiolais said he came up with the 3-D design last fall. The company commissioned a new project for Year of the Rooster. "They wouldn't outwardly say, 'Yes, we want it to look like Trump,' but I was starting to get some clues with that. So I didn't some sketches. They circled which one they wanted," Latiolais said. The motion design artist drew different sketches asking for his client's guidance along the way. When he finished the 3-D design and sold it to them, it was months before he saw what they did with it: a 30-foot sculpture outside a new mall near Beijing. Sign up for the daily 5 Things to Know Newsletter Thank You Something went wrong. This email will be delivered to your inbox once a day in the morning. Thank you for signing up for the 5 Things to Know newsletter Please try again later. Submit "I was like that was not what I expected they would do with it," he said laughing. "I was expecting a six-foot some that people could take pictures with. And then all of a sudden it's giant." A giant idea that grew wings and took off. Soon another Chinese company started making inflatables in different sizes, which appeared at various Trump tax return demonstrations across the country in March. "The whole thing was he's chicken for not releasing his tax returns," said Latiolais. Then this week, the bird with bold gold hair and red wattle sat outside the White House. The balloon owner and documentary filmmaker Taran Singh Brar said he wanted to make a statement about the president being a "weak and ineffective leader." "He's too afraid to release his tax returns, too afraid to stand up to Vladimir Putin and playing chicken with North Korea," Brar said. Brar said he secured the permits for the balloon from the National Park Service and the Secret Service. A model for the giant Trump Chicken balloon. (Credit: Casey Latiolais) "It's great that this stupid thing I made a while ago has taken on so many things to so many different people and that's what art is," he said. "It's whatever you want to make of it, I guess." All in the eye of the beholder. Even some Trump supporters, like Latiolais' parents like the design. "When the inflatables came out, my mom said 'I want one for my lawn,'" he said. "If you want to make it a positive thing about it that's totally fine." "I would much rather have a different president than make any money off this, I'll say that," Latiolais said. A giant inflatable Trump chicken is currently glaring at the White House USA TODAY's Jessica Estepa contributed to this report. Copyright 2017 KINGFormer CIA g=head Gen. Michael Hayden -- (CNN screen grab) Former CIA Director Michael Hayden warned that, when he becomes president, Donald Trump can kill investigations by multiple intelligence agencies into Russian involvement in the 2016 election — and others beyond that. Appearing on The Lead with Jake Tapper, Hayden addressed the intelligence report published by Buzzfeed saying it did appear to be the type of information that the CIA traditionally receives, describing it as “raw unevaluated intelligence.” “What you need to understand, this brings you back a little bit into the trade craft of the profession,” Hayden explained to the CNN host. “Had we written it, we would have called it raw unevaluated intelligence and, Jake, I did go to the site and I did read those 30-plus pages and it actually — in terms of having been written by a professional — yeah, that’s the way these things are written. but that’s why we call it uncorroborated. So, it has some existence inside of our community, but it’s really a great deal of distance away from any kind of conclusion.” “So, we know that the FBI is looking into some of these allegations and I would imagine that other parts of the intelligence community are looking into other parts because their allegiance is to the United States, not to a president,” Tapper asked. “Is it possible for a president to come in and say, ‘Any of you looking into any of this stuff, stop, you have to stop.’ Can he do that?” “I don’t think he can do it with regard to the law enforcement aspect of it, if there is an investigation ongoing by the FBI, ” Hayden replied. “I do think that might have to continue. More broadly, though, Jake, the intelligence community responds to the priorities of the president and now, frankly, I’ve got to admit I’m making this up, it’s my judgment as to how it would happen because, let me repeat, we’re off the map. We have never been in these circumstances before.” ‘Okay, I didn’t find any of this reassuring at all,” a stunned Tapper replied. Watch the video below via CNN:Facebook is a social networking company that has acquired 79 other companies, including WhatsApp. The WhatsApp acquisition closed at a steep $16 billion; more than $40 per user of the platform. Facebook also purchased the defunct company ConnectU in a court settlement and acquired intellectual property formerly held by rival Friendster. The majority of the companies acquired by Facebook are based in the United States, and in turn, a large percentage of these companies are based in or around the San Francisco Bay Area. Facebook has also made investments in LuckyCal and Wildfire Interactive. Most of Facebook's acquisitions have primarily been "talent acquisitions" and acquired products are often shut-down. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has stated in 2010 that "We have not once bought a company for the company. We buy companies to get excellent people... In order to have a really entrepreneurial culture one of the key things is to make sure we're recruiting the best people. One of the ways to do this is to focus on acquiring great companies with great founders."[1] The Instagram acquisition, announced on 2012-04-09, appears to have been the first exception to this pattern.[2] While continuing with a pattern of primarily talent acquisitions, other notable product focused acquisitions include the $19 billion WhatsApp acquisition and the $2 billion Oculus VR acquisition. Acquisitions [ edit ] See also [ edit ]The Tux3 filesystem returns From: Daniel Phillips <lkml-AT-phunq.net> To: linux-kernel-AT-vger.kernel.org Subject: Tux3 report: New news for the new year Date: Tue, 01 Jan 2013 03:52:43 -0800 Message-ID: <2597526.usDRg4h3X1@mars> Archive-link: Article Hi everybody, The Tux3 project has some interesting news to report for the new year. In brief, the first time Hirofumi ever put together all the kernel pieces in his magical lab over in Tokyo, our Tux3 rocket took off and made it straight to orbit. Or in less metaphorical terms, our first meaningful benchmarks turned in numbers that meet or even slightly beat the illustrious incumbent, Ext4: fsstress -f dread=0 -f dwrite=0 -f fsync=0 -f fdatasync=0 \ -s 1000 -l 200 -n 200 -p 3 ext4 time cpu wait 46.338, 1.244, 5.096 49.101, 1.144, 5.896 49.838, 1.152, 5.776 tux3 time cpu wait 46.684, 0.592, 1.860 44.011, 0.684, 1.764 43.773, 0.556, 1.888 Fsstress runs a mix of filesystem operations typical of a Linux system under heavy load. In this test, Tux3 spends less time waiting than Ext4, uses less CPU (see below) and finishes faster on average. This was exciting for us, though we must temper our enthusiasm by noting that these are still early results and several important bits of Tux3 are as yet unfinished. While we do not expect the current code to excel at extreme scales just yet, it seems we are already doing well at the scale that resembles computers you are running at this very moment. About Tux3 Here is a short Tux3 primer. Tux3 is a general purpose LInux filesystem developed by a group of us mainly for the fun of it. Tux3 started in summer of 2008, as a container for a new storage versioning algorithm originally meant to serve as a new engine for the ddsnap volume snapshot virtual device: http://lwn.net/Articles/288896/ "Versioned pointers: a new method of representing snapshots" As design work proceeded on a suitably simple filesystem with modern features, the focus shifted from versioning to the filesystem itself, as the latter is a notoriously challenging and engaging project. Initial prototyping was done in user space by me and others, and later ran under Fuse, a spectacular driveby contribution from one Tero Roponen. Hirofumi joined the team with an amazing utility that makes graphs of the disk structure of Tux3 volumes, and soon took charge of the kernel port. I stand in awe of Hirofumi's design sense, detail work and general developer prowess. Like a German car, Tux3 is both old school and modern. Closer in spirit to Ext4 than Btrfs, Tux3 sports an inode table, allocates blocks with bitmaps, puts directories in files, and stores attributes in inodes. Like Ext4 and Btrfs, Tux3 uses extents indexed by btrees. Source file names are familiar: balloc.c, namei.c etc. But Tux3 has some new files like filemap.c and log.c that help make it fast, compact, and very ACID. Unlike Ext4, Tux3 keeps inodes in a btree, inodes are variable length, and all inode attributes are variable length and optional. Also unlike Ext4, Tux3 writes nondestructively and uses a write-anywhere log instead of a journal. Differences with Btrfs are larger. The code base is considerably smaller, though to be sure, some of that can be accounted for by incomplete features. The Tux3 filesystem tree is single-rooted, there is no forest of shared trees. There is no built-in volume manager. Names and inodes are stored separately. And so on. But our goal is the same: a modern, snapshotting, replicating general purpose filesystem, which I am happy to say, seems to have just gotten a lot closer. Front/Back Separation At the heart of Tux3's kernel implementation lies a technique we call "front/back separation", which partly accounts for the surprising kernel CPU advantage in the above benchmark results. Tux3 runs as two, loosely coupled pieces: the frontend, which handles Posix filesystem operations entirely in cache, and the backend, which does the brute work of preparing dirty cache for atomic transfer to media. The frontend shows up as kernel CPU accounted to the Fsstress task, while the backend is largely invisible, running on some otherwise idle CPU. We suspect that the total of frontend and backend CPU is less than Ext4 as well, but so far nobody has checked. What we do know, is that filesystem operations tend to complete faster when they only need to deal with cache and not little details such as backing store. Front/back separtion is like taking delayed allocation to its logical conclusion: every kind of structural change is delayed, not just block allocation. I credit Matt Dillon of Dragonfly fame for this idea. He described the way he used it in Hammer as part of this dialog: http://kerneltrap.org/Linux/Comparing_HAMMER_And_Tux3 "Comparing HAMMER And Tux3" Hammer is a cluster filesystem, but front/back separation turns out to be equally effective on a single node. Of course, the tricky part is making the two pieces run asynchronously without stalling on each other. Which brings us to... Block Forking Block forking is an idea that has been part of Tux3 from the beginning, and roughly resembles the "stable pages" work now underway. Unlike stable pages, block forking does not reduce performance. Quite the contrary - block forking enables front/back separation, which boosted Tux3 Fsstress performance about 40%. The basic idea of block forking is to never wait on pages under IO, but clone them instead. This protects in-flight pages from damage by VFS syscalls without forcing page cache updates to stall on writeback. Implementing this simple idea is harder than it sounds. We need to deal with multiple blocks being accessed asynchronously on the same page, and we need to worry a lot about cache object lifetimes and locking. Especially in truncate, things can get pretty crazy. Hirofumi's work here can only be described by one word: brilliant. Deltas and Strong Consistency Tux3 groups frontend update transactions into "deltas". According to some heuristic, one delta ends and the next one begins, such that all dirty cache objects affected by the operations belonging to a given delta may be transferred to media in a single atomic operation. In particular, we take care that directory updates always lie in the same delta as associated updates such as creating or deleting inode representations in the inode table. Tux3 always cleans dirty cache completely on each delta commit. This is not traditional behavior for Linux filesystems, which normally let the core VM memory flusher tell them which dirty pages of which inodes should be flushed to disk. We largely ignore the VM's opinion about that and flush everything, every delta. You might think this would hurt performance, but apparently it does not. It does allow us to implement stronger consistency guarantees than typical for Linux. We provide two main guarantees: * Atomicity: File data never appears on media in an intermediate state, with the single exception of large file writes, which may be broken across multiple deltas, but with write ordering preserved. * Ordering: If one filesystem transaction ends before another transaction begins, then the second transaction will never appear on durable media unless the first does too. Our atomicity guarantee resembles Ext4's data=journal but performs more like data=ordered. This is interesting, considering that Tux3 always writes nondestructively. Finding a new, empty location for each block written and updating the associated metadata would seem to carry a fairly hefty cost, but apparently it does not. Our ordering guarantee has not been seen on Linux before, as far as we know. We get it "for free" from Tux3's atomic update algorithm. This could possibly prove useful to developers of file-based databases, for example, mailers and MTAs. (Kmail devs, please take note!) Logging and Rollup Tux3 goes out of its way to avoid recursive copy on write, that is, the expensive behavior where a change to a data leaf must be propagated all the way up the filesystem tree to the root, to avoid altering data that belongs to a previously committed consistent filesystem image. (Btrfs extends this recursive copy on write idea to implement snapshots, but Tux3 does not.) Instead of writing out changes to parents of altered blocks, Tux3 only changes the parents in cache, and writes a description of each change to a log on media. This prevents recursive copy-on-write. Tux3 will eventually write out such retained dirty metadata blocks in a process we call "rollup", which retires log blocks and writes out dirty metadata blocks in full. A delta containing a rollup also tidily avoids recursive copy on write: just like any other delta, changes to the parents of redirected blocks are made only in cache, and new log entries are generated. Tux3 further employs logging to make the allocation bitmap overhead largely vanish. Tux3 retains dirty bitmaps in memory and writes a description of each allocate/free to the log. It is much cheaper to write out one log block than potentially many dirty bitmap blocks, each containing only a few changed bits. Tux3's rollup not only avoids expensive recursive copy on write, it optimizes updating in a least three ways. * Multiple deltas may dirty the same metadata block multiple times but rollup only writes those blocks once. * Multiple metadata blocks may be written out in a single, linear pass across spinning media. * Backend structure changes are batched in a cache friendly way. One curious side effect of Tux3's log+rollup strategy is that in normal operation, the image of a Tux3 filesystem is never entirely consistent if considered only as literal block images. Instead, the log must be replayed in order to reconstruct dirty cache, then the view of the filesystem tree from dirty cache is consistent. This is more or less the inverse of the traditional view where a replay changes the media image. Tux3 replay is a true read-only operation that leaves media untouched and changes cache instead. In fact, this theme runs consistently through Tux3's entire design. As a filesystem, Tux3 cares about updating cache, moving data between cache and media, and little else. Tux3 does not normally update the media view of its filesystem tree even at unmount. Instead, it replays the log on each mount. One excellent reason for doing this is to exercise our replay code. (You surely would not want to discover replay flaws only on the rare occasions you crash.) Another reason is that we view sudden interruption as the normal way a filesystem should shut down. We uphold your right to hit the power switch on a computing device and expect to find nothing but consistent data when you turn it back on. Fast Sync Tux3 can sync a minimal file data change to disk by writing four blocks, or a minimal file create and write with seven blocks: http://phunq.net/pipermail/tux3/2012-December/000011.html "Full volume sync performance" This is so fast that we are tempted to implement fsync as sync. However, we intend to resist that temptation in the long run, and implement an optimized fsync that "jumps the queue" of Tux3's delta update pipeline and completes without waiting for a potentially large amount of unrelated dirty cache to be flushed to media. Still to do There is a significant amount of work still needed to bring Tux3 to a production state. As of today, Tux3 does not have snapshots, in spite of that being the main motivation for starting on this in the first place. The new PHtree directory index is designed, not implemented. Freespace management needs acceleration before it will benchmark well at extreme scale. Block allocation needs to be much smarter before it will age well and resist read fragmentation. There are several major optimizations still left to implement. We need a good fsck that approaches the effectiveness of e2fsck. There is a long list of shiny features to add: block migration, volume growing and shrinking, defragmentation, dedupilcation, replication, and so on. We have made plausible plans for all of the above, but indeed the devil is in the doing. So we are considering the merits of invoking the "many hands make light work" principle. Tux3 is pretty well documented and the code base is, if not completely obvious, at least small and orthogonal. Tux3 runs in userspace in two different ways: the tux3 command and fuse. Prototyping in user space is a rare luxury that could almost make one lazy. Tux3 is an entirely grassroots effort driven by volunteers. Nonetheless, we would welcome offers of assistance from wherever they may come, especially testers. Regards, Daniel -- To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in the body of a message to [email protected] More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/CLOSE Attorney General Jeff Sessions is defending the Trump administration's travel ban as an important tool in fighting terrorism Time Attorney General Jeff Sessions testifies before the House Judiciary Committee on Nov. 14, 2017. (Photo: Jack Gruber, USA TODAY) The Justice Department has targeted Burlington and the state of Vermont as part of a move Wednesday to crack down on communities with immigration policies that run afoul of the Trump administration's approach. Letters to 29 cities and states raised the possibility of pulling federal grant money unless the Justice Department is convinced that local policies align with those of the administration. The grant funding totals tens of thousands of dollars for Burlington and about half a million dollars for Vermont. "Jurisdictions that adopt so-called'sanctuary policies' also adopt the view that the protection of criminal aliens is more important than the protection of law-abiding citizens and of the rule of law," U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement announcing the action. "I urge all jurisdictions found to be potentially out of compliance in this preliminary review to reconsider their policies that undermine the safety of their residents," Sessions continued. The move drew a strong rebuke from opponents of federal immigration policy, including Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont. The Democratic senator said in a statement that threatening to withhold the primary means of federal criminal justice funding was "shameful," "misguided" and "anti-immigrant." "I strongly believe that police chiefs and local leaders should decide what state and local policies are necessary and best to keep their communities safe — not an Attorney General who is attempting to extort immigration reform by cutting off vital public safety dollars to local communities and their residents," Leahy said. Buy Photo Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger says the city is in full compliance with federal immigration law. (Photo: GLENN RUSSELL/FREE PRESS) The Justice Department letters were dispatched to Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger and Vermont Public Safety Commissioner Thomas Anderson. The documents, signed by Acting Assistant Attorney General Alan Hanson, demand a reply by Dec. 8. More: Migrant Justice sues feds for information, claiming harassment The letters state the Justice Department is "concerned" Vermont and Burlington might be failing to comply with a provision of federal law related to sharing information regarding illegal immigration. The provision in question, known as Section 1373, requires governmental bodies and officials to exchange information with Immigration and Naturalization Services regarding "the citizenship or immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any individual." Burlington drew the Justice Department's ire over immigration-related provisions in the city's Fair and Impartial Policing Policy. Immigration-related sections of Vermont's Model Fair and Impartial Policing Policy were singled out in Hanson's letter. Buy Photo Vermont Public Safety Commissioner Thomas Anderson. (Photo: GLENN RUSSELL/FREE PRESS FILE) In both cases, the policing policies set limits on when and how law officers may share immigration-related information with federal authorities, according to the letters. Weinberger said in a statement that his administration has long expected to receive such a letter and reviewed city policies in anticipation. He believes Burlington fully complies with U.S. requirements. "We do not believe the Federal law requires us to implement the current President’s draconian immigration policies," the mayor said. "Regardless of who populates the administration in Washington, the Federal government has no authority to deputize Burlington police officers to enforce Federal civil immigration laws. "We are a welcoming city," Weinberger added, "and will remain so regardless of Federal actions that seek to undo the progress we’ve made as a nation. We will be responding to the letter by the deadline and forcefully arguing our case." RELATED: According to Leahy's office, Burlington received $39,945 in federal criminal justice funding in fiscal 2016 and is due for another $38,845 in fiscal 2017. The state of Vermont accepted $507,892 in fiscal '16 and is in line for $476,496 this fiscal year. Among the other jurisdictions to receive Justice Department letters Wednesday: Albany, New York; Berkeley, California; Denver; Los Angeles; San Francisco; Seattle; Washington, D.C.; and the states of Illinois and Oregon. Contact Adam Silverman at 802-660-1854 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @we
. For most of 2015, I didn't even have a TV! Even though I have no interest in collecting, it is hard to ignore the absolute dominance that video game collecting has on the classic gaming community. Sites like Digital Press and Nintendo Age were founded on the basis of cataloguing games for now-defunct systems, and determine their relative rarity. In recent years, the price of pre-Gamecube Nintendo console games has been sharply rising, as the demographics of people who grew up with these systems start getting to the stage in their lives where they have disposable income and the resources necessary to accumulate all the games. As more people got into this market, certain games became notorious for being rare (regardless of whether or not it is actually true). These games were targeted, and the prices skyrocketed. Many people, seeing that the prices were increasing, saw it as a way to make a healthy profit (buy game, sell it for more six months down the road). Bootlegging Late in 2015, something happened that could cause shake the very foundation of game collecting - mass produced bootlegged games. Some people accept bootlegs, and give it the softer title of "reproduction" or "repro". And truth be told, they allow you to have a physical version of the game to play in a real console. This is all fine and dandy if you want to throw on a fan made translation of Final Fantasy V, but now it is increasingly common to see reproductions of high priced games, such as Hagane. Just go to Aliexpress.com, and type in "USA version game cartridge, and you will see dozens of high priced SNES games, all available for less than $30. And the thing is, these sellers are incredibly explicit that these are fake! These carts are generally pretty easy to spot as fake - they have snap-together plastic shells, instead of the two-piece shells that are held together by screws. It seems that these shells were originally designed by Piko Interactive, and whatever company he got to make them started to sell them to Chinese bootleggers. As seen in the image below, the screws are obviously fake. However, looking at the AliExpress pages, it looks like the mass produced ones are getting painted. Bootleg Hagane cart I found on Ebay, note the fake screws. This sold for $100! Though it is pretty easy to tell these from the real thing, this is inevitably going to lead to people buying these bootlegs, throwing the PCB in a legitimate shell, and printing off a high quality label that is nearly indistinguishable from the real thing. What does this mean? You can't tell whether or not a game is a bootleg without looking at the PCB! There was a thread on Assembler Games a few weeks that caused a bit of a stir, because this is exactly what happened. bootleg real Make no mistake, the label is pretty convincing if you don't have the real version right beside it (the fonts for the text are a bit smaller). After being called on it, the seller did note that the versions he would sell would explicitly say "reproduction" on them. I highly doubt a motivated bootlegger would be so scrupulous. High quality scans of game labels are pretty easy to do, just buy them, scan at 600 DPI, do an hour or so of touch up on photoshop, then print! I am willing to bet that these kinds of bootlegs are already flooding the market, and is particularly noted with games like Earthbound. How does one distinguish a bootleg, when it is hard to tell based on the printed label? You have to show off the PCB. Looking at the auctions for Hagane, this is exactly what some sellers are doing: Picture from an Ebay auction of Hagane Is this the end of it? Take a look at this bootleg of Stadium Events on Ebay and compare it to the real thing (taken from Bootgod's website: Bootleg PCB Real PCB The things distinguishing this from real are the fact that the date stamps on the CIC chip are too young, and the lack of printing on the ROM chips. You have to assume at some point, some pirate will get a stamping utility to exactly replicate the printing of the original chips. The bootleg above sold for over $3000, so there is a lot of incentive to get to this level of sophistication. What happens in the future? I think that 2015 stands as the peak of the collecting market for Nintendo systems. Prices will still go up for a while, but if and when bootlegs start to flood the market, several things will happen: Potential collectors will see how much knowledge is required to pick out real from fake, and not bother. Casual sellers will balk at the requirement of taking apart their carts to prove that they are real. Casual collectors who have become interested in some of the more rare titles will be satisfied with a bootleg that looks close enough to the real thing and costs substantially less. Essentially, I think the pool of collectors probably will level off. Once that happens, price increases in uncommon, but high priced, games will also level off. The first to go will be the profiteers, who were banking on ever increasing prices. Like any other pricing bubble, the market for games is only sustained if there is always new people entering. I think the market for the highest end titles (i.e. Stadium Events) will be enough for it to continue to sell for four to five digits. It will more affect games that are uncommon, but rare enough that the prices rise due to increasing amounts of people looking for it (i.e. Hagane). There is a lot of hype there. I think that the Nintendo bubble would burst even if there were no bootlegs, but this will speed up affairs. Nintendo collectors are driven by nostalgia of their childhood, so people who were born after 1995 or so will not really have that. This happened with the Atari 2600, where rare titles like Quadrun stopped increasing in price after the collectors market levelled off. If we look at the prices of SNES games over time: Prices of sold Super NES game auctions over time. From Price Charting. The prices of SNES games started to increase sometime around 2011, twenty years after the release of the console. People who were 5-10 years old when the SNES came out would be 25-30 years old in 2011 - the prime time when people start having significant income, and before people start having family obligations. There will be diminished interest in these things over time when this cohort starts having to deal with kids. Prolific collector Flack predicted these scenarios for Atari 2600 collecting back in 2004, and was by all accounts correct. The proliferation of bootlegs will just push this along by raising the amount of time and effort it will take to collect.Impossible Pictures and Omni Film Productions will co-produce a 13-part spin-off, "Primeval: New World," that uses extensive elements from the British sci-fi drama. TORONTO – Brit producer Impossible Pictures is pacting with Omni Film Productions on a Canadian spin-off of its Primeval sci-fi series on ITV. The twist is the new Canadian series, Primeval: New World, will be structured as a Canada-UK co-production, and will use characters and story-lines from the British Primeval series, while inserting new Canadian characters and story-lines into the local version. “This is a truly unique opportunity, building a parallel, yet independent series that will appeal to existing fans and new audiences,” Corrie Coe, senior vp of independent production at Bell Media, which ordered the 13 one hour Primeval: New World drama for its Space channel. “This new Canadian series offers a fresh world of possibilities in terms of characters and stories, while including some favourite elements from the original U.K. Primeval,” she added. The cost savings from mixing in elements of the British series into the Canadian drama, coupled with production tax credits from producing Primeval: New World in Vancouver, are also evident. Set in Vancouver against the backdrop of the Pacific Northwest, the Canadian sci-fi spin-off promises elements that Space viewers already know from watching the Brit Primeval series on the Canadian cable channel, while including a darker storylines from an all-Canadian writers room. The fifth season of Primeval from Impossible Pictures will bow on Nov. 10 on Space.The barrier to entry is already pretty difficult for new fans of “Warhammer 40K." You need to learn the complicated rules, read up on the expansive lore, buy and hand-paint your own figures, and find some other people to play against before you can even call yourself a "Warhammer" player. But it's even tougher for female fans; not only is the fanbase of “Warhammer 40K” very male-dominated, but the world the game takes place in is as well. Sure, there are some female figures and But it's even tougher for female fans; not only is the fanbase of “Warhammer 40K” very male-dominated, but the world the game takes place in is as well. Sure, there are some female figures and armies available to play with, as well as some awesome custom kits and figures you can find — but you have to know where and how to seek them out on your own, and often they end up being pretty expensive compared to the basic all-male armies. Meanwhile, the Space Marines, which are the most common, most versatile protagonists across the entire franchise, are canonically all-male. There has never been a single female Space Marine in the world "Warhammer 40k,” because according to the lore, the process of transforming regular humans into Space Marines only works on male bodies.It’s March, which means that there’s a whole new slate of books ready to crowd our bookshelves — books about robots, revolutions, and vast space empires to tear into. Earlier this year, I mentioned that I’m trying to expand my reading horizons in 2017. Left to my own devices, I tend to sink into science fiction and fantasy novels, but I’ve been trying to whittle down my pile of other books lately. One book I recently knocked off the list is The Lion in the Living Room: How House Cats Tamed Us and Took Over the World by Abigail Tucker, which is an utterly fascinating look at our shared history with cats. Cats have been with us for millennia. Unlike dogs, which we domesticated, they sort of just showed up to hang out. As the servant of two cats, I thought it was an enlightening read. Still, there are a bunch of really cool-looking science fiction and fantasy novels coming out in March that I’m looking forward to digging into. March 7th, 2017 Lotus Blue by Cat Sparks Star and Nene are orphans who are part of a caravan of traders in a post-apocalyptic world inhabited by rogue semi-sentient machinery and other monsters. When their caravan sees a satellite crash to Earth, Star ends up on a journey that takes her far from home. Aided by Quarrel, an ancient super-soldier, she has to learn to trust her unlikely allies as a long-sleeping war machine awakens in the desert, and threatens all of humanity. Spaceman of Bohemia by Jaroslav Kalfar In Kalfar’s debut novel, a Czech orphan grows up to become his country’s first astronaut. Offered the chance to become the first human to travel to Venus, he comes to realize the steep cost of such a mission on himself and his family. On top of that, he forms a bond with a possibly imaginary alien spider while en route to Venus, and sinks into a series of conversations about the nature of the universe with his unlikely companion. Sins of Empire by Brian McClellan Fantasy author Brian McClellan kicks off a new series, Gods of Blood and Powder, set in the same world as his Powder Mage trilogy. The new frontier nation of Fatrasta is facing new problems from within. Insurrection in the capital city of Landfall is in its infancy, and spy Michael Bravis, veteran Mad Ben Styke, and mercenary general Lady Vlora Flint must protect the city as even greater challenges arise. Archangel by Margaret Fortune The second installment of the Spectre War series, Archangel picks up with the perspective of Michael Sorenson, who appeared in the first book of the series, Nova. He’s recruited into a research and development group called Division 7, which is developing a means to kill an enemy of humanity, the Spectres. Sorenson goes into the field with new prototypes, and as they begin testing out their weapons, it’s clear that they have a saboteur in the mix, someone targeting Sorenson. Seven Surrenders by Ada Palmer In To Like Lightning, Ada Palmer introduced us to Mycroft Canner, a convict sentenced to wander the globe. In doing so, he learned of a conspiracy to keep the world in order, and the deaths that kept everything in balance. That balance is beginning to shift, and everything could come falling down. Alone by Scott Sigler Scott Sigler brings his Generations trilogy to a close. The series began with Alive and Alight, and in this final novel, a group of young adults known as the Birthday Children overthrow their creators. They were genetically engineered to live on a hostile planet and to be overwritten with the consciousnesses of others. Now, the others are coming to take their planet from them, and they must be prepared to defend their home. Beauty and the Beast: Classic Tales about Animal Brides and Grooms from Around the World by Maria Tatar There’s a live-action version of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast hitting theaters, and the folks at Penguin Classics have assembled a very specific anthology for the occasion: short stories from folklore about animal brides. There’s enough to fill a book, and Tatar puts together a neat collection of stories from all over the world. A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers I read this book last year (it was first released in the UK), and it’s a follow-up to Chambers’ fantastic novel The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. This is an interesting sequel, in that it follows a character from that first book, but on a completely different trajectory than I expected. Chambers weaves together two distinct stories of two individuals finding themselves in the larger universe, and it’s a wonderful, heartbreaking read. March 14th, 2017 The Wanderers by Meg Howery A private space company, Prime Space is planning on putting astronauts on Mars for the first time, and in preparation for the mission, Helen Kane, Yoshihiro Tanaka, and Sergei Kuznetsov embark on a 17-month simulation of the trip out. Each astronaut must confront their inner demons and one another as they try to remain in control of their lives. Pilot X by Tom Merritt Pilot X is a member of a race called the Alendans, who can move through time and space to guard the timeline. For generations, they’ve been fighting the Sensaurians, a hive mind, and the Progons, a machine race, both of which can send messages back in time. When Pilot X discovers a secret war being waged in hidden parts of the universe, he has a hard choice to make: erase all three races from existence, or allow the universe to be destroyed. The Djinn Falls in Love and Other Stories by Mahvesh Murad and Jared Shurin This anthology has stories all about Djinn (also sometimes called genies). They’re fearsome or friendly, victims and monsters, and this book imagines them all over the world. The author lineup is incredible: Neil Gaiman, Amal El-Mohta, Maria Dahvana Headley, Usman Malik, Nnedi Okorafor, and many others. Brothers Ruin by Emma Newman In this alternate history (and the first of a new series), Great Britain is doing well due to its Royal Society of the Esoteric Arts. Talented mages are in hot demand, but for the poor, losing a magical son can be devastating. The Gunns have two mages in their midst, their powerful daughter Charlotte and her brother Benjamin. She works to save her brother from arrest, but when she discovers a plot by a Doctor Ledbetter, she has to go all-out to save her city and her family’s secrets. March 21st, 2017 Infinity Engine by Neal Asher The final installment of Neal Asher’s Transformations trilogy, Infinity Engine follows Asher’s Dark Intelligence and War Factory. Following the efforts to pursue a rogue AI named Penny Royal. The hunt has intensified as criminals such as Brockle and an enigmatic alien known as the Weaver join the hunt, each with their own motives. Phantom Pains by Mishell Baker In Borderlines, Mishell Baker introduced the Arcadia Project, an underground group of magicians operating in Los Angeles. Millie reluctantly returned to the project after her partner Teo was killed. She came across his ghost at the site of his death, which is strange, because ghosts don’t exist. When her former boss is framed for a brutal attack, she’s forced to track down the perpetrators and stop an attack that could leave both the real and fey worlds in ruins. Star's End by Cassandra Rose Clarke Esme’s family owns a star system, thanks to the wealth generated by the manufacturing companies run by her father, Phillip Coromina. She will inherit his company, and as she comes of age and begins to learn about his business, she learns some shocking truths about what Phillip was engaged in. Chalk by Paul Cornell Paul Cornell’s novella takes us back to the midst of Margaret Thatcher’s England, in which he called his most important work. Andrew Waggoner is targeted by school bullies, who do something unforgivable and unthinkable. Something dies in Waggoner and something new is reborn, thirsting for revenge. Orbital Cloud by Taiyo Fujii We posted the first chapter to Taiyo Fujii’s next novel last month, and we’re excited to dig into the rest of it. In 2020, the owner of a shooting star-tracking website sees some space debris moving strangely in orbit. Then he receives information from an Iranian scientist that puts him in the midst of a much larger conflict between major governments and titans of private space industry. As the ramifications of his discovery become clearer, a new orbital space hotel, a terrorist plot, and a military investigation all factor into the equation. Mass Effect - Andromeda: Nexus Uprising by Jason M. Hough and K.C. Alexander Titan Books announced an incredible lineup of authors for its relaunch of the Mass Effects literary expanded universe, and the first installment, authored by Jason M. Hough and K.C. Alexander, will hit stores this month. Bioware is keeping a lid on what the books are about, but we’re interested to see how they turn out. Relics by Tim Lebbon In the latest horror novel from Tim Lebbon, a criminology student discovers an underground black market for arcane objects after her fiancé goes missing. As Angela searches for Vince, her searching leads her up against a crime lord dedicated to collecting objects, and she finds that some of these objects aren’t ancient at all. New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson Kim Stanley Robinson is known for his incredible visions of the future. Now, he takes a look close to home, in a book set in New York City, just over a century from now. Rising sea levels have turned the Big Apple into a waterlogged metropolis, and Robinson follows the lives of a large cast of characters making their way in this new world. The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi John Scalzi’s new space-opera novel isn’t connected to his Old Man’s War universe — it’s set in a fantastic new world. Humanity has spread to the far reaches of space, thanks to The Flow, and a new empire has arisen, the Interdependency. The Flow is beginning to move, and entire worlds are being cut off. A scientist, a starship captain, and the new empress of the Interdependency set off to try and salvage an empire about to collapse. March 28th, 2017 Luna: Wolf Moon by Ian McDonald In Ian McDonald’s Luna: New Moon, a bloody power struggle outed the Helio family from its position of power on the moon. A year and a half later, the survivors try to come to terms with their survival and imprisonment, while the missing heir to the family, Lucas, is still missing. He returns to Earth to gather allies to try and bring his family back to its former glory. Luna: New Moon was one of my favorite books of 2015, and I’m eagerly awaiting the next installment. Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor In Laini Taylor’s new novel, there was a battle between gods and mortals more than a decade ago. Mortal humans were victorious, but the gods left some children behind. Those children are growing up, and now, their hidden lives are about to be uncovered.0 Suspect arrested after hitting Pittsburgh police car PITTSBURGH - Hill District residents say Brian Reed made a foolish turn that he will probably regret. Not only did Reed try to get away from police and end up in a station parking lot, but he also gave police another name when they arrested him, and it didn’t take them long to figure it out. "I got up. I heard a little ruckus, you know, I didn't see nothing, then I came back and said what the heck is going on out there?" said Vivian Hayes. TRENDING NOW: Hayes has lived at Ebenezer Towers in the Hill District for 16 years. She’s never seen a crime spree end so close to a police station in her life. Channel 11 uncovered surveillance video from a nearby business captured around the time of the call. Police say Zone 2 officers tried to stop a car with two men inside speeding down Devilliers Street toward the parking lot right behind the Zone 2 police station. But after making the initial stop, Reed took off. Channel 11 returned to the scene later and all we found were parts of a car. Police say Reed turned his car around, narrowly missing a police officer. But it didn't stop there -- he then hit a parked car belonging to a police officer and then a police cruiser, all before crashing into a utility pole. "I think it's terrible and I can't understand how they can do all this with the police station right here,” Hayes said. After the car crashed, a passenger stayed put while Reed fled from the scene. After a brief chase, Reed was taken to UPMC Mercy when police learned he ingested drugs before the chase. He is now in the Allegheny County Jail. A knife, uncut heroin, cash and a blackjack were also found in Reed’s car, police said. © 2019 Cox Media Group.Rock the Nightmare Create your own Guild Wars 2 music video using our all-new “The Nightmares Within” song. The most creative video creators will win SteelSeries gaming gear, and the grand prize winner will receive a unique custom Guild Wars 2 guitar from Sygnus Guitars – there isn’t another one like it on Earth or Tyria! Learn More Developer Livestream – November 13 Take an inside look at the November 12 release with ArenaNet devs during a livestream on our Twitch channel on Wednesday, November 13, at 12PM PST. Lingering Poison You may have found a way into the Toxic Alliance’s inner sanctum, but this has by no means curtailed their nefarious activities! Kessex Hills and the surrounding countryside are still befouled by the alliance’s evil presence! Face the Nightmares Within Enter rooms within the Tower of Nightmares to brave special encounters—but beware! Things are not all as they seem. You can never know what awaits you within these dark rooms. Will you find yourself face-to-face with Scarlet’s agents, or a much more insidious enemy? It’ll take strength, determination, and a cool head to survive the trials that await you.The Arms Sales Monitoring Project The Arms Sales Monitoring Project (ASMP) seeks to increase transparency, accountability and restraint in the legal arms trade; eradicate the illicit arms trade; and to serve as a repository of data on U.S. arms transfers and arms export controls. For the past decade, we have reported on the arms trade, U.S. arms export policies, and the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons through the publication of reports and articles, media outreach, and public speaking. Our objective is to get information out to interested journalists, policy makers, and the general public so that many people can act, achieving much more than we alone can. Book Summary Featured Items: What's New Documents, reports, arms sales notifications, and other items of interest recently posted to the ASMP website. Recent Commentary Timely analysis on recent developments in the arms trade. Shoulder-Fired Missiles One-stop shop for information on the proliferation and control of man-portable air-defense systems. ASMP Publications Reports, issue briefs and articles published by ASMP staff. ASMP Issue Areas Information on MANPADS proliferation, the illicit small arms trade, and US arms export "reforms." Arms Trade Facts & Figures Comprehensive source of U.S. government data on U.S. and international arms transfers. External Resources U.S. government documents, including bills and laws pertaining to U.S. arms exports; links to international and non-governmental organizations, including the Arms Transfer Working Group; and descriptions of various weapons systems. About ASMP ASMP's background, goals, advisory board, funding, and staff. Includes information about job and internship opportunities.On October 21, 2011, The Media Research Center sent MRCTV to Zuccotti Park in New York City to see exactly what was going on at 'Occupy Wall Street'. While there, we captured Peter Schiff, CEO and Chief Global Strategist of Euro Pacific Capital Inc., taking questions from the protesters who call themselves 'The 99 percent'. Schiff, as you can guess, took questions representing 'The 1%'- or in other words, the exact people the Occupiers are demanding be taxed more in order to spread wealth around. Essentially, the protesters aren't too fond of people like Schiff who have worked hard their entire life to be in the positions they currently hold. Watch as Schiff braves the mob and fields questions in what is sure to be video gold. To see Part I of Schiff taking on the protesters, click here.DALLAS (SMU) - SMU strives to provide our guests with an exceptional experience, from the moment that fans leave for the game to the time they return home. To that end, SMU has created a transportation and parking plan designed to keep the traffic moving, make it easy to park, and ensure the safety as fans make their way into the stadium. Fans can get to the game using Dallas' great public transit system, DART. Round-trip passes cost just $5 and parking is free at the DART stations. Mockingbird Station, which is serviced by the Blue, Red and Orange DART Lines, is conveniently located near the SMU Campus. A gameday shuttle bus service is available from Mockingbird Station or fans can take the short walk to Ford Stadium. Many fans don't realize that Mockingbird Station is actually closer to Ford Stadium than SMU's famous Dallas Hall! For fans driving to the game, both free and paid parking is available. For ease, fans can purchase parking passes in advance. A map is available on SMUMustangs.com/Parking to show campus points of entry. Please note that day-of-game, cash parking is only available via SMU Boulevard, University Boulevard and Hillcrest Avenue. Fans should be advised that the communities of Highland Park and University Park have established resident-only parking areas near the SMU campus. Cars without resident parking or guest permits may be cited by the Police Department. Please use caution. SMU recommends parking only in designated SMU gameday parking areas to avoid any issues. As you approach campus, there will be additional signs, as well as police and traffic attendants, to help direct you along your route and to your parking lot entrance. Due to campus improvements, there is no longer direct vehicle access from East Campus to Bishop Boulevard. All vehicles with a parking pass for Moody, Binkley, and Westcott should enter campus via SMU Boulevard. Only vehicles parking in the Meadows Garage, the Church and Westcott lots, or on Bishop Boulevard will be allowed to enter via Bishop Boulevard. Uber will also be available for fans heading to the game who would like a different option from driving their own vehicles. There will be a dropoff and pickup station at HPUMC to give fans a ride to and from Ford Stadium. Fans can utilize a promotional option by typing in the code SMUPONYUP to receive $20 off of their ride if they are a first-time user, and for every promo code used, Uber will donate $5 to Alcohol Awareness through Mustangs Who Care. Another key change for 2015 is the new clear bag policy that will be enforced at Ford Stadium. As at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, the only permitted bags will be those made of clear plastic, vinyl, or PVC which do not exceed 12 x 6 x 12 inches, one-gallon clear plastic freezer bags (Ziploc or similar) or small clutch bags (approximately the size of a hand), with or without a handle or strap. All bags except those approved under the clear bag policy are prohibited. Additionally, all fans will also be subject to security wanding prior to entering the stadium. For up-to-date details on parking, ticket and gate information, campus maps, and more, please visit Gameday Central. We look forward to welcoming you to the Hilltop this fall as Coach Chad Morris and the Mustangs begin a new era in Mustang Football!ES Football Newsletter Enter your email address Please enter an email address Email address is invalid Fill out this field Email address is invalid You already have an account. Please log in or register with your social account Branislav Ivanovic says Chelsea are ready to end Manchester City’s 100 per cent home League record tonight. Chelsea’s nine-match unbeaten run has given them the confidence they can get something at the Etihad Stadium, where Manuel Pellegrini’s side have won all 11 League outings this term, averaging four goals a game. And Ivanovic believes a victory for Chelsea would have major repercussions for the title race because it would leave them level on points with the hosts and only two behind leaders Arsenal. “We have improved massively as a team,” said the Chelsea defender. “We are staying together, we are fighting together, we control the ball well and we know the performances of team-mates better — a lot of small details that we have improved. “This is the biggest challenge for us this season but I think we are ready for it. We have to be focused. It can be psychologically very important and very good for us and we will try to do everything to stay fighting for the title until the end of the season.” Chelsea have secured comfortable draws at Manchester United, Tottenham and Arsenal this season but Jose Mourinho, who has been accused of playing negatively in those encounters, is adamant he will set up his team to win. The manager said: “They score goals [so we have to go looking for goals]. Normally, when your approach is very defensive, if you concede a goal you are in trouble and have to make changes during the games. “We are going to try to win. We’re not going to change our philosophy. We’re going in a certain direction. “I want to attack them. I can tell you that. But after 10 minutes, people might say I’m not attacking. If I don’t, it’s because I can’t.” Mourinho infamously did not select a striker at Old Trafford earlier in the campaign but will not be repeating the defensive tactic. “I think more about us than them,” he said. “We are not going to play without a striker. Are we going to play with three central defenders because they have two fantastic strikers? No. I want to play with two.”I am a philo-semite. The disproportionate Jewish contribution to western civilisation— not least to science and the arts — is one of the most astonishing achievements of modern history. I am also an anti-anti-semite. The murder and mayhem perpetrated by anti- semites throughout history, and above all in the 20th century, deserves its special place in the annals of infamy. I’d assumed anti-semitism had no place in British life, aside from the odious antics of skinheads on the fringes of the far right. There are therefore few things that depress me more than the resurfacing of anti-semitism on the British left, and not on its fringes. In an interview on BBC London last week, the former mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, claimed that “when Hitler won his election in 1932, his policy then was that Jews should be moved to Israel. He was supporting Zionism — this before he went mad and ended up killing 6m Jews.” It turns out that Livingstone’s source for this claim is a book entitled Zionism in the Age of the Dictators by the self-proclaimed American Trotskyist Lenni Brenner. This is not a book cited in scholarly works, not least because Brenner is not a scholar but a political activist. (At an anti-Israel meeting in Berlin, Connecticut, he said that Jews who made political donations were as “crooked as a dog’s hind leg”.) Far more reliable accounts exist of the contacts between the Nazi regime and certain Zionists that led to the 1933 Havaara Agreement, which allowed German Jews to transfer property from Germany to Palestine, then a British-controlled “mandate”. Some Nazi officials did indeed favour emigration as the “solution to the Jewish question”. But Livingstone’s claim that this was Hitler’s preferred option is simply wrong. As early as 1919 Hitler stated that he saw the Jews as “the racial tuberculosis of peoples”. In a speech he gave in April 1920 he called for them “to be exterminated”. In Mein Kampf he wrote: “If at the beginning of the [First World] war and during the war 12 or 15,000 of these Hebrew corrupters of the people had been held under poison gas... the sacrifice of millions at the front would not have been in vain.” You claim that Jews have made a disproportionately positive contribution to civilisation. In doing so you abandon the usually unarticulated dogma that "people are all the same". Once you have allowed that one people can differ from another in the disproportionality of its positive contributions, however, then you have implicitly conceded the possibilty that the opposite could also be true. Antisemites often acknowledge that Jews have had a disproportionate impact on our civilisation, in ways both positive and negative. But when they try to make their case they are silenced and persecuted, told that the mere expression of their opinion is somehow a disease that must be expunged. There is no question, for example, that Jews were massively disproportionately involved in the Communist movements in the early 20th century, movements which, after achieving power, led to the deaths of tens of millions of Europeans. It was this spectacle that inspired Hitler's antisemitism. But somehow this fact is left out of most of the popular accounts of history from which the average person gains historical knowledge. It's reasonable to question whether, had their been no Jews resident in these countries, the ravages of Communism would have been quite what they were. As to the matter clumsily raised by Ken Livingstone, there is no question that Hitler favoured the Zionist Jews within Germany over other Jews. He shut down all of the anti-Zionist Jewish organisations but allowed the Zionists to go on unmolested. Their newspaper, the Judische Rundschau, was the only one allowed to operate in Germany free of Nazi control. It was even allowed to criticise the Nazi regime. Only one restriction was placed upon it: that it should be sold only to Jews. Tens of thousands of Jews were settled in Palestine under the Haavara agreement prior to WW2. It was not just a transfer of property as you imply. When Arabs began to realise the implications of the Jewish resettlement programme and rebelled against it in 1936, many figures in the German government wanted the Havaara agreement to be terminated lest Arab hostility to Germany be provoked. Hitler personally overruled their objections. You probably know the facts I have just cited but you dishonestly obfuscate them the better to damage a political opponent. This Ken Livingstone drama has been an interesting character test for many historians. Unfortunately, you, like most others, have failed it. Hitler was not a supporter of Zionism. He believed, on the contrary, that Zionism was one of many deliberately deceptive labels that Jews placed upon what he believed to be their endless striving for global power and the extermination of the human species. From Hitler's point of view, Jews were precisely not normal human beings because they did not care about territory, but cared only about global domination. "He was supporting Zionism" is categorically false and reveals a total and fundamental misunderstanding of what Hitler's anti-Semitism was all about. Tens of thousands of German Jews did emigrate to Palestine before British policy made this all but impossible. And some German officials did take an interest in Zionism. But there was never a German policy to support Zionism or a future Israel. On the contrary, the German orientation in the Middle East was to support Arab nationalism. The official German policy, enunciated clearly in 1937, was to oppose the creation of a State of Israel. Although absurd in itself, the "antisemitism" row that has blown up in the British Labour party has been very revealing indeed, about the moral character, or lack thereof, of many of the individuals involved in it, including the historians who have been asked to offer comment. I am sorry to say that even historians I formerly respected to some degree have shown us their deficiencies, whether of judgement, knowledge or moral probity. One of their number is Niall Ferguson, who writes this in the Sunday Times: Source (£)I replied to his in a comment on the website, but, as I expected, even though I had tried to tone it down for mainstream respectability, it did not meet with the censor's approval. So here it is here. This was, after all, the reason I started blogging in the first place: to have somewhere to express the thoughts that were being censored on newspaper comment systems.Another Establishment historian who has pitched in is Timothy Snyder.Almost all Establishment historians have contrived to find fault with what Livingstone said, namely that Hitler supported Zionism, even though it is undisputed that the Haavara [Transfer] Agreement existed and, under its auspices, tens of thousands of Jews emigrated from Germany to Palestine. How can they dispute something so clearly, objectively true? They have first of all avoided the issue, talking about other things, denigrating Hitler and
stars -- even a former director of the CIA. Feel free to spy on them.Tyendinaga Thunderbirds are the 2016 Three Nations Senior Lacrosse League champions – an unlikely outcome back in May. After an 0-3 start to their season (TNSLL teams play a crossover schedule against QSLL teams) the Thunderbirds would finish 5-9 in the regular season, second behind St. Regis Braves (9-5). Head-to-head the Braves swept the regular season series, winning all four matchups (14-8, 9-8, 12-9, 13-9) against Tyendinaga. But playoffs are a new season and the Thunderbirds embraced the challenge. TNLL 2016 Stats A best-of five semifinal series against Caughnawaga Indians ended quickly as the T-birds swept in three games. The team carried that momentum into the finals and stole Game 1 of the finals by defeating St. Regis 11-10 on their own floor. Alex Kedoh Hill and Ben Green each scored four goals to lead the offense. The setting changed for Game 2 played in Kingston and the Thunderbirds used home floor advantage to win 8-6. Tim Bergin (3 goals, 2 assists) led all scorers while goaltender Trey Adams was excellent in net. Trailing in the series 2-0, St. Regis refused to give up. Despite a seven-point effort by Kedoh Hill (3 goals, 4 assists) the Braves would win Game 3 by the score of 14-11. Still confident, Tyendinaga were going home for Game 4 played at Deseronto Community Centre. A raucous crowd were ready to witness history and see the Thunderbirds win their first-ever league championship. Early on it looked as if a fifth and deciding game may be needed as St. Regis took control from the opening faceoff and led 5-3 after one period. That advantage grew to 11-7 by second intermission with the regular season winners hoping to force the series back to Massena Arena. Tyendinaga would not be denied on this night. Led by Jordan Thomas, who scored seven goals, the Thunderbirds completed the comeback in the third to clinch the series and berth to the Presidents Cup. Tim Bergin, Haodais Maracle and Kedoh Hill all contributed six points in the win while Joe Hall added a goal and four assists. Thunderbirds Presidents Cup schedule Monday, Aug. 29 vs Native Sons, 10:30 AM Tuesday, Aug. 30 vs Kahnawake Mohawks, 4:30 PM Wednesday, Aug. 31 vs Langley Warriors, 1:30 PM Thursday, Sept. 1 vs TBDPresident-elect Donald Trump at a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Friday. REUTERS/Mike Segar President-elect Donald Trump continued to express skepticism on Monday about whether Russian hackers interfered in the US election, insisting that if Republicans had made that accusation, it would be treated as a "conspiracy theory." "Can you imagine if the election results were the opposite and WE tried to play the Russia/CIA card," Trump tweeted. "It would be called conspiracy theory!" He continued: "Unless you catch 'hackers' in the act, it is very hard to determine who was doing the hacking. Why wasn't this brought up before election?" The Director of National Intelligence and the Department of Homeland Security had said one month before the election, however, that officials were "confident" the Russian government directed hacks on US political institutions. Internal emails from members of the Democratic National Committee and John Podesta, the chairman of Hillary Clinton's campaign, were leaked online throughout the campaign. The Washington Post and The New York Times reported on Friday that an assessment by the CIA concluded that Russia interfered in the election to help Trump's presidential bid. Trump has been reluctant to pin blame for the hacks on Russia. In an interview that aired on "Fox News Sunday," he called the claim "ridiculous" and "just another excuse" for Clinton's surprise loss last month.The Brazilian wing-back has been unable to make an impact at the Nerazzurri and could be on the move, with Roberto Donadoni keen to acquire the former Santos player Brazilian full-back Jonathan appears to be on his way out of Inter as the Nerazzurri have reached an agreement with Parma on a loan deal until the end of the season with the option make the move permanent this summer, Sky Sport 24 reports.New Parma coach Roberto Donadoni was eager to add some fresh blood to his squad in the January transfer window in order to stay clear of the drop zone, and the former Italy national team boss now looks set to acquire his first reinforcement.The 25-year-old Jonathan joined Inter from Santos ahead of the 2011-12 campaign, but the right-back has struggled to secure regular first-team action at the Nerazzurri so far.Therefore, Inter are ready to off-load the defender again hardly six months after his arrival at the Giuseppe Meazza side, and Parma appears to be his next destination.Both clubs have allegedly already agreed terms, and the defender could complete his move to the Ennio Tardini later on Friday.The Unsavory Story Of Industrially-Grown Tomatoes In his book Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit, Barry Estabrook writes of perfectly round, orangish supermarket tomatoes—grown largely in Florida—and how the migrants who pick them are sometimes bound into modern slavery by farm bosses. IRA FLATOW, host: This is SCIENCE FRIDAY. I'm Ira Flatow. What part of your salad looks the most colorful and delicious but really has the least flavor? I'm betting it's your tomato. But you already knew that because tomatoes, unless you buy them locally, are always a disappointment. I never really understood the full extent of the reasons why until I read the book written by my next guest, who has made me question every tomato I see from now on, and he has raised some serious questions about how they are grown and picked and what amounts to what he calls slave labor, real slave labor still going on in Florida. Barry Estabrook is the author of "Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit." He joins us from the studios of Iowa Public Radio in Des Moines. Welcome to SCIENCE FRIDAY. BARRY ESTABROOK: Well, thanks for having me. FLATOW: What a story you tell here. I mean, and you begin in a wonderful way, by telling the story of a truck you were following on a highway in which you thought you thought Granny Smith apples were falling out. ESTABROOK: Yeah, it was in southwestern Florida a few years ago, and I was minding my own business, cruising along, and I saw this open-back truck, and it looked like it was loaded, as you said, with green apples. And then I thought to myself wait, wait, apples don't grow in Florida. And as I pulled up behind it, I saw they were tomatoes, a whole truckload mounded over with perfectly green tomatoes, not a shade of pink or red in sight. As we were going along, we came to a construction site, the truck hit a bump, and three or four of these things flew off the truck. They narrowly missed my windshield, but they did hit the pavement. They bounced a few times, and then they rolled onto the shoulder. None of them splattered. None of them even showed cracks. I mean, a modern-day industrial tomato has no problem with falling off a truck at 60 miles an hour on an interstate highway. FLATOW: Not to mention how - what it must taste like, besides how it's made, and it's indestructible. And then that started you along the road to investigating how tomatoes are really made and how they're grown. ESTABROOK: Well, I wondered how you take this fruit that we get this time of year in the farmers market or from our gardens, and it's very difficult to get a tomato from my garden the 25 yards to my kitchen counter without it spontaneously splitting. And how do you get from something as wonderful as that to these potentially lethal projectiles? FLATOW: And what you discovered is that first, which is most astounding to me when I read it, is that tomatoes are not supposed to grow in Florida. That's not their natural habitat. And second, in Florida where they're growing, they're growing in sort of pure sand. There's no soil... ESTABROOK: Well, exactly. It's counterintuitive, I know. I mean the Sunshine State and it's warm. But it's also extremely humid. It's extremely humid year-round, and everything that loves to prey on a tomato, every fungus, every bacteria, every rust, mold, germ, every insect, loves humidity. Tomatoes hate humidity. Their wild ancestors live on the - along the coastal regions of South America, and that's - you know, that's some of the driest desert in the world. And it's why tomatoes do well in places like California and Italy. They love these dry summer days. Florida's humid. That's step one, you're right. And the second thing is, most Florida commercial tomatoes are grown in sand. It's not sandy loam. It's not sandy soil. It's sand, just like you get on Daytona Beach, and it's got the same level of nutrients. Everything that plant needs to survive, to grow, has to be injected into that sand, or you get nothing. FLATOW: Wow, and so you wind up with this perfectly formed green tomato that is not being grown for its taste but its indestructibility, as you demonstrated on that highway. And then how does it get turned into something we see in our groceries? ESTABROOK: Well, these tomatoes are picked by hand. Slicing tomatoes, fresh tomatoes that you buy whole, as opposed to canned tomatoes, are picked by hand. They have to be. They are loaded into one of these vast, huge trucks like the one that nearly did me in, and they're trucked to warehouse-like processing plants where they're washed, waxed, put in cartons, and then the cartons are placed on pallets. And these bright green tomatoes go into warehouse-like buildings where the doors are closed and the processors turn on ethylene gas, and the tomatoes are gassed. Now, ethylene will cause a tomato to turn red. It's actually emitted naturally by the plants in the fields when they want to ripen their fruits. In this case, it's artificial, and even if a tomato is not ripe, it obligingly turns red. FLATOW: Wow, and you outline in your book something I have never heard since I watched "The Grapes of Wrath" on television recently, that there are there are foreign workers who are brought in and they are made to be virtual slaves to pick these tomatoes. ESTABROOK: I'm going to have to take a little bit of an issue with you. Virtual is not a qualifier I would use. Let me run down a couple of quick details: locked up, shackled in chains at night, locked in the back of produce trucks at night so that they're handy to be delivered to the fields in the morning, bought and sold and negotiated for almost at auction. FLATOW: Tell the story of the Guatemalan worker as an example. ESTABROOK: All right. He was a guy who came up here from Guatemala. His folks in Guatemala were both sick. The family had no money. So he took the usual route, came across the border, found his way to this town of Immokalee in southwestern Florida, it's sort of tomato capital during the wintertime. And he was out of work and broke and sort of waiting for something to come along and was sitting on a bench with a few other guys, and this fellow pulls up in a pickup truck and he says: Anyone want work? The Guatemalan fellow said I do. And the guy said great, come on aboard. I pay twice the going rate per bucket of tomatoes. If you don't have a place to stay, we will happily put you up at our place. My mom cooks for our crew. She charges you a bit of money, but she'll cook for you. You know, he thought: wow. He pretty soon realized that, you know, he was put in the back of a produce truck. That was his room and board, and he got charged $50 a week. The food was atrocious, often just dry tortillas. That was $50 a week. Everything came with an exorbitant imaginary price tag. To stand under a cold hose at the end of a day's work was $5, and lo and behold, he found that no matter how hard he worked, he kept falling further and further behind, and he saw what - if people didn't work, they were beaten. Some were hospitalized. They were told that they were now property of this crew leader and his cohorts, and for two and a half years this particular guy worked as a slave. Occasionally they'd give him a $20 bill to, you know, keep his hopes up, but there was no regular pay, and he couldn't leave. And he had no choice of when he worked. FLATOW: What do you mean he couldn't leave? ESTABROOK: Well, as he pointed out, one of his crew finally just couldn't take it anymore and ran away, and one of the crew boss guys chased him in the pickup truck and came back an hour or so later, and the guy was beaten to the point where he was unrecognizable and had to be dropped off at the hospital, and it was - he was permanently injured. He survived but permanently injured. And the crew boss said: You want to try to run away from me? Take a look. FLATOW: Is this still going on? ESTABROOK: Sadly, it's still going on. This is not an isolated case. There have been more than 1,200 people freed from slavery rings in Florida agriculture in the last 10 or 15 years. Off the record an official told me recently that there's two cases currently under investigation. The problem is they're very, very hard cases to prosecute. So what you're seeing is the tip of a really ugly iceberg. FLATOW: And what percentage of the tomatoes in supermarkets come from Florida? ESTABROOK: It depends on the time of year. Right now, none. But during certain periods of the winter, virtually all the tomatoes that you'll see in the supermarket or get in a fast-food restaurant or a sandwich shop will come from Florida. Overall, Florida produces about a third of the fresh tomatoes we eat in the United States. FLATOW: You mentioned in your book how California and Florida produce equal amounts of tomatoes, but Florida uses eight times the pesticides as California. ESTABROOK: Yes, for fresh tomatoes. It's astounding. And that's because of what we talked about earlier. The weather, the climate, is just not right in Florida to grow tomatoes. So they have to wage what amounts to chemical warfare. There's 110 different chemicals in the official Florida guidebook for commercial tomato growers that you can spray on a field over the course of the few months that those tomatoes are in the field, including many that the EPA rates as acutely toxic, which means they can kill you. FLATOW: And the workers are exposed to this also, I imagine. ESTABROOK: You know, Ira, I talked to three or four dozen workers personally, researching the book, and I'd asked that question, I said, have you ever been sprayed? And they'd look at me as if I said, do you put your pants on in the morning. They said, of course, all the time. I said, until like your clothes are wet? And they said, soaked. And then some - and then, you know, the vines are wet if we're not being sprayed directly. So pesticides on workers is a horrific problem. They just spray, it seems, with abandon even though it's illegal. FLATOW: Let me go to the phones. 1-800-989-8255. Craig in Fort Myers, Florida. Hi, Craig. CRAIG: Hi. How are you doing? FLATOW: Hi, there. CRAIG: Thanks for taking my call. One very brief comment and then another comment. One is that the fast food industry is the designer of these tomatoes. They want tomatoes that are hard and easily - sliced thinly. And a huge percentage of these tomatoes go to the fast food industry. And then, my other comment is about the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, which is an organization, a not-for-profit organization made up mostly of tomato pickers here in southern Florida that works, one, to expose the slavery that goes on among agriculture workers here in southwestern Florida and then also runs boycotts against agencies to try to raise the pay for workers down here. And we've had successful boycotts against most of the fast food restaurants, and we're currently organizing a protest against public supermarkets. FLATOW: Well, you know, reading "Tomatoland," Barry Estabrook's book, it's hard to imagine that this really goes on, but you can testify to the fact also. CRAIG: Oh, I've been working in this field for 12 years now. And it goes on all the time, and the conditions for workers are horrific. And we can't leave out the packing companies that are complicit in all of this. And the living conditions - even when they're not shackled, which I know that they are, living conditions - it's not unusual to have 10, 15, 20 workers living in a broken down mobile home. Each of the - each of them paying $200 a month in rent. FLATOW: And this is taken out before - this is taken out before they even get paid, so this is deducted from (unintelligible). CRAIG: Well, perhaps. In some cases, yes and in other cases no, because there's very few landlords (unintelligible) - most of the rental living spaces in and around the tomato fields are owned by a handful of people, often by the packing companies. So even if it's, quote, unquote, you know, "not on the - in the fields," you know, they're paying $2,000 a month rent for a broken down mobile home, which you can get, hopefully, get 15 or 20 people into. And I can go on and on, of course. FLATOW: Yeah. Thanks for calling. Interesting stuff. Barry, it jibes with what you're saying in your book. ESTABROOK: Well, yes. I mean, and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, which Craig referred to, has, you know, it started out as, really, a ragtag crew of workers who just meet in a church basement, and often they just get 10 guys together to dun a reluctant crew boss and maybe slow-paying some of his workers. Now, they're a very formidable force that has won tremendous victories for the workers. They've completely turned around the way the companies relate to workers. Just in the last year, in fact, this fall, the tomato industry could look very different. There's a way to solve a lot of the problems that we talked about. The machinery is in place. How it gets used, we'll see in the coming months. FLATOW: We're talking with Barry Estabrook, author of "Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit" on SCIENCE FRIDAY from NPR. I'm Ira Flatow, talking with - well, we thought we would start out talking about the magnificence of tomatoes. And you had no idea that you would find any in (unintelligible), I'm sure, Barry. ESTABROOK: Well, I was a food writer and had been covering the flavor issue for years. But, you know, to be honest, the workers were invisible to me. I think that's tell-tale of food journalism in general at that time. It was only in the last - it was only when these slavery cases started getting made public that I realized, wait, the problem goes way beyond a not particularly good tasting winter tomato. There's a real deep problem here with the way we grow these things. FLATOW: We - yeah. And is it changing? Do you see any change? I mean, this is the 21st century, you know? ESTABROOK: I see a lot of - these Coalition of Immokalee Workers has implemented a fair food agreement, which gets more money to the workers and some basic education issues, some basic grievance procedures, some startling innovations that, you know, like something called the punch clock, which didn't exist before in the tomato business. Another startling thing - little tents, so you can get a bit of shade in these fields for your breaks or lunch or if you get fatigue. So, yeah, it's - this progress has been made, but it is still probably the crummiest job you can get in the United States legally. FLATOW: Mm-hmm. Let's - in a few minutes we have left, let's talk a little bit about tomatoes themselves. I mean, you're a flavor reviewer, food reviewer. The tomato flavor is unique itself - in itself, is it not? ESTABROOK: You know, it's - the tomato flavor is so complex, it's almost like a fine wine when you think about it. For example, if you are a plant breeder wanting to breed a banana, for whatever reason, if you got one chemical, one signature chemical into your new breed of banana, everyone would taste it and recognize it as a pretty good banana. Same with strawberries, one chemical. With tomatoes, there's a balance of citric acid, malic acid and fructose, and then there's probably 19 or 20 different chemical, aromatic chemicals - chemicals you can smell, which means chemicals you can taste - that have to go in there, and none of them bear any resemblance to a tomato. I've... FLATOW: Wow. ESTABROOK:...sat in a laboratory at University of Florida. You'll smell roses, Juicy Fruit gum, cut grass. But when they're mixed together, you get that unique tomato taste. So that - that's what makes it so hard to breed for a tasty tomato. FLATOW: Wow. 1-800-989-8255 is our number. We're talking with Barry Estabrook, author of "Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit." We're going to take a short break. We'll come back, talk a little bit more with Barry and take your questions, and 1-800-989-8255. You can tweet us, @scifri, @S-C-I-F-R-I. Tell us what you like about tomatoes or don't like. Stay with us. We'll be right back after this break. I'm Ira Flatow. This is SCIENCE FRIDAY from NPR. (SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) FLATOW: You're listening to SCIENCE FRIDAY. I'm Ira Flatow, talking with Barry Estabrook, author of "Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit." On the phone with us right now is Luis CdeBaca of the State Department. He's ambassador-at-large, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. Welcome to SCIENCE FRIDAY. LUIS CDEBACA: Good to be here. FLATOW: What is the State Department doing to combat this trafficking in humans? CDEBACA: Well, one of the things that's important for the Obama administration is to make sure that if we're looking at food - just as what we've seen with what Mr. Estabrook did in his book - is that food security is not simply having enough or having stuff that tastes good or gets to the market. No food can truly be secure if the people that picked it were enslaved when they were doing it. So we're trying to get the word out. We're ranking other countries on how they're doing. And for the first time, we've actually been shining the light on the situation here in the United States. And, unfortunately, as he found in his book, there still is modern slavery right here in our own backyards. FLATOW: Mm-hmm. And can the State Department do anything about it? CDEBACA: Well, one of the things that we're doing is - Secretary Clinton is the chair of the Interagency Cabinet Task Force, and we've stepped up enforcement around the country, with new task forces at the U.S. attorneys' offices. But even more, I think, that you'll be seeing us do some work in the next year to try to help consumers be able to look at their own, for lack of a better word, slavery footprint, much like you can look at your carbon footprint. But right now you can't really necessarily tell. Are these tomatoes? Is this cocoa? Are these fish that I'm eating? You know, what is my own slavery footprint when I'm looking at this as a consumer? FLATOW: So if I'm buying a tomato, I can know if it's made by slaves or not. CDEBACA: Well, and I think that - you know, one of the things is that the organizations like the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and others have helped get the companies to care. But a company is not - won't necessarily care about their supply chain until they know that the consumers care about their supply chain. So it's not just insisting that it can pack and it can go a long way, but it was also picked and packed in a humane and respectful manner. FLATOW: Thank you very much, Mr. CdeBaca, for joining us today. CDEBACA: Good to be here. Thank you. FLATOW: You're welcome. Luis CdeBaca of the U.S. Department of State, office - he's an ambassador-at-large at the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Person. With me also, as I say, is Barry Estabrook, author of "Tomatoland." Barry, any - have you talked to them before? Any reaction? ESTABROOK: I haven't talked to the State Department, but I have talked to many law enforcement officers in southwestern Florida who've been - the frontlines in these slavery prosecutions. And I have to say, refreshingly forthcoming. I - as a reporter, you know, often lawyers and policemen are, you know, closemouthed. These guys, I have the feeling that they take their job personally. It's a horrific crime. You know, all these people do is want to come and work. They're willing to do - you know, they're desperate and they want to work. They don't want to panhandle. They want to work, and they end up as slaves. And so, tremendous cooperation from Douglas Molloy, who's the U.S. attorney for the - that district of Florida. Tremendous cooperation from the Collier County, Florida, police department - Charlie Frost down there. Unprecedented because this is a type of crime, they all tell me, that withers in the light of publicity. It can't stand it. No one wants to have conditions that existed in 1850 happening right now, you know, in Florida or anywhere in the United States. So... FLATOW: Well, Barry - well, maybe your book "Tomatoland" becomes the new "Grapes of Wrath." So... ESTABROOK: Well... (SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER) FLATOW: So we wish - you know, you and Steinbeck. We wish you good luck. Thank you for taking time to be with us today. "Tomatoland:" - it will change the way you look at tomatoes, written by Barry Estabrook, "How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit." Copyright © 2011 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.Mapping the frozen yogurt shop closest to each Manhattan apartment I love frozen yogurt. When I first moved to New York three years ago, I lived only 1/8th of a mile from the closest froyo shop. The convenience of this 4-minute walk is something I neither appreciated nor utilized enough at the time. After moving to Harlem last year, it’s been harder than ever to satisfy my near-constant craving for this cold candy soup — I’m now a 24-minute walk to the nearest frozen yogurt. As someone who loves data and has too much time to spare, I decided to find the locations in Manhattan with highest and lowest froyo densitiy. Inspired by Ben Wellington’s work on I Quant NY, I calculated the distance from every lot in Manhattan to the nearest froyo shop and mapped it out. The highest density of froyo is right around West 33rd St. and 8th Ave., with three shops within a 1-block radius. The lowest density is right in Harlem. The red circle on the map shows the location farthest from frozen yogurt. The record belongs to 700 Esplanade Gardens Plaza, a co-op right by the 145th St. stop on the 3-train, with a 51-minute trek across Manhattan to the Pinkberry by Columbia. The map shows all of the froyo shops in Manhattan, and you can click on any lot to find the distance to the closest shop. R code posted here.The US Department of Justice has launched a civil rights lawsuit against Florida, accusing the state of treating vulnerable children with “deliberate indifference”, by “unnecessarily segregating” them from their families. The grievance, filed on Monday, says that nearly 200 minors – many of whom need round-the-clock observation - remain cooped up in institutions (often geriatric nursing homes) as financial and bureaucratic constraints prevent them from receiving sufficient care in the community. “As a result of the state’s actions and inaction, the state has forced some families to face the cruel choice of fearing for their child’s life at home or placing their child in a nursing facility,” said the DOJ statement. The legal proceedings follow informal consultations last year, which the DOJ says Florida willfully ignored, placing it in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prevents discrimination against the disabled, and entitles them to life in their communities. Community care is generally more expensive than institutional care, and the Tea Party-led Florida legislature has cut its state healthcare budget every year since 2011 in real terms. The removal of community provisions appears to be a calculated policy. $6 million was recently slashed from the state private-duty nursing policy, while the amount of money the state budget provides for institutional care has gone up to $550 per day. The number of children in nursing homes is now 50 per cent higher than ten years ago. And the DOJ believes the policy goes beyond money. “The state’s screening and transition planning processes have been plagued with deficiencies. Some children have spent years in a nursing facility before receiving screening required under federal law to determine whether they actually need to be in a nursing facility.” In 2011 Republican governor Rick Scott rejected a $40 million federal grant “specifically to support individuals transitioning from nursing facilities and other institutional settings to the community.” In the eyes of the Department of Justice, Florida’s policies have resulted in egregious outcomes for the “fragile” minors, who commonly suffer from developmental disorders and traumatic brain injuries. “In one instance, the state cut one child’s in-home health care in half. Her family could not safely provide care themselves to make up for this reduction in services, and they felt they had no choice but to place her in a nursing home. Another child who entered a nursing facility as a young child spent almost six years in a facility before the state completed her federally mandated screening,” says the DOJ. Elizabeth Dudek, who was appointed by Scott in 2011 to head the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, which manages the state Medicaid program, has batted away the DOJ claims. She says the state has “made improvements”, and accused the Department of Justice of making a power grab. “Washington is not interested in helping families improve but instead is determined to file disruptive lawsuits with the goal of taking over control and operation of Florida’s Medicaid and disability programs,” said Dudek’s statement released on Monday. In the past four years, the Department of Justice has filed lawsuits against 11 different states, accusing them of discrimination against the disabled.In 2015, Montreal-based journalist Sophie Lachapelle founded her own company—a textile printing business called Quelle Histoire!, selling cotton cloths decorated with illustrations of obscure Canadian farm animals and plants. One depicts the near-extinct Black Canadienne cow, another, the cold-resistant Chantecler chicken. And then there is the particular piece of produce that first sparked Lachapelle’s fascination with Canada’s forgotten agricultural heritage: the Montreal melon, a once-famous fruit with an enigmatic history. “My interest in the melon started some 16 years ago,” explains Lachapelle. “It was when I first moved to the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighbourhood, in Montreal. I had heard on the radio it was once famous for its melons, which used to be served at the Queen’s table in England.” Further research revealed that Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, positioned hillside for lush sun exposure and fertilized thoroughly with horse manure from four neighbouring race tracks, was once known as the “the fruit basket of Quebec.” The area’s choicest product was a green-fleshed, ribbed, grey-netted relation of the cantaloupe which grew to 20 lbs (13 kg) and sold for a steak’s price per slice on the East Coast’s daintiest menus from the late 19th to early 20th centuries. The melon was celebrated for its size (it was the biggest cultivated in North America at the time), its sweetness, and its flavour, said to be musky and reminiscent of nutmeg. Indeed, Lachapelle found the British throne received a specimen each year, carefully wrapped in a custom wicker basket, and that the 14th premier of Quebec, Louis-Alexandre Taschereau, seasonally purchased a melon onto which his initials had been engraved. Accompanied by a finger bowl and served atop a plate of ice, the delicacy was even offered in the fine dining cars of the Canadian Pacific Railway in its opulent prime. The melon’s status as a hyper-luxury food item begs the question—how was it allowed to fall into obscurity? (And: can we revive it?) To begin answering that, it’s germane to note that the gourds are exceptionally hard to grow. Balanced on flat stones to protect their flesh from rotting against the ground and rotated a quarter turn each week to retain their shapeliness, they were always notoriously diva-ish—even before the land on which they grew since 1684 became abruptly inhospitable due to urbanization. By the 1930s, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce had converted into a residential neighbourhood, its population mushrooming from 5,000 to 50,000 in just over a decade. With its new inhabitants came subsequent buildings and roads in place of once arable soil (in fact, the Autoroute Décarie got its name from the family who once grew melons on the land it now covers). By the 1950s, the agricultural focus had shifted to reliable, high-yield crops, rendering fussy melon cultivation less attractive to farmers. Slowly, what was once Canada’s most distinguished produce item was forgotten, more forgiving yet banal watermelons and honeydews sprouting up in its place. A flurry of interest sparked around the melon in the late nineties, when about 40 kilometres west of Montreal in Île Perrot, farmer Ken Taylor successfully revived an heirloom fruit that looked and tasted like the original (its flavour was vouched for by Fred Aubin, who grew up on a melon farm in the region and sampled Taylor’s product shortly before his death in 2003 at age 73). Seven seed companies in Canada now sell Montreal melon seeds, but the melon’s delicacy combined with climate change since its heyday render it difficult for even the most experienced of farmers to grow. “Today we encourage our clients to cultivate the Oka melon instead—they are easier to grow and more uniform,” says Marjorie-Audrey Lévesque of Quebec garden store Jardins de L’Écoumène. The Oka, a smaller cousin of the Montreal melon grown in a neighbouring region, is the only varietal Lachapelle herself has tasted, and her impression was just decent: “Unfortunately, it was not as sweet as one could expect,” she says. “But it had, like I had read, a definite and surprising musk taste.” For now, the prize of a true Montreal melon—large and sweet and served atop cracked ice at the end of summer—may only go to especially lucky hobby farmers gambling with fickle heirloom seeds. For the rest of us, there’s cantaloupe. _________ Never miss a story. Sign up for NUVO’s weekly newsletter.BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — President Trump escalated his war of words with North Korea on Thursday by declaring that his provocative threat to rain down “fire and fury” might not have been harsh enough, as nuclear tensions between the two nations continued to crackle. Rejecting critics at home and abroad who condemned his earlier warning as reckless saber-rattling, Mr. Trump said North Korea and its volatile leader, Kim Jong-un, have pushed the United States and the rest of the world for too long. “Frankly, the people who were questioning that statement, was it too tough? Maybe it wasn’t tough enough,” he told reporters at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J. “They’ve been doing this to our country for a long time, for many years, and it’s about time that somebody stuck up for the people of this country and for the people of other countries. So if anything, maybe that statement wasn’t tough enough.” Mr.
, 05:03:11 PM Therefore, the total best-case validation time would be the time to compute e(g, sigma) and the product of n pre-calculated pairings. Great point! Thought also precludes gaining a product of pairings speedup (though as I mentioned, efficient fraud proofs would preclude that). Products in the transfer group (which is going to be 3kilobit or so), are not ultrafast either, so that is not totally negligible. It would also mean that the 3kbit intermediate elements would need to be cached, instead of just a set. Memory usage for our signature caches is already a consideration. My thinking there is also somewhat influenced by my thinking in terms of the benefit from privacy or anti-reorg, transactions need to be not broadcast in advance to some degree. But you're absolutely right that caching is not totally lost. Great point! Thought also precludes gaining a product of pairings speedup (though as I mentioned, efficient fraud proofs would preclude that). Products in the transfer group (which is going to be 3kilobit or so), are not ultrafast either, so that is not totally negligible. It would also mean that the 3kbit intermediate elements would need to be cached, instead of just a set. Memory usage for our signature caches is already a consideration.My thinking there is also somewhat influenced by my thinking in terms of the benefit from privacy or anti-reorg, transactions need to be not broadcast in advance to some degree. But you're absolutely right that caching is not totally lost. priestc Offline Activity: 34 Merit: 0 NewbieActivity: 34Merit: 0 Re: Signature aggregation for improved scalablity. March 13, 2016, 11:42:21 PM #8 Quote Unlike other past shared signature proposals based on exploiting pubkey reuse, there is no advantage in this design in reusing public keys; so it also doesn't create a new privacy moral hazard for the network. Could you please clarify this paragraph? I assume by "other proposals" you mean BIP131. It seems to me that BIP131 pretty much solves zipping inputs into a single input in a very simple manner. Your proposal sounds like there are only 3 people in the world with enough phDs to understand whats going on. I feel like I can explain BIP131 to a group of kindergartners and they'll pretty much know what I'm talking about. Lets say you run a hot dog stand. At the beginning of the day you generate an address, and print off a QR code. Each time someone buys a hot dog, they send you $1.50 worth of bitcoin to that address in the QR code. At the end of the day, your wallet generates a single 233 byte transaction which moves all transactions for that day into your coinbase account (or wherever). Then you throw away that QR code, and generate a new one for the next day. A lot of people use bitcoin this way already. There is no moral hazard because no private key is being re-used. BIP131 solves the moral hazard. All you have to do to enable the "wildcard" feature is to flip a bit in the version field. Now all inputs that have the same scriptPubKey and are confirmed in a block lesser than the block of the input you did sign, then those inputs gets spent by the transaction as well. The work to implement this can be done by someone with 0 ph.Ds. I could probably implement it myself if I knew C++... Could you please clarify this paragraph? I assume by "other proposals" you mean BIP131.It seems to me that BIP131 pretty much solves zipping inputs into a single input in a very simple manner. Your proposal sounds like there are only 3 people in the world with enough phDs to understand whats going on. I feel like I can explain BIP131 to a group of kindergartners and they'll pretty much know what I'm talking about.Lets say you run a hot dog stand. At the beginning of the day you generate an address, and print off a QR code. Each time someone buys a hot dog, they send you $1.50 worth of bitcoin to that address in the QR code. At the end of the day, your wallet generates a single 233 byte transaction which moves all transactions for that day into your coinbase account (or wherever). Then you throw away that QR code, and generate a new one for the next day. A lot of people use bitcoin this way already. There is no moral hazard because no private key is being re-used. BIP131 solves the moral hazard.All you have to do to enable the "wildcard" feature is to flip a bit in the version field. Now all inputs that have the same scriptPubKey and are confirmed in a block lesser than the block of the input you did sign, then those inputs gets spent by the transaction as well. The work to implement this can be done by someone with 0 ph.Ds. I could probably implement it myself if I knew C++... gmaxwell Legendary Online Activity: 2660 Merit: 2016 ModeratorLegendaryActivity: 2660Merit: 2016 Re: Signature aggregation for improved scalablity. March 14, 2016, 07:41:52 PM #9 Practical fungibility is an essential property of money, privacy is an essential requirement for a financial transaction system. No widespread money system is in use without these properties. Bitcoin's ability to have them depends _strongly_ on the use of random pseudonymous addresses, whenever people don't use that Bitcoin's status as money is degraded for everyone. Inserting a huge incentive to compromise fungibility and privacy into the system to get a modest capacity boost is a non-starter, even more than it was a non-starter in 2011 when I first recall seeing it proposed. And yes, some people currently use Bitcoin in ways that damage the system-- it can take that-- but in no way makes it acceptable to reward that harmful behavior. (As an aside, the example you give is pretty broken-- if every customer pays to the same address you cannot distinguish which of multiple concurrent payments has actually gone through; so that only works so long as your hotdog stand is a failure, as soon as you had multiple customers paying close together in time it turns into a mass of confusion.) Quote It seems to me that BIP131 pretty much solves zipping inputs into a single input in a very simple manner. [...] All you have to do to enable the "wildcard" feature is to flip a bit in the version field. When you lack understanding many things which are not simple seem simple, and many things which are simple seem not simple. No kind of aggregation can be just done by "flipping a bit in the version field", as that is utterly incompatible with the design of the system; violates all the layering, and would be rejected as coin-theft by all the existing nodes. Quote I feel like I can explain BIP131 to a group of kindergartners and they'll pretty much know what I'm talking about. [...] Now all inputs that have the same scriptPubKey and are confirmed in a block lesser than the block of the input you did sign, then those inputs gets spent by the transaction as well In fact, the way you're describing it here would result in _immediate_ funds loss, even absent an attacker. Imagine an additional payment shows up that you weren't expecting when you signed but happens to arrive first at miners, and the total value of that additional payment get converted into fees! As you described it here, it would also be replay vulnerable... where someone sends the same transaction to the chain a second time to move new payments that have shown up since. This is why we don't have kindergartners design the Bitcoin protocol, I guess. That kind of design also results in a substantial scalablity loss as every node would need an additional search index for the utxo set (or perform a linear scan of it, which takes tens of seconds currently) in order to gather all the inputs with the same scriptpubkey. What I've described here is actually very simple, straight forward to implement, and is understood by many people... and it achieves its goal without the massive downside of forcing address reuse-- and in doing so avoids trashing fungiblity and sensible business workflows; and as a bonus isn't grievously broken. If I've bamboozled you with my explanation, that is likely because I took the time to explain some of the history of the thinking in this space and because my intended audience was other Bitcoin experts (and not PHD's I can assure you)-- whom understood it just fine; not your conjectural kindergartners. Not to mention,... good explanation is a difficult art and generally only ideas which are too simple to actually be correct can be simply explained without considerable effort. When implementation moves forward you can trust that simple and clear explanations will be provided. I wasn't aware of 131 when I wrote that text, but aggregating public key reuse is a perennial proposal which reoccurs every 6 to 9 months and is shot down each time.Practical fungibility is an essential property of money, privacy is an essential requirement for a financial transaction system. No widespread money system is in use without these properties. Bitcoin's ability to have them depends _strongly_ on the use of random pseudonymous addresses, whenever people don't use that Bitcoin's status as money is degraded for everyone. Inserting a huge incentive to compromise fungibility and privacy into the system to get a modest capacity boost is a non-starter, even more than it was a non-starter in 2011 when I first recall seeing it proposed. And yes, some people currently use Bitcoin in ways that damage the system-- it can take that-- but in no way makes it acceptable to reward that harmful behavior.(As an aside, the example you give is pretty broken-- if every customer pays to the same address you cannot distinguish which of multiple concurrent payments has actually gone through; so that only works so long as your hotdog stand is a failure, as soon as you had multiple customers paying close together in time it turns into a mass of confusion.)When you lack understanding many things which are not simple seem simple, and many things which are simple seem not simple.No kind of aggregation can be just done by "flipping a bit in the version field", as that is utterly incompatible with the design of the system; violates all the layering, and would be rejected as coin-theft by all the existing nodes.In fact, the way you're describing it here would result in _immediate_ funds loss, even absent an attacker. Imagine an additional payment shows up that you weren't expecting when you signed but happens to arrive first at miners, and the total value of that additional payment get converted into fees! As you described it here, it would also be replay vulnerable... where someone sends the same transaction to the chain a second time to move new payments that have shown up since. This is why we don't have kindergartners design the Bitcoin protocol, I guess. That kind of design also results in a substantial scalablity loss as every node would need an additional search index for the utxo set (or perform a linear scan of it, which takes tens of seconds currently) in order to gather all the inputs with the same scriptpubkey.What I've described here is actually very simple, straight forward to implement, and is understood by many people... and it achieves its goal without the massive downside of forcing address reuse-- and in doing so avoids trashing fungiblity and sensible business workflows; and as a bonus isn't grievously broken.If I've bamboozled you with my explanation, that is likely because I took the time to explain some of the history of the thinking in this space and because my intended audience was other Bitcoin experts (and not PHD's I can assure you)-- whom understood it just fine; not your conjectural kindergartners. Not to mention,... good explanation is a difficult art and generally only ideas which are too simple to actually be correct can be simply explained without considerable effort. When implementation moves forward you can trust that simple and clear explanations will be provided. priestc Offline Activity: 34 Merit: 0 NewbieActivity: 34Merit: 0 Re: Signature aggregation for improved scalablity. March 15, 2016, 07:36:05 PM #10 Quote from: gmaxwell on March 14, 2016, 07:41:52 PM I wasn't aware of 131 when I wrote that text, but aggregating public key reuse is a perennial proposal which reoccurs every 6 to 9 months and is shot down each time. Do you have a link to any of these proposals? I wrote BIP131, so I'm curious to see other people's (failed) take on it. Quote Inserting a huge incentive to compromise fungibility and privacy into the system to get a modest capacity boost is a non-starter, even more than it was a non-starter in 2011 when I first recall seeing it proposed. And yes, some people currently use Bitcoin in ways that damage the system-- it can take that-- but in no way makes it acceptable to reward that harmful behavior. I keep seeing this posted over an over again by multiple people, but it makes no sense to me. I'm referring to the notion that me using the system a certain way has any effect your privacy. Like me re-using addresses has any effect on you. Could you explain how this is so? Its not a self-evident claim at all. Lets say my shower is bugged with a hidden camera. This will cause my privacy to be lost, not anyone else's. The only way this bugged shower will effect your privacy is if I were to paste a naked picture of you over the camera hole. In order for me to do this, I need a naked picture of you in the first place. I can't violate someone's privacy unless I have their private information in the first place. If you're sending me bitcoin from a wallet that generates a new change address every transaction, and I'm using the same address over and over again, what is the proverbial naked picture I have of you that I'm leaking to the world? Quote (As an aside, the example you give is pretty broken-- if every customer pays to the same address you cannot distinguish which of multiple concurrent payments has actually gone through; so that only works so long as your hotdog stand is a failure, as soon as you had multiple customers paying close together in time it turns into a mass of confusion.) Oh come on, you're being pedantic. If you want to accept concurrent payments, you print out multiple QR codes, one for each register. Quote No kind of aggregation can be just done by "flipping a bit in the version field", as that is utterly incompatible with the design of the system; violates all the layering, and would be rejected as coin-theft by all the existing nodes. You're the only person who thinks this. Quote In fact, the way you're describing it here would result in _immediate_ funds loss, even absent an attacker. Imagine an additional payment shows up that you weren't expecting when you signed but happens to arrive first at miners, and the total value of that additional payment get converted into fees! As you described it here, it would also be replay vulnerable... where someone sends the same transaction to the chain a second time to move new payments that have shown up since. Only UTXOs confirmed in a block previous to the signed input get included in the coalesce. Lets say you have three UTXOs to the same address: #1 value 4 BTC in block 1000 #2 value 2 BTC in block 2000 #3 value 1 BTC in block 3000 and you included input #2 into your coalescing transaction, only output #1 and #2 will be included in the coalesc. Output #3 is left off because it's included in a block after the output that was included in the TX. The total input amount in this case would be 6 BTC. Quote That kind of design also results in a substantial scalablity loss as every node would need an additional search index for the utxo set (or perform a linear scan of it, which takes tens of seconds currently) in order to gather all the inputs with the same scriptpubkey. You just invoked a pet peeve of mine. You can't throw out numbers like that without mentioning the hardware. Currently the UTXO database has 35 million rows. On my 3 year old laptop I can query a 35 million table database and have it finish in a few hundred milliseconds. I guess if you're running this on an Apple II it would take "tens of seconds"... Even if it does take a long time to query the UTXO database, it shouldn't matter because the purpose is to spend those outputs. This results in a smaller UTXO database, which makes subsequent queries faster. Do you have a link to any of these proposals? I wrote BIP131, so I'm curious to see other people's (failed) take on it.I keep seeing this posted over an over again by multiple people, but it makes no sense to me. I'm referring to the notion that me using the system a certain way has any effect your privacy. Like me re-using addresses has any effect on you. Could you explain how this is so? Its not a self-evident claim at all.Lets say my shower is bugged with a hidden camera. This will causeprivacy to be lost, not anyone else's. The only way this bugged shower will effectprivacy is if I were to paste a naked picture of you over the camera hole. In order for me to do this, I need a naked picture of you in the first place. I can't violate someone's privacy unless I have their private information in the first place. If you're sending me bitcoin from a wallet that generates a new change address every transaction, and I'm using the same address over and over again, what is the proverbial naked picture I have of you that I'm leaking to the world?Oh come on, you're being pedantic. If you want to accept concurrent payments, you print out multiple QR codes, one for each register.You're the only person who thinks this.Only UTXOs confirmed in a block previous to the signed input get included in the coalesce. Lets say you have three UTXOs to the same address:#1 value 4 BTC in block 1000#2 value 2 BTC in block 2000#3 value 1 BTC in block 3000and you included input #2 into your coalescing transaction, only output #1 and #2 will be included in the coalesc. Output #3 is left off because it's included in a blockthe output that was included in the TX. The total input amount in this case would be 6 BTC.You just invoked a pet peeve of mine. You can't throw out numbers like that without mentioning the hardware. Currently the UTXO database has 35 million rows. On my 3 year old laptop I can query a 35 million table database and have it finish in a few hundred milliseconds. I guess if you're running this on an Apple II it would take "tens of seconds"...Even if it does take a long time to query the UTXO database, it shouldn't matter because the purpose is to. This results in a smaller UTXO database, which makes subsequent queries faster.The city’s first brewery in more than 80 years was expected to open this spring in the former Municipal Building, 20 High St., but is now scheduled to open in the fall. In the coming weeks, the brewery plans to run environmental tests, meet with architects and work on bids for contractors, according to Matt Munafo, one of the six co-owners of Municipal Brew Works. Formerly the home to Martin Mason Brewing Company and Peter Schwab’s Pure Gold beer, the city of Hamilton has watched Cincinnati command local beer fans’ attention with dozens of local breweries, including Christian Moerlein Brewing Co., Rhinegeist and MadTree Brewing. “The outpouring of interest in the community is amazing,” Munafo said. “It is important that we support local businesses and the local Hamilton community, because we want the brewery to be more than a company operating in the community, we want to become an integral part of the very fabric of the community. Community is a huge part of this process for Munafo and Municipal Brew Works. So far Munafo, a Hamilton native, has seen interest in the brewery by everyone from members of city council and the mayor to local citizens. Two other founders are from Hamilton, as well: Jim Goodman and Mark Jackson, while head brewer Sean Willingham is from Cincinnati. Aaron Holtz and David Frey are from Wapakoneta, Ohio. Daniel Schneider, the brewery’s logo designer, is also a Hamilton native and is proud to represent the city and the brewery with his art. Schneider understood the importance of the city to the project and brewery. The shape of the logo, Schneider said, symbolizes the connection and unification of a close community. “They have a strong sense of community. They really wanted to be in that space in Hamilton and be a part of the community so the circle really brings it together,” he said. The owners predict brewing and serving four to six standard crafts, several seasonal brews and “guest brews” created by representatives of local organizations. Opportunities to experience a tasting room, local restaurants’ takeout and food trucks stationed outside of the brewery are also planned to be available. ”Promoting and collaborating with local restaurants and bakeries to provide food for our patrons and having the brewery become a local presence at community festivals” is important, Schneider said.Simple model of an internal PoW attacker Vlad Zamfir Blocked Unblock Follow Following Mar 20, 2017 In a blog post published yesterday, I mentioned that only a naive attacker would attack PoW “from the outside”. I since put together a simple model of the “internal attacker” I was thinking about. I’ll first note, though, that PoW (on in-protocol incentives only) has no security in coordinated choice game theory because majority coalitions can form and profitably censor and revert blocks. But when we think about attacks on PoW, we usually don’t think about forming cartels or bribing miners, but instead we think about buying mining equipment and mining a heavier blockchain. This blog post is in that vein, of modelling the security of PoW against attackers who are going to directly control half of the hashrate to conduct an attack (they aren’t allowed rent it, or bribe miners for it, or engage in any other kind of coordination with miners). Bold text for tl;dr The external attacker An external attacker buys up enough GPUs or ASICs to “51% attack” an 100% honest network — or at least a 100% not-cooperating-with-attacker network. I’m tempted to assume that by adding X hashpower to one GPU mineable blockchain, an adversary will push that exact X hashpower worth of GPU miners to switch from mining that blockchain to mining on other blockchains (as if they didn’t, the attacker’s victim chain would be less profitable). It’s a kind of efficient/perfectly competitive market of blockchains-for-GPU-mining assumption. In this “simplest model” an external attack on a GPU blockchain with T total hashpower would need hashrate X = T/2. That’s a lot of GPUs! :) I’m also tempted to assume that by adding X ASIC power to the de-facto single one single ASIC-minable blockchain, you increase the total mining power of that ASIC network by X. It’s a kind of monopolistic market of blockchains-for-ASIC-mining assumption In this other “simplest model” an external attack on an ASIC blockchain with T total hashpower would need to have a hashrate of T to conduct an attack. The reality for each of these is something in between. The market of blockchains for GPU miners isn’t perfectly competitive, and the market of blockchains for ASIC miners isn’t perfectly monopolistic. Even though this is super interesting we’re going to keep it simple: no more talk about ASICs and I’m just going to assume that any attacker needs T/2 hashrate to attack a chain with T hashrate. Btw this is the “competitive market” scenario because miners immediately switched mine other chains when the attacker showed up, because the attacked blockchain became marginally less profitable for them (difficulty readjustment — ouch!). The key takeaway from all of this is that in our simple model, an attacker with T/2 hashrate can attack a blockchain with T hashrate. The “internal attacker” An “internal attacker”, instead of buying enough GPUs to get T/2 of the hashrate, buys some smaller portion of the hashrate X = pT. The internal attacker starts mining and now the honest part of the network has Y = T - X = (1 - p)T hashrate (by our efficiency assumption). The internal attacker continues to mine on the longest chain a time, earning block rewards, competing with miners. (We’re assuming that no one cooperates with our attacker). The internal attacker reinvests all of his mining revenue into buying more hashpower. We will assume in our model that the internal miner is able to add hashrate at a rate of 1 + r per month. I means that if the internal attacker has X hashrate at month 0, they will have X(1 + r) hashrate at month 1. Lets also assume that honest miners also invest in increasing their hashrate, but at a rate of 1 + h per month. In this thought experiment, we will assume that 1 + r > 1 + h. The attacker is focused on maximizing their hashrate. The honest miner is focused on staying profitable. The attacker may have sponsors with nefarious interests, or a long term strategy. The honest miners are not cooperating with the attacker, and will not know the attacker exists (the attacker appears to be mining honestly — although selfish mining would increase r - h). After N months, the internal attacker has X(1+r)^N hashrate, and the rest of the network has a hashrate of Y(1+h)^N. The attacker wins when they has as much hashrate as the network: X(1+r)^N =Y(1+h)^N <==> ((1+r)/(1+h))^N = Y/X = (1-p)/p Let us call the ratio (1+r)/(1+h) the “advantage” of the attacker, and denote it as ‘a’. So the attacker wins when a^N = (1-p)/p. The internal attacker with advantage a and initial proportion of hashpower p therefore is able to conduct a successful attack after N = ln((1 - p)/p)/ln(a) months By the way, it doesn’t need to be months — the math is the same with any period — safe as long as we measure the “advantage” on that period. Here’s a table with some numbers that helped me: Taking a look at the number of months until attack for internal attackers with advantage 5%, 10% and 25% per month, and with initial hashpower of 10%, 20% or 30% of the network. PSA: I rounded to the nearest month. Also by the way, it would be really, really cool to see anyone come up with realistic estimate bounds on an potential adversaries’ advantage! So how much security do we have, in this model? An external attacker who is aware of this “internal” strategy has a choice. If they know that they want to attack in N months, and they know their advantage, then the can calculate how much initial weight they need. Which means that they can calculate how many GPUs to buy. Alternatively, if the attacker knows how many GPUs they can buy, and their advantage, then they can calculate the number of months it will take them to get a majority of the mining power on their target blockchain. So what do block rewards buy us? Increasing block rewards increases the cost of buying any given proportion of the hashrate. An attacker who previously could afford 10% of the hashrate maybe may only be able to afford 5% of the hashrate, to start off their attack. Doubling the block reward delays the block reward by ∆N =ln((1 - p/2)/(p/2))/ln(a) - ln((1 - p)/p)/ln(a) = (ln((2 - p)/p) - ln(p/(1 - p)))/ln(a) = ln((2-p)/(1-p))/ln(a) So doubling the price of block reward delays an adversary with advantage ‘a’ and the ability to buy ‘p’ of the hash rate delays the adversary’s successful attack by ∆N = ln((1-p)/(2-p))/ln(a) Here’s another table! The number of months that an adversary with weight 10%, 20%, or 30% would be delayed in their attack due to a doubling in block rewards, given that they have a 5%, 10%, or 25% advantage. This assumes that the network hashrate doubles in response to the doubling of the hashrate (reasonably, under the competitive market assumption). Doubling block rewards to delay an attack by 10 months sounds appealing. However, doubling the rewards every 10 months in order to indefinitely delay an attack sound very expensive (exponential growth happens fast). Concluding thoughts In the end the model was really simple. It assumed that the adversary initially has some proportion of the weight, and is able to exponentially increase their hashrate at some rate that is faster than the exponential rate at which honest miners onboard hashrate. This is a reasonable assumption because miner revenues are proportional to hashrate, and also because it made the math quite doable. We were able to look at some numbers, in terms of how many months an adversary with a given amount of advantage will take to conduct an attack, and how much their attack is delayed by a doubling in block rewards. So it is clear that increasing block rewards does increase security in this model where the miners won’t cooperate with an attacker and the attacker has to buy hashpower to attack the network (whether or not they mine honestly after buying the hashpower). However, much about how this maps onto the real world is still left to the imagination. It would be really cool to see if anyone can come up with reasonable bounds on an adversary’s advantage, when the adversary tries different strategies that are available to them! Such numbers could really help us think about how much security miners provide the network against adversaries who cannot coordinate with miners. Cheerio~STUTTGART, Germany — Porsche is replacing the naturally aspirated flat-six in the 2017 911 Carrera and Carrera S with a brand-new, more efficient turbocharged engine. Does it still excite? August “Gustl” Achleitner, chief engineer for the 2017 Porsche 911, shoots up to the right-hander like a hungry shark aiming for its prey. Third gear, brake. Second gear, brake harder. Lift off and turn in smoothly. Keep the torque flowing, then — just past the second apex — boot it! We drift for one, two, three seconds, and then gracefully exit. “Could you ask the photographer to send me this picture, please?” says Achleitner. The 2017 Porsche 911 is, in most respects, a normal mid-cycle refresh of the current model. It sports such subtle changes like LED sidelights, new Xenon headlights, more sculptural taillights, motorized nasal air intakes that close above 10 mph, and a new all-black rear air intake with longitudinal rather than horizontal slats. The red Carrera S we’re riding in wears only minimal camouflage: two strips of body-color tape at one end, two faux transparent taillight covers at the other. Most passersby will just see another 911. Look closer, though, and you’ll spot the two intercoolers stowed away in the rear fenders. They cool a new turbocharged, 3.0-liter flat-six. The base Carrera has the same engine in 370-hp tune. Here in the Carrera S, it produces 420 hp at 6,500 rpm. As far as the maximum torque is concerned, it’s 332 lb-ft against 369 lb-ft in the Carrera, which is available from 1,700 to 5,000 rpm in both trims. That’s a boost of about 20 hp and about 45 lb-ft over its predecessor, which isn’t much. But Porsche claims the way in which that power and torque is delivered makes all the difference. With a dual-clutch automatic, the Carrera S can accelerate to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds, eclipsing its predecessor by 0.4 seconds and edging the 430 hp, 2015 GTS by one-tenth of a second. Top speed climbs by a token 1 mph in both Carrera and Carrera S. And then there’s the real pay off: Consumption drops by between 6 and 13 percent in European testing. (U.S. fuel economy estimates are still not out.) Achleitner says he prefers to operate the Carrera S in manual mode, “so that I’m always close to that wide sweet spot, where this engine responds without delay.” Without delay? From a passenger perspective, there is no turbo lag as such, but somehow the throttle action does not feel quite as electrifying as we remember it from the soon defunct GTS motor, which reached its cut-out speed 500 rpm later. There’s now so much low-end power that there’s now no real need to tap the 2,300 rpm that lie between the torque summit and the performance peak. “We worked long and hard to make the new [engines] sound good, to give them a voice of their own,” says Achleitner, changing the subject. “It was a difficult task, but I am happy with the result.” While the run-of-the-mill versions are said to be a little more decibel-conscious, our test car is fitted with the vocal sport exhaust, which trumpets through two fat tailpipes positioned below the license plate. Full acceleration makes horses prance, sends birds flying, and arches the backs of resident cats. What about the extra weight for the turbos, intercoolers, and related plumbing? Does it upset the already rear-biased weight distribution and the handling balance? “Not the case,” states the man at the wheel, without batting an eyelash. “On the contrary, the [2017 911]feels even more relaxed at speed, and the front axle in particular is firmly planted.” Achtleitner sets the drive program to Sport, presses the stability control button, and breaks out a mischievous grin. “We developed a new slide-without-regret mode, which permits astonishing drift angles yet prevents you from ending up in the ditch. It’s a software thing supported by rear-wheel steering, which can now be specified for the Carrera S.” The rider spurs the red stallion, power-over steering through every corner that asks for it, peppering the side windows with insects. Just as my stomach is about to make an emergency call, the chief shepherd slows down, turns off paradise road, and is heading for the Pforzheim basin. Rounding up his new favorite ram with two fingers and a ginger right foot, Achleitner aims at every drainage grid, manhole cover, and speed bump. “What do you think? Can you feel the difference? We reprogrammed the [adaptive dampers], and this is the result: better low-speed ride, more progressive response, decent compliance even in combination with 20-inch tires. Also, the front axle can now rise 30mm [about 1.2 inches] to climb up steep ramps and tall curbs.” That’s nice, Herr Achleitner, but this particular extra costs about as much as a dozen replacement bumpers. Still, we see Achleitner’s point: This 911 aims to be even more comfortable every day than its predecessor. Thanks to a long-legged top gear, an eager-to-upshift automatic, and the ability to coast under trailing throttle, this Porsche is a remarkably relaxed and efficient cross-country cruiser. At the other end of the spectrum, that distinct willingness to burn rubber and peel tarmac has been retained and refined. All it takes to access the dark side of the car’s character is a flick at the mode selector integrated, Ferrari-style, into the new sport steering wheel. There are five different attitudes to choose from: Normal, Individual, Sport, Sport Plus, and Sport Response, the last of which is clearly tuned for track use. The modes change the character of the powertrain, dampers, rear air dam, and exhaust. That’s a lot of choice, yet we’d ask for even more, specifically the ability to tweak the automatic transmission and engine separately. Why? Because there is no need to mate a very fast throttle response to an unsuitably low gear and correspondingly high revs. Of course, you can still control your shifts all the time with the seven-speed manual transmission, which has been upgraded for 2017 with a double-plate clutch for more precision and less effort. Achleitner takes an excursion through Swabian suburbia, which provides us time to check out the upgraded infotainment system. The center console itself has not changed much, but the new in-dash monitor offers better graphics and additional features like Apple Car Play and Google Earth. You can also go online, have messages read out to you, hop on Facebook, and check out the weather. (You can in Europe, that is. U.S. safety regulators will likely nix these potentially distracting features.) The touchscreen itself now supports swiping, zooming, and scrolling. Proximity sensors enlarge your fingertip’s icon of desire. We change pace one more time as we hit the A8 autobahn. Almost immediately, my driver gives his baby stick. Initially, full throttle feels like departing from the launch pad of an aircraft carrier, but one eventually gets used to its kick-and-rush rhythm. Against the inner stopwatch, the 2017 Porsche 911 feels barely faster than its more raucous, rev-hungry predecessor. What puts the new car in a league of its own is the meatier low-to-mid-range punch and the greater forward urgency in seventh gear. But, for a moment, let’s forget about sheer velocity. Let’s instead relish the 2017 Porsche 911’s confidence-inspiring, high-speed directional stability. Dopey trucker with rear-view mirror allergy? Indicator-lazy sales rep in text-messaging coma? Grandma sleeping in the fast lane? No problem when you’re
restaurant with his wife, Julie Zhu, has recently renovated the space next door to accommodate them? The main reason is, of course, the quality of the sushi. The joke about sushi is that it’s good if it doesn’t taste like fish; some people even say it doesn’t taste like anything. Let them try Izu’s salmon. Lush and sweet, it has a gentle ocean flavor. Wrapped, along with avocado, in brown rice sprinkled with sesame seeds, it becomes irresistible. The avocado and the salmon are both rich and light; I felt as if I were eating whipped cream. Another reason Izu draws crowds is the pleasure of sitting in its large and roomy booths even before the first dish appears. Like people, restaurants have personalities that extend beyond their physical attributes. Izu’s is caring. Shy and barely fluent in English, Mr. Liu seems to recognize his customers’ needs before they do. Within moments of our party’s ordering several complex rolls but no appetizers, he appeared at our table with edamame for us to nibble while we waited. When the rolls arrived, they were excellent. Purists object to American-style sushi — by which they mean ungainly rolls filled with seemingly random ingredients like peanuts or cream cheese. I’ve heard of steak sushi, Spam sushi, even sushi made with macaroni and cheese. The rolls at Izu are more civilized, and the choice of ingredients more sane. Advertisement Continue reading the main story My favorite is the AK-47. Like the gun, it’s a marvel of intricate parts that includes lightly seared tuna, spicy yellowtail and creamy avocado. The wonder of this roll is that it allows you to taste the less assertive ingredients, the tuna and yellowtail, in spite of the more aggressive ones, the black pepper that coats the tuna and the chopped jalapeño peppers planted in the rice. Only after you’ve tasted all the other ingredients do the jalapeños deliver their final pow. Photo Another popular roll is the Izu, which, like the restaurant, is named after the peninsula west of Tokyo from which Mount Fuji can be seen. The pleasures of this roll are subtle. One of them is fluke, whose delicate flavor is also easily overwhelmed. Here, too, Izu’s chefs prove themselves experts at culinary engineering. They place the fluke outside the roll, where it makes a sweet and memorable first impression.Brazil Has at Least 357 Cities at Risk of a Renewed Aedes Linked Outbreak 11/29/2017 - 11h43 Advertising NATÁLIA CANCIAN FROM BRASÍLIA A survey conducted by the Ministry of Health indicates that at least 357 Brazilian cities are at risk of a renewed dengue, zika and chikungunya outbreak. This indicates that the larvae of the mosquito Aedes aegypti, which transmits such diseases, was found in more than 4% of properties visited in those cities. Additional 1,139 cities have been put on alert for new outbreaks, having such indicator between 1% and 3.9%. About 2,450 cities showed a satisfactory situation, with the mosquito found in less than 1% of the properties visited. The data, which can provide us with a risk overview for next summer, when conditions are conducive for mosquitos to thrive, is from the last LirAa (Rapid Survey of Aedes aegypti Infestation Index). Eduardo Knapp/Folhapress The larvae of the mosquito Aedes aegypti A total of 3,946 cities were covered by the survey - an increase of 73% compared to previous year. Cities which have not submit their data have until December to send explanations, otherwise funds for inspection may be suspended. The Northeastern area has the highest number of cities at risk or put on alert: 18.8% in this first group and 41% in the second. The most common type of breeding site for mosquitoes in the area was the storage of water in drums, barrels, and vats. Aedes aegypti outbreak data also raises the alert for yellow fever, seeing the disease can also be transmitted by this vector in urban areas. Translated by ANA BEATRIZ DEMARIA Read the article in the original languageOn 2/10/11, Tatsuro MATSUOKA < > Hello > > Congratulations!!! > I have announced the release of 3.4.0 in Octave related threads and wikis in > Japan. > > I really appreciate for your all efforts and efforts of all other > contributors. > > The version 3.4 is the first release to use gnulib libraries. > I feel that the MinGW has imports the gnulib comportments to make the source > portable. > The choice of the importing gnulib is really good for the portability and > maintainability of source > codes. However the gnulib itself is under development phase especially for > the MinGW. > > The fntests results current develments source are really fine but perhaps we > will meet hidden issues > due to new trials. Therefore this release is a good chance to go ahead > further. > > I hope I will continue contribute this project. > > Regards > > Tatsuro > --- "John W. Eaton" wrote: > >> The Octave developers are pleased to announce the release of GNU >> Octave 3.4.0. This is a major new release containing many new >> features, performance enhancements, and bug fixes. >> >> Version 3.4.0 of Octave is available for download at: >> >> >> ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/octave >> >> Please see >> the world. Or you may use >> will be redirected automatically to a nearby mirror. >> >> Links to binary (executable) versions for various systems will be >> listed at >> available. >> >> Please see >> user-visible changes in this release. >> >> To help improve future versions, please report problems using the >> Octave bug tracker at >> >> Octave 3.4.1, with corrections for any critical defects reported in >> Octave 3.4.0, is expected in April 2011. >> >> As always, many people contributed to this Octave release. A complete >> list of contributors may be found in the Octave manual. >> >> GNU Octave is a high-level interpreted language, primarily intended >> for numerical computations. It provides capabilities for the numerical >> solution of linear and nonlinear problems, and for performing >> other numerical experiments. It also provides extensive graphics >> capabilities for data visualization and manipulation. Octave is >> normally used through its interactive command line interface, but >> it can also be used to write non-interactive programs. The Octave >> language is quite similar to Matlab so that most programs are easily >> portable. A full description of Octave capabilities is available at >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Help-octave mailing list >> >> >> > > > -------------------------------------- > Get the new Internet Explorer 8 optimized for Yahoo! JAPAN > http://pr.mail.yahoo.co.jp/ie8/ > _______________________________________________ > Help-octave mailing list > [hidden email] > https://mailman.cae.wisc.edu/listinfo/help-octave > > Hello> Congratulations!!!> I have announced the release of 3.4.0 in Octave related threads and wikis in> Japan.> I really appreciate for your all efforts and efforts of all other> contributors.> The version 3.4 is the first release to use gnulib libraries.> I feel that the MinGW has imports the gnulib comportments to make the source> portable.> The choice of the importing gnulib is really good for the portability and> maintainability of source> codes. However the gnulib itself is under development phase especially for> the MinGW.> The fntests results current develments source are really fine but perhaps we> will meet hidden issues> due to new trials. Therefore this release is a good chance to go ahead> further.> I hope I will continue contribute this project.> Regards> Tatsuro> --- "John W. Eaton" wrote:>> The Octave developers are pleased to announce the release of GNU>> Octave 3.4.0. This is a major new release containing many new>> features, performance enhancements, and bug fixes.>>>> Version 3.4.0 of Octave is available for download at:>>>> http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/octave >> ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/octave>>>> Please see http://www.gnu.org/order/ftp.html for mirror sites around>> the world. Or you may use http://ftpmirror.gnu.org/octave and you>> will be redirected automatically to a nearby mirror.>>>> Links to binary (executable) versions for various systems will be>> listed at http://octave.org/download.html as they become>> available.>>>> Please see http://octave.org/NEWS-3.4.html for a list of significant>> user-visible changes in this release.>>>> To help improve future versions, please report problems using the>> Octave bug tracker at http://bugs.octave.org >>>> Octave 3.4.1, with corrections for any critical defects reported in>> Octave 3.4.0, is expected in April 2011.>>>> As always, many people contributed to this Octave release. A complete>> list of contributors may be found in the Octave manual.>>>> GNU Octave is a high-level interpreted language, primarily intended>> for numerical computations. It provides capabilities for the numerical>> solution of linear and nonlinear problems, and for performing>> other numerical experiments. It also provides extensive graphics>> capabilities for data visualization and manipulation. Octave is>> normally used through its interactive command line interface, but>> it can also be used to write non-interactive programs. The Octave>> language is quite similar to Matlab so that most programs are easily>> portable. A full description of Octave capabilities is available at>> http://octave.org/docs.html >> _______________________________________________>> Help-octave mailing list>> [hidden email] >> https://mailman.cae.wisc.edu/listinfo/help-octave >>> --------------------------------------> Get the new Internet Explorer 8 optimized for Yahoo! JAPAN> _______________________________________________> Help-octave mailing list Help-octave mailing list [hidden email] https://mailman.cae.wisc.edu/listinfo/help-octave thanks!On 2/10/11, Tatsuro MATSUOKA < [hidden email] > wrote:_______________________________________________Help-octave mailing listStory highlights Video footage of woman apparently tripping migrants caused outrage last year Camerawoman was fired from Hungarian TV station and later apologized (CNN) — The camerawoman seen on video tripping fleeing migrants in Hungary was charged Wednesday with "breach of peace" by the public prosecutor's office in the southern Hungarian city of Szeged. The camerawoman seen on video tripping fleeing migrants in Hungary was charged Wednesday with "breach of peace" by the According to the chief prosecutor, the woman did not inflict any physical injuries, but her behavior was "capable of provoking indignation and outcry in the members of the public present at the scenes." Video footage of the incident caused outrage in September 2015 after it showed the camerawoman tripping a man running with a child in his arms. It happened after around 400 migrants broke through a police line in a holding camp outside Szeged. Petra Laszlo, who was documenting the migrant story for the Hungarian nationalist N1TV station, apologized a few days later in a letter to the Magyar Nemzet newspaper. She said the ensuing panic scared her and made her think she would be attacked. "As I re-watch the film, it seems as it was not even me," her letter said. Read More N1TV fired the videographer after the incident, Editor-in-Chief Szabolcs Kisberk said. "The camera operator behavior was completely unacceptable," N1TV said in a statement at the time. JUST WATCHED Refugees break past police in sprint toward border  Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Refugees break past police in sprint toward border 03:40 Running for their lives Laszlo was one of several videographers filming the flood of migrants trying to get through Hungary on their way to Austria and Germany. After crossing from Serbia into Hungary with only the belongings they could carry, the migrants were stuck for days at a holding camp in southern Hungary. Many complained about uncomfortable or inhumane conditions there. After breaking through the holding camp's police line, they scrambled across a field, walked and hiked about 4 miles -- many dropping their possessions on the ground. Alan Kurdi's journey -- the 'lucky ones' and those who perished JUST WATCHED Thousands of migrants struggle to reach Europe  Replay More Videos... MUST WATCH Thousands of migrants struggle to reach Europe 05:32 A statement from the prosecutor's office said nothing emerged in its investigation to indicate the accused's conduct was "motivated by ethnic considerations or by the migrant status of the victims." CNN's Holly Yan and Faith Karimi contributed to this report.Protect yourself at all times. —Anybody who knows shit about boxing Grand Rapids You’re born under a state of siege. And not only you: everyone you know, everyone in your neighborhood, lives under a state of siege. And within this state of siege there is a hierarchy of the besieged. In this hierarchy, you begin at the bottom. It’s the first rule of boxing: protect yourself at all times. When you’re introduced to it, whoever tells you about it will say, “This is the first rule of boxing. Protect yourself at all times.” If something happens to you in the ring, fair or foul, because you weren’t paying attention, it’s all on you; it’s your problem and your fault. Nobody is looking out for your best interests. And nobody owes you anything. If you were to find yourself in Las Vegas at Floyd Mayweather, Jr.’s gym, you’d see toddlers, battened down with comically oversized boxing gloves, taking unsteady early steps toward veteran trainers with pads or palms held up to receive them. Then you’d see perfectly executed one-twos, rapid fire hooks coming off the jab, and, maybe, the final touch, a straight right cross following on the heels of the hook. The tots would be moving their heads too. The difference between Floyd’s gym and The Place, the gym in Grand Rapids where he, as a toddler, threw the same perfectly executed combinations, is what was waiting on the other end. At Floyd’s Vegas gym, the guys receiving the infant uppercuts are either millionaires or their hangers-on. Waiting for Baby Floyd was Senior Floyd. And Senior’s response was a sharp return shot, its intention to penalize for a moment’s lapse in concentration. Or maybe just to let the kid know who was the boss. Advertisement Babies with aptitude and good boxing pedigrees, made to fight grown men, become defensive wizards. As a child, Wilfred Benítez was rewarded with an ice cream cone if he sparred against adult opponents without getting hit. Is it any surprise that he wound up being called “El Radar”? Roger Mayweather vs. Jorge Alvarado, 1983. Photo via AP The main reason Floyd Mayweather was born to fight is that he was born into a family that was born to fight. His personal aptitude doesn’t come from having unusually fast hands or feet (his impeccable timing makes Mayweather look faster than he actually is, but many fighters, including some of his opponents, are faster of both hand and foot), great punching power (in his prime, he was a slightly above average puncher, and may no longer be that as he becomes increasingly handicapped by bad hands), being a particularly tough guy (Floyd Senior and Uncle Roger are much tougher), or a body that gives him an intrinsic advantage (he’s got a good boxer’s body, but you need only reference photos of Thomas Hearns or Emile Griffith, who both fought at welterweight—Mayweather’s current division—to see what someone with real physical advantages at 147 looks like). Floyd Mayweather’s primary gift is a Mensa-level boxing IQ that combines with an off-the-charts alertness just shy of paranoia. Endlessly watchful, he is a keen reader of body language, including the specifics of the current range of boxing vocabulary; there is nothing that a contemporary fighter can do that he hasn’t seen before. And once he’s got you scoped out, usually a matter of two or three rounds, he knows exactly how to beat you. Advertisement Here’s a case in point. The single savviest thing Mayweather has done so far as a pro was to suckerpunch the unctuously eager-to-please Victor Ortiz on a break while referee Joe Cortez was otherwise occupied, knocking him back into the Hollywood dreamland he’d come from. The kayo was one emphatic way to synopsize what Mayweather had learned in boxing and in life, and which Ortiz had failed to. But he’s had other satisfyingly impressive performances. Facing Zab Judah, who could superficially be seen as a bigger, stronger, faster, harder-hitting southpaw version of himself, Mayweather endured a few rounds of being outdone while making a mental catalogue of his opponent’s shortcomings. Judah’s biggest drawbacks centered on issues of character. He possessed a strange combination of megalomania (a trait he shared with Mayweather) and uncertainty; he was a fighter who became unraveled when things stopped going his way. And, unlike Mayweather, he was incapable of framing a fight in terms of the big picture. Mayweather simply let Judah wind down, then began timing him, peppering him with quick right leads, pulling further and further ahead. Judah started fouling, eventually pointedly delivering a hard one-two, the first way below Mayweather’s beltline, the next to the back of his neck. Time was called by referee Richard Steele, and Roger Mayweather then jumped into the ring in order to kick the shit out of Judah. Both corners both went berserk and engaged in an in-ring tussle that Judah joined. Floyd Mayweather didn’t involve himself, watching bemusedly from a neutral corner. When the fight resumed, he dominated it until the final bell. There’s some irony in all this. Although he exhibits an appalling lack of character in nearly every other aspect of his life, one of Floyd Mayweather’s most reliable traits in the ring has been his character. Nobody wins 47 times in a row against good opposition without having character; too many things can go wrong in a fight to allow for that. Like all great fighters, Floyd is able to plan an entire full-distance scenario. He can see how the fight is likely to unfold beforehand. He also has the ability to improvise and adjust as needed. Aside from not being a big puncher, there’s nothing that he doesn’t do well in the ring. Advertisement Senior’s Big Chance Although Floyd Senior seems like less of an asshole than his son, he was a much more dangerous person during his fighting days, and likely remains so even at 60. Thirty-five years ago, immensely talented, but poor and underprepared, he lost by knockout to Sugar Ray Leonard, America’s Golden Boy of the time, and then roiled with a variety of “what if” resentments. Advertisement He had done well enough early in the fight, maybe even taking the first couple of rounds. But fatigue set in, cutting into his effectiveness; after the fifth, he could only be aggressive for the first 90 seconds of each round, but then had to absorb whatever Leonard hit him with until the bell. He nearly made it to the end, and probably would have if Leonard hadn’t treated what referee Martin Taber meant to be a standing eight-count as if he had stopped the fight, throwing his hands in the air, dancing an ersatz Ali jig that flattered him neither as hoofer nor athlete, and summoning Angelo Dundee (always quick on the uptake) and the rest of his entourage into the ring. Taber was too intimidated by the lightshow to correct things, Howard Cosell was jubilant, and the network got the result it wanted. Forty-four seconds were left in the fight. Floyd Mayweather, Sr. vs. Sugar Ray Leonard, 1978 Even today, Floyd Mayweather, Sr. will tell anyone who’ll listen (including Leonard, to his face) that Sugar Ray never beat him. He says he came into the fight with only one good arm, and that Ray’s people knew this beforehand. Advertisement It’s possible. Mayweather’s manager/trainer was a guy named Henry Grooms, a big, charismatic former football player with the cultivated baritone of an Arthur Prysock. (“Here’s to good friends. Tonight is kinda special. The beer they pour must say more somehow. So tonight, tonight, let it be Lowenbrau.”) Over the years, I’ve occasionally crossed paths with Grooms. He trained Mitch “Blood” Green briefly before I managed him, tried to interest me in becoming financially involved with his lightweight Courtney Hooper, and wasted some of my time and money by having me fly Martin Foster, along with two cornermen, to Miami for a fight that he couldn’t deliver. Grooms would have known that when Sugar Ray Leonard comes knocking at the door, you let him in. Mayweather, Sr. was just another hard-luck fighter, capable of being a top-notch contender or more, but stuck in real-life circumstances that would prevent it. With a guy like Mayweather, you took money fights for him whether he had one arm, two arms, one leg, two legs, one eye, or no eyes. You put money in his pocket and in your own. And you instructed him to throw his hardest punches early, just in case it turned out to be one of those weird nights. If you said no, the matchmaker would simply move down the list to the next talented one-armed fighter. Advertisement But it’s easy to see how Senior might have felt he got jobbed. He might have been able to convince himself that, in terms of natural talent, he and Sugar Ray matched up pretty well. That maybe he punched harder. And that, with time to train and two good arms, he’d have replaced Leonard as America’s sweetheart. Fighters tell themselves all kinds of bullshit. Black Code Starting around the turn of the 20th century, and hitting its high-water mark between the 1930s and the 1950s, a coded language of primarily defensive boxing was developed by talented, hard-luck black fighters intent on staying healthy and busy. They innovated and developed techniques that consisted of economy of movement, setting traps, impregnable defense, and total equanimity inside the ropes. They were unflappable. Punching power complicated matters. Some of the best Black Code fighters were punchers: Sam Langford, Charley Burley, Eddie Booker, and Jersey Joe Walcott could all pull the plug on an opponent with one shot. But even those closing-time punches were delivered with a sleight-of-hand nonchalance that belied their monstrous power. Delivered without the exclamation marks that mainstream viewers live for, fans were stuck with the mystery of seeing a fighter upright one second, suddenly and puzzlingly on the deck the next. Advertisement Jersey Joe Walcott vs. Joe Louis, 1947. Photo via AP How was this kind of fighting learned? It was taught in black gyms run by black trainers who’d been fighters themselves. It was picked up being the chief sparring partner of champions you’d never officially fight. It was learned while crisscrossing the country in cars and buses, fighting other black fighters who were crisscrossing the country, taking notes on what had worked and what hadn’t. What emerged was a finely honed style stripped almost entirely of error. Advertisement Fighting often, and fighting the cream of the crop, these unwanted fighters developed enormous boxing vocabularies. Whenever they were taken from the orbit of fighting each other, they could beat anybody, even if it was tacitly understood that they would often be robbed in other fighters’ hometowns. (The often-heard phrase was, “If I beat him, can I get a draw?”) There isn’t film footage for this entire crop of fighters, and some of the best, like Eddie Booker, went unrecorded. Watching even the least celebrated of them on Youtube, though—these are guys with 20 or 30 losses—it’s immediately apparent to anyone not gulled by records that they’re a universe better than almost anyone fighting today. In the ‘30s and ‘40s, Charley Burley was the best of them, operating at such a level of sophistication that his tricks remained well beyond the ken of most audiences. Burley was held in reverence by his peers, deeply feared and avoided. But he was not terribly popular with fans. Advertisement By the time I began managing fighters, what Burley had been able to do had gone from being over the heads of most viewers to being over the heads of most professional fighters. Once, in a foolish attempt to educate Martin Foster, a naive heavyweight in my stable, I played him a video of Charley Burley handily beating the dangerous Oakland Billy Smith. Foster watched for a moment, then began to laugh. He was undefeated at the time, although clueless as to why this was the case. Advertisement I remember how, as always when watching Burley fight, I was moved to comment. I said something like, He was unbelievable, wasn’t he? Foster stopped laughing. He was a big white boy who’d been raised on a farm in Kansas, so he had manners. Sir, I hate to tell you this, but that guy can’t fight a lick. He don’t do nothin’ right. Advertisement You’re sure of that, Martin? Yessir. One hundred percent sure. What’s he doing wrong? Well, for one thing, he ain’t hardly fighting at all. They’re mostly just lookin’ at each other. Is that the way guys fought back in them days? Advertisement Some guys did. Is that like in Jack Johnson times? Like when they used to have bare knuckles fights? No, it’s a lot later than that. Fighters are a whole lot better nowadays. He nodded solemnly, wise in his pronouncement. I don’t think this guy would last a round if he was fighting today. Advertisement Holman Williams in training, 1946. Photo via AP Black Code is racial, cultural, generational, and economic. It developed as a way of protecting oneself from damage: damage from punches, damage from cuts, and damage from economic loss. It allowed fighters to be in a perpetual state of readiness, willing and able to travel anywhere to fight anyone. Between them, Charley Burley, Eddie Booker, Holman Williams, Henry Hank, Holly Mims, Ralph “Tiger” Jones, and George Benton fought 735 times. Collectively, they suffered eight kayo losses. Keep in mind that, during the eras in which they fought, if a bout was stopped as the result of a cut caused by a head butt, the damaged fighter still lost by TKO. Using today’s boxing rules, those eight kayo losses would have been cut in half. Further keep in mind that these fighters all spent their careers taking on monsters (including often having to fight each other), but that none of them was a world champ. None ever even fought for a title. It’s worth reading that last sentence again and thinking about its implications. Advertisement If you add in four of the best black code fighters of the last 30 years—Larry Holmes, Mike McCallum, James Toney, and Bernard Hopkins—to the group, the total number of fights increases to 1021, but the number of collective knockout losses only moves up by one, to nine. As boxing moved out of the mainstream, as localized boxing lost its cultural currency, as the purses for fighters became more and more polarized, as fighters fought less and less, as qualified trainers dropped off to the point where there were no longer more than a few good ones, and as the marketing of fighters increasingly demanded that they have unblemished records packed with knockouts, the black fighters who spoke boxing’s secret languages dwindled from hundreds to dozens. It has finally trickled down to the last of the tribe: Floyd Mayweather, Jr. It’s worth considering that none of the other recent masters of the tradition—Toney, Hopkins, Chris Byrd—has been nearly as successful or famous as Mayweather. Neither has anyone else who’s operated with any variation of it. That’s understandable: the style itself is too subtle, its inflections too hidden from sight, to draw any but the most boxing-savvy viewers. Everything about the code resists calling attention to itself. In some ways, that’s its point. Advertisement Floyd Mayweather, Jr. has been a mainstream celebrity long enough so that it’s easy to forget that he fought for years as no more than a well-respected champion. His ascendancy came from piggybacking onto the success of Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton. Mayweather was clearly the B-side of these promotions; the other guys were selling most of the tickets. By beating a retired icon in De La Hoya (who, truth be told, wasn’t nearly as good as he was made out to be), and a popular, but limited light-punching brawler (a style tailor-made for Floyd) in Hatton, Floyd found himself at the top of the mountain. Once there, he talked about it constantly. And he worked hard at building this persona, which seems to divide people in about equal measure. A fundamentally uninteresting guy with nothing much to say, he has developed a public style that is the near polar opposite of his in-ring one. It centers almost entirely around vulgar displays of excess, mostly financial, occasionally interspersed with pronouncements of maudlin sentimentality. It’s a network TV reality show persona. And, for whatever reason, it has worked. He Makes Everybody Look Bad: Time Stands Still (For Talented Black Guys) For a while, before things started to go bad for both of us, I managed a great black fighter who’d been taught the code by another great black fighter, who himself had been managed by a fighter so great that he didn’t need the code, which was the thing that prompted the trainer of my fighter to learn it in the first place. I managed Freddie Norwood, who was trained by Adolf Pruitt, who’d been managed by Henry Armstrong. Fathers and sons, in a way. But remember, this is boxing: beware your father too. Advertisement Henry Armstrong vs. Al Davis, 1944. Photo via AP Trying to deal with matchmakers and promoters for Freddie Norwood was like moving into a time warp, waking up 40 years in the past. Nobody would touch him, even though they understood how good he was. Advertisement Bernard Roos was a wealthy Swiss businessman with a hand in promoting boxing throughout Europe, mostly in France. He’d call periodically to see about my sending fighters overseas. Charles, he might call up and say, could Freddie Norwood be available for Julien Lorcy? Are you sure you want Norwood, Bernard? I mean, I’m happy to send him, but he’ll destroy Lorcy. Advertisement Oh, good God no, Charles. We don’t want Norwood to fight Lorcy. We’d like you to send him over to spar with Julien. If he spars with him, he’ll hurt him. Well, tell him not to. We want to build up Julien’s confidence. And he can learn a lot from Freddie Norwood. Advertisement You don’t think you could develop a market for Freddie in Europe? He’s the best fighter in the world at anywhere near his weight. He doesn’t have a style that appeals to anyone. He makes bad fights. And he’s not African, from any of the colonial countries, where people might care about him. He’s much better than everybody else. I know. And that’s what makes it so sad. Let me know if you change your mind about Lorcy. We can pay Freddie two thousand US a week, but he’d have to behave. Advertisement With Norwood, I got an education on how difficult it is for a black fighter with superb but subtle skills, no cinematic back story, and a less than outgoing personality to make much headway in the business. Nobody wanted him. It was taken as a given that he was the best junior featherweight in the world. This did him more harm than good. Occasionally I’d get a call from Ron Katz or Bruce Trampler at Top Rank. I was going to ask if you were interested, but I know you’re interested. Would you put Norwood in with Frankie Toledo at 130? I know he fights at junior featherweight, but I figured you’d spot the weight. It’s for the Friday Night Fights. Advertisement Duva won’t take it. He says they will. They won’t. But you will. Absolutely. It’s not big money. We’ll take it. It’ll have to be at 130. We’ll take it. Toledo’s people won’t. Duva says they will. Book the fight. Want to make a side bet on how long it takes before you call me back? Advertisement I know. But they want to see Toledo step up. And they say they’ll do it. Bet me the amount of Freddie’s purse. No way. I’ll call Duva and tell them Norwood will take the fight. I’ll get back to you. Advertisement I know you will. And I know what you’ll say. A conversation like that would end with a laugh. The Freddie Norwood-Frankie Toledo fight never took place. Everyone from both sides knew from the beginning that it never would. Variations on this scenario happened again and again. Some promoter or manage would get brave one morning, decide that their rising star was ready to handle anyone in the division, and figure that having Freddie Norwood’s name on his resume would confer onto him instant credibility. Sometimes this bravery would extend past their morning coffee, and they’d have their matchmaker call me to propose a fight. Inevitably their better judgment would kick in by early afternoon, and I’d get the follow-up cancelation call. Advertisement Maybe in six months. The time isn’t right. Turns out he’s already signed for another fight. … sustained an unfortunate training injury... Advertisement Freddie Norwood, 1999. Photo via Getty Eventually I decided that enough was enough, and made an all-in play to get Freddie onto everyone’s radar. By essentially giving away his services, I nailed down three televised dates on three networks, all within a six-week period—a true old-school move. Through Brad Jacobs, I arranged for the first fight to be on USA’s Tuesday Night Fights against an opponent whom I knew he’d knock out within three rounds. That fight paid $1,500. Ron Katz and I made a deal for him to be on the Friday Night Fights 10 days later against someone he’d beat easily, but might have to go six or seven rounds against. He’d get $3,500. Then I negotiated with Alex Sherer for Freddie to fight three weeks after that at the L.A. Forum Boxing on a show televised by SportsChannel. His opponent for the NABF featherweight title would be Manuel Medina, a former IBF featherweight champion. The winner would be the mandatory challenger for the IBF world featherweight championship, a guaranteed title shot. The 12-rounder paid only $12,500, but it put Norwood where he needed to be. All three opponents were tailor-made for him, especially Medina, whose style was to push relentlessly forward. He wasn’t a hard puncher; he was easy to hit; and he was prone to cuts. His strong suits were his conditioning and his courage. Skinny and sunken chested, he looked frail, but wasn’t. A pro from the age of 14, Medina was never a gifted fighter, but he was astonishingly mentally tough, and he wore down opponents who doubted themselves, guys who were actually better than he was. (I’d learned that the hard way one night, losing a $15,000 bet that Tom “Boom Boom” Johnson would beat him.) Still, Norwood, a man with no self-doubt, would outbox him, catch him coming in, bust him up, then either knock him out or force the fight to be stopped on cuts. Advertisement The plan was to make Freddie Norwood the most talked about fighter in the world—to make sure that, when you turned on your TV, there he’d be, knocking someone out. Turn the channel, Freddie would be there. Three televised main events in six weeks. And then a title shot that he would win. With the title would come the paydays. While I was setting the fights up, I didn’t tell any of the matchmakers about the other two fights. Ron Katz was upset when he finally found out that Norwood was bookending the Friday Night Fights show. He told me that Norwood couldn’t fight on another network so close to his Friday airdate. I never was able to entirely placate him, but he understood that, with what the show was paying and without a promotional contract with Top Rank, it was necessary that Norwood do whatever he could to gain visibility. I was feeling very proud of myself for my hotshot maneuver, but everything came to an abrupt halt when I called Freddie to tell him the news. I remember outlining the fights, and the reason behind taking them. Advertisement Nah. I ain’t fighting for that kind of money. Freddie, you have to. There’s no choice. The only way you’re going to make money is to win the title. And the only way you’re going to get a shot at the title is if you’re the mandatory challenger. There’s no money until there’s real money. And this is how to get to the real money. Believe me, take these fights and you’ll be the hottest prospect in the world. I ain’t doin’ it. Man, you can’t imagine the bullshit I went through to get this set up. Nobody wants to get in the ring with you. So do this thing. In two months, everything will change. Advertisement He wouldn’t budge. Our relationship came to an end with that phone call. I felt sorry for myself. I felt sorry for Freddie, too, but I was angry at him. Everything for a fighter like him came the hard way, if it came at all. You had to make your own opportunities. A little later, I was living on my farm in Las Marias, Puerto Rico. Freddie Norwood called to ask if I’d go back to managing him. He was the featherweight champion at
These are expected enhancements when you go from ICS to Jelly Bean; however, what you do not expect is what Motorola took away. Motorola has removed social location, MOTOACTV, MOTOPRINT, Verizon video on Demand, My MOTOCAST, My Gallery, My Music, and many other applications all of which have been replaced by a stock Google application or has been decommissioned. This is very exciting news for DROID RAZR users, as you will be getting a slightly truer Android experience that should lead to better performance. There are also fixes to the software to improve your RAZR experience. Motorola indicates that it has fixed 3G/4G connectivity issues, Google Maps, audio settings, contacts, and much more. The changelog is available in its entirety on Motorola’s Software Update page. There is no ETA for the update, but let’s hope it is much sooner than later. Motorola indicates that the update will arrive via an OTA update. Motorola’s instructions on installing the new update can be located below. This update clearly shows Google’s Motorola commitment to getting away from skins and gives the users a true Android experience. If this is any indication of Motorola’s future, I am intrigued. Instructions for installing the software NOTE: You cannot downgrade back to Android 4.0.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich) software after this upgrade. For a successful installation, we recommend installing this update when the battery in your phone is at least 50% charged and you are connected to a Wi-Fi network. If you have received a notification message for this update: Select “Download.” After the software is downloaded, select “Install now.” After the software is installed, your phone will re-start automatically. Your phone is now updated with version: 98.72.16.XT912.Verizon.en.US If you have not received a notification message for this update, follow the steps below to manually update your phone: Select the Settings icon in the apps menu. Select “About phone.” Select “System updates.” Select “Download.” After the software is downloaded, select “Install.” After the software is installed, your phone will re-start automatically. Your phone is now updated to version: 98.72.16.XT912.Verizon.en.US ]]>'The Perks of Being a Wallflower' steadily blossoms 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower,' written and directed by Stephen Chbosky from his novel, is growing at box offices as the book rises in sales. The movie, starring Logan Lerman and Emma Watson (in her first major role since the "Harry Potter" films), appears to be extending its reach beyond the fan base for Chbosky's 1999 book of the same name about an introverted teenager who falls in with a new group of friends. Strong word of mouth has continued to propel "Perks" to more than $11 million in U.S. ticket sales. The film's backer and distributor Summit Entertainment has been slowly rolling out the picture across the country, where it is currently playing on about 740 screens. Its week over week performance has been holding strong. While many new releases get kicked off screens before they have a chance to build an audience, the new teenage coming-of-age film written and directed by Stephen Chbosky has been blossoming at a steady pace since launching in just four theaters in late September. "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" is enjoying a perk that few movies get today in a crowded market. "I think we've pushed through to a newer audience," said Lianne Halfon, who produced the $13-million film along with Russell Smith and John Malkovich through their company Mr. Mudd. "You can tell by the increase in the publishing that people are going out to read the book now who were never aware of it. We're hearing of people who buy the book before they see the movie." The book has landed on the New York Times' bestseller list, sitting near the top of the children's paperback list for months. It has also placed consistently high on the Los Angeles Times' list of paperback fiction bestsellers as well as ranking high on various lists on Amazon.com. With more than 1.5 million copies in print, Chbosky said the book has been selling more each week since August. "It has become a two-way street," said Chbosky, referring to the two-pronged benefit of having longtime fans of the book see the film and fans of the movie discover the book. The film has also attracted a two-tiered audience of both teens and parents, no accident. "It was by design," said the writer-director. "We wanted to make a movie that a young person, a teenager, could see and love because it respected and validated what they were going through," Chbosky said. "And at the same time it has appeal to their parents' sense of nostalgia, especially in terms of the time period. "If a child and a parent could love the same story, even for different reasons," he added, "then maybe they could talk about some of the things the movie deals with. It was a Trojan horse to encourage families to talk to each other." Midst the novel's young-adult themes, early 1990s setting and the film's teen-friendly PG-13 rating, Chbosky creates a tone not so much of teen angst as one of acceptance and forgiveness with a disarming, unsentimental sincerity. "A lot of teen movies don't feel real to teens," added producer Smith. "They might feel real to whoever is making the movie, but not to teens. And this one, in the early screenings that we had, we knew that it felt really real to them. And because it feels authentic, parents want to see it too, to see what their kids are feeling." Accompanying Lerman and Watson in the core cast are "We Need to Talk About Kevin" star Ezra Miller and "Parenthood's" Mae Whitman, rounded out by a strong supporting roster that includes Paul Rudd, Kate Walsh, Dylan McDermott, Nina Dobrev, Tom Savini, Melanie Lynskey and Joan Cusack. The filmmakers believe that Chbosky bringing his own book to the big screen has paid off in terms of avoiding the old saw "the book is better than the movie."When I think about the power of fear, I often remember the Goon Squad. Anyone who’s been through SEAL training knows about the Goon Squad. In training, they’d make us run for miles—over the sand berm, down the beach, back again. After a few miles, an instructor would plant himself on the course of the run, raise his arm over his head, and let it hold there like some kind of guillotine. If you made it past the instructor before he dropped his arm, you were fine—but if his arm dropped before you reached him, you were in the Goon Squad. We did not want to be in the Goon Squad. While the rest of the class jogged in a circle, the Goon Squad would do fireman carry drills up and down the beach, squats, push-ups in the sand. They’d crab crawl up and over the sand berm and back again. I remember one run; I was feeling weak and dehydrated, and I was running behind where I would have otherwise been. I wanted to be a leader, I wanted to be a top-of-the pack trainee. I wanted to be a guy who pushed myself. None of those thoughts helped. I was smashed. But then one of the instructors mentioned the Goon Squad and I took off. I passed one guy, two, three. I remember thinking, “Fear works.” Fear can make human beings do amazing things. Fear can help us see our world clearly in a way that we never have before. And there are times in our lives when it is absolutely right that we should be afraid. Imagine hardship. And then, imagine how you’ll make it through. When you do this often enough, you will begin to build resilience. A good teacher will not only want his students to succeed: he will fear that he might fail them. A good doctor will not only want her surgery to succeed: she will fear that she might fail. If you take responsibility for anything in your life, know that you’ll feel fear. That fear will manifest itself it many ways: fear of failure, fear of embarrassment, fear that you won’t be able to achieve results, fear of… Don’t run from those fears—recognize them as proof that you’ve chosen work worth doing. On the other hand, if you come across a person or a team without fear, there is a good chance that you’ve run into ignorance or apathy. You’ve run into someone who doesn’t know enough to be afraid or doesn’t care enough to be afraid. In a culture that prescribes pills by the millions to reduce anxiety, we should remember: someone who has entirely lost his or her fear has also lost his or her sense of responsibility. I much prefer the thinking of Viktor Frankl, the great psychiatrist who survived slave labor in Auschwitz and came to see that his anxiety played a major role in keeping him alive: “Mental health,” he wrote, “is based on a certain degree of tension, the tension between what one has already achieved and what one still ought to accomplish, or the gap between what one is and what one should be.” That’s healthy fear: it’s a fear that we embrace and use. Of course, there’s also destructive fear: the fear that clouds our vision and drives us to do stupid things. I’ve found that one way to control destructive fear, to put fear to work, is through a practice the Stoics called the “premeditation of evils.” Try this: Take a look at what’s making you anxious, and Then multiply it by ten—imagine the very worst that can happen. Now, imagine how you are going to make it through hardship to success. In the SEAL teams, this is called contingency planning. What will we do if we hit a landmine? What will we do if we take a casualty? What will we do if the target house looks like it’s been abandoned? What will you do if you get up to speak and can’t find your notes? What will you do if you lose a customer? What will you do if an investment falls through? Fear, used well, can help you to prepare. Fear, used well, can sharpen your mind. Fear, used well, makes you better, because you become ready to face whatever comes, because you’ve already been there before. You’re afraid? That’s good. You should be. It means you’re doing something hard that you care about. Use your fear well. Next time you find your mind running in circles of fear, don’t try to push the fear away. Engage with it productively. Don’t imagine yourself stuck in your worst-case scenario, panicking and flailing in an endless loop of disaster. Imagine hardship. And then, imagine how you’ll make it through. When you do this often enough, you will begin to build resilience. I’ve worked in some of the world’s worst situations—with refugees who survived genocide, with children who lost limbs to landmines, with veterans who’ve lost limbs and—temporarily lost hope. Not everyone makes it through such hardship, but many do. You can make it through. But to do so, you need resilience. The premeditation of evils isn’t a self-indulgent fit of worry. It’s a controlled examination. And when we do this, we often find that many evils are hugely inflated by our fear. We realize that we can face and defeat them. And when evils meet us—which they will—we can meet them not in a state of shock, but with practiced readiness. Both a panicked mind and a resilient mind will engage with fearful, anxious thoughts. What makes the resilient mind different is its ability to direct those thoughts productively. The aim in life is not to avoid struggles, but to have the right ones—not to avoid worry, but to care about the right things—not to live without fear, but to confront worthy fears with force and passion. You’re afraid? That’s good. You should be. It means you’re doing something hard that you care about. Use your fear well. Your Own Frontline: A Navy SEAL’s Guide to Building Resilience Eric Greitens is a Navy SEAL, Rhodes Scholar, boxing champion, and humanitarian leader. This piece is drawn from his recently published book, Resilience. The founder of The Mission Continues and the author of the New York Times best-seller The Heart and the Fist, Eric was named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people.Swedish club Ostersunds BK will face the biggest game in their history after being drawn against Arsenal in the Europa League's round of 32 on Monday. Few football fans in Europe had even heard of the club before their first-ever European campaign this year, but here are five things to know about Ostersund: Only existed since Wenger became manager For Arsenal, it can be hard to remember life before Arsene Wenger became manager. For Ostersund, it's actually impossible. Ostersunds Fotbollsklubb was formed in October 1996 -- the same month Wenger officially took charge of Arsenal. It was a merger by several smaller clubs in the city, which only has a population of about 50,000. Since then, they've gone through 11 managers. Rapid rise under Potter Ostersund have undergone a remarkable transformation since Englishman Graham Potter took over as manager in 2010. At the time, they were playing in Sweden's fourth tier but earned back-to-back promotions in Potter's first two seasons in charge. In 2015, they were promoted to the country's top league, Allsvenskan, for the first time. Potter, 42, played for Birmingham, Stoke and West Brom during his career but had never held a coaching job outside universities before moving to Ostersund. Swedish cup champions Ostersund earned their Europa League spot by winning this year's Swedish Cup, beating Norrkoping 4-1 in the final. It was the first major trophy in the club's history. They finished fifth in the league this year, 14 points behind champions Malmo. Ostersund have enjoyed a rapid rise under English coach Graham Potter. Impressive group campaign Few expected Ostersund to even reach the group stages of the Europa League, as they faced Turkish giants Galatasaray in the opening qualifying round. But they won 3-1 on aggregate, then overcame a 3-1 first leg deficit against Greek side PAOK in the final round. In group play, they finished with three wins, two draws and just one loss. Swansea connection Ostersund have had a close connection to Premier League side Swansea since 2007, when the Welsh club held a summer training camp in the Swedish city and helped open the Jamtkraft Arena stadium. Club chairman Daniel Kindberg is also a friend of Graeme Jones, the long-time assistant to former Swansea manager Roberto Martinez, who recommended Potter for the coaching job in 2010. And in 2014, Swansea bought Ostersund forward Modou Barrow in a deal reportedly worth £1.5 million. Mattias is ESPN FC's Arsenal correspondent. Follow him on Twitter: @MattiasKaren.A small majority of Torontonians support the Black Lives Matter movement, according to a new poll by Forum Research. A poll of 858 Toronto respondents found 55 per cent support the movement, which is pushing for increased police accountability and rallying against systemic anti-black racism. Three in 10 support the movement “very strongly,” the poll found. A poll of 858 Toronto respondents found 55 per cent support the Black Lives Matter movement. ( Lucas Oleniuk / Toronto Star ) “It now provides evidence that support for the movement is broad-based,” said Forum president Lorne Bozinoff. “It’s not just a vocal minority; it is a substantial proportion of the city that supports the movement.” Though the group has been active in the city since 2014, it has gained attention in the past month after staging a 15-day sit-in outside Toronto police headquarters sparked by the SIU decision to not lay charges in the police shooting death of Andrew Loku. Forum conducted the poll in light of the recent attention, Bozinoff said. Article Continued Below Respondents were also asked if they agree or disagree there is systemic racism in Toronto. On that question, results resembled the numbers in support of the movement. Half of all respondents agreed that systemic racism exists, at 50 per cent, while 29 per cent disagree and 20 per cent responded “don’t know.” Though responses were fairly consistent when broken out across the former municipalities, Bozinoff called the disparity between age groups a “startling” contrast, but added it is a “classic example” of the shifting attitudes on social issues. “Basically the younger you are, the more support you have for the movement. The less you have the older you get,” he said. Sixty-two per cent of 18- to 34-year-olds support or strongly support the movement, compared with 47 per cent of respondents 65 or older. “Social movements, social attitudes, change usually starts among younger people, and this is similar to that,” he said. The poll was conducted April 12 by an interactive voice response telephone survey of randomly selected voters in Toronto. Results are considered accurate within plus or minus 3 per cent, 19 times out of 20. The results for subsamples, such as region and age, will be less accurate. Article Continued BelowEASTPOINTE, Mich. - Eastpointe Public Works Director Greg Brown is on paid leave and charged with interfering and obstructing a police investigation into the accounting of his department. City Manager Steve Duchane said Brown was arrested when he refused to open the books. "They took him from his place of office and took him into custody because we wanted city records that he was not providing to us," Duchane said. Duchane says the investigation started in October, when he first came on the job and heard about loose accounting over the scrapping of old equipment that can bring thousands of dollars to the department. "Everything from what you've seen in the area from scrap metal being sold, these are just concerns that were raised or rumors or stories or just a question to be looked into. I wanted to make sure we had none of those, since the rest of the place runs so well. It would have been a real exception," Duchane said. Brown has been DPW Director since 1998. Eastpointe police say he posted a $500 bond and was released. Duchane said forensic auditors will now be brought in to go over the books. If money is missing, more serious felony charges could be the result. Local 4 reported last week how the former public works director in Center Line, who is now working in Florida was charged with embezzlement over the scrapping of old water meters. Copyright 2012 by ClickOnDetroit.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Donald Trump on Monday dismissed questions about his failure to disclose an improper $25,000 contribution to a political group connected to Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was at the time considering whether to open a fraud investigation against Trump University. "I never spoke to her, first of all; she's a fine person beyond reproach. I never even spoke to her about it at all. She's a fine person. Never spoken to her about it. Never," Trump said Monday while speaking to reporters in Ohio. "Many of the attorney generals turned that case down because I'll win that case in court. Many turned that down. I never spoke to her." The $25,000 gift, paid by the Donald J. Trump Foundation, violated federal rules that prohibit charities from making donations to political candidates. Trump and his team also failed to disclose the large gift to the Internal Revenue Service, instead reporting that the donation was given to an unrelated group with a similar name - effectively obscuring the contribution. Bondi ultimately decided not to open an investigation against Trump's embattled for-profit education business. Trump paid the IRS a $2,500 penalty this year after reports surfaced about the gift and disclosure error. Representatives for the Trump Organization said that Trump reimbursed the foundation the full $25,000 from his own accounts after watchdog groups and news organizations began asking questions. The Trump business said it had taken all necessary steps to correct the errors. Asked by reporters what he expected to receive in return for his donation, Trump said that he and Bondi have known each other for years. "I have a lot of respect for her. Never spoke to her about that at all. I just have a lot of respect for her and she's very popular," he said. Trump's assertion contradicts statements made to the Associated Press by Marc Reichelderfer - who worked as a consultant on Bondi's reelection effort - that suggested Bondi spoke with Trump and solicited the donation directly. Reichelderfer told the AP at the time that Bondi had not been aware of the complaints against Trump University when she solicited the contribution. But the timeline has emboldened Trump's critics to accuse him of making a political bribe. The pro-Bondi organization received the donation just four days after her office said it was considering joining New York state in investigating complaints against the for-profit education business. Trump University is at the center of several lawsuits by former "students" who have accused the business of making misleading promises. Trump also faced intense scrutiny when he attacked a Hispanic federal judge overseeing a pair of cases against Trump University, at one point insisting the judge's ethnicity made him biased against Trump and therefore unable to hear the cases fairly.(CBS) For a time, it seemed that the "vetting" process the Clinton campaign had claimed was lacking for Barack Obama was beginning to kick in. The controversy surrounding Obama's former pastor and his ensuing speech on race began just the sort of party introspection Clinton's camp has long hinted would eventually sink his candidacy. Then came the sniper fire. For a candidate pushing experience and "no surprises," the episode has been damaging to her entire rationale for getting those superdelegates to throw their weight behind her. Within two days time, the worm had turned and those clips of Rev. Jeremiah Wright shouting "God damn America" have been replaced with those of Clinton's arrival in Bosnia sans the bullets flying around her as she claimed. Thus it wasn't much of a surprise when Clinton chose yesterday to weigh in for the first time on the Wright stuff. "He would not have been my pastor," Clinton said in response to a question asked during a meeting with the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review editorial board. Clinton repeated her comments about Wright in a news conference later in the day, making the point that one cannot choose their family members but can choose their pastors. "It's disappointing to see Hillary Clinton's campaign sink to this low in a transparent effort to distract attention away from the story she made up about dodging sniper fire in Bosnia," responded the Obama campaign to her comments. Clinton said she was responding to a direct question about Wright but she could certainly have chosen not to do so. Every day spent talking about Rev. Wright, race or any other even slightly controversial subject involving Barack Obama is a good day for Clinton. Every day spent talking about her embellished wartime adventures is a very bad one. Every week spent split between the two only erodes her already long odds at winning the nomination. So far in this campaign lull, time has not been the ally Clinton once hoped it would. One Hundred Years … Of Friendship? After spending a couple of weeks being hammered by Democrats for suggesting that the U.S. will remain in Iraq for 100 years if that's what it takes to win the war there under his leadership, John McCain will strike a more conciliatory note in a foreign policy address today in California. "The United States cannot lead by virtue of its power alone," McCain will say according to prepared remarks released by his campaign. "If we lead by shouldering our international responsibilities and pointing the way to a better and safer future for humanity... it will strengthen us to confront the transcendent challenge of our time: the threat of radical Islamic terrorism." McCain looks to avoid the go-it-alone approach for which the Bush administration has bee criticized for. "Our great power does not mean we can do whatever we want whenever we want, nor should we assume we have all the wisdom and knowledge necessary to succeed," he will say. "We need to listen to the views and respect the collective will of our democratic allies." The NFL Bows To McCain Moment? The NFL is considering moving up its season-opening game in order to avoid a conflict with John McCain's acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, according to one report. Because of the jockeying over convention scheduling, McCain will formally receive his party's nomination on September 4th, the same day the NFL kicks off its season with a now-traditional Thursday night game. Rather than the normal 8:30 eastern time for the start of the game the league is considering an earlier start so that the game would be over before McCain delivers his speech. Around The Track After already cancelling an appearance at a Tampa church this week, Rev. Jeremiah Wright has cancelled plans to speak at three services for a Houston-area church this weekend, citing security concerns. Indiana student Evan Strange, who was rebuked by Chelsea Clinton yesterday after asking her a question about Monica Lewinsky, told the "Early Show" he is a Clinton supporter. "I was very surprised," Strange said about the response. "I can see where she'd get a little defensive because of the question and hearing Lewinsky over and over again, but I would like to hear her say something about Hillary rather than dismissing the question." 1972 Democratic nominee George McGovern, a Clinton supporter, tells the AP he's not sure the country is ready to elect a women president. ""I have a feeling that in this country where we're at today in our thinking, it's going to be harder to elect a woman than to elect a black man. … I wish that weren't true... I'd love to see Hillary as president." In case you're wondering, the Democratic race looks to have officially lost one more candidate from the field. Mike Gravel is becoming a member of the Libertarian Party, according to the Top of The Ticket blog.CyanogenMod is finally ready to roll out version 1.0 of its custom built Gello Android browser. Joey Rizzoli, the developer who originally teased development of the browser almost a year ago, has announced that Gello will be heading out to a range of CyanogenMod 13 builds. However, it will depend on each device maintainer to incorportate Gello into their builds, so there are no guarantees that it will arrive for any particular devices. Gello is based on the Chromium code, so it shares much of the same source code and features as Google’s Chrome browser. However, the developers have packed in a selection of extra features, some of which may be familiar to users of other Android web browsers. There’s an interesting Edge navigation feature that lets users swipe left and right to go back through their history. Gello also features an inverted colors night mode, status bar colors based on the website you’re visiting, a Powersave mode, a LookLock to prevent other apps from reading web content, and plenty more. The “save for offline” function will also likely be very useful to a number of users, and there are customizable privacy settings available for every website. The team hasn’t released an up to date video of the browser’s features just yet, but you can check out this older footage for a rough look at what some of these features are like. Although they will likely have changed a bit since then. Unfortunately Gello is only officially supported with CyanogenMod 13 (Android 6.0), if a developer chooses to incorporate it into their build. However, you can always grab the APK yourself and see if it works on your device, although installation seems to have been hit an miss on a couple of my devices. Let us know what you think about the browser in the comments below.iPad Mini 4 Case, Ionic Bluetooth Keyboard Tablet Leather Stand for Apple iPad Mini 4 2015 (White/Red) This is a great item to have for any iPad owner. The case has a semi rigid keyboard. The keyboard can easily be connected to an iPad by Bluetooth. The clasp to keep the case closed does not use a magnet, so it will not interfere with your iPad. The Snap On case has the benefit of not interfering with the iPad's automatic light sensor. How To Connect The Keyboard To iPad Mini 4 -Turn on the bluetooth on the iPad Mini 4 -Turn on the power on the keyboard with the little switch on the right side. You will see the blue light when the keyboard is on -Press connect (little circle next to the blue light)on the keyboard. The blue light will start blinking. It keeps blinking until it is sync'd or times out -Have the iPad Mini 4 search for bluetooth iPad Mini 4s -Select the keyboard after iPad Mini 4 finds it -Then the iPad Mini 4 will give you a code to type on the bluetooth keyboard using the # keys on the keyboard and press ENTER. It should connect the 2 iPad Mini 4s together Please turn on the keyboard with the side switchAnswered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam Question: Are there any duas to help with stopping masturbation? Answer: Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, I pray that you are well, insha’Allah. [1] The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) used to say, “O Allah, I ask You for guidance, piety, dignified restraint, and freedom from need. (Allahumma inni as’aluka’l huda wa’t tuqa wa’l `afafa wa’l ghina)” [Sahih Muslim] (See also: Prophetic Supplication for Guidance, Piety, Restraint, and Freedom from Need Prophetic Example in Our Daily Relations) اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ الْهُدَى وَالتُّقَى وَالْعَفَافَ وَالْغِنَى [2] The following supplication has been narrated by Qutb al-Din al-Hanafi in his Kitab Ad`iyat al-Hajj wa al-`Umra and is attributed to Hasan al-Basri. “O Allah, I seek Your forgiveness for every sin in which I gave preference to my base desire over Your obedience and my passion over Your command – thus I contented myself with Your wrath and subjected myself to Your displeasure, though You had forbidden me, presented Your admonition to me, and established the proof of it to me through Your warnings [of punishment in Your revelations]. I seek Your forgiveness, O Allah, and repent to You. (Allahumma inni astaghfiruka li kulli dhambin qaddamtu fihi shahwati `ala ta`atik wa athartu fihi mahabbati `ala amrik fa ardaytu nafsi bi ghadabik wa `arradtuha li sakhatik idh nahaytani wa qaddamta ilayya fihi indharak wa tahhajajta `alayya fihi bi wa`idik wa astaghfiruka Allahumma wa atubu ilayk)” اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّى أِسْتَغْفِرُكَ لِكُلِّ ذَنْبٍ قَدَّمْتُ فِيْهِ شَهْوَتِى عَلَى طَاعَتِكَ وَآثَرْتُ فِيهِ مَحَبَّتِى عَلَى أَمْرِكَ فَأَرْضَيْتُ نَفْسِى بِغَضَبِكَ وَعَرَّضْتُهَا لِسَخَطِكَ إِذْ نَهَيْتَنِى وَقَدَّمْتَ إِلَيَّ فِيْهِ إِنْذَارَكَ وَتَحَجَّجْتَ عَلَيَّ فِيْهِ بِوَعِيْدِكَ وَأَسْتَغْفِرُكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَأَتُوْبُ إِلَيْكَ [3] “O Allah, Your mercy I am hopeful for, so do not leave me to myself for the blink of an eye, and put all my affairs in order, there is no god but You. (Allahumma rahmataka arju fala takilni ila nafsi tarfata `ayanin wa aslih li sha’ni kullihi la ilaha illa anta)” [Abu Dawud] اللَّهُمَّ رَحْمَتَكَ أَرْجُوْ فَلَا تَكِلْنِي إِلَى نَفْسِي طَرْفَةَ عَيْنٍ وَأَصْلِحْ لِي شَأْنِي كُلِّهِ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ Say the supplications with heart and sincerity, seeking closeness to the Divine, and seeking to be pulled out of the darkness of sin. Don’t lose heart, take the positive means to stop the sin, and always ask Allah as He loves to be asked. Please also see: [a] A Reader on Tawba (Repentance) [b] A Reader on Pornography and Masturbation [c] A Reader on Patience and Reliance on Allah And Allah alone gives success. Wassalam, Tabraze Azam Checked & Approved by Faraz RabbaniJust when you thought it couldn’t get any stranger, here we are talking about the FBI printing fingers. Although it may seem like a crazy concept at first, it is actually not too bad of an idea, it just needs a little work. One thing that has always been a pain for law enforcement officials is getting into locked iPhones. With the implementation of this new idea of 3D printing fingers, officials are hopeful that it will lead to the capture of more criminals and essentially make the world a better place. Professor Anil Jain from the Michigan State University, who is an expert in the field of biometric identifiers, has been hired by the FBI to take on this project. Being able to get into a murder victim’s smartphone to look for evidence or clues may mean the difference between catching the killer and letting them run free. As well as taking the victim of the crime’s fingerprints and making 3D printed fingers from them, the team also had to coat the printed product with a thin layer of metallic particles to activate the galvanic sensors found inside fingerprint scanners. Although the study is still in its early days, this could be revolutionary for law enforcement officials and would almost certainly make a difference in lowering the number of unsolved murder cases. But, the problem they are faced with at the moment is able to produce the fingers in a quick enough time to be of any real use in this situation. Also, with the introduction of this technology to the police and other law enforcement officials it will not be too long after that the criminals of the underworld have their dirty little hands on it, and then we could all be at risk! More News To Read Comments commentsCompetitive strategy game Card game/turn-based board game mix Exciting fast paced combat Pixel graphic Note: This game is its early stages (v0.58.1), so you can expect a lot of upgrades in the future. Duelyst is one of few games that got me really excited recently. Card games are my favorite type of games. The game that really got me into card games was Yu-Gi-Oh, and there was nothing better than hearing those magic words: „it’s time to d-d-d-d-d-duel“. Oh boy, I spent so many months, even years watching it, playing it, and eventually competing in the tournaments. After that I played all sorts of card games, but the game I sticked to was Hearthstone. I played it for over a year, got really good at it, and eventually, got bored with it. The problem with Hearthstone is that when new expansion comes out meta changes, and you will get from 5 to 10 decks that work, while the rest of them just suck. And if you want to go places in the game you just need to play one of those decks for about 3 months, until new cards come out. And then I found out about this game. Let me tell you, I was very skeptical when I first saw it. I am not a fan of pixel graphic, I like my graphic nice and shiny, and when I saw that the game itself was a combination of turn based board game and a card game I was thinking to myself: “What the hell have they done?!”. However, now that I played it for about 10 hours, I must say that those things are the best features of the game, because they made it quite unique. So what exactly is Duelyst? Like I already said Duelyst is a strategy game. It is a mix of standard card games like Hearthstone, and turn based board games like King’s Bounty. In my experience it really takes best of both worlds. And when you add pixel graphics to the mixture you get really unique and to most players pleasant experience. Card game aspect The game takes mana curve system from Hearthstone, first player starts with 2 mana while second player starts with 3 mana. Each turn player gets mana refill + 1 extra max mana available until he hits a cap of 9 mana. Cards are divided into 7 categories. 6 of those are faction categories and the last 1 is a neutral category. Faction cards can be used only by that selected faction while neutral cards can be used by any faction. Cards are divided into 3 categories: minions, spells and artifacts. Minions are creatures that take physical form when you summon them, they can move across the map and attack other minions and enemy general. There are many different types of spells in this game. You can use them to summon minions, to give them health and/or attack or deal damage to minions and generals. Artifacts are boosts for your general. They usually give you extra attack, however some of them have other abilities, dependable on the class you play. One transforms your general from mele to ranged, other summons 1/1 minion whenever your general gets hit. Every artifact has 3 durability, and it is losing 1 every time damage is dealt to your hero. When durability reaches zero, artifact is destroyed. Board game aspect When you start the match, your and your opponents general are being summoned on the board. You start by choosing your starting hand. Both you and your opponent draw 3 cards and if you want, you can choose to replace some or all of
the ‘weaker’ half.” While a modern understanding of gender contradicts the idea of there being two essential genders, the core of this idea that we must fight against systems of oppression based upon gendered traits holds true. When women in the anarchist movement began to organise independently, as in Argentina and Spain, they met with opposition from some of their male counterparts. In Argentina, anarchist women organised around the newspaper ‘La Voz de la Mujer’ (Woman’s Voice). To quote ‘No God, No Boss, No Husband’ : “La Voz de la Mujer described itself as “dedicated to the advancement of Communist Anarchism.” Its central theme was that of the multiple nature of women’s oppression. An editorial asserted, “We believe that in present-day society nothing and nobody has a more wretched situation than unfortunate women.” Women, they said, were doubly oppressed - by bourgeois society and by men”. This was greeted enthusiastically in some quarters of the Argentinean movement. However, an article in ‘La Voz de La Mujer’ indicated fierce opposition too: “When we women, unworthy and ignorant as we are, took the initiative and published La Voz de la Mujer, we should have known, Oh modem rogues, how you would respond with your old mechanistic philosophy to our initiative. You should have realized that we stupid women have initiative and that is the product of thought. You know - we also think... The first number of La Voz de la Mujer appeared and of course, all hell broke loose: ‘Emancipate women? For what?’ ‘Emancipate women? Not on your nelly!’... ‘Let our emancipation come first, and then, when we men are emancipated and free, we shall see about yours.”. The emergence in Spain of the libertarian women’s organisation Mujeres Libres during the Revolution and Civil War brought similar controversies. As Martha A. Ackelsberg noted in ‘Separate and equal: Mujeres Libres and anarchist strategy for women’s emancipation’ : “While committed to the creation of an egalitarian society, Spanish anarchists exhibited a complex attitude toward the subordination of women. Some argued that women’s subordination stemmed from the division of labour by sex, from women’s “domestication” and consequent exclusion from the paid labour force. To overcome it, women would have to join the labour force as workers, along with men, and struggle in unions to improve the position of all workers. Others insisted that women’s subordination was the result of broad cultural phenomena, and reflected a devaluation of women and their activities mediated through institutions such as family and church. That devaluation would end, along with those institutions, with the establishment of anarchist society. But the subordination of women was at best a peripheral concern of the anarchist movement as a whole. Most anarchists refused to recognise the specificity of women’s subordination, and few men were willing to give up the power over women they had enjoyed for so long. As the national secretary of the CNT wrote in 1935, in response to a series of articles on the women’s issue: “We know it is more pleasant to give orders than to obey…. Between the woman and the man the same thing occurs. The male feels more satisfied having a servant to make his food, wash his clothes…. That is reality. And, in the face of that, to ask that men cede [their privileges] is to dream.” The attitude of Saturnino Carod, a leader of an anarchist column on the Aragon front, sums up the attitudes of many male anarchists to the question of women’s liberation in a society deeply infused with attitudes of machismo and male superiority. He was to say: “Despite everything that is said about the liberation of women, one must take into account woman’s social role, particularly as mother, and protect her from the sort of work that requires great strength. It was not right that a single woman who needed to earn her living had to work the land like a man…” Today we are still faced with many problems that have to be overcome. Recent revelations within the authoritarian left have revealed a culture that is predisposed to the cover-up of rape and abuse against women and a subsequent closing of ranks by the leadership and a large part of the party membership. We should not be so smug as to think that similar problems do not exist within the anarchist movement and that women do not face problems of sexual harassment, belittling from male comrades, not being taken seriously, and so on. If we are to construct a relevant anarchist movement then we must take up the call for women’s liberation. This means not just around the question of collective child care, the need for socialised crèches both within the movement and in society as a whole, birth control and contraception, for the rights of bodily autonomy the whole question of unwaged work, the need to transform housework, the struggle around equal pay, but also against the objectification and role stereotyping of women in advertising and the media, against sexual harassment in the street, at work and in the home, for open access to medical aids to transition; all told, the struggle against structural misogyny and its intersecting forms such as transmisogyny and misogynoir. These are concrete struggles that must be seriously addressed within our movement. Without such developments any attempt at social revolution will be inadequate and ignored by women looking for a radical break with this corrupt, oppressive and hierarchical system. References 1980 edition, p.396 more information separate-equal%E2%80%9D-mujeres-libres-anarchist-strategy-women%E2%80%99s-emancipation 1979, p.364 Further Reading The following sources and references were used in compiling some of these biographies: Clara Gilbert Cole: Obituary in Freedom (see page 9) The Home Front, Sylvia Pankhurst Virginia Bolten: Movimientes de Mujeres en America Latina, Maxime Molyneux The Shield of the Weak: feminism and the state in Uruguay 1903-1933, Christine Ehrick Angel J El anarquismo en America Latina, Carlos Rama and M. Cappelletti http://www.museodelaciudad.org.ar/virginia-bolten.pdf http://www.cronicasderosario.com.ar/?p=226 Victorine Brocher-Rouchy: http://eugenevarlin.com/travaux/victorine_brocher.pdf Anna and Tatiana Garaseva: Biographical article on Anna Garaseva: http://www.sakharov-center.ru/asfcd/auth/author9421.html?id=79 Igor Podshivalov article on the Garaseva sisters: http://www.a-pesni.golosa.info/zona/a/mogikane.htm Johanna Lahr: Unpublished notes on Johanna Lahr, kindly supplied by Ken Weller http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/l/o/n/John-Wallace-Long/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0023.html http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/anarchist_archives/journals/freedom/freedom4_45.html http://www.leksikon.org/art.php?n=5213 www.militantesthetix.co.uk/yealm/CONTENTS.htm Ito Noe: Russell, Bertrand. Autobiography. http://www.filmonfilm.org/events/eros_plus_massacre/osugi_ito_legends.pdf http://www.katesharpleylibrary.net/2fqzm3 Séraphine Pajaud: Article in Dictionnaire des Militants Anarchistes: http://militants-anarchistes.info/spip.php?article4393 A. Saint-Junien, un bastion anarchiste en Haute-Vienne (1893-1923), Encrevé C. Dupuy La Libre pensée en France, 1848-1940, J. Lalouette Maria Roda: The lost world of Italian American radicalism, Philip P. Cannistraro, Gerald Meyer Zo d’Axa’s article on Maria’s trial: http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/zo-daxa/1895/little-girls.htm Maria Zazzi: http://www.horstfantazzini.net/maria_zazzi.htm http://circoloberneri.indivia.net/le-nostre-storie/maria-zazzi-una-donna-mite-col-cuore-da-guerrigliera http://www.arivista.org/?nr=197&pag=197_14.htm Quoted in Dolgoff, Bakunin on Anarchy, On The Human Being, Male and Female, 1857 Memoirs of Louise Michel https://libcom.org/history/no-god-no-boss-no-husband-world%E2%80%99s-first-anarcha-feminist group See the biography of Virginia Bolten in this pamphlet for https://libcom.org/history/%E2%80%9C Interviewed in The Blood of Spain, Ronald Fraser,FBI Agents Killed In Training Accident Worked In Elite Unit Christopher Lorek and Stephen Shaw, the two FBI agents who died in a training accident on Friday off the coast of Virginia Beach, Va., were part of the bureau's Critical Incident Response Group. According to the FBI, that unit: "Consists of a cadre of special agents and professional support personnel who provide expertise in crisis management, tactical operations, crisis negotiations, hostage rescue, hazardous devices mitigation, critical incident intelligence, and surveillance and aviation. "Through aggressive training programs, extensive research, state-of-the-art technologies and equipment, and far-reaching partnerships with international, federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, CIRG works to successfully resolve critical incidents worldwide and achieve its mission of 'Readiness, Response, and Resolution.' " FBI Director Robert Mueller, in a statement mourning the loss of the two men, added that they were part of CIRG's Hostage Rescue Team. In February, members of that unit rescued an almost 6-year-old boy from the Alabama bunker where he was being held captive by a gunman. Agents killed the kidnapper during that successful rescue. The bureau says the Hostage Rescue Team, created in 1983 and based at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Va., "is the U.S. government's non-Department of Defense full-time counterterrorist tactical team." Its members have "deployed domestically and around the globe nearly 800 times." The team's motto is sevare vitas — "to save lives." It is "a full-time, national-level tactical team... capable of being deployed to protect American citizens around the world." The bureau has posted a video about the Hostage Rescue Team's history here. It includes scenes from some of the unit's training missions. Not much is known at this time about what the men were doing or how they died. According to WAVY-TV in Portsmouth, Va., "a Navy spokesperson said the accident happened aboard a Military Sealift Command ship the FBI had leased from them for training purposes." A retired FBI agent, Irvin Wells, tells the station that the Hostage Rescue Team's training is dangerous and designed to simulate risky situations. The Associated Press reports that Lorek, 41, "joined the FBI in 1996 and is survived by a wife and two daughters, 11 and 8." Shaw, 40, "joined in 2005 and is survived by a daughter, 3, and son, 1."QR Code Link to This Post To you, disgruntled restaurant employee, I have much to say.I feel your pain. It's a thankless job. I have worked at some truly heinous establishments, both here in Columbus at "upscale" restaurants around Easton and downtown, and at several well-known places in downtown Chicago. You run about like a maniac, your thighs chafing, sweat dripping down the crack of your ass, the grease in the air mingling with your perspiration to give your face what my former co-worker Erik calls "The Shimmer." Your hair smells like a strange mixture of french fries and spinach artichoke dip. Your boss is too coked out to care that your last table left without paying and expects you to cover the bill out of your tips, unless you want to blow him and/or wear nothing but your server apron while he snorts blow off your tits as you whisper restaurant lingo like "on the fly" and "86" into his ear in the sluttiest voice you can muster.I feel your pain.And I understand the lure of the restaurant job. Short, flexible hours and, in comparison to say, a job in retail, a reasonable wage. The ability to receive the phone bill in the mail, realize you can't pay it, and be able to rectify that situation immediately by simply calling up a co-worker and offering to work for them. The ability to get the night off at a moment's notice so you can study for that exam or take care of that sick child or dispose of that decomposing corpse. Free food, oftentimes free alcohol, even more oftentimes free drugs, and still MORE oftentimes free sex with willing co-workers. Ahhh, the joy of the on-the-go blowjob in dry storage--and while we're on the subject, I'd like to give a shout-out to Ryan L., who gave me one of the best rolls in the hay I've ever had against the cold, hard steel of the liquor cage while a table of 14 hags from the Red Hat Society became increasingly incensed about the tardiness of their coffee refills.I understand.But here's the thing. The shitty tipping procedures of the Average Joe will NEVER change. Ever. You are never going to finally "educate" the populace about the importance of fair tipping. Those who get it, get it. Those who don't, don't, and they never will. The one notable exception to this is if they begin fucking someone who is or has been a waiter/waitress. I have found that the only servers successful at changing the tipping procedures of another citizen are the ones who are, in fact, fucking that citizen. The one exception to THIS rule is my mother, who I have simply berated enough times for abusing waitstaff that she is frightened into submission and simply hurls her entire wallet at our server as she crumples into a heap beneath the table, rocking back and forth and sucking her thumb. But these are EXCEPTIONS. This is not a civil rights struggle. This is not a situation where you need to keep hollering and raising hell until you are heard and society is changed. We shall NOT overcome, I assure you. So it's best that you get off of your soapbox and save your breath.You will never convince groups of co-workers to put everything on 1 check or make them understand it takes 10 times as long to cash out a table of 10 than if those 10 people just throw in their own fair share (including tip) into a pile when the check comes. People will never understand that!Instead, do like I did: take the energy you use bitching about it and get a different job. And you know what? I fucking HATE my job. Selling insurance is akin to...well, to hydrating my contact lenses with hydrochloric acid or shaving my nutsack with a dull, rusty garden implement. But you know what? I have money, and plenty of it, I have time to work on my writing and my other super hero skills, and best of all, I don't have to worry about complete strangers ass-raping me and leaving me on the side of the freeway to bleed to death in order to save a dollar on their fucking hamburger by punishing me because I burned my fucking fingers off on a plate in the kitchen and hence took an extra 30 seconds to refill their Diet Coke and bring them that side of ranch that will inevitably make their genitals, at long last, COMPLETELY disappear beneath a mound of abdominal fat.Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty I am free at last.Get out. Go back to school. Go to a temp agency. Work in a factory. Sell crack. Whatever. Just get out.Because it it ain't gonna change. You are never going to get these non-tipping neanderthals to see the light.Get out before it's too late and you finally snap and blow the fucking head off that asshole who makes you redo his steak three times and then wants a refund, or before you bludgeon that manager to death with a pepper grinder.GET OUT.As Maddie approaches her first Christmas, she is filling her days with a cavalcade of other firsts as well. We’ve been staying at my in-laws’ house in southern Indiana for the past week, where Maddie has been adored by nieces, nephews, aunts and uncles young and old. With Maddie’s new ability to sleep on her stomach, we have been able to get her to nap pretty much anywhere that there’s a flat surface, so that we can hang out at other relatives’ homes playing board games or floor hockey into the night while she rests in peace in the next room. It’s perfect. In addition to her new sleep routine, there have been some other fun firsts just in time for Christmas. She is now fully able to roll over from her back to her stomach and vice versa, which she doesn’t choose to do often, but can do with surprising speed. After changing her one day, I checked a text message on my phone, looked back at her and saw that she was suddenly on her chest. She’s also holding her head up like a champ and beginning to respond to her name when you call it. She’s also becoming adorably ticklish, which is proving to me that baby laughter is one of the most beautiful sounds in the universe. If you tickle her around her neck and shoulders or tickle her feet, she will erupt in a series of deep-throated giggles that are unlike any other sound she makes. It’s seriously heart-melting and kind of addictive to hear. Sorry, Maddie. We also recently discovered that she enjoys rounds of peek-a-boo, which makes her unleash a similar giggle fit every time you uncover your face. All of these changes have made Maddie seem increasingly like a little girl and less like a baby, which has made this whole parenting thing more fun with each passing day. But child development isn’t all games and laughter. On our drive southward, we were stopped at a random McDonald’s when I gave Maddie my finger to chew on and excessively drool all over, as she has been wont to do for the last couple weeks. She will really go to town on any finger I offer her, and if I’m holding her with one hand around her chest and don’t offer her a finger, she will inevitably dive bomb my hand and try to find a finger to chomp on like a corn on the cob. Since my hands and fingers have some hair on them, she will also slide her mouth around on my thumb until she finds the hair-free spot that is most finger-lickin’ good. This time when she chomped down, it actually kind of hurt, and I felt something hard between my finger and her gums—her first tooth! Her bottom right front tooth was already emerging from its gummy packaging and poking up with surprising sharpness. Considering her incredibly friendly temperament the past couple weeks’, we were both shocked that she already had a tooth to show for her seemingly minimal teething efforts. I also didn’t think that babies got their teeth this early…she’s only four months old! Our pediatrician once asked us when we had started teething as babies, since apparently it is somewhat genetic, but I don’t think either one of us started this early. Mom…thoughts? As the week wore on, Maddie continued to bite our fingers with abandon and enjoy a nice cold freezer chew toy whenever possible. A couple days later, I noticed that her bottom left front tooth was also now visible! A little Googling proved that these are the first two teeth to usually emerge and that the upper two front teeth could follow after a month or so. Either way, she is definitely an overachiever, or in this case, an early adopter. A more unfortunate development this week has been Maddie’s first cold. She was fighting some congestion for the past couple weeks with a random barking cough every once in a while, but now it has escalated significantly into a full-on head cold…and Daddy has it now, too. A couple days ago, we had a bit of a scare when we noticed that whitish/yellowish mucus was forming in the corner of one of Maddie’s eyes whenever she would fall asleep. The eye was beginning to appear swollen as well, and we began to fear that pink eye would be her next “first.” Fortunately, we called her pediatrician and the nurse alerted us to the condition of a clogged tear duct, which apparently is a rather common malady for babies that causes a swollen eye and the mucus, without the redness associated with pink eye. The nurse instructed us to massage under her eye from her nose to her cheek while feeding her. I also crowdsourced some remedies on Facebook with my vast and growing collection of friends who are also parents, and one unorthodox method got several votes: squirting her in the affected eye with breastmilk. We tried this, which didn’t do much beyond making her mad, and another pediatrician friend told me that the breastmilk method is actually a placebo rather than a magical cure, so we have stuck with the massaging. Her eyes look better today, even though she had mucus around both of them this morning. The nurse said this is a testament to her bad cold and not to anything more severe than that. In sharing this sickness with her, I feel so much pity for her. Aside from looking like a poor soul with her swollen eye and her running nose, I can’t imagine being in the kind of discomfort caused by a cold and not being able to express my needs to anyone or fix my situation for myself. Sure, it’s annoying to blow my nose every five minutes, but at least I can do that for myself. Maddie can just yelp and hope that the source of her discomfort is visible enough for us to take it away. She is so congested that we tried letting her sleep in her swing last night, since the vertical orientation seemed better for drainage than sleeping on her stomach. She is also drooling and dripping so much that her sheet becomes almost instantly soaked with mucus or saliva when she lies facedown, putting her face in a cold puddle that is definitely not doing her cold any favors. We initially tried pulling her around to a new section on her mattress whenever the wet spot formed, but there’s only so much real estate and the drooling is nearly constant. While surely sleeping in the swing is not something we want her to do long term, she was able to sleep for 12 hours last night with one feeding, so at least she got some good rest. We are hopeful that both daughter and daddy can repeat that restful night tonight and awake bright and healthy with clear eyes and nostrils for Maddie’s first Christmas Eve tomorrow. That said, we are beyond blessed that Maddie is as healthy as she is, and that we’re just dealing with a head cold when so many families are dealing with far worse. At a time of year that celebrates family and togetherness, I am so grateful for the blessing of my little family, and the honor of helping Maddie navigate through all these new experiences and sensations…even when they’re not so easy. I hope you have the merriest Christmas and a beautiful new year! Like this: Like Loading...There was some Paleyfest, indoor sunglasses and the return of Sarah Paulson’s Asylum character on the finale of American Horror Story: Roanoke last night – and there also was a nice bump over the last finale. With an almost 10% rise in total viewers and 18% jump among adults 18-49 from the finale of AHS: Hotel back in January, Roanoke snagged an audience of 2.45 million and a 1.3 rating last night. Not only is that up from the all-time season-ender low of Hotel, but it also beats the finale of Asylum from January 23, 2013. Week-to-week, last night’s “Chapter 10” finale was basically even with its “Chapter 9” episode of November 9. Not that a few other things weren’t different for the Roanoke finale, though. For one thing, this was the shortest run the anthology series created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk has had. It was also the earliest start that AHS has had, with Roanoke debuting on September 14 this year as opposed to October as AHS has in past seasons. Still, don’t expect FX to get too publicly excited about this latest ratings rise – they are all about the Live + 3 results. Which means it’ll be early next week before we hear the stamping feet of their happy dance.Gerbera daisies are one of my favourite flowers to make. Especially during wedding season, these are one of the most made flowers in my bakery. They are pretty and quite simple to make. Here is what I used: Gumpaste (any two colours) working mat foam mat rolling pin ball tool boning tool palette knife First Impressions “Assorted Centres Silicone Mold” PME Sugarcraft “Plunger/ Cutter Set – Sunflower” (3 sizes) Gum glue flower formers (I use the ones by Wilton) Step 1: Use a small amount of coloured gumpaste. Roll into a tiny ball and press it into the silicone mold. Set aside. Step 2: Roll out the second coloured gumpaste thinly. Use the largest flower cutter and cut one large flower. Press firmly onto the gumpaste to cut cleanly. Use the palette knife to place onto the foam pad. Step 3: After placing the large cut flower onto the foam pad, use the boning tool. From the outer most part of the petal press the boning tool firmly towards the centre of the flower. This will allow the tip of the petal to curl. Repeat this set for each one of the 16 petals on the large flower. Step 4: Place the large flower into the flower former to dry. Step 5: Repeat steps 2, 3, and 4 for each of the following 2 sized flower cutters. However for the smallest flower cutter, make two cuts for this size. Step 6: After allowing all four flower cuts to dry for 20-30 minutes, using the gum glue to start assembling the flower. Place gum glue onto the top of the larger flower and place the middle sized flower on top of the large flower. Then place gum glue onto the middle sized flower, which is already pasted onto the largest flower, and place one of the small flowers on top. Finally, place gum glue onto the smallest flower and put the last (the second small flower) on top. Press in the centre of the assembled flower to ensure all flowers have adhered to each other. Step 8: Add the flower centre by placing some gum glue in the middle of the flower and pressing the centre on. Allow the flower to dry fully assembled over night or at least 3-4 hours. Happy Caking! DianeFor many, Antarctica is out of sight, out of mind. However, the waters that surround the landmass play a major role in the global climate. The Southern Ocean absorbs and stores a high amount of carbon dioxide, acting as a buffer to slow the rate of climate change. The way these waters form and circulate in the deepest reaches of the ocean is an important control on the ability of these waters to store carbon and act as a climate safeguard. Here Loose et al. utilize a new technique to understand how the deepest waters in the oceans form. The researchers investigated deep water formation in the Antarctic but also extended these methods to look at the formation of deep waters worldwide. The authors examined the physical processes that are recorded in noble gases as surface water becomes deep water. These physical processes provide information on sea ice formation, subsurface ice melt of glaciers, and the exchanges between air and sea. The noble gases neon, argon, krypton, and xenon are unique because they are found primarily in Earth’s atmosphere, whereas helium and radon are naturally produced by radioactive decay in the crust and outer mantle. The helium-3 isotope is also ordinarily found in the mantle and in seawater that emanates from the ocean spreading centers. Therefore, tracing the noble gases and their isotopes can provide insight into water mass origin and past contact with the lithosphere and with sources of geothermal heat. The concentration of these gases can also provide a record of air-sea interactions. For example, the abundance of noble gases originating in the atmosphere gives insight into wind speed at the time of deep water formation, or the role of air bubbles, which can supersaturate the water. Noble gas concentrations can also provide information on water temperature at the ocean surface—since warmer waters can hold less dissolved gases—or how much sea ice formation and brine rejection occurred at the time of deep water formation. The scientists focused on the Weddell Sea, a prime location where Antarctic bottom water is known to form. They analyzed samples collected aboard the RRS James Cook in January 2009 and the RRS James Clark Ross in March and April of 2010. The concentrations of noble gases (specifically helium, neon, argon, krypton, and xenon) were determined using a dual mass spectrometer system. The researchers found that both glacial ice and sea ice govern gas concentrations in these deep water masses. It was already known that salty brine rejection during sea ice formation around Antarctica dramatically alters the density of these deepest waters. This study demonstrates that the same is true for gas concentrations. The noble gas content found in bottom water, the scientists found, tells a story specific to how this water formed and where it traveled. After it leaves the surface, the water picks up a small fraction of ice melt from glaciers, icebergs, and ice shelves, which further modifies the water’s noble gas concentrations, forming a unique “fingerprint.” Using such fingerprints collected across space and time, it may be possible to reconstruct glacial melt and sea ice production in the past, including during the last major ice age, when ocean properties were distinct from today. (Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, doi:10.1002/2016JC011809, 2016) —Wudan Yan, Freelance WriterIm heading to Vegas in 2weeks so I was really in a scramble to find a good night out shirt. This shirt is a perfect go to! I have never ordered a clothing item off of Amazon so I was a little bit nervous about the sizing because I'm usually an XXL or XL depending on how I want a shirt to fit.Delivery was really fast I got it 5 days before eatimated delivery! I ordered a US 14 in black and held my breath for the moment of wear. I WAS NOT DISSAPPOINTED. It hugs my curves and flatters them quite nicely.The low cut maybe a bit much for someone who wants to be a bit more modest (im used to wearing revealing clothing, so the cut is something I would normally wear for a night out)but it is easily adjustable and you can modify it with a cami. The fabric is lightweight and stretchy, I dont see any transperancy with the dark colors however in white I could forsee a problem with that if the shirt is really tight. All in all I am very happy with my purchase and I can not wait to strut my stuff with this shirt 'A former CIA officer who helped capture senior Al Qaeda operative Abu Zubaydah in Pakistan was charged on Monday with disclosing classified information to journalists, including the name of a covert US intelligence officer. The case is unusual because it is an effort by the Obama administration to prosecute a former government official suspected of leaking sensitive information to the news media. Such cases are rare. It also stands in contrast to the Justice Department’s decision not to seek criminal charges against intelligence officials who violated a court order and destroyed recordings of the harsh interrogation of high value terror suspects. John Kiriakou of Arlington, Va., appeared in federal court in Alexandria, Va. and was ordered released on a $250,000 bond. Mr. Kiriakou, author of the book “The Reluctant Spy: My Secret Life in the CIA’s War on Terror,” served in the Central Intelligence Agency from 1990 to 2004. He is accused of providing classified information concerning the identity or activities of two intelligence officers to at least three journalists. The journalists are not identified by name in court documents, but an affidavit suggests that Kiriakou was a key source for a June 2008 New York Times article written by Scott Shane. If convicted, Kiriakou faces up to 30 years in prison and $1 million in fines. “Safeguarding classified information, including the identities of CIA officers involved in sensitive operations, is critical to keeping our intelligence officers safe and protecting our national security,” Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement. “Today’s charges reinforce the Justice Department’s commitment to hold accountable anyone who would violate the solemn duty not to disclose such sensitive information,” he said. Kiriakou is charged with one count of violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act for allegedly revealing the identity of a covert official. He is charged with two counts of violating the Espionage Act for allegedly revealing that a particular CIA official was associated with the agency’s secret rendition, detention, and interrogation program. He is also charged with lying to the CIA’s publications review board for trying to publish classified information in a submitted manuscript by falsely claiming that he’d simply made the information up. Prior to publication of "The Reluctant Spy," Kiriakou was required to submit the manuscript for review to ensure it did not include classified information. Prosecutors say Kiriakou tried to “trick” the review board into allowing publication of a detail of how US officials were able to locate and arrest Abu Zubaydah. The book said the CIA in Pakistan used an electronic scanner that allowed officials to track and pinpoint the location of a working mobile phone. Kiriakou called it a “magic box.” In a letter to the review board, he claimed that the detail was fabricated and that no magic box was ever used to help capture Abu Zubaydah. After making those representations to the review board, Kiriakou forwarded a copy of his letter to the co-author of his book. In an accompanying email, obtained by the FBI, Kiriakou said: “I laid it on thick. And I said some things were fictionalized when in fact they weren’t. There’s no way they’re going to go through years of cable traffic to see if it’s fictionalized, so we might get some things through.” The review board excluded the “magic box” reference from the manuscript because it was still a classified secret. Officials say the “magic box” information was recently declassified to allow Kiriakou’s prosecution. The charges against Kiriakou stem from a leak investigation that began in March 2009. US officials discovered that a classified motion filed by defense lawyers representing high value detainees at Guantanamo included top secret information that had not been disclosed to defense lawyers by the US government. The information had apparently been obtained as a result of a defense team investigation of the case. The Justice Department launched an investigation. Officials said on Monday the investigation revealed that no laws had been broken by the defense attorneys or their investigators. The secret information they obtained had been filed under seal in a classified document. No law makes that action illegal. Investigators also discovered that high value detainees at Guantanamo were in possession of 32 photographs that included pictures of CIA, FBI, and government contractor personnel. The photos had been provided by defense counsel and were seized by the government. The Justice Department also announced on Monday that it had concluded that the detainees were entitled to receive the photos as part of a legitimate defense effort to identify US government officials who personally participated in their capture and interrogation. “No law or military commission order expressly prohibited defense counsel from providing their clients with these photo spreads,” the Justice Department said in a statement. According to court documents, investigators traced the sensitive information at Guantanamo through a defense team investigator who received the information from an unnamed journalist. Court documents suggest the unnamed journalist had earlier received the same information from Kiriakou. Investigators say they identified Kiriakou’s role in the disclosures by searching two of his computers and recovering emails. Kiriakou was confronted by agents last Thursday. In a recorded interview he denied any knowledge of how a covert officer’s name ended up in a defense filing at Guantanamo. “How the heck did they get him?” Kiriakou told the FBI according to court documents. “[He] was always undercover. His entire career was undercover.” Get the Monitor Stories you care about delivered to your inbox. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy Kiriakou denied providing the officer’s name to a journalist. “Once they get out, I mean, this is scary,” he told the FBI, according to court documents. The former CIA officer also denied providing any information about a second intelligence official. “Heavens no,” he said, when asked if he revealed the officer’s name or other information to a journalist.fMRI and correlation attenuation Why choosing reliable voxels may seem biased, but really isn't In my most recent neuroimaging research, I'm using feature space modelling in the style of work by Tom Mitchell's lab at Carnegie Melon. Mitchell et al. modelled the neural encoding of nouns using the nouns' associations with select verbs as a basis set of features. Given that my own interests run towards social cognition, naturally I'm doing something a little different. In particular, I'm using the technique to compare different theories of person perception in terms of their ability to predict patterns of brain activity associated with well-known people. While giving a talk on this research, there was some concern regarding an important step in the analytic process: choosing which voxels to include in subsequent modelling, an operation known as feature selection. There are variety of accepted ways for performing feature selection such as using anatomical regions of interest (ROIs), independent functional localizers, or orthogonal ANOVAs on task data, to name but a few. The method we used was based on reliability. This choice has been closely paired with feature space modelling, going back to Mitchell et al.'s original work (there called "stability"). The particular instantiation I used came to me by way of one my dissertation committee members, Talia Konkle. I'll spare you some of the particulars, but essentially this process proceeded as follows: first, I generated a wholebrain map of (univariate) split-half reliability with respect to the conditions in the experiment (i.e., 60 well-known people). Second, I thresholded that map at closely spaced intervals between 0 and the maximum voxelwise
know everybody sometimes romanticizes the last campaign -- and the posters and all the good feeling. But I said back then, when I talk about change, I'm not just talking about changing presidents or political parties. I'm talking about changing how our politics works. I ran because the voices of the American people -- your voices -- had been shut out of our democracy for way too long by lobbyists and special interests and politicians who will say and do anything just to keep things the way they are, to protect the status quo. And the status quo in Washington is fierce. And over the last four years, that status quo has fought us every step of the way. They spent millions trying to stop us from reforming the health care system; spent millions trying to prevent us from reforming Wall Street. They engineered a strategy of gridlock in Congress, refusing to compromise on ideas that both Democrats and Republicans had agreed to in the past. And what they’re counting on now is that you’re going to be so worn down, so fed up, so tired of all the squabbling, so tired of all the dysfunction, that you’re just going to give up and walk away, and leave them -- AUDIENCE: No! THE PRESIDENT: -- leave them right where they are -- pulling the strings, pulling the levers, and you locked out of the decisions that impact your lives. In other words, their bet is on cynicism. But, Wisconsin, my bet is on you. (Applause.) My bet is on you. And understand, I'm not making a partisan point here. When the other party has been willing to work with me to cut middle-class taxes for families and small businesses, or some courageous Republican senators crossing the aisle to support the repeal of "don’t ask, don’t tell," I'm thrilled -- because we're not Democrats or Republicans first. We're Americans first. (Applause.) As long as I’m President, I'll work with anybody of any party to move this country forward. And if you want to break the gridlock in Congress, you’ll vote for leaders like Tammy Baldwin -- (applause) -- whether they're Democrats or Republicans or independents -- who feel the same way, who put you first, not the next election first. But you know what, sometimes you got to fight. Sometimes you got to stand on principle. If the price of peace in Washington is cutting deals to cut students off of financial aid, or get rid of funding for Planned Parenthood, or let insurance companies discriminate against people with preexisting conditions, or eliminate health care for millions of folks who are on Medicaid who are poor or elderly or disabled, I won’t pay that price. That's not a deal I’ll take. (Applause.) That's not bipartisanship. That's not change. That's surrender. That's surrender to the same status quo that’s been squeezing middle-class families for way too long. That's not why I ran for President, to leave things the way they are. I’m not ready to give up on that fight. (Applause.) I’m not ready to give up on that fight, Wisconsin. And I hope you aren’t either. AUDIENCE: No! THE PRESIDENT: Now, the folks at the very top in this country, they don't need another champion in Washington. They’ll always have a seat at the table. They’ll have access. They’ll always have influence. That's the nature of things. The people who need a champion are the Americans whose letters I read late at night after a long day in the office; the men and women I meet on the campaign trail every day. The laid-off worker who’s going back to community college to retrain at the age of 55 for a new career -- she needs a champion. The restaurant owner who’s got great food, but needs a loan to expand after the bank turned him down -- he needs a champion. (Applause.) The cooks and the waiters and the cleaning staff at a Madison hotel, trying to save enough to buy a first home or send their kid to college –- they need a champion. (Applause.) The autoworker who never thought he’d see the line again and now is back on the job, filled with pride and dignity, because it’s not just building a great car, it’s not just about a paycheck, it’s about taking pride in what you do –- he needs a champion. (Applause.) A teacher in an overcrowded classroom with old, outdated textbooks, digging into her own pocket to buy school supplies, frustrated sometimes, not getting the support she needs, but knowing every single day she might make a difference in that one child’s life, and that makes it all worth it -- she needs a champion. (Applause.) All those kids in inner cities and small farm towns, in the valleys of Ohio, the rolling Virginia hills, or in the streets of Madison -- kids dreaming of becoming scientists or doctors, or engineers or entrepreneurs, diplomats, maybe even a President –- they need a champion. (Applause.) They don’t have lobbyists. The future never has as many lobbyists as the status quo. But it is the dreams of those children that will be our saving grace. (Applause.) That’s what will propel us forward. That’s what will make America continue to be this shining light on a hill. And that’s why I need you, Wisconsin. To make sure the voices of those children are heard. To make sure your voices are heard. We have come too far to turn back now. (Applause.) We’ve come too far to let our hearts grow faint. Now is the time to keep pushing forward –- to educate all our kids and train all our workers, create new jobs, bring our troops home, care for our veterans, broaden opportunity, grow our middle class, restore our democracy -- and make sure that no matter who you are, no matter where you come from, no matter how you started out, no matter what your last name is, you can make it here in America if you try. (Applause.) And, Wisconsin, that’s why I need your vote. And if you’re willing to work with me again, and knock on some doors with me, make some phone calls for me, turn out for me, we’ll win Wisconsin. (Applause.) We’ll win this election. We’ll finish what we started. We’ll renew the bonds that bind us together. We’ll reaffirm the spirit that makes the United States of America the greatest nation on Earth. (Applause.) God bless you, and God bless the United States of America. END 11:19 A.M. CSTDave Grohl apparently broke his leg after falling off stage during Foo Fighters’ concert in Gothenburg, Sweden on Friday night. But like the true rock titan that he is, Grohl managed to finish the concert — albeit sitting down. Grohl reportedly fell during the band’s performance of “Monkey Wrench” and remained on the ground for several minutes before being taken backstage. “Hey, ladies and gentlemen. I love you, but I think I just broke my leg. I really broke my leg,” he told the audience. While Grohl was tended to backstage, the rest of Foo Fighters played a set of covers sung by drummer Taylor Hawkins. Ultimately, Grohl returned to the stage with his leg wrapped and finished the concert sitting in a chair. “I may not be able to walk or run but I can still play guitar and scream,” he proclaimed. Thank you Gothenburg. That was amazing. pic.twitter.com/BXvuxIfVEv — Foo Fighters (@foofighters) June 12, 2015 Below, watch video of the moment Grohl sustained the injury, along with post-injury footage and a few more photos (via Reddit). You can also find more videos via this Swedish live stream.Football coaches routinely preach to their players the importance of loyalty and covering each other's back. But veteran CFL coach Jeff Reinebold lives by those words. When the Hamilton Tiger-Cats dealt defensive lineman John Chick to the Edmonton Eskimos on Aug. 20, Reinebold offered to drive the family's belongings to Alberta. Chick's wife, Catherine, was originally considering to make the trip with the couple's eight children in tow. "Coaches sometimes take the easy way out, we say players must be disciplined but we scream at the officials and get 15-yard penalties," Reinebold said. "When we (Ticats) got to training camp we talked about the brotherhood, that we have to take care of each other and here was an opportunity for me to not just talk about it, but live it. "You're given opportunities in life to really demonstrate if you're a guy who just talks about it or who's about it. I think it was a real blessing for me to get that chance." Reinebold, fired last month as Hamilton's defensive co-ordinator after an 0-6 start, concluded his four-day trip through the northern U.S. and three provinces — which he dubbed the 'Chickspedition' — with his arrival in Edmonton on Wednesday night. After reconnecting with the Chick family and helping them unpack, Reinebold caught an overnight flight back to Hamilton. "Getting fired, getting traded, getting released, it's all part of the business and what we sign up for," Reinebold said. "But the people who don't sign up for that are wives and kids. "I went to help Catherine pack and she said she was going to drive with eight kids. John called me a day later and asked if I knew anyone who might be able to help because he didn't want Catherine to drive. I couldn't find anybody so I called John back and said I'd do it... if you're in a position and have the ability to help then I think you have a responsibility to." Chick, the CFL's top defensive player in 2009, was deeply appreciative of Reinebold's actions. "The one thing people preach is the brotherhood stepping up for your guys when (you) can and it was very cool to see the action behind the words," Chick said. "When I reached out to Jeff, honest to God, I figured he'd know somebody who could be in a place to help. "I tried talking him out of it but he was set on doing it. Many people stepped up over the last two weeks but it was definitely a blessing Jeff was able to do that, not enough can be said about it." Reinebold, a colourful 59-year-old native of South Bend, Ind., knows all about life on the road. A football nomad — Hamilton was the 18th stop of Reinebold's coaching odyssey that began in 1981 — Reinebold also moved a lot while growing up. His father, Jim, spent over 25 years in pro baseball, often resulting in his mother having to pack up the couple's five kids (Reinebold, his three brothers and sister) and relocate to a new city. "I remember driving to the next dugout," Reinebold said. "I remember my mother packing up five kids within eight years of one another into an old Studebaker station wagon and driving to wherever the next stop was. "It's certainly a lot to ask." But Reinebold embraced the 3,400-kilometre trip to Edmonton, posting daily updates on Twitter. "I pictured myself as Forrest Gump when he just decided to go for a run and kept running," Reinebold said. "That was me, I just kept driving, it was a pretty cool deal. "It gave me time to do some inventory and think about many things. I don't want to get philosophical but you're always put in the place you need to be. Sometimes we don't understand it, sometimes we fight it... but there's a reason for everything. John doesn't play for me anymore... but it's just the bond you form if you really, truly care about each other." Many pro football coaches and front-office officials refuse to get attached to players because of the harsh realities of the business. But Super Bowl-winning coach Dick Vermeil bucked that trend, frequently becoming emotional during press conferences. "I had a chance to work with coach Vermeil and he said, 'Players don't care how much you know until they know how much you care,'" Reinebold said. "That's the way I've always approached it. "This is a violent game and players put their well-being on the line for you so when you can pay that back a little bit, I just think it's the right thing to do." The trip wasn't always smooth sailing. Twice Reinebold had to drive through severe storms and was forced to repair two damaged leaf springs (part of the trailer's suspension system). And when passing another car, Reinebold sometimes forgot he was towing a trailer. "I drove their van, which is like a small school bus, and I have this trailer behind me," Reinebold said. "I'm not a long-haul trucker driver by a longshot and you forget there's another 25 feet behind you when you pass somebody. "I had guys giving me the finger... and anybody who can back a trailer I have great respect for. After a while I didn't go into a place unless I could go straight in and straight out." Driving across the Prairies gave Reinebold a new appreciation of Canada. "The Tragically Hip has a collection of songs called "Yer Favourites," and it's like the soundtrack for this country," Reinebold said. "The farmers had started bringing the crops in, the harvest had begun and it was absolutely wonderful, just awesome. "I've flown back and forth across this country many times in 20-some years of being in the CFL. This was the first time I'd really driven any length of it and you really don't realize how beautiful it is until you get out and drive a little bit and see." Reinebold admits that while being surprised to be fired by the Ticats, experience has taught him not to dwell on it. He's been let go before and, frankly, has overcome bigger life challenges, most notably cancer. In 2010 while he was a receivers coach at Southern Methodist University, Reinebold was diagnosed with a malignant melanoma in his stomach that required two operations. Thankfully, he remains cancer-free. And this spring, Reinebold's father died at age 87. "What you learn from this experience is there's only so many summers," he said. "It's up to us regarding how (challenging) moments transform you. "You just have to enjoy (each coaching job), enjoy the interactions and people because it's always about the people, the players, the guys you work with, the fans you meet." Reinebold — a frequent analyst on Sky Sports NFL telecasts in Britain — was in his fifth season with Hamilton, the longest period he's been in one place as a coach. But being fired gave him a rare opportunity for a family moment. Last week, Reinebold headed to Colorado Springs, Colo., to see his oldest son, Zachariah, commissioned as a major in the U.S. Air Force. "I never saw him graduate from high school, I never got to see him graduate from college, I didn't see his first commissioning as an officer because I was always in football," Reinebold said. "It was a cool moment, you never get those back." Reinebold is adamant he's not done with coaching. "It's what I love," he said. "I think until I can figure out how to be a professional surfer at 59 years old, I'll be coaching football somewhere."LEIGH SALES, PRESENTER: What we know already about Bacchus Marsh Hospital in Victoria is shocking enough - 11 newborn babies dead in the space of two years. The public was reassured that the hospital's board and management had been removed and the head of the maternity unit had quit, but almost no information was revealed about what actually went wrong. Disturbingly, tonight 7.30 can reveal the true number of baby deaths is in fact 18. One obstetrician was sued at least a dozen times and other doctors were reported to authorities. Some of the mothers involved are tonight breaking their silence. Louise Milligan is the reporter. LOUISE MILLIGAN, REPORTER: In early 2014, Caress Spiteri was four months pregnant when she had her dream wedding on Hamilton Island. When she arrived at Bacchus Marsh Hospital five months later, Caress was unaware the hospital was already in the middle of a crisis. Her problems began with an overseas-trained locum. CARESS SPITERI: When he went to induce me, after he put the drip in my hand, he stuck the hook in my urethra as he was doing the internal to break my waters. LOUISE MILLIGAN: Baby Harley was born by emergency caesarean section. Afterwards, Caress was in excruciating pain. Despite this, she was discharged after three days. CARESS SPITERI: My mum and my husband and myself were all begging them, pleading with them not to send me home because I couldn't get out of bed. LOUISE MILLIGAN: Caress had two aggressive post-operative bacterial infections. She was unable to hold her baby or to move. Two days after she went home, a Bacchus Marsh midwife came to see her and said Caress was fine. CARESS SPITERI: Two days after that I had the child maternal nurse come home for our first visit. When she pushed my stomach up to see my wound, it actually exploded and all the pus shot out to the side of my stomach. She then told me to pack my son's bags and get myself immediately to the hospital. LOUISE MILLIGAN: Caress finally got to see the Bacchus Marsh head of obstetrics, Dr Surinder Parhar, at her two-week check-up. CARESS SPITERI: He just grabbed my stomach like that and lifted it up. His thumb was actually in the wound and he told me that I got the infection because I was fat. LOUISE MILLIGAN: In legal correspondence, Dr Parhar has denied saying this, but noted that obesity is a risk factor for infection. A week later, Caress had to have major corrective surgery at the Royal Women's Hospital. She still has an open hole in her stomach, 18 months later and is suing Bacchus Marsh Hospital. JILL HENNESSY, VICTORIAN HEALTH MINISTER (Oct. 16, 2015): What has happened here has been a series of catastrophic failures by a number of parties that may have contributed to the very sad loss of young life. LOUISE MILLIGAN: As horrible as Caress Spiteri's experience was, her baby lived. 11 other babies born in the Bacchus Marsh maternity unit in the same period didn't. In October last year, Health Minister Jill Hennessy revealed that seven of the deaths could've been prevented. One of those in early 2013 should've raised a red flag. Solicitor Dimitra Dubrow represented the woman whose baby was delivered stillborn. The woman haemorrhaged badly during labour and was sent home with a life-threatening blood illness that wasn't picked up. DIMITRA DUBROW, SOLICITOR, MAURICE BLACKBURN: A few days later unfortunately she had to be rushed to another hospital, where her condition was so serious that she almost died. LOUISE MILLIGAN: Her doctor at Bacchus Marsh was Surinder Parhar and her condition became so serious that the head of obstetrics at Western Health, Professor Glyn Teale, reported Dr Parhar to the medical regulator AHPRA. The regulator failed to act on the notification for two years. DIMITRA DUBROW: It's not good enough that it took two years. Our client is devastated about the time that it took AHPRA to make its finding because she questions and thinks about what could have been. LOUISE MILLIGAN: All those other women. DIMITRA DUBROW: All those other babies, all those other lives that could've been saved if the hospital had acted sooner or AHPRA had made its finding sooner. LOUISE MILLIGAN: Late last year, Surinder Parhar resigned and the Victorian Health Minister sacked the board and management of Bacchus Marsh Hospital. When asked about his role in the stillborn cluster, Dr Parhar told 7.30 he couldn't remember whether he was involved in any of those deliveries, even though they were just two to three years ago. But this story is much bigger than those 11 deaths and that one doctor. What rang alarm bells during the analysis of the 2013-'14 stillborn cluster was that five of the seven babies died at full term during labour. That's rare in obstetrics and suggested error. It prompted the Health Department to ask independent reviewer Professor Euan Wallace to look back and see if there were any other avoidable deaths. 7.30 has discovered that there were seven other deaths dating back to 2003. One of the mums of those babies has spoken out for the first time. Jacinta's painful memories of baby Ruby remain in this box. Ruby was Jacinta's second baby, delivered in 2009. She told medical staff at Bacchus Marsh that she was concerned during her pregnancy. JACINTA: She didn't move. I just knew straight away that something was not right. I raised it with the doctor, I raised it with my midwives. LOUISE MILLIGAN: No-one detected she had a condition called Intrauterine Growth Restriction that stopped her uterus from growing enough to accommodate her baby. Nevertheless, Jacinta continued to ask the midwives to investigate. JACINTA: They'd hear her heartbeat and go, "Oh, there's her heartbeat. We found that." They'd put the CTG on and then they'd send me home, say, "She's moving. We can see that she's moving. She's fine. Go home." LOUISE MILLIGAN: And how long would they have it on for? JACINTA: It was not long. 10 minutes tops the last time that I went in. LOUISE MILLIGAN: When she came back to Bacchus Marsh Hospital two days later, they discovered baby Ruby was dead. A distraught Jacinta was asked to drive to Ballarat Hospital 56 kilometres away to deliver the child. Bacchus Marsh didn't have the capability to do it. JACINTA: (Becoming emotional) I screamed and I wanted just to not feel a thing. I didn't want to feel it. I didn't want to be there 'cause I knew what was coming. And I knew that it was all going to be real at the end of it, that my baby was not going to cry and that she was not going to look at me and that I would have to hand her to someone else and not take her home. It was one of the most painful, gut-wrenching things I've ever, ever been through in my life. LOUISE MILLIGAN: Defective use of foetal heart monitoring equipment by Bacchus Marsh staff was one of the key concerns of Professor Wallace's review. The hospital's former chairman says the only monitor was 25 years old. MICHAEL TUDBALL, FMR CHAIR, BACCHUS MARSH HOSPITAL BOARD: We've requested many times over the years, over the 13 or 14 years I was there, most recently in 2013 we wrote to the department saying particularly for maternity services, that investment was needed in equipment because we were outgrowing our capacity. The fundamental is that we were operating with old equipment in an old hospital - it's over 55 year old, that hospital and there's been no capital investment by any government at any level in that time. LOUISE MILLIGAN: So far, the public story of what went on here at Bacchus Marsh Hospital has focused on one doctor, the head of obstetrics, Surinder Parhar. But in fact, there were a number of doctors who were involved in avoidable stillbirths. At least three of the doctors here have been the subject of notifications to the medical regulator, AHPRA, and two of them have had restrictions placed upon their practice. One of those is Claude Calandra. Dr Calandra has been working in hospitals in Melbourne's west for years. Calandra is a very familiar name to plaintiff lawyer Anne Shortle. He's been sued more than a dozen times for alleged medical negligence. ANNE SHORTALL, PLAINTIFF LAWYER, SLATER & GORDON: I've printed a list off from the County Court of a number of 13 writs which have been issued over 14 years.... It's very unusual. There are very few doctors that would've had that number of claims made against them over that period of time. LOUISE MILLIGAN: All of those cases were settled. TRACY DANSKIN-ANTHONY: I really do not understand why they keep him practising. He shouldn't be allowed. LOUISE MILLIGAN: Dr Calandra delivered Tracy Danskin-Anthony's baby daughter Tommi at Werribee Mercy Hospital in 2001. Tracey says she heard the nurses saying the baby was in distress during the labour. Nevertheless, Dr Calandra delivered her baby naturally. TRACY DANSKIN-ANTHONY: When she was born, he put her on my chest and I noticed she wasn't crying and she wasn't moving. And I'm like, "Something's wrong. She's purple." She wasn't crying and she wasn't moving. And I said to him, "What's wrong?," and I remember just thinking, "Just breathe, just breathe." LOUISE MILLIGAN: Tommi was taken away and placed on life support. She died a few days later. TRACY DANSKIN-ANTHONY: Six weeks later when I went there to get my records of labour, I bumped into him and I said to him, "What happened?" And he said, "Oh, well, these things happen." "Oh, well." LOUISE MILLIGAN: Claude Calandra was not responsible for any of the stillbirths made public last year, but his track record of extensive litigation raises questions about why he was still at Bacchus Marsh. The case brought against Claude Calandra by this little boy's family has been put on hold. Under Dr Calandra, Luca Weir's mother Candice says she laboured for five days with her baby. CANDICE WEIR: He was in distress. His heart was slowing down and then rapidly speeding up, slowing down to the point of almost stopping. LOUISE MILLIGAN: What did Dr Calandra tell you? CANDICE WEIR: That he was grabbing onto his cord and causing himself to pass out. LOUISE MILLIGAN: When Luca was finally born, Candice Weir says he showed signs that he'd been without oxygen for some time. CANDICE WEIR: 11 to 13 minutes that I know of. They told me that he'd had to be taken to intensive care unit, put on a drip. He was dry, he was without - his waters had been broken for 72 hours, so he had an infection, he had sepsis - blood poisoning - and I had blood poisoning. LOUISE MILLIGAN: The mother of three soon noticed worrying behaviour by her infant son, like repetitively banging his head against his cot. Luca didn't walk until he was two and a half. At five, the school asked for him to be assessed for autism and ADHD. Candice Weir has been advised by a lawyer to have his brain scanned when he's 10 to see if his behavioural and speech delays were caused at birth. CANDICE WEIR: I get a sick feeling in my stomach thinking about that and what happened there. It does, it brings up a sick feeling in my stomach. LOUISE MILLIGAN: 7.30 approached Claude Calandra, but he declined to speak to us. Patient complaints about Dr Calandra prompted the medical regulator to place restrictions on his registration for six months in 2012. He continued to practise at both Werribee Mercy and Bacchus Marsh. Bacchus Marsh Hospital wouldn't tell us what it knew about the restrictions or the writs, but the hospital's former chairman says he has no idea about them. MICHAEL TUDBALL: I think there was a breakdown in process as far as any investigations that were going on to doctors or medical people at Bacchus Marsh that had no requirement to inform anyone at Bacchus Marsh, so you're operating in a fair vacuum. LOUISE MILLIGAN: 7.30 has established that at least three doctors apart from Dr Parhar who were involved in some of the avoidable baby deaths are still practising at Bacchus Marsh Hospital and AHPRA is now doing a wider investigation into those and other doctors at the hospital. Meanwhile, the women of Bacchus Marsh wonder if they can really trust in the care provided by the area's only maternity hospital. JACINTA: Lots of things can go wrong in pregnancies and every woman has the same right to the same care, no matter where they live. Because the result of them not getting the same care is that you end up with a situation like this. LEIGH SALES: Reporter Louise Milligan and producer Andy Burns with that story.By Michael Topper Bibliotecapleyades.net In the higher densities, the Name of the Game is Consciousness. This simply means that the higher densities of existence, whether positive or negative in orientation, all recognize that the business of all being and existence everywhere is always that of Consciousness… becoming more and more “Aware.” Awareness is related to “density” of consciousness, so to say. The STS (Service To Self) way of achieving “density of consciousness” is to “gain weight” by assimilation of other consciousness units. This is generally promoted as “All is One” and refers to “evil” as a “rebellion” or a fault or something that will ultimately be “done away with.” STO (Service To Others), on the other hand sees “gaining weight” in a different way. It sees that an acknowledgement of the consciousness of “other self” as equal to its own consciousness, in spite of completely different manifestation of that being, is the way to “network” the consciousness so that the Whole is greater than the sum of the parts. The difference is that the STO guys recognize consciousness as being an “integrative” activity of mutual networking and interdependence because they view all others as self, even if they are different, and therefore seek to help and assist because the other IS self in an absolute internal sense. In this way, Absolute Consciousness, or God is “glorified” by a marvelous diversity of being if you wish to put it in those terms. The negative guys, on the other hand, play the game in terms of domination, subjugation and absorption of other consciousnesses into “One.”. But, they too, understand that the rules of the game posit that in order for them to truly “absorb” into their being these other “consciousnesses,” that the “other” must choose to become part of their “self-aggrandizement.” An unwilling “food” is, in essence, not “nutritious” so to say. If the consciousness does not choose, it becomes a “poison” to the consciousness that seeks to “eat it.” And so they must promote “Oneness” in a very particular way. Note that both sides acknowledge “Oneness,” but in very different ways. So, we have to understand here that the true Negative Realm agenda is to “eat consciousness.” So, this actually prevents an overt “take-over” in literal, physical terms. If an “invasion” was detected, this would mean that the veil would be lifted and all would see the “man behind the curtain” and would be disgusted and turn away. Just as in the “Wizard of Oz,” those Ruby Slippers have to be obtained VERY CAREFULLY! Gathering the essence is an art of great subtlety! The “negative alien plan” is, in its purest sense, STALKING. The aim of Stalking is to create a completely controlled artificial environment composed of thoroughly predictable human behaviors – made predictable because they have been programmed to respond to cues of conditioning [inculcated through centuries of lies and obfuscations presented in the form of religions] and all of this revolves around a ’story’ that is actually untrue, and wholly misrepresentative of the real negative aim. For centuries these programming signals have been being set up – either because of time travel capabilities, or because of actual historical presence. Various prophets or religious leaders have been influenced to preach, or teach or prophesy philosophies designed to lay a foundation for later take-over – possibly in our present time. When people begin to get wise, the Negatives simply go back into the past, add something more to the soup to “cover up” the new awareness. This then act as a domino effect and influences our present. Time loops and all that. A lot of people think that the “alien invasion scenario” is a ruse concocted by the government to create the impression that there is a forming “threat,” thereby enabling the institution of a hierarchy. But, this idea is based on a misrepresentation of the process just described. The important thing to remember is this: there is NOT a “unified conspiratorial activity” going on here in the hierarchy of government. The “divide and conquer” effect is also manifest at this level and suits the alien purposes to a “T.” Such activity at ALL levels is consistent with their program of STALKING, in which confusion and cross-purpose prevents a clear perception on the part of the Stalkees. Yet, at some deep level there may be a direct conspiratorial interaction between the “secret government” and the negative aliens… but it is unlikely that any name of those involved would be recognized by anyone, no matter how “in the know” regarding the subject. These “secret superiors” are just that: SECRET. Any organization you can name, or about which you are AWARE, are merely “outer circles.” What is the designed objective of this STALKING? It is two-fold. First, the effect of Stalking is sort of like stampeding a herd of cattle. Bit by bit, they are consolidated into a “negative mode” which consists of the idea of “us vs them.” Even though, on the surface, it may seem that this “mode” is positive or STO, (i.e. save the world because it is “wrong” or flawed, or blighted with original sin or whatever) the very fact that it is formed in the “dominator” mode of perceiving salvation “outside,” means that it can more easily be “taken over” body, mind and soul at a level that is “unseen and unseeable.” In other words: Satan CAN and most often DOES appear as an Angel of Light! It is only at the lower levels of the power structure that many still believe they are playing out the basic ’antagonism’ and ’self- protection’ roles. They believe that “sending love and light” to those “in need” is appropriate, without realizing that this activity is predicated upon a deep belief that there is something wrong, in error, in rebellion, and thus becomes again, “us vs them.” There is evidence that extensive implant technology may be used to ensure influenced obedience; yet, a degree of freedom must be conserved through the consciousness due to the essential fact that the valued commodity is consciousness. A totally drugged, surgically altered and thoroughly programmed psyche is only good for robotic slave-service (and this may also be going on also, by the way). It is in this understanding that we find our way out of the trap. It isn’t easy, but it is a way. The primary object of Negative stalking is to persuade through strongly influenced, but not robotic, behavior patterns, the Free Choice of the targeted CONSCIOUSNESS to align with negative higher-density existence. Because, in the Long Run, the object is the “eating” of functioning units of consciousness by the negative hierarchy, with Free Will intact! It is not good food otherwise!!!! And this is where physics comes in again… because the CONSERVED ELEMENT OF TRUE CONSCIOUSNESS is the irreducible value of Free Will. The mind of the subject must retain Free Will which distinguishes consciousness as such. The instant the negative polarization is chosen as a result of true prerogative of Free Will, the “subject” immediately becomes functionally a “part” of the higher-dimensional entity responsible for having induced the choice in the first place, regardless of the deceptive means employed, or the persuasive misrepresentations used in conditioning the terms through which the fateful choice is made. In other words, confusion, physical and/or emotional/mental pain, exhaustion, blackmail, and even forms of torture are legitimate modes of “persuasion.” Of course, the more subtle the means used, the more value is retained. A “tortured” consciousness is the equivalent to being “overcooked.” Many higher level Beings of Darkness are veritable connoisseurs! They particularly relish the subversion of those who are truly pure and strong willed! There’s an immediate PSYCHIC BOND in this relationship to the higher density negative being who is the “handler” of the human “agent” who is now a functional part of his “eater/master,” and, the negative hierarchy is proportionately enhanced with every “induction/absorption” of additional members. In other words: the negative hierarchy is a pyramidal food chain… the apex of the pyramid is comprised of the most persistent of the negative graduates, the one who has stuck it out against every evidence of diminishment, and is the ultimate example of “wishful thinking.” This “Ultimate Wishful Thinking” means that they/it cannot SEE that they do not become God by assimilation and control of other selves… but that the real result is a gradual compaction and implosion and dissolution into primal matter and NON-being. And here is where physics comes in again to help us get a handle on this conflict: Without duality, there would be no existence to discuss. From the One there is bilateral emergence. Exactly one half joyfully seeks life and creation and play and exploration… a sort of “love of adventure.” The other half expresses a fundamental fear of “losing self” in this play and exploration. This causes it to recoil upon itself and this establishes the “tension” of polarization which is the stuff of which the cosmos is constructed.. This can be more easily understood as “Love of God through others,” i.e. by loving others unconditionally, as God, since all are one, even though differentiated; as opposed to “Love of God through self
while readying themselves to respond to the future impact of inevitable external environmental pressures,” said the briefing note. Here are some highlights: “Firms should also start linking their investment to programs that will enable them to produce oil competitively while reducing their carbon footprint as much as possible. Even integrated energy firms should seriously consider incremental diversification, moving gradually into low-carbon technologies such as natural gas as a transition fuel or managing/acquiring renewable sources such as wind, solar or biofuels.” “If you are a business leader in this industry, your most important task this year is to address or at least face up to a vital existential issue: how to successfully do business as an O&G company in an increasingly carbon-constrained world.” “Look into technology that can retrofit existing equipment for refining and producing renewable energy. Some large O&G companies, including ConocoPhillips, Eni, and Neste, are investing in refining processes to replace diesel with fuel from soybean, palm, and canola oils as well as fats and animal tallow in airplanes and commercial transportation.” 6. US carbon markets… Whisper it but they are moving. As the team at Carbon Pulse reported last April, nearly all US states have explored whether they should use markets to meet new GHG targets under the Clean Power Plan, President Barack Obama’s flagship climate legislation. The CPP stipulates that carbon emissions from power plants should fall 32% below 2005 levels by 2030, with each state contributing to that total. Even coal-rich West Virginia is quietly contemplating a carbon market, ClimateWire reported this week, despite vociferous opposition from senior lawmakers. With a 27-state push to delay the CPP dismissed by a DC judge this week, those markets may arrive sooner than later. 7. Aviation faces cap So long free from any punitive emission cuts, aviation’s time flying free may be about to change. This week China named the industry as one of eight likely to come under a new national carbon market due to be launched in 2017. European MEPs want the bloc to step in with its own legislation if there is no progress at the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) this year. “If ICAO is not in a position to get a reduction of GHGs, not just a stabilisation, I would hope we can get some credible legislation off the ground,” said German lawmaker Peter Liese on Thursday. International aviation and shipping are not covered under the Paris climate deal; together they account for 5% of emissions. 8. Coral IVF Yes – really. Amid news of widespread coral bleaching events linked to warming ocean waters, a spot of good news. A British scientist thinks he has cracked why and when a major coral species decides to spawn, offering experts the chance to collect more eggs and sperm from corals and potentially help them reproduce in captivity. “There’s a lot of research into the impact of climate change on corals but a reef can’t recover unless it can reproduce,” said Jamie Craggs, who’s based at the Horniman Museum in South East London. “The limit at the moment is researchers have 2-3 days to do all their studies in the year because of these mass spawning events. But if we understand it in captivity can we then manipulate the corals using [computers] so we can spawn when we want.” 9. Cara and Leo What list is complete without some jet-set climate-stars? Wolf of Wall Street star Leonardo DiCaprio lambasted oil and gas chiefs for “corporate greed” the World Economic Forum in Davos this week. “Those entities with a financial interest in preserving this destructive system have denied, and even covered-up the evidence of our changing climate. Enough is enough. You know better. The world knows better. History will place the blame for this devastation squarely at their feet,” he said. And then there’s Cara. She’s taking the fight to climate sceptic Donald Trump on Instagram.(updated bel0w - Update II) Everyone Strong and Serious knows that only weak losers who are unqualified to be Commander-in-Chief would care about whether they are allowed under the obsolete, leftist doctrine known as "law" to attack another country or crush the Terrorists. We first learned this from George Bush, who, in a 2004 campaign speech, mocked John Kerry as a law-obsessed weakling this way: Advertisement: Some are skeptical that the war on terror is really a war at all. My opponent said, and I quote, "The war on terror is less of a military operation, and far more of an intelligence-gathering law enforcement operation." I disagree—strongly disagree... After the chaos and carnage of September the 11th, it is not enough to serve our enemies with legal papers. With those attacks, the terrorists and their supporters declared war on the United States of America, and war is what they got. We then learned this important lesson from Karl Rove, who in 2005 explained: "Liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers. Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 and the attacks and prepared for war.” This same lesson was then taught to us by Sarah Palin, who derided Barack Obama in her 2008 RNC acceptance speech as a law-obsessed Terrorist-coddler: "Al Qaida terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America, and he's worried that someone won't read them their rights." And then we heard the same thing on Wednesday night from Stephanie Cutter, President Obama's Deputy Campaign Manager. She appeared on MSNBC to discuss that night's GOP debate with Lawrence O'Donnell, who subjected her to the very hard-hitting adversarial journalism for which that cable channel has become so justifiably admired when it comes to reporting on the Obama administration. After boldly challenging Cutter to explain what President Obama's large polling lead tells us about the GOP challengers (it shows the Nation adores the leader and hates the GOP), he then invited her to act as "truth squad" and identify the biggest lie told about the President during the GOP debate. This is how she responded: The most egregious falsehood would be the President's position on Iran, whether it's Mitt Romney or Rick Santorum, attacking the President for not being tough enough on Iran. Ask any foreign policy expert out there, we have the toughest sanctions in place today than we've had in decades thanks to this President.... Now look at Mitt Romney. What he didn't say on the stage tonight is that just four years ago, when asked the same question on Iran, he said he'd have to check with his lawyers. That does not make a Commander-in-Chief, somebody who has to check with his lawyers. She went on to mock him for saying he would not invade Pakistan without its consent to get bin Laden. On "checking with his lawyers," what Romney actually said was this, when asked whether he would attack Iran without first getting Congressional approval: The other topic that sparked fireworks was a provocative, albeit hypothetical, point of constitutional interpretation -- would the U.S. president need Congress' permission before launching an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities? Responding first, Romney said as president, "you sit down with your attorneys" to determine whether such authorization is needed, but he said, "Obviously, the president of the United States has to do what's in the best interest of the United States to protect us against a potential threat." So Romney said that before attacking Iran, he'd want to know if he had the legal authority to do so without Congress, but then strongly suggested that he'd probably do it anyway. As Stephanie Cutter explained, only a weak loser would care whether he actually has the legal authority under the Constitution to start a war without Congressional approval (President Obama showed the Tough Commander-in-Chief Stuff of which he's made when he prosecuted a war even once Congress affirmatively refused to authorize it). Of course, Candidate Obama, in 2007, when asked as part of an executive power questionnaire if a President could attack Iran without Congress, consulted with a long list of lawyers to prepare his response and, concerning that specific issue, said: "the President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation." During the campaign, candidate Obama vowed: "No more ignoring the law when it's inconvenient. That is not who we are.... We will again set an example for the world that the law is not subject to the whims of stubborn rulers." Hillary Clinton co-sponsored legislation to ban President Bush from attacking Iran without the approval of Congress. Joe Biden actually threatened to impeach Bush if he attacked Iran without Congressional approval. Advertisement: But that was then, before they were in charge of the war-making machine. Now, Mitt Romney's tepid suggestion that a President should probably first ascertain his Constitutional powers before attacking another country is, according to the Obama campaign, proof of his losers-ish weakness: "That does not make a Commander-in-Chief, somebody who has to check with his lawyers," decreed Cutter, following in the illustrious footsteps of George W. Bush, Karl Rove and Sarah Palin (it's amazingly common how Democrats defend Obama's foreign policy record by tauntingly pointing to the pile of corpses he's produced and the punishing sanctions he's imposed, and by fully embracing the long-standing GOP metrics of "toughness" and arguing that Obama exudes them even more than the GOP itself). Thus: maybe a President has to take that old, antiquated, pre-9/11 oath to "preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States," but that doesn't mean you actually have to believe it. What kind of loser checks with his lawyers and cares about "law"? UPDATE: Many active-duty service members apparently have a much different understanding of "strength" than Rove, Bush, Palin, Cutter and friends, given that the most anti-war presidential candidate is the one who has raised, by far, the most money from those members of the armed forces. Advertisement: UPDATE II: David Rohde, the Pulitzer-Prize-winning former New York Times reporter and current Reuters columnist, explains how President Obama has significantly expanded executive power and triggered massive anti-American rage in the world through the use of drones and assassinations -- or, as Stephanie Cutter and modern-day Democrats would say, he's showing how Tough And Strong he is (it should be noted that Rohde, who spent months as a hostage of the Taliban, knows much about what motivates anti-American hatred and Terrorism):This post may contain affiliate links; please read the disclosure for more information. Since the cancellation of the Hyperion Wharf project for Downtown Disney some time ago, we have all been wondering what will be happening to what is now Pleasure Island. Well… we may not have to wonder any more… A few days ago, an unnamed source provided us with a PDF document referring to the overhaul of Downtown Disney by a project name which we will not be disclosing at this time. The project includes changes to the entire Downtown Disney district as we know it, including a rumored change to the name “Disney Springs”. According to the document, “The roots of this destination can be traced back as it evolved around the town’s local spring. In this evolution, clear changes in the environment have manifested, making what we know today as [Disney Springs].” That evolution can be seen in the above image. The new backstory covering all of the area has the districts blossoming around a spring somewhere in the state of Florida. If you look closely, you can see train tracks constructed and removed, various structures go from a temporary to a permanent look, and the entire area expand into the complex as it may exist in just a few years time. The document goes on to talk about three districts at “Disney Springs” including West Side, The Village Marketplace, and The Town Center. West Side is what we now know as Downtown Disney West Side. In the new backstory for this area, “The West Side was home to a fishing lodge and a campsite for musical gatherings of the brave souls of pioneer Florida. The elevated train tracks would connect [Disney Springs] to the coast and beyond. The larger structures date from America’s postwar prosperity host a variety of dining and entertainment.” As you can see in the concept art above, the remains of the elevated train tracks will be constructed, possibly offering a second level patio where older guests can drink and dine while they watch shoppers pass on the ground below. This elevation artwork shows guests meandering below the train tracks covered in shrubbery. We are not sure what the building on the right might be… According to these plans, Downtown Disney Marketplace will be renamed The Village Marketplace. The backstory for this area states: “An upscale neighborhood, now dubbed The Village Marketplace, developed to the east. The meandering streets of the original plan and the mature trees and native flowers that line them make this a truly pedestrian friendly environment, for the modern day perambulators.” In the concept art above, you can see a new bridge that will connect the two sides of the Marketplace, stretching roughly from where the LEGO Imagination Center is to Rainforest Cafe on the other side. Some elevation artwork for The Village Marketplace section is featured above. The final section occupies what is currently Pleasure Island and its adjoined parking area. This new section is called The Town Center. This section will expand to include new structures using land freed-up by building a new bus loop and multi-level parking structure. According to the backstory, “As [Disney Springs] flourished, a handsome commercial district expanded to the south known today as the Town Center. Today the sophisticated shopping area rivals all local offerings but it is the comfort from its landscape and the calming effects of its fountains and shallow pools that beckon its guests to linger, and most importantly return.” The above concept art depicts the interior of one of the new buildings in this area of “Disney Springs”. Some elevation artwork showcases collections of shops with shrubbery and a large covering between them. To better illustrate the planned changes to the districts, we have labeled the map overview of the project and pointed out some of the more important changes: A skybridge (overhead walkway) over Buena Vista Drive allows guests to safely cross the street and marks the entrance to “Disney Springs”. As well, Buena Vista Drive will dive under the car and bus entrances to “Disney Springs”. A new, larger bus loop located at the center of the entire complex New parking multi-level structure over what was mostly the second parking lot at Downtown Disney Marketplace Some strange added structure on the AMC 24 on West Side What is currently Planet Hollywood will no longer be surrounded by water an will probably be turned into some other establishment New, larger boat dock possibly built to handle large watercraft such as Friendship Boats New waterside building featured in the first piece of concept art above, replacing Rock ‘N’ Roll Beach Club & Motion Walkway between Portobello and Cookes of Dublin, allowing easier passage through the entire complex The Spring, the new focal point of the entire development The Town Center, a new area constructed on what is mostly now a parking lot. The dark orange structures on the map are all new buildings that will be part of the area. The current site of Pollo Campero/Bodie’s All-American/Babycakes NYC is empty, leading us to believe it will be demolished New bridge crossing the lake in the Village Marketplace New buildings replacing the former bus loop in the Village Marketplace Bridge connecting Village Marketplace to Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort Now, as always, it is important to mention that none of this is official. This project may or may not happen (just like Hyperion Wharf, which still never took shape even after an official Disney announcement). However, according to the documents, this is the current plan for the Downtown Disney area at the Walt Disney World Resort. So, what do you think of the plans for “Disney Springs”? Is this the best way to fix Downtown Disney at Walt Disney World?NAME Mojo::XMLRPC - An XMLRPC message parser/encoder using the Mojo stack SYNOPSIS use Mojo::UserAgent; use Mojo::XMLRPC qw[to_xmlrpc from_xmlrpc]; my $ua = Mojo::UserAgent->new; my $url =...; my $tx = $ua->post($url, encode_xmlrpc(call =>'mymethod','myarg')); my $res = decode_xmlrpc($tx->res->body) DESCRIPTION Mojo::XMLRPC is a pure-perl XML-RPC message parser and encoder. It uses tools from the Mojo toolkit to do all of the work. This does not mean that it must only be used in conjunction with a Mojolicious app, far from it. Feel free to use it in any circumstance that needs XML-RPC messages. MAPPING The mapping between Perl types and XMLRPC types is not perfectly one-to-one, especially given Perl's scalar types. The following is a description of the procedure used to encode and decode XMLRPC message from/to Perl. Perl to XMLRPC If the item is a blessed reference: If the item/object implements a TO_XMLRPC method, it is called and the result is encoded. If the item is a JSON::PP::Boolean, as the Mojo::JSON booleans are, it is encoded as a boolean. If the item is a Mojo::Date then it is encoded as a dateTime.iso8601. If the item is a Mojo::XMLRPC::Base64 then it is encode as a base64. This wrapper class is used to distinguish a string from a base64 and aid in encoding/decoding. If the item/object implements a TO_JSON method, it is called and the result is encoded. If none of the above cases are true, the item is stringified and encoded as a string. If the item is an unblessed reference: An array reference is encoded as an array. A hash reference is encoded as a struct. A scalar reference is encoded as a boolean depending on the truthiness of the referenced value. This is the standard shortcut seen in JSON modules allowing \1 for true and \0 for false. If the item is a non-reference scalar: If the item is undefined it is encoded as <nil/>. If the item has NOK (it has been used as a floating point number) it is encoded as double. If the item has IOK (it has been used as an integer (and not a float)) it is encoded as an int. All other values are encoded as string. XMLRPC to Perl Most values decode back into Perl in a manner that would survive a round trip. The exceptions are blessed objects that implement TO_XMLRPC or TO_JSON or are stringified. The shortcuts for booleans will round-trip to being Mojo::JSON booleans objects. Values encoded as integers will not be truncated via int however no attempt is made to upgrade them to IOK or NOK. Values encoded as floating point double will be forcably upgraded to NOK (by dividing by 1.0). This is so that an integer value encoded as a floating point will round trip, the reverse case isn't as useful and thus isn't handled. FUNCTIONS decode_xmlrpc Like "from_xmlrpc" but first decodes from UTF-8 encoded bytes. encode_xmlrpc Like "to_xmlrpc" but encodes the result to UTF-8 encoded bytes. from_xmlrpc Takes a character string, interprets it, and returns a Mojo::XMLRPC::Message containing the result. If the input is UTF-8 encoded bytes, you can use "decode_xmlrpc" instead. to_xmlrpc Generates an XMLRPC message from data passed to the function. The input may be a Mojo::XMLRPC::Message or it could be of the following form. A message type, one of call, response, fault. If the message type is call, then the method name. If the message is not a fault, then all remaining arguments are parameters. If the message is a fault, then the fault code followed by the fault string, all remaining arguments are ignored. The return value is a character string. To generate UTF-8 encoded bytes, you can use "encode_xmlrpc" instead. THANKS This module was inspired by XMLRPC::Fast written by Sébastien Aperghis-Tramoni. Mojo::XMLRPC was a port of that module initially to use the Mojo::DOM module rather than XML::Parser. By the time port to the Mojo stack was complete, the module was entirely rewritten. That said, the algorithm still owes a debt of gratitude to that one. SOURCE REPOSITORY http://github.com/jberger/Mojo-XMLRPC AUTHOR Joel Berger, <[email protected]> CONTRIBUTORS Andreas Vögele (voegelas) COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE Copyright (C) 2017 by "AUTHOR" and "CONTRIBUTORS" This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.Lazy Magnolia's amber-colored Timber Beast IPA is one of the first craft beers produced in Mississippi since the state loosened its liquor laws. For a century, Mississippi and other Southern states had Prohibition-era laws on the books that kept alcohol-by-volume (ABV) levels so low that many craft breweries were prevented from setting up shop. When Mark Henderson and his wife Leslie founded Lazy Magnolia in 2003, it was the first brewery to open in Mississippi since 1907. And it was the state's only brewery until the laws changed nine years later. "We got started and it was all very challenging," said Henderson, who could only make and distribute beer below 6% ABV. This meant no gourmet Belgian ales, IPAs, or barrel-aged beers, which are all made with more alcohol (and are often how a brewery is judged by connoisseurs). "Our consumers expected a good brewery to have a good, showcase IPA," said Leslie Henderson. "We were fundamentally prevented from introducing the single most necessary style of beer for a craft brewery." Related: Buy a beer share, invest in a local brewery But a few years ago, that started to change. In July 2012, Mississippi raised its ABV allotment to 10.2%. Since then, eight new breweries and one brewpub have sprung up in the state, according to the Mississippi Brewers Guild. "The law liberalized a little bit, and we saw this explosion of breweries in Mississippi," said Henderson. And Lazy Magnolia has seen business boom. It's expanded its offerings, doubled its staff from 16 to 33 employees and now distributes throughout the entire Gulf Coast. "ABV limits are not a barrier to entry into the market, but it's clearly a barrier to innovation," said Bart Watson, an economist at the Brewers Association. "The different regulatory environments in the Southeast tend to [be stacked] against small brewers. But these states are coming to recognize the [economic] value of having local brewers." North Carolina was one of the first Southern states to loosen its laws accordingly -- raising beer's ABV limit from 5% to 15% in 2005. Before then, the state had around 30 breweries. Today, there are 120, according to the North Carolina Craft Breweries Guild. "North Carolina has clearly been the most dynamic state in the South, and we're seeing a lot of production growth," said Watson, noting the state is the largest beer producer in the Southeast. The North Carolina Craft Breweries Guild estimates that it's a $700 million industry supporting over 10,000 jobs. (Nationwide, craft beer's annual economic impact is estimated at $33.9 billion, according to the Brewers Association.) Related: Beer, grilled cheese and really clean clothes Mark Doble started Aviator Brewing Company inside an airplane hangar on the outskirts of Raleigh in November 2008 with just a skeleton crew of employees. He now has 88 staffers. "I would never had considered it if the laws had not changed," Doble said. His two most popular beers -- a Belgian-style tripel and a hoppy IPA -- both have ABVs above 6%. Previously, this would have ruled out distribution to states like Mississippi and Alabama (which raised its alcohol limit in 2009). Now, Doble says the Alabama scene is "exploding" and he plans to distribute there by the end of the year. "It's still a young market compared to us," Doble said. "The next five years are the golden years because of the amount of breweries that are opening." In 2009, there was just one brewery in the Cotton State; today, there are 29, according to the Alabama Brewers Guild. This directly translates into jobs and economic stimulus. "These are high-value manufacturing jobs," said Watson. "And there are numerous service jobs that indirectly support the industry, such as agricultural jobs." Meanwhile in Mississippi, craft beer's success is evident at the Whole Foods (WFM) in Jackson, where only local beers are sold from the store's growler poles. "If there had only been one brewery in Mississippi, then they could not have done it," Mark Henderson said. "It's a lot easier to support an industry than an individual company," added Leslie.The universe we can see and measure is about 13.8 billion years old. However, the universe is larger than 13.8 billion light years in diameter due to the expansion and subsequent inflation of space, in accordance with the Big Bang theory. In fact, our best current estimate, taking expansion and inflation of space into account, puts the edge of the observable universe at about 46–47 billion light-years away from Earth. This “edge” would represent our current cosmological horizon. If you assume that the universe is infinite, then logically it would extend beyond the current cosmological horizon. Scientists have termed this infinite universe a “super-universe.” If the infinite universe theory is correct, our universe may be one universe out of uncountable billions in the super-universe. We cannot see the other universes because our current observation technology is unable to look through the cosmic microwave-background radiation, which originated when the matter in the universe was plasma (hot, ionized gas), and thus opaque. In theory, if we develop more advanced observation technology, such as a neutrino telescope (one capable of detecting neutrinos) or even a gravitational telescope (one capable of detecting the yet-undiscovered gravitation particle called a “graviton”), we would be able to look beyond the cosmic microwave-background radiation and see older events. We would have a new cosmological horizon, but we would never be able to examine the “edge” of an infinite universe. Why? It has no edge—and advances in cosmic observation technology will not matter. Even the hypothetical graviton (the theoretical particle of gravity), traveling at the speed of light, would never reach us from an infinitely distant universe. Why is an infinite universe even plausible? We know from actual observations that the universe’s expansion is accelerating. The farther out our instruments allow us to observe, we can measure that the expansion is accelerating, and even exceeding the speed of light. The accelerating expansion is termed “inflation,” and was confirmed in the late 1990s. Until inflation’s confirmation, scientists believed that gravity would eventually slow the universe’s expansion, and even eventually cause the universe to contract in a “Big Crunch,” since gravity causes everything to pull on everything. Long before we had any observable proof of the universe’s inflationary expansion, two scientists independently postulated its existence in 1979. Unfortunately, one scientist, Alexei Starobinsky of the L.D. Landau Institute of Theoretical Physics in Moscow, was unable to communicate his work to the worldwide scientific community due to the political policies of the former Soviet Union. Fortunately, the other scientist, Alan Guth, Professor of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, developed an inflationary model independently, and communicated it worldwide. Guth’s model, however, was not able to reconcile itself with the isotropic, homogeneous universe we observe today. In other words, to the best of our current ability to measure it, the universe essentially looks the same in every direction. Andrei Linde, Russian-American theoretical physicist and Professor of Physics at Stanford University, solved Guth’s theoretical dilemma in 1986. Linde published an alternative model entitled “Eternally Existing Self-Reproducing Chaotic Inflationary Universe” (known as “Chaotic Inflation theory”). In Linde’s model, our universe is one of countless others. A prediction of the chaotic inflation theory is an infinite universe with bubble universes within it. Would they be the same as our universe? No one knows. Perhaps one or more universes would be different from ours. However, being infinite, an infinite number of universes would be identical to ours, even down to the last atom, obeying the same physical laws. The concept of an infinite universe would also imply an infinite number of us (you, me, and everyone else) are out there somewhere beyond the cosmic horizon. Given an infinite number of us, we are living out every possible scenario. This is difficult to comprehend because infinite numbers cannot be comprehended. Here is a simple way to think about this. If you play poker, what are the odds that you will be dealt a royal flush (Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten, all in the same suit) in the first five cards? They are 2,598,960 to 1. That means you will get a royal flush about once every 2,598,960 hands of five-card poker (known as five-card stud poker). Even if you play every day, and for numerous hours a day, you may never get one. However, if you have forever, and continue playing, eventually you will get one, then another, and with infinite time, an uncountable number (an infinite number). Using this example, if there are an infinite number of us in the universe, then each of us in some part of the universe will experience a possible scenario. Since there are an infinite number of us, as a group we will experience every conceivable scenario. For example, in one of these possible scenarios, you would be the President of the United States. I recognize the implications of an infinite universe are difficult to comprehend. A natural question to ask is, is it possible? The fact is, it’s theoretically possible, but there is no conclusive physical evidence. Recently, it’s been suggested that irregularities observed in the cosmic microwave background may be evidence of another universe bumping into ours. However, there is no scientific consensus regarding that hypothesis, so I am going to leave that discussion for a future post. Currently, it is scientifically valid to assert we do not know if the universe is finite or infinite.“Merry Christmas and Happy New Year—1988.” Nope, that's not from a holiday card I found lodged behind a bookcase. It was actually printed on the label of a beer I had the privilege of tasting at a recent company party. The 26-year-old bottle of Anchor Brewing Company's Christmas Ale is by far the oldest thing that’s ever come in contact with my stomach, and I assume the same goes for the rest of the beer-loving crew who partook in the experience. It's impossible not to think about what was happening in the world back when this beer was bottled. For one thing, yours truly was just shy of two years old. Ronald Reagan was president, and the Berlin Wall was still a symbol of the looming specter of communism. Oh, and a 16-bit gaming console called Sega Genesis had just hit stores. Yeah, this thing was old. Maybe too old. But how did it taste? Credit: Reviewed.com / Ben Keough Each vintage of Anchor Christmas Ale features a drawing of a different variety of Christmas tree. The tree of honor in 1988 was the white spruce (picea glauca). Well, not great, but not as awful as you might imagine. The flavor profile was complex, with dominant notes of soy sauce and raisins, along with a vinegary edge that reminded me of Worcestershire sauce. Pretty much all of the beer's bitterness had been washed away by the gradual breakdown of the hops, which allowed the residual malty sugars to shine through. The chemical causes behind the taste transformation are are manifold, but on the whole, the beer was surprisingly drinkable—far better than I expected given the admittedly haphazard way it had been cellared. I probably wouldn’t order it at a bar, but there’s certainly something to say for the novelty of drinking a 26-year-old ale. Later in the evening, we also tried out a 15-year-old barleywine from J.W. Lees. Later in the evening, we also tried out a 15-year-old barleywine from J.W. Lees. It had also aged a little too long, but the highly fortified style held up better to the ravages of time. The taste? Big booze and raisins. Lots and lots of raisins. Our biggest takeaway was that most beers won't stand up to extended aging as well as wine and whiskey. To get the most out of a particular brew's developing flavors, you need to age it properly and for an appropriate amount of time for the style and ABV. If you let it go too long, well... you'd better like raisins. Cheers!Escapees From McMansion Ethos Build Tiny Cob Home As the US middle class teeters on the brink after the housing collapse, some people are looking at an alternative. Instead of moving into a giant McMansion with 30 years of debt attached, some Americans are open to seeing just how little you can get by with, and seeing what can be build for practically nothing. Here’s what one couple was able to do. Hap and Lin abandoned their condo and built a home in rural Iowa entirely without debt. They took a cob building workshop in Oregon. Cob is an ancient building technology, used in Great Britain for centuries. Like many pre-industrial age technologies, it is a very green way to build. Just mix earth and straw. There’s none of the greenhouse gas emissions that come from firing bricks or heating Gypsum to make dry wall sheet rock. And its cheap. The labor was free. Friends and family helped out, and even a toddler helped with stamping out the muddy earth with straw to create the cob. The result? It is not a high tech life. They filter the rainwater for drinking, heat with scrap wood, cook on this wood fire stove and just do without a refrigerator altogether. They do splurge on a tiny amount of electricity from what looks like a toy photovoltaic system off a panel that is not even the size of one average 200 watt panel. The whole contraction cost just $400 – mostly for everything but the 45 watt panel. It just powers a laptop, a modem and one light. Instead of an inverter to convert the solar to AC, they have adapted their computer, modem and light to run on DC. So, even with the panel, its not really a modern life. But it’s a peaceful one. They can sleep soundly knowing that there is no mortgage to keep them up at night. They built their home for just $7,000 in materials. What they found? Life with out a fridge, a water line, and especially, a mortgage is not unlivable. It can be quite pleasant. Source: TinyHouseBlog You can receive our articles for free in your email inbox or subscribe to our RSS feed. Just enter your email below for the email subscription: \| Buy \| PrintServer as a Function. In Kotlin. Typesafe. Without the Server. Meet http4k http4k is an HTTP toolkit written in Kotlin that enables the serving and consuming of HTTP services in a functional and consistent way. Whenever (yet another) new JVM HTTP framework is released, the inevitable question that rightly get asked is "How it this different to X?". In this post, I'm going to briefly cover what http4k is, how we think it's different, and address some of those bold claims from the title of this post. Here's a quick rundown of what we think those differences are: http4k is small. Written in pure, functional Kotlin, with zero dependencies. http4k is simple. Like, really simple. No static API magic, no annotations, no reflection. http4k is immutable. It relies on an immutable HTTP model, which makes it a snap to test and debug. http4k is symmetric. It supports remote calls as a first-class concern, and the remote HTTP model is identical to the incoming HTTP model. http4k is typesafe. Say goodbye to all your validation and marshalling boilerplate and hello to automatic request validation and data class-based contracts for HTTP bodies using the Lens API. http4k is serverless. Or rather - server independent. Test an app out of container and then deploy it into any supported local container with 1 LOC - or as a function into AWS Lambda. Oh god, not another framework! Why does this even exist?!? Firstly - we don't consider http4k to be a framework - it's a set of libraries providing a functional toolkit to serve and consume HTTP services, focusing on simple, consistent, and testable APIs. Hence, whilst it does provide support for various APIs relevant to serving and consuming HTTP, it does not provide every integration under the sun - merely simple points to allow those integrations to be hooked in. Another thing to say is that (not very much) of http4k is new - it's rather the distillation of 15 years worth of experience of using various server-side libraries and hence most of the good ideas are stolen. For instance - the routing module is inspired by UtterlyIdle, the basic "Server as a function" model is stolen from Finagle, and the contract module OpenApi/Swagger generator is ported from Fintrospect. With the growing adoption of Kotlin, we wanted something that would fully leverage the functional features of the language and it felt like a good time to start something from scratch, whilst avoiding the magic that plagues other frameworks. Hence, http4k is primarily designed to be a Kotlin-first library. Claim A: Small, simple, immutable. Based on the awesome "Your Server as a Function" paper from Twitter, http4k apps are modelled by composing 2 types of simple, independent function. Function 1: HttpHandler An HttpHandler represents an HTTP endpoint. It's not even an Interface, modelled merely as a Typealias: typealias HttpHandler = ( Request ) -> Response Below is a entire http4k application that echoes the request body back in the response. It only relies on the http4k-core module, which itself has zero dependencies: val app = { request : Request -> Response ( OK ). body ( request. body ) } val server = app. asServer ( SunHttp ( 8000 )). start () The Request and Response objects in there are immutable data classes/POKOs, so testing the app requires absolutely no extra infrastructure - just call the function, it's as easy as: class AppTest { @Test fun ` echoes request body ` () { assertThat ( app ( Request ( POST, "/" ). body ( "hello" )), equalTo ( Response ( OK ). body ( "hello" ))) } } To plug it into a different Server-backend, just depend on the relevant module (Jetty,
too short. None of the previous games in the series were. The bigger issue for me was that the side content with those games was a bit bland. Collect the feathers, kill all the knights, etc. It's easy to populate the world with this sort of content but it felt like filler to me. I'm fine with having less optional gameplay if it's all meaningful. is shaping up to be a massive game. However, creative director Alex Hutchison said that they've avoided making it too big because that would be a "disaster.""There is only so much you can juggle in your mind simultaneously, and only so much variety you can add before it starts to feel random and not cohesive," Hutchison told VG247. "Also, we have a very high completion rate on the franchise, and if you make it too long you start to lose that, which would be a disaster for a game like ours where we really value the consistency and continuity of the universe.”Hutchison added that they've taken out several gameplay mechanics from earliergames. I assume he's referring to a lot of the small features that accumulated in the Ezio installments over time. I wouldn't miss the urban renewal stuff fromor the bomb-mixing business from. Ubisoft engaged in some serious feature creep to keep the Renaissance era from feeling old. I like the idea ofbeing stocked solely with new features that fit the setting and era.What Ubisoft has shown of's side content so far looks fascinating. Players will get to man a ship and battle the British on the high seas. They can also join a hunting club. It seems like players will have plenty to do outside of the main campaign.I'm not really worried aboutbeing too short. None of the previous games in the series were. The bigger issue for me was that the side content with those games was a bit bland. Collect the feathers, kill all the knights, etc. It's easy to populate the world with this sort of content but it felt like filler to me. I'm fine with having less optional gameplay if it's all meaningful. Blended From Around The Web Facebook Back to topA few days ago Colleen Theisen who helps with outreach and instruction at the Special Collections & University Archives at the University of Iowa shared an amazing gif she made that demonstrates something called fore-edge painting on the edge of a 1837 book called Autumn by Robert Mudie. Fore-edge painting, which is believed to date back as early as the 1650s, is a way of hiding a painting on the edge of a book so that it can only be seen when the pages are fanned out. There are even books that have double fore-edge paintings, where a different image can be seen by flipping the book over and fanning the pages in the opposite direction. When I realized the book Theisen shared was only one of a series about the seasons, I got in touch and she agreed to photograph the other three so we could share them with you here. Above are photos of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter which were donated to the University of Iowa by Charlotte Smith. How much fun are these? Keep an eye on the University of Iowa’s special collections Tumblr as they unearth more artifacts from the archives. Because this post is getting so much attention, here are some more amazing fore-edge paintings found on YouTube.In a an article published by the HuffPost, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has called on Google to act against what it regards as online hate speech. Their goal is to persuade Google itself to intervene in the battle of ideas by censoring material that it does not like. These activists justify this goal based on the precedent set by Google itself, in which the tech giant pledged to counter extremist ideas by burying YouTube videos which it feels promote offensive ideas but which do not violate YouTube’s rules. In addition, they will deny these videos the option to promote themselves with paid adverts, or be recommended or commented on by other users. “That means these videos will have less engagement and be harder to find,” Kent Walker, Google’s general counsel and senior vice president, wrote in a company blog post on the change. “We think this strikes the right balance between free expression and access to information without promoting extremely offensive viewpoints.” Google is also teaming up with Facebook, Microsoft and Twitter to tackle extremist content online. Clarion disagrees with the approach of the tech giants with regard to extremist content. We share the Islamic State’s magazines on our website. We do this to expose in all its horror the true ideology of this murderous cult in order that it cannot be misrepresented in the genteel press, but seen and challenged for what it really is. Only then, we believe, will we be able to effectively combat it. The Southern Poverty Law Center, a formerly great civil rights organization which now makes unsubstantiated and biased smears against activists who are attempting to tackle extremist Islam, has tried to pressure Google into clamping down on what it deems hateful content. This is a suppressionist tactic made by cowards who are fearful that they cannot win in the intellectual struggle. Unable to stand on their own two feet, they look to protection from an outside source. The question that everyone should be asking about this censorship is simple: Who decides what to censor? Who decides what counts as hateful or extremist? And who benefits when a specific video or article or report is censored? Any way you slice it, voices are going to be unfairly silenced once you begin the path down the censorship route. Machine-learning robots will blindly follow their algorithms to reflect the biases of those who designed them. They should not be trusted with control of our intellectual space. Unelected, unaccountable tech executives, who will in all likelihood have almost no understanding of the issues they are deciding whether or not to censor, can also not be trusted. Neither can the government, which swings from left to right and back again with each election cycle. Today’s censor may soon become tomorrow’s censored. Even if society could agree on an appropriate censor (which we feel they cannot), attitudes change. What is considered regressive conservativism today was considered unthinkable progressivism just a few short decades ago. You never know in which direction the tide will turn next and if you will be the next target. As the founding fathers understood, the only way to guarantee a free society is to guarantee freedom of speech. If you are worried about the rabble falling prey to extremist rhetoric and to facile demagoguery, that’s not a problem of free speech. It’s a problem of education. If critical thinking is effectively taught in schools, if effective mental health support is provided to those who are emotionally vulnerable, then that — and not censorship — will assure that the public has the intellectual and psychological skills to assess incoming information and filter the good from the bad. You may think this too high-minded, to expect such sophistication from the common man. But what is civilization itself if not the desperate high-minded attempt to drag man out of his bestial abode in the gutter and launch him, inch by bloody inch, into the stars. We will not give in to those who have such a low opinion of humanity as to expect them not to think for themselves, instead to have elites dictate from on high what a person can or cannot read, hear or watch. No, we do not think so lowly of the common man as that. We will continue to fight for liberty. And, “if liberty means anything at all,” as Orwell said, “it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.”Since @Twitter is now in the #censorship business, I will no longer use its service for my constitutional right to free speech. #GoodbyeAll pic.twitter.com/bismJDb3wh — James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) November 18, 2016 Twitter and its utterly untransparent leftist star chamber chose to censor or completely over-react to voices like Robert Stacy McCain, Milo Yiannopoulos, WJJ Hoge, and Glenn Reynolds. In response, a lot of other conservatives are abandoning Twitter or using it far less. Twitter was hurting before Jack Dorsey came on but he has only made things worse. Twitter brought this on itself. Milo’s predictions and comments about Twitter on September 8, 2016 still seem pretty spot on Instapundit: Cracks Among the Culturati, Twitter suspends Alt Right accounts, Twitter Star Chamber and #FreeStacy, Milo, Trump and Twitter TOM: Step One: Fail and You did it, Thank You!If there were a prize for the most boneheaded thing that one hears very frequently, it would have to be the astonishment and revulsion that is commonly expressed at the existence of discrimination. You are likely to have heard this horrified expression before: "It's discrimination!" Heavens above! Alert the authorities! Quite often, this tiny statement, without any elaboration or explanation, is enough to provoke looks of shock or revulsion from others, or at the very least, solemn looks of concurrence and disapproval. In many cases, it will provoke fervent denials and apologetic defensive maneuvers from those accused of this heinous act, even if the accuser has made no attempt to deliver his case. The mere charge is enough. People do not often realize it, but when they disparage "discrimination" without any attempt to elaborate or justify what they are talking about, they are disparaging an abstraction. Moreover, they are disparaging an abstraction on which they rely to think — an abstraction without which they would be docile vegetables unable to make sense of the world around them. When someone shrieks "It's discrimination!" the irony is usually lost on them, but without their own discrimination they would not be able to establish that others are discriminating, and be offended by it. If one does venture to ask questions about why discrimination is to be condemned, one may be treated to a slight elaboration as to what is upsetting people. One may be informed that so-and-so is discriminating on the basis of race, sex, age, sexual orientation, political affiliation, attractiveness, or some other factor that should not be a part of his decision making, and that just settles the matter, consarn it! But what is relevant to rational thinking, moral conduct, and justice is not whether discrimination has occurred, or even whether such discrimination is made on the basis of some particular set of purportedly prohibited criteria; what should ultimately be at issue is the reasons why the factors used in a decision were used, and whether these factors do indeed form a rational basis for the inferences that underlie discriminatory decisions (by which I mean, all decisions). In assessing the rationality, irrationality, morality, or immorality of particular instances of discrimination, it behooves us to ask the reasons for discrimination and to assess these reasons in the light of the logic of inference. This may sound trite, but it is a step rarely taken in the rush to disparage the ghastly abstraction of "discrimination." Discrimination and Statistical Inference Discrimination is ubiquitous. It is not some conceptual defect or manifestation of hatred or stupidity. In its widest and most proper sense, discrimination is merely the drawing of distinctions between things, which is the basis for all concept formation and human knowledge. Whenever we form concepts from observations of the things around us and attempt to integrate these concepts into a consistent whole to form a sensible view of the world, we do so by differentiating between different things on the basis of their observable characteristics. In particular, when we form anthropic concepts — concepts pertaining to man — we do so by discriminating between different types of people on the basis of their observable characteristics. Discrimination between people is the basis for all anthropic concepts and all knowledge about man. It is the means by which we are able to condense all of our many experiences with other people down into some economized conceptual units that can be used to predict the unknown characteristics and behavior of others. One of the reasons that discrimination is of such predictive value is that, like it or not, human beings have characteristics that are statistically dependent, meaning that, for whatever reason, these characteristics tend to occur with one another or tend not to occur with one another (as opposed to occurring statistically independently of one another). Sometimes these characteristics are causally related, and sometimes they are merely correlated,[1] meaning merely that they tend to appear together (or in the case of negative correlation, tend not to appear together). Discrimination on the basis of observable characteristics can be rationally justified in any situation in which there is a statistical dependence between these characteristics and some other characteristics of direct interest to us, given whatever information is available. In such cases, the predictive characteristic gives us information on the characteristic of ultimate interest to us, even if there is no causal relationship between them. I'll give you an example: A study by the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights under the Law found that taxicab drivers in Washington DC are less likely to pick up young black males than other people, and are less likely to drive passengers of any race to areas of the city with larger proportions of the black population.[2] Does this mean that cab drivers — including many black cab drivers — are incorrigible racists who see blacks as being genetically predisposed to crime? Not at all! To a cab driver in this situation, it doesn't make a lick of difference whether a particular race of people are genetically predisposed to commit crimes or not. All that matters in this context is that race and crime are correlated — they tend to occur together for some reason. And because these things tend to occur together, in the absence of having some more detailed information about a prospective passenger, the driver is correct to use the passenger's race, sex, and age as factors in his decision. He is correct to conclude that picking up a young black man in his cab (as opposed to picking up someone else) will increase the probability that he will be a victim of assault or other criminal conduct. The rational cab driver knows this, and acts accordingly, avoiding fares that he thinks are high risk, based on those characteristics he is able to observe about his prospective passengers. Discrimination on the basis of predictive characteristics which are correlated with characteristic of direct interest is a form of rational discrimination. While it is often slandered as an injustice, rational discrimination is both rational and morally proper. In fact, since justice is the rational assessment and treatment of other people, rational discrimination is a necessary requirement for justice and the refusal to engage in such discrimination is itself an injustice.[3] Even sex and race discrimination, the coup de grande of modern taboos, often involve little more than the recognition that these characteristics are correlated with qualities and behaviors that are of legitimate interest in many decisions. When taxi drivers in Washington DC discriminate against young black men in their choice of passengers, they do so because they know that sex, age, and race are all correlated with violent crime, which they wish to avoid. These people are not bigots or morons — they are intelligent people who are implicitly applying the lessons of the science of statistical inference, even if they are only aware of these ideas on an intuitive or "common-sense" level. Is it a breach of a person's civil rights to be denied taxi service on the basis of their race, sex, or age? According to civil rights groups, it is.[4] But unless one has some inherent right to service from others, then it cannot be a breach of rights when this service is denied, no matter what the grounds for the denial. Indeed, if rights are understood to be grounded in the nonaggression principle, then this must include the right to use one's property in a discriminatory manner, a fortiori when that discrimination is rational.[5] A cab driver who operates his cab without engaging in rational race discrimination, sex discrimination, or age discrimination does the world no favors. While he will probably end up giving service to people who are not criminals, and who may have been avoided by other drivers, he is also more likely to give service to those who will rob and assault him. If he ignores his own rational inferences then he will weigh the risks against the rewards incorrectly, playing into the hands of violent thugs.[6] Unfortunately, the cab driver has another set of violent thugs to contend with, since he is the target of the coercion of government and its activist minions. The government who punishes him for his rational inferences not only does the world no favors; it violates his rights and entrenches a system of mandatory irrationality that compels him to ignore relevant information in the decision problem he is faced with. Its antidiscrimination laws not only involve an unwarranted aggression, but they involve aggression in the pursuit of mandatory irrationality. The absence of discrimination between people would make it impossible to gain a conceptual understanding of man and would force us to operate at a purely perceptual level, either treating people as interchangeable blobs without differentiation, or treating each person as a completely new and exceptional phenomenon. It would put us in the position of starry-eyed infants who observe each new thing as a unique and unknown phenomenon to be stared at in vacant wonderment. Trite allegations of discrimination, usually made without any elaboration, completely ignore the relevant issue. What is crucial in evaluating other people is not whether we discriminate on the basis of this or that characteristic but whether the characteristics we use form a rational basis for our inferences. Are the distinctions that we draw sensible inferences based on genuine causal or empirical relationships between observed characteristics, or are they arbitrary judgments based on spurious ideas with no basis in reality? In short, the relevant issue is whether the discrimination we engage in is rational or irrational, not whether it is discrimination on this ground or that. Notwithstanding the shrieks of horror that one is likely to encounter from the equity-and-diversity intelligentsia, this applies as much to race and sex discrimination as to any other form of judgment and discrimination. What matters is not whether characteristics like race, sex, and age are used as means of differentiation and judgment but whether they are used rationally to infer other characteristics of interest on the basis of some known correlation or causal relationship between them. The Antidiscrimination Paradigm When you hear someone express with indignation that "It's discrimination!" — without any attempt at elaboration — you may be sure that they have absorbed the basic ideas of the antidiscrimination paradigm which forms the basis for modern "civil-rights" legislation and the attendant drive for political correctness. At its root, the antidiscrimination paradigm asserts the abhorrence of discrimination per se, not merely discrimination on particular grounds. Article 26 of the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights makes this clear when it directs that "the law shall prohibit any discrimination and guarantee to all persons equal and effective protection against discrimination on any ground such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status."[7] This explains why no further elaboration is thought to be needed once discrimination has been established. "It's discrimination!" is all that is needed to establish a breach of civil "rights" and the consequent moral outrage. To see the complete implications of the antidiscrimination paradigm, observe that, although race and sex are often used as the thin end of the wedge in public discussion, antidiscrimination laws and the accompanying moral crusade for political correctness both continue to expand to outlaw discrimination on the basis of more and more of the characteristics of man. From initially narrow and innocuous beginnings, antidiscrimination laws in most Western countries have now expanded to prohibit discrimination (including rational discrimination) on the grounds of race, sex, age, disability, sexuality, marital status, pregnancy, potential pregnancy, breastfeeding, and family and career responsibilities. There is no end in sight to this expansion, with calls to prohibit discrimination on the grounds of attractiveness[8] and social status[9] receiving serious attention. The sole impediment to this expansion has been the normal inertia of political change, with each new expansion meeting withering resistance until it becomes a normal and allegedly indispensable part of antidiscrimination law. Throughout this process, the general philosophical principle that implicitly or explicitly forms the basis for change is that discrimination on any ground is abhorrent. This is what is said, and this is precisely and literally what is meant. Unfortunately, many libertarians who oppose antidiscrimination laws accept the false position that discrimination on the grounds of race, sex, age, and other demographic criteria is necessarily morally abhorrent.[10] While one may commend the delineation of moral and political issues that this entails, this position understates the seriousness of the issue. Antidiscrimination laws should not be seen as bad methods in the pursuit of good goals. They are bad methods in the pursuit of a tyrannical goal. In fact, the only possible logical goal of the antidiscrimination paradigm is the complete elimination of discrimination and the institution of an all-pervasive quota system in every field of human activity.[11] In such a context, it is not enough to remain agnostic about moral issues involving discrimination. One must fully analyze the inferential foundations of discrimination and defend the moral legitimacy of instances of rational discrimination from knee-jerk attacks. One often hears the assertion that discrimination is based on ignorance and prejudice. While this is certainly the case for some forms of irrational discrimination, it is not true for discrimination that is based on a rational assessment of the relationship between observable characteristics and unobservable characteristics of legitimate interest in judgment and decision making. As I have explained elsewhere, The antidiscrimination paradigm, which holds all discrimination to be irrational, is contradictory to basic principles of rational inference and prediction. Far from identifying irrational behavior based on ignorance and prejudice, the antidiscrimination paradigm is itself irrational and is itself based on ignorance and prejudice — ignorance of the principles of rational inference, and a baseless prejudice that there must be empirical equality among racial groups.[12] One often hears of the great danger of irrational discrimination based on false ideas like racism. But there is also a serious danger in the refusal to acknowledge the inferential and moral legitimacy of instances of rational discrimination. If instances of rational discrimination are falsely understood to be manifestations of bigotry and hatred, then this can only create and sustain acrimony and hostility between groups of people, a trend which has manifested itself in a repressive system of coercive planning known as antidiscrimination law. [bio] See his [AuthorArchive]. You can subscribe to future articles by [AuthorName] via this [RSSfeed].Anglo-Russian relations have taken another battering after the RAF escorted two Russian Bear bombers off the coast of Cornwall, as Moscow reacted angrily over a warning by Michael Fallon, the defence secretary, about the threat it may pose to Nato’s Baltic states. RAF Typhoons were scrambled from their base in Coningsby, Lincolnshire, on Wednesday in response to the latest in a series of incursions by Russian warplanes. On Thursday David Cameron accused Moscow of trying to make a point, while the Kremlin furiously denounced Fallon’s warning that Vladimir Putin could repeat the tactics used to destabilise Ukraine in Baltic members of the Nato alliance. During an event at Felixstowe, Suffolk, Cameron said: “I think what this episode demonstrates is that we do have the fast jets, the pilots, the systems in place to protect the United Kingdom. I suspect what’s happening here is that the Russians are trying to make some sort of a point and I don’t think we should dignify it with too much of a response.” Russian bombers testing the RAF hark back to cold war for Putin and the west Read more Tensions were already high as a result of Vladimir Putin’s backing of separatist rebels into Ukraine and the ongoing public inquiry in London into the 2006 killing of the former Russian intelligence officer Alexander Litvinenko. Britain has been an enthusiastic advocate of EU and US sanctions imposed on Russia over the Ukraine conflict, and on Wednesday Cameron warned Putin that if he did not desist from supporting the rebels there would have financial and economic consequences for his country for many years to come. RAF planes have been scrambled about once a month recently to escort Russian warplanes away from UK airspace, although the number of times it happened last year – eight – is not particularly high in a historical context. A Cornwall resident, Sue Bamford, 45, told the Guardian that one of the Russian airplanes had definitely entered British airspace as she had seen it flying inland while taking a driving lesson. The Ministry of Defence said the Russian warplanes had not entered British airspace on any of the occasions when RAF planes had been scrambled. Last month, Moscow’s ambassador was summoned by the Foreign Office after a flight by two Russian bombers over the Channel, which Britain said posed a potential danger to civilian flights. Although there is supposed to be a ceasefire in Ukraine, fighting has continued and Fallon warned on Wednesday that Nato must be ready for Russian aggression in “whatever form it takes”, whether it involved irregular troops, cyber-attacks or inflaming tensions with ethnic Russian minorities in nations seen by Moscow as part of the country’s “near abroad”. Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Aleksander Lukashevich, responded on Thursday by describing Fallon’s words as “beyond diplomatic ethics” and said the Kremlin would “find a way to react”. The chairman of the Commons defence committee, Rory Stewart, sounded a warning that the UK was facing a “genuinely dangerous situation” with Russia. He told BBC Radio 4’s The World at One that there was now a “razor edge which western policy makers need to walk”, and to do nothing could lead to as much violence as taking action. “If they do nothing, Putin, who is a real opportunist, will be encouraged to push his luck and see if he can humiliate Nato,” he said. “If on the other hand we do too much, we could risk provoking an overreaction.”Map of part of Hollister, California, showing the approximate alignment of the Calaveras fault. The dashed streets are alleys. The red dots refer to points of interest along the fault where the following photographs were taken. Anyone who is interested in earthquakes and studies their history and significance in California will eventually want to visit Hollister. Nowhere else is there a better example of fault creep than where the Calaveras fault slices through this town. On February 15, 2003 I made my pilgrimage. If you go to Hollister to see the fault features yourself, start by taking 4th Street to Locust Avenue and turn north (Watch for the street sign on the north side of 4th Street). After turning onto Locust Avenue you will see Vista Hill straight ahead. At the base of Vista Hill Locust Street turns left. After the turn the second house on the left is 164 Locust Avenue, where the tour begins.0 SHARES Facebook Twitter Google Whatsapp Pinterest Print Mail Flipboard Donald Trump is continuing to collude with Russia by repeating the talking of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev as he attacked the US Congress. Here are the tweets from Russian Prime Minister Medvedev on August 2: The US President's signing of the package of new Russia sanctions ends hopes for improving our relations https://t.co/UizYaTbSR6 — Dmitry Medvedev (@MedvedevRussiaE) August 2, 2017 The Trump administration has shown its total weakness by handing over executive power to Congress in the most humiliating way — Dmitry Medvedev (@MedvedevRussiaE) August 2, 2017 The US establishment fully outwitted Trump. The President is not happy about the sanctions, yet he could not but sign the bill — Dmitry Medvedev (@MedvedevRussiaE) August 2, 2017 Here is what Trump tweeted on August 3: Our relationship with Russia is at an all-time & very dangerous low. You can thank Congress, the same people that can't even give us HCare! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 3, 2017 Trump is parroting Russian talking points. Russia attacks Congress. Trump attacks Congress. Russia claims hopes for improved relations are ruined. Trump says the US/Russia relationship is at a new low. The President Of The United States should not be moving in lockstep a hostile foreign power while attacking the US Congress. The Trump collusion with Russia hasn’t ended. It is still going on. Trump is using Russian talking points to attack a branch of the United States government. Trump is still working with Russia against American interests. Russian propaganda is coming straight out of the Oval Office, as the greatest threat to American democracy in the history of the country is coming from within. If you’re ready to read more from the unbossed and unbought Politicus team, sign up for our newsletter here! Email address: Leave this field empty if you're human:On Thursday the Government Spokesperson told MTI that the Government has instructed all ministries and ministerial background institutions to terminate their subscription contracts with Magyar Telekom. He later added that they will terminate mobile internet subscriptions. In response to a question from press agency MTI, Government Spokesperson Zoltán Kovács said that one of the points on the agenda at Wednesday's Cabinet meeting had been Magyar Telekom’s decision to terminate its sponsorship contract with the singer Ákos Kovács. "The Government was astonished to learn of Magyar Telekom’s decision, which we believe runs counter to both the spirit and the letter of the Hungarian constitution", the Spokesperson said. He said that such a step might conceivably be possible in Germany, but "we consider it unacceptable that in Hungary today anyone should be discriminated against in this way on account of their opinions and views". The Spokesperson said that following Magyar Telekom’s decision, the Government has therefore instructed all ministries and ministerial background institutions to terminate their current telecommunications subscription contracts with the company. He later added that they will terminate mobile internet subscriptions, but that the partnership agreement between Magyar Telekom and the Government will remain unaffected. He added that in one ministry 103 such contract terminations have already been initiated, and an assessment is being carried out as to exactly how many other contracts exist in ministries and their background institutions. Magyar Telekom has said that it has terminated its sponsorship contract with the singer because it does not considers the nature of comments made by the performer in a television interview to be compatible with the telecommunication group's beliefs and values. In an interview with the Hungarian channel Echo TV Ákos Kovács had spoken about his opinions on the role of women within families and in society in general. (Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister/MTI)Be careful! This application takes care of your connection, NOT what's your sending or receiving! This means you must use applications providing enough privacy in order to avoid sending out your complet device information. We were told some people seem to use orWall on their android device with stock browser. Without any settings. Meaning they are sending away their information like browser type, device type and, even, MAC or some hash strings. Of course this isn't the right way to use Tor or any other Onion Router system. Of course this is the best way for you to be tracked down. Please be sure of what you're doing. If you want to visit hidden services, please use Orfox or any privacy-aware browser! orWall doesn't take care of what your apps send to the Net. At all. And won't do it. Never. This is not orWall goal. And will never be. How does it work? orWall will force selected applications through Orbot while preventing unchecked applications to have network access. In order to do so, it will call the iptables binary. This binary, present on your Android device, requires superuser access (aka root). It's the application that manages the firewall on Linux and, by extension, on Android. In short, orWall will add special iptables rules in order to redirect traffic for applications through Tor; it will also add required rules in order to block traffic for other apps. The redirection is based on the application user id. Each android application runs as a dedicated user, and iptables has support for traffic filtering based on the process owner, meaning it's really easy and pretty safe to do this kind of thing on an Android device. Limitations This application takes care of IP connections only, not GSM. It won't protect you if an attacker sends commands to your baseband through SMS, for example. Also, on some Android versions (at least 4.1.1), the init-script will not work, meaning you may have outgoing connections before orWall starts. The application works in two stages: first, an init-script will block all incoming and outgoing traffic. This should prevent leaks, knowing Android sends stuff before you can even access the device. Second stage comes once the device is fully booted: orWall itself takes the lead on the firewall, and add required rules in order to allow Orbot traffic, and redirect selected application to Orbot TransPort. Basically, orWall is a simple UI for scripts provided by Mike Perry in his blog post on torproject.ST. LOUIS (USBWA) – Virginia's Tony Bennett is the 2014-15 recipient of the Henry Iba Award, presented annually to the national coach of the year by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. The award, voted on by the entire membership of the USBWA, is based on regular-season performance. Bennett will be formally presented with the Henry Iba Coach of the Year Award on Tuesday, April 14, at the Devon Energy College Basketball Awards gala in Oklahoma City. The Oscar Robertson Trophy will also be presented that evening. The winner of the Oscar Robertson Trophy as the national player of the year will be announced on Friday, April 3, at a 10:15 a.m. ET news conference in Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium in conjunction with the NCAA Final Four. In his sixth season at Virginia, Bennett, 45, led the Cavaliers to a 30-4 record, which tied the school record for wins in a season set last season and in 1982-83. For the second straight season, Virginia won the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title. Bennett's career mark at Virginia is a stellar 136-64 (.680 winning percentage). Bennett, the Henry Iba Award winner in the 2006-07 at Washington State, is the ninth coach to earn the award more than once and the second to win it at two different schools. Roy Williams has won the award at Kansas (1990) and North Carolina (2006). The legendary John Wooden was named the USBWA National Coach of the Year six times, joinining five other coaches to win it twice (Lou Carnesecca of St. John's, John Chaney of Temple, Gene Keady of Purdue, Bob Knight of Indiana, Ray Meyer of DePaul and Fred Taylor of Ohio State). The USBWA District III Coach of the Year and the ACC Coach of the Year guided the Cavaliers to a national ranking as high as No. 2 and the No. 2 seed in the East Region before being eliminated in the second round of the NCAA Tournament by Michigan State. "Tony Bennett is no longer a rising star in the coaching ranks; he is an established winner," said USBWA President Dana O'Neil of ESPN.com. "This year he led the Cavaliers to their second consecutive ACC regular-season title, earning the top spot in the league despite playing for a long stretch without one of his best players. On behalf of the USBWA, it is my pleasure and privilege to honor Tony Bennett." Including this season, the Clintonville, Wis., native now boasts a 205-97 (.679 winning percentage) overall career record in nine seasons as a college head coach. Prior to coming to Virginia, Bennett was 69-33 in three seasons at Washington State, including two NCAA Tournament appearances. The Henry Iba Award is named in honor of the legendary Oklahoma State coach who won 655 games and two national championships in 36 seasons in Stillwater. The award is voted on by all members of the USBWA at the conclusion of the regular season. The USBWA has presented a National Coach of the Year Award each year since the 1958-59 season. Tickets and sponsorship information for the Devon Energy College Basketball Awards are available at collegebasketballawards.com or by contacting Scott Hill (405-640-0406, [email protected]). The April 14 banquet will also honor Duke center Jahlil Okafor with the Integris Wayman Tisdale Award as the national freshman of the year. The U.S. Basketball Writers Association was formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers. Today, it is one of the most influential organizations in college basketball. For more information on the USBWA and its award programs, contact executive director Joe Mitch at 314-795-6821. Related link: • Henry Iba Coach of the Year AwardSaudi Arabia'should be suspended from the UN Human Rights Council' BelfastTelegraph.co.uk Saudi Arabia should be suspended from the UN Human Rights Council (OHCHR) over its conduct in Yemen, two leading human rights charities have said. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/saudi-arabia-should-be-suspended-from-the-un-human-rights-council-34855858.html https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/article34855847.ece/c0f84/AUTOCROP/h342/saudi-arabia.jpg Email Saudi Arabia should be suspended from the UN Human Rights Council (OHCHR) over its conduct in Yemen, two leading human rights charities have said. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch released a joint statement calling for the country to have its membership rights immediately suspended from the group as it has “committed gross and systematic violations of human rights during its time as a Council member”. It highlighted the actions of a Saudi-led coalition in Yemen – where it is alleged to have carried out “indiscriminate” air attacks on civilian targets such as several Medecin Sans Frontieres run-hospitals. The statement also accused Saudi Arabia of repeatedly using banned cluster munitions in heavily populated civilian areas. It said: “Despite well-documented violations by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, there has been no accountability. “Saudi Arabia has failed to conduct credible, impartial and transparent investigations into possible war crimes and has used its position on the Human Rights Council, aided by its allies, to effectively obstruct the creation of an independent international investigation, as urged by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.” Read more Saudi Arabia removed from UN's child-killer list after 'undue' financial pressure, admits Ban Ki-Moon Saudi Arabia began airstrikes in Yemen in March 2015 in a bid to push back Shia Houthi rebels – who had gained control of vast swathes of the country – and prop up the ousted President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi. International commentators have called the Yemen conflict a proxy war between Shia-dominated Iran and Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia. More than 9,000 people are believed to have been killed in the 15-month conflict with 14 million – approximately half the population – in need of emergency humanitarian assistance. But Riyadh said in a statement it was “alarmed and outraged” by the claims, saying the coalition’s main goal in Yemen was “the protection of civilians”. A statement by the Saudi UN mission said: “Saudi Arabia and the coalition have complied with international law at every stage in the campaign to restore Yemen's legitimate government. “We deeply regret any loss of life”. Saudi Arabia’s appointment to the 47-member OHCHR in 2013 caused widespread outrage as the country has been dubbed
this year. Disclaimer: The statements, views, and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of NewsBTCA dispute with BBC TV's religious slot, Sunday Morning Live: would I join a debate on the pope? As president of the British Humanist Association, I was glad to – but there was a problem. Discussion was divided into a first debate on whether Catholicism was over-obsessed with sex, but I was to join a second: is the Catholic church a force for good? How could you answer that without saying that sex lies at the poisoned heart of all that is wrong with just about every major faith? Repression of sex, banning contraception, gay rights, abortion, stem-cell research and IVF treatment cause untold misery. Not to the "liberal" Catholics who proclaim for reform and use contraception themselves – as Cherie Blair so distastefully revealed – yet support a church whose denial of it damages and kills poor mothers with no choice. As Ben Goldacre pointed out in this paper on Saturday, while this pope claims condoms "aggravate the problem" of HIV/Aids, two million die a year. Ann Widdecombe's riposte that the Catholic church runs more Aids clinics than any single nation was like suggesting the Spanish Inquisition ran the best rehab clinics for torture victims. Women's bodies are the common battleground, symbols of all religions' authority and identity. Cover them up with veil or burqa, keep them from the altar, shave their heads, give them ritual baths, church them, make them walk a step behind, subject them to men's authority, keep priests celibately free of women, unclean and unworthy. Eve is the cause of all temptation in Abrahamic faiths. Only by suppressing women can priests and imams hold down the power of sex, the flesh and the devil. The Church of England is on the point of schism over gay priests, women bishops and African homophobia. The secular world looks on in utter perplexity. Trying to deny the primal life force has led to centuries of persecution, suffering, secrecy and breathtaking hypocrisy. Wherever male cultural leaders hold absolute and unscrutinised power, women and children will be abused. In western secular life this has at last been recognised: in schools, prisons, care homes and within families, wherever the powerless are unseen and unheard, horrors will happen without checks and transparency. Abusers gravitate towards closed organisations, and absolute power turns people into abusers. But the Vatican still talks of a few bad apples requiring internal discipline, the pope refusing to hand rapists over to secular law. Imams, gurus, priests, all hold sway over the vulnerable. As secretive madrasas and new religious "free" schools multiply while officials nervously respect their cultural independence, expect more abuse as bad as the Belgian Catholic cases now emerging. The other dominion the religions control is death. Were it not for the faiths with their grip on hospices and palliative care, the law on assisted dying would be reformed. Religious dominance in parliament scuppered the last bill that tried to give the dying the right to depart when they can suffer no more. A survey in the Journal of Medical Ethics found religious doctors far less likely to keep the dying deeply sedated if that risked hastening death, forcing people to linger in the agonising antechambers of death. Add up the millions of hours of human suffering the faiths inflict by their denial of choice over sex and death, and it far outweighs their Mother Teresa work. The pontiff arrives after heavy lobbying by Gordon Brown, who was desperate to please Catholic voters. Instead the visit has subjected Pope Benedict's conservatism to intensely unfavourable scrutiny. On Friday he meets the Archbishop of Canterbury, who ought to send him off with a flea in his ear for trying to seduce over to Rome Church of England clergy opposed to women bishops. His beatification of Cardinal Newman for converting to Catholicism is an affront, along with his claim that Britain's Equalities Act "violates natural law" for banning discrimination against women and gays. In a week when, on the wilder fringes, a Florida pastor's threat to burn 200 copies of the Qur'an risked igniting holy war among equally extreme battalions of Islamist fundamentalists, while hate-filled Christians try to stop the building of a Muslim centre in a New York that is remembering the jihadist attack victims, nobody needs reminding of the incendiary dangers of religion. But just when democracies should determinedly separate religion from state, the British state appeases, most alarmingly in new segregated schools. Why invite the pope on a "state" visit costing millions in a time of cutbacks? At most 12% of the population regularly practises any faith in the secular UK. Where once secularism and humanism were relics of a bygone religious age, its voice is important again. But pointing out the blindingly obvious need to keep faiths in their private sphere has united religious gunfire against secularists. All atheists now tend to be called "militant", yet we seek to silence none, to burn no books, to stop no masses or Friday prayers, impose no laws, asking only free choice over sex and death. Religion deserves its say, but only proportional to its numbers. No privileges, no special protection against feeling offended. The director of pastoral affairs in the Westminster diocese, Edmund Adamus, says Britain has become a "selfish hedonistic wasteland" of sex and secularism. He echoes the supreme arrogance of all the religious who claim there is no morality without God. Nonsense, but unlike the religious the godless claim no moral superiority. Wise humanists know that good and bad are pretty evenly distributed. Humanity has an innate moral sense, without threats of divine wrath and reward. Good and bad works are done by both the secular and the religious. But wherever the institutions of religion wield real power, they prove a force for cruelty and hypocrisy. Atheists are good haters, they claim, but feeble compared with the religious sects. Atheists have dried-up souls, without spiritual or visionary transcendentalism. To which we say: the human imagination is all we need to hold in awe. Live in optimism without fear of judgment and death. There is enough purpose and meaning in life, love and leaving a good legacy. Oppose the danger of religious zealotry with the liberating belief that life on earth is precious because this here and now is all there is, and our destiny is in our own hands.Buffy the Vampire Slayer is deservedly celebrated for its feminism, for giving the world an unapologetically female action hero and making her iconic. But the show’s feminism goes deeper than just creating a Strong Female Character and sticking her in the center of the poster. What makes Buffy so subversive even now, 20 years after the show’s debut, is that it made Buffy herself the subject of traditionally masculine storytelling tropes. Buffy’s love interests get fridged; she holds the weight of the world on her shoulders; she has what would have been manpain if a standard action hero like Batman were experiencing it. And she does it all as a tiny, blonde former cheerleader, as the embodiment of the girl her genre usually kills first. Most action stories prioritize the male hero’s pain over everything else Male action heroes tend to make their way through a pretty standard set of narrative tropes. They’re usually motivated by peril that threatens the women in their lives: The Supernatural boys have their dead mother and a variety of dead girlfriends; Batman has his dead mother and his various dead and/or treacherous girlfriends; the Tenth Doctor on Doctor Who has the vanished Rose Tyler. And sometimes, male action heroes are haunted by the memory of the terrible things they’ve done. The Vampire Diaries has repeatedly zoomed in on Damon Salvatore’s tortured face while a woman weeps on the floor in her underwear next to him: He must be in so much pain, the subtext goes, for him to hurt her so badly. The Doctor broods over the races he extinguished in order to save the universe. On Buffy itself — and even more so on its spinoff, Angel — Angel and Spike are tortured by the memory of all of the people they’ve, well, tortured (and raped and killed and eaten). Always, the male action hero must struggle with the responsibility of being the only person who can stop the spread of evil across the world. He’ll stand broodingly on a rooftop, dressed in billowing black, gazing out over the city he has sworn to protect. All of those lives, depending only on him — how could any one man bear such a burden? It’s fine for individual stories to focus on men. But having too many stories about men and none about women sends a bad message. These tropes — often mockingly described in fan circles as “manpain” tropes — depend on a belief that the male action hero is more important than anyone else in his story, and that any pain and misery felt by other characters is subordinate to the male hero’s. In stories that are built on these tropes, female characters do not have worth in and of themselves; they are valuable only insofar as they can add to the male hero’s pain. Moreover, the male character’s pain is unique: Other characters in Batman’s universe may have lost their parents, but Batman’s pain is deeper and truer than theirs could ever be. In individual stories, that series of tropes is fine and makes perfect sense. The hero’s pain will necessarily be more important to the audience than other characters’ pain, because the hero is the audience’s point of view character. Supporting characters are designed to prop up the hero’s story, not the other way around. Related How Buffy the Vampire Slayer transformed TV as we know it But if you step back and examine these stories as contributors to an overall trend, things get murkier. Action stories are disproportionately built around (white, usually straight, usually wealthy) male characters, so their pain is disproportionately privileged over that of other characters. Female characters are disproportionately tortured and killed as part of stories about male characters, instead of being granted their own stories. It’s not the individual stories that are troubling so much as it is the overwhelming accumulation of them. They send a message, and that message is: Here are the characters who deserve your empathy. Here are the people in the world whose pain really and truly matters. They are (white, straight, wealthy) men. On Buffy, Buffy’s pain is the most important thing in the world But on Buffy, the action hero is a girl. It is her pain that is the most important, and her story that other characters support. So Angel and Spike are repeatedly kidnapped and tortured to motivate Buffy. She’s constantly haunted by guilt over the various awful things she’s had to do: sending an innocent and trusting Angel to hell, accidentally colluding with Faith to kill a bystander, beating Spike to a bloody pulp while he tells her that “you always hurt the ones you love.” And she feels the crippling responsibility of her destiny painfully. At the end of season five, when Glory kidnaps Dawn, it sends her into a catatonic state. “Buffy,” Willow tells her, “you’ve had the weight of the world on your shoulders since high school. And I know you didn’t ask for this, but you do it every day.” How, the subtext asks, could any one woman bear such a burden? Buffy is a specifically feminine archetype at the center of masculine action hero storylines. That’s hugely significant. Buffy’s manpain is subversive not only because she’s a female character, but because of the specific female archetype that she represents. Buffy creator Joss Whedon has always said that Buffy is based on the archetypal blonde girl who gets killed first in every horror movie. In his DVD commentary for the first episode, he says, “The idea of Buffy was to subvert that idea, that image, and create someone who was a hero where she had always been a victim.” As described by film scholar Carol J. Clover, the blonde girl of horror is a foil for the brunette Final Girl who will survive to the end of the movie. The blonde is feminine where the Final Girl is tomboyish, and sexual where the Final Girl is virginal. For those crimes — those specifically feminine crimes — she must be punished. When you see a cute blonde cheerleader having sex in a horror movie, you know the monster is about to kill her horribly. As a character, Buffy fits horror’s blonde archetype perfectly. She’s unapologetically hyper feminine; she adores fashion and makeup and shopping; she longs to be a cheerleader. But not only does she not die first when Buffy’s monsters come calling, she kicks their ass and saves the day. And while Whedon’s track record on sex is less revolutionary — his characters tend to experience horrible emotional pain whenever they jump into bed together, regardless of their gender — Buffy does at least get to have sex without dying or sacrificing her protagonist privilege. Buffy Summers is a living embodiment of the kind of femininity that horror and action traditionally despise, that they erase or disregard or destroy on sight. But on Buffy, her particular archetype is combined with the brooding, manpain-riddled action hero. Buffy is blonde and high femme and sexual, and her pain is still the most important thing in the world. When Buffy says, here are the people in the world who deserve your empathy, whose pain really and truly matters, it’s pointing at the kind of girl whose story is very rarely taken seriously. Twenty years later, that’s still a powerfully subversive message.I am a 400 foot tall purple platypus bear with pink horns and silver wings. The following information is not considered to be part of the main continuity. Afiko, known as the Betrayer, was an airbender from the Southern Air Temple who revealed the location of his home to the Fire Nation, after which the country's army raided it during the Air Nomad Genocide. Made notorious by this betrayal, Afiko was charged with treason in 5 AG and later executed by decree of Fire Lord Sozin. Contents show] History A bitter jealousy Born in the Southern Air Temple, Afiko was seemingly normal growing up, but he grew jealous when Aang's identity as the Avatar was announced. Envious, Afiko betrayed his people by revealing the temple's location to the Fire Nation.[1] Traitor Fire Nation soldiers stormed the temple and slaughtered the other monks, but they were too late to catch Aang, who had run away from home shortly before the assault. Afiko was instrumental in engineering the genocide of his fellow Air Nomads, earning a place as Fire Lord Sozin's close adviser. He also seemed to have aided Sozin in attacking the Earth Kingdom, in that he is often shown blocking or dispersing earthbending attacks and attacking earthbenders. The traitorous monk died long before Aang's return and the subsequent undermining of all Afiko's work. In the end, despite his loyalty to the Fire Nation and his achievements, historical records indicate that Afiko met his demise in the war's fifth year, as Fire Lord Sozin had him killed for being a traitor.[1] Gallery Add an image Known appearances in cards Card number Card name Type Rarity 8 Whirling Debris strike rare 101 Bad Breath advantage rare 131 Afiko, bringer of ill winds ally rare 143 Chi Absorption strike uncommon 145 Graceful Leap strike uncommon 173 Hollow Soul Hurricane strike Zenemental 218 Afiko chamber common 219 Afiko chamber common 220 Afiko chamber uncommon 221 Afiko chamber common 222 Afiko chamber uncommon 223 Afiko chamber rare References See alsoPolice counter-offensive continues in New York By Daniel de Vries 31 December 2014 Amidst the popular uproar over police violence in the US, the near mutinous response of the New York Police Department continued this week, promoted by sections of the media and political elite. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio was greeted with boos and jeers Monday as he addressed a ceremony for 900 graduating police cadets at Madison Square Garden. A section of the audience again turned their backs on the mayor, two days after hundreds of officers did the same at the funeral for one of the officers shot and killed last week. As de Blasio remarked during a groveling speech Monday that the new officers will face problems they did not create, one heckler shouted, “you created them.” The December 20 killing of two police officers, Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu, by a mentally unstable man has been exploited by the media and political establishment, unleashing a wave of praise for the police and promoting the absurd notion that it is they who are under siege—not the workers and youth who are habitually harassed and brutalized by cops, or the estimated 500 to 1,000 civilians who are victims of police killings each year. De Blasio praised the “heroic choice” of the newest officers Monday, saying “it takes a special kind of person to put their lives on the line for others.” US Vice President Joe Biden “thanked God” for the police during his eulogy at the Ramos funeral, calling the NYPD “the finest police department in the world.” On Tuesday the NYPD confirmed reports that the number of arrests in the city plummeted for the week, down 66 percent from the previous week. Traffic citations were down 94 percent, and parking tickets dropped by 92 percent as officers reduced their activity in protest over de Blasio’s feigned sympathy with demonstrations against police violence. The Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association head, Patrick Lynch, who has emerged as the leading mouthpiece for the police counter-offensive, issued the call for a slowdown and even open defiance of orders following the killing of Ramos and Liu. A memorandum from the police union declared that the NYPD is now a “wartime” department. Lynch has pinned the blame for the killing directly on the mayor and the tens of thousands who protested peacefully against police violence, threatening, “Those who allowed this to happen will be held accountable.” Taken as a whole, the actions of the police department, a militarized force of 35,000, represent a direct challenge to civilian authority in an attempt to intimidate and criminalize any opposition to police violence. The seriousness of this development is underscored by the fact that over the past decade, the NYPD has expanded its repressive apparatus, stockpiling an arsenal and building up a spying infrastructure worthy of an army. Police forces around the country have followed suit under the guise of the “war on terror,” a trend that is mirrored at the national level with continued expansion of the NSA, CIA and other military-intelligence agencies. This process has had the full support of both political parties and the Obama administration. In New York, the differences that have emerged among the ruling elite are entirely within the framework of defending the political instruments of the ruling class. De Blasio himself has responded coweringly to the ravings of Lynch and others, meekly calling for unity and the toning down of rhetoric. The New York Times came to de Blasio’s defense Tuesday, with an editorial that began, “Mayor Bill de Blasio has spent weeks expressing his respect and admiration for the New York Police Department, while calling for unity in these difficult days, but the message doesn’t seem to be sinking in.” The Times criticized Lynch and the NYPD for their “anti-de Blasio campaign.” By claiming to be above criticism, the editorial argued, the NYPD loses credibility and respect. The department should take notice that de Blasio seeks to “do right by the police department,” as evidenced by his appointment of Bill Bratton as commissioner, the increased financing of the department and the modernization of equipment. The alliance between Bratton and de Blasio is particularly significant. After de Blasio’s election, which was in no small part due to popular opposition to “stop-and-frisk” policing, de Blasio immediately appointed Bratton in order to reassure the city’s elite that there would be no fundamental shift. While the use of the stop-and-frisk tactic has declined, the underlying “broken windows” style of policing—that is, aggressively policing of petty, quality-of-life infractions—has continued unabated. In a city that is starkly divided along class lines, the police effectively occupy minority, working class neighborhoods. In a lengthy piece appearing in the City-Journal magazine this week, Bratton defended the “broken windows” strategy, signaling that despite the upsurge of criticism following the police killings of Eric Garner and Akai Gurley, there will be no let up in aggressive police actions. De Blasio has made similar signals. His professed sympathy and invocation of his bi-racial son notwithstanding, his remarks since Garner’s killing have always acknowledged the role that police play. “Police officers are called ‘peace officers,’ because that’s what they do—they keep the peace,” the mayor said on Saturday. “They help make a place that otherwise would be torn with strife a place of peace.” De Blasio also issued a call to halt protests in the aftermath of the killing of the two cops, and joined in the vilification of protesters who failed to comply. “As I have said, it’s deeply divisive to hold political protests during this period of remembrance.” De Blasio and Bratton understand full well the explosive conditions that exist within New York and around the country. “You need to understand this isn’t just about policing,” Bratton said on Meet the Press over the weekend. “This is about the continuing poverty rates, the continuing growing disparity between the wealthy and the poor.” Backed by the Obama administration, both remain absolutely committed to building up the police force to defend the privileges of the ruling class. Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.The inspiration for this survey came out of the incredible conversation from the Ellen Pao & KPCB trial. What we realized is that while many women shared similar workplace stories, most men were simply shocked and unaware of the issues facing women in the workplace. In an effort to correct the massive information disparity, we decided to get the data and the stories. We focused on five main areas including: Feedback & Promotion, Inclusion, Unconscious biases, Motherhood, and Harassment & Safety. We asked 200+ women focusing on women with at least 10 years of experience. The survey is largely bay area with 91% in the bay area/silicon valley right now. We have a broad age ranges with 77% 40+ and 75% have children. Our respondents hold positions of power and influence with 25% are a CXOs, 11% are Founders, 11% are in venture. In addition to capturing start-up data, we also have employees from large companies including Apple, Google, and VMWare. We encourage you to read, discuss, and add your anonymous stories to this initiative. Best, Trae Vassallo, Ellen Levy, Michele Madansky, Hillary Mickell, Bennett Porter, Monica Leas, Stanford University, Julie Oberweis, Stanford University.VANCOUVER — More than 2,000 Chinese business leaders from around the world are attending a major convention in Vancouver this week that organizers hope will help promote the city. The three-day Teochew International Federation Convention, which will close at the Vancouver Convention Centre today, includes delegates from Canada, the U.S., Southeast Asia, Australia and France. The meeting gathers members of one of the most active overseas Chinese communities, and organizers said it will further boost B.C.’s business connections in the Asia-Pacific region. The Teochew people originate from the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, in and around the city of Chaoshan. Due to economic hardships back in the 19th century, the Teochew were among the first group of Chinese to emigrate in large numbers, settling primarily in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Settlement in Canada grew in the 1960s, and there are currently about 200,000 Canadians who are of Teochew descent. They have a reputation as a hard-working and business-oriented community, and it is estimated that Teochew businesses account for nearly 60 per cent of all overseas Chinese commerce. Hong Kong business magnate Li Ka-shing is perhaps the most famous member of the Teochew community. He is ranked by Forbes as the 17th richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of $25.6 billion US. Locally, the Canada Chaoshan Business Association includes former B.C. Lieutenant Governor David Lam, who passed away in 2010, and Richmond MP and cabinet minister Alice Wong. Lam Siu Ngai, president of the Canada Chaoshan Business Association, likened the event to hosting thousands of his closest relatives for a holiday gathering. “To be able to host them here at the convention, we are very proud, but there is a lot a pressure as well,” said Lam, noting this is the first time the convention has been held in Canada. “The largest concentration of our community today is still in Southeast Asia, and we hope they can gain a better understanding of Canada, and of the business opportunities here.” [email protected], analytics and Dan Altman's stars of the future While Clement, who has been fired after less than a year in the job, is the public face of the club, recruitment was a collective effort, with owners Steve Kaplan and Jason Levien, along with Clement and chairman Huw Jenkins, forming a transfer committee. YOU can argue about tactics and the timing of substitutions, but it's difficult to escape the conclusion that poor summer recruitment cost Paul Clement his job. “What analytics allow us to do is have another check, another thing to look at to try and ensure we are not making a mistake. Mistakes are too costly for a club like ours.” Speaking to a Supporters Trust fans’ forum in April, Kaplan explained: “The analytics are not a replacement for what Paul Clement can bring to the club. He is integrally involved. Before targets were presented to the committee, they went through a final filter of Dan Altman, who has been the club's Senior Adviser for Football Operations since December 2016. Whereas Clement was contractually obliged to speak to the media every week, Altman's exact role and methods are not clear to those outside the club. The best insight I could find was here, on the Analytics FC podcast, admittedly two and a half years ago. Altman is a Harvard University graduate with a PhD in economics. In 2013, he set up North Yard Analytics - a ‘vehicle for statistical analyses of soccer and other professional sports’ - and used to write a blog about his work and thoughts on football, although it can’t be freely accessed now. To qualify, players had to be 20 or younger on August 1st 2015 and to have played at least 360 minutes of first team football. Altman admitted he would have liked, ideally, to use additional mathematical models for the piece of work. And his data and methods have no doubt evolved since 2015. Analytics can sometimes seem abstract and far removed from the real game, but one thing Altman discussed in the podcast was tangible, easy to understand and accountable. He had used two mathematical models - how players contribute to shots and how they advance the ball into zones closer to the opposition goal - to predict eight ‘stars of the future’ for the Opta Pro website. That wish came true last December, when Kaplan and Levien brought their compatriot to Swansea. The American gives an in-depth and confident explanation of his methods, describing football analytics as "largely virgin territory" and admitting that, although he has worked with a couple of English clubs, he would "love to have the opportunity to do recruiting work with more clubs". At the time, each was playing in the Premier League, with two of the players at Manchester United and three at Liverpool. They were supposed to have reached stardom by now, at the ages of 22 and 23; but Markovic is on loan at Hull, McNair is at Sunderland, Blackett is at Reading and Burke at Bolton. There’s nothing wrong with any of these clubs, of course, but the players have not become the "Premier League regulars" or internationals that the models predicted. Perhaps most worryingly of all, Altman explained that his models had discounted John Stones and Eric Dier, both of whom have since become true stars and England regulars. Analytics have a key role to play in football, as TGG has covered in depth. But Altman's 'future stars' work shows that a range of factors, often intangible and unforeseen, can play a role in the success of a player or team. Analytics need to be used in conjunction with human experience and expertise. American owners have seemed the most wedded to the use of analytics. Liverpool's owners, Fenway Sports Group, installed Michael Edwards, who has an almost exclusively analytics background, as their Sporting Director last November; and Fulham appointed analyst Craig Kline as Assistant Director of Football Operations in February, before he left in acrimonious circumstances last month. It seems fair to ask whether they have given too much prominence to analytics. (TGG approached Altman for comment, through North Yard Analytics, but did not receive a response). Dan Altman explaining his 'future stars' selection: “One thing I would say about Lazar Markovic is that he does show up pretty favourably on this model. Maybe he didn’t set Liverpool fans’ hearts on fire… but hopefully the model is seeing things that aren’t necessarily apparent to the eye and picking up the things that are markers for a future star. This is using two models. For a really detailed search I would probably use more tools than these two. I think I want to sit back and see what happens with these. I would love to have the opportunity to do recruiting work with more clubs. Once you trust that the models work well you can take it to leagues you don’t know as well. There are a lot of players who aren’t listed here who… you might have selected just using the eye. You don’t see Kurt Zouma here, he was eligible to be included. You don’t see Ross Barkley, you don’t see Saido Berahino, you don’t see John Stones. These are players who have a pretty good reputation in the public eye and have even got caps for their country. But they didn’t make the list and part of what makes a model successful is to distinguish both positives and negatives. Players who become stars and those who won’t. Hopefully the precision of the model will become more apparent with time. One player who came very close to selection and who if I had rounded I could have included was Eric Dier. Apart from that, these other folks weren’t necessarily that close, so I think this is a good test of the model because we have pretty good separation between those who were selected and those who weren’t."Despite Protests, Congress To Bring Back CISPA Exactly As It Was Last Year, While Obama Signs Exec Order from the well-that's-unfortunate dept Last week, we told you that CISPA was coming back, and it's now been confirmed that it is coming back tomorrow and it will be identical to the extremely flawed bill that passed the House last year.You can, of course, understand why the sponsors would bring back the identical bill. After all, it passed (fairly easily), even with tremendous protests. Many tech companies like the bill, because it puts no specific requirements on them, and also (more importantly) frees them from liability for sharing info on their users. But that's the really problematic part. It's disappointing that tech companies have not realized that standing up for their users' privacy rights is a smart business decision on its own. Tragically, they're taking the short term view on this one.The privacy concerns about CISPA are incredibly serious. While the Senate took adifferent approach with its Cybersecurity Act (which did not pass), at the very least, amendments to the Senate bill improved the privacy problems. One would hope that the backers of CISPA would recognize that this would be an opportunity to build a bigger tent, and follow through by matching the same privacy protections. Unfortunately they did not. While the Obama administration threatened to veto CISPA last year, in part due to the privacy concerns, I'm not sure anyone is confident that the administration is serious about that.In fact, if the rumors are correct, President Obama will mention cybersecurity sometime in the State of the Union address tonight, and then will sign the executive order the administration has put together on Wednesday morning, to coincide with the reintroduction of CISPA in the afternoon. Basically, the use of the executive order is to put pressure on Congress to do something. There is still a hurdle from the Senate, since it supports a very different approach, but there's about to be a very, very big push on cybersecurity.Either way, it's incredibly disappointing that CISPA's supporters didn't take the time to make some rather basic changes to protect privacy. Instead, they effectively use some broad language to more or less wipe out privacy protections on very broad terms, while doing nothing to keep any data shared from being further shared with other parts of the government. In other words, it's a ticket for widespread surveillance of Americans (as if we don't already have enough of that).Fight For the Future has set up CISPAisBack.com to try to let folks in Congress know that bringing back the same extremely flawed bill is a mistake. That's one way to contact your Representatives, though just calling their office directly would also be a good idea. Filed Under: barack obama, cispa, congress, cybersecurity, executive order, houseSandy: Something like this will be present in game Michael: This is part of the current design. Sandy: Yes Michael: Yes with levels appropriate to the system, for example more traffic in core systems. Michael: Yes, this is part of the evolving galaxy. Sandy: Yes there will be visual cues to indicate these differences Michael: Yes, the planet surfaces will reflect their colonisation and technological level. Sandy: Yes Michael: Yes. Sandy: No. Theres a separate discussion to be had here, but certainly players will not be able to damage stations in a meaningful way at first release. Michael: Some superficial damage may be possible, but players cannot destroy or severely damage space stations. Michael: The core and frontier worlds are only a small fraction of the total star systems. There is a lot to explore and discover. Sandy: Asteroids will look as plausible as we can make them. Not sure what cartoony asteroids look like exactly. Michael: Asteroids will look appropriate to their type. Sandy: Yes but would be extremely rare event. David: Supernovae are unbelievably rare maybe once in a galaxy every 50 years. We will certainly not have more than one. Even one would be a devastating event for the surrounding hundred of light years. Michael: Black holes would be cool. Sandy: Probably not at least until a much later update. There will be alternative systems available for ad-hoc trading. Michael: Probably not for the initial release. Sandy: Ok no real issue with this Michael: What about intelligent cats that look like frogs? Elite: Dangerous will take place in a huge galaxy and the intention of our team is to make that galaxy as immersive as possible. There are many ways that the team hope to achieve this, some that we have already shared with you and others that will no doubt be revealed as development continues.This week well be looking at the questions we received that relate closely to the subject of immersion and how we intend to flesh out the galaxy as a whole. Hopefully by the end of this update you will have a better idea of what we have in store, so lets get on with it!Non-player characters (NPCs) will of course make up a large part of the game, and the way that they behave and interact with players will go a long way towards determining how immersive Elite: Dangerous will be. We received several questions about this NPC interaction; the first well look at is whether NPCs will have memories of previous encounters with players. This is something that is currently planned:Two other inquiries asked whether there would be vehicular traffic made up of NPCs and whether the NPCs in the galaxy would have their own agendas and roles. The answer to both of these is yes:Finally on the subject of NPCs, some of you were curious whether the galaxy would gradually increase in NPC population and expand the frontier. Also, whether NPCs would enter into wars with one another, perhaps between planets or systems, and whether the play would be able to influence the outcome of these conflicts. The answer to both of these questions is yes:On the subject of planets, many of you asked firstly whether we would have realistic planetary orbits in Elite: Dangerous and also whether the surface of a planet, as seen from space, would represent the economic or political state of that world. The answer to both of these questions is also yes:We also received several questions about the ships and stations in Elite: Dangerous. One such question asked about whether there would be larger ships and structures than in the original Frontier and Elite games. The answer to this is also yes:On the subject of stations, many of you have asked whether stations would be able to take damage in Elite: Dangerous. For a variety of reasons, including time constraints and working out the logistics of creating a non-exploitable system around a feature like this, this will definitely not be a part of the game at initial launch:Another feature of the galaxy is that we can confirm and has been eluded to already is that there will be multiple types of star systems to explore. Beyond the core systems there will be frontier systems and ones that are completely unexplored, all of which should have their own unique feel:To cap of this weeks feature requests update we have a mixed bag of other inquiries we received, some specific and others a little more unusual. Hopefully they will all give you a little more insight into the thoughts and plans of our team though!No endless cartoony asteroids (make them look irregular):Supernovae going off:Black holes:The ability to "advertise" on the bulletin board:No intelligent felines or frogs for 'nostalgia':Thats it for another week! The next edition of the Feature Requests Update will be the final one, but hopefully I will have something else to replace it in time for the week after. Hopefully you have all enjoyed these updates and if you have any ideas for what sort of thing you might want to replace them, then please dont hesitate to get in touch!Thanks again, AshleyaReNGee here! Dusk Road has released, and it is awesome! There’s so much new stuff to try out, and lots of it looks both good and fun to play, which is promising. I’ve had my hands on the set for 24 hours and these are my takeaways from it. Keep in mind that this will be mostly an impressions article, although we do have a few lists that are about power level. Top 5 Tribes These tribes are ranked based on how much I like them, not by how strong they are. 1. Grenadin Everyone’s favorite
. She saw again, as clearly as though it happened only yesterday, the flash of the COEI Gegenschein’s engines as it broke orbit and headed for her new home, her new future. All hers. All faked. A shrieking of tortured metal rose around her, as though the ship were tearing up. “I’ve never had any choice, have I?” She raised her voice to be heard over the noise, even though she knew the Crescend could read her mind just as easily as it ever had. “Of course you have, Morgan. That was the whole point.” “But you made me in order to do something. There was no way I could avoid that. There’s no way you would’ve let me!” “Perhaps not, but — ” “And could I have avoided all of this?” She saw Maii’s body, the Ana Vereine’s pyre, the golden glow of the cockpit around her. “Was I always intended to end up here?” “That question is irrelevant,” said the Crescend. “You are here now, and the ‘now’ is all that matters.” A siren wailed in her ears. “Why are you bothering to talk to me at all?” she said angrily. “Why ask me about Cane? Why not just lift the information from my memories? What is it you are after? You want me to absolve you for what you’ve done? Is that it?” “I have no need of absolution, Morgan. I have no ulterior motives, either. Your role in this phase of the war is truly finished.” “So now I am being thrown out with the trash?” she shouted. “Is that it?” “You are not a robot, Morgan,” the Crescend said. “But I’m not real!” “You may find it difficult to accept, but you are as genuine a being as anyone else you have met. You have mind, you have will, and you have character. Where your body actually came from is irrelevant.” “Do you expect me to accept that?” “In time, I think you will.” “But I don’t have time,” she said. “The fighter’s burning up!” “Yes,” the Crescend said with no suggestion of remorse. “It is. In fact, you have less than a minute before it disintegrates completely.” She fought down a surge of panic, resisted the tears pressing at the backs of her eyes. “I’m frightened,” she said, the words both a whisper and a sigh. The Crescend said nothing. She closed her eyes again, bracing herself as the fighter began to shake violently. The sound of voices was drowned out by the rattling and creaking of the ship. She thought she might be screaming, but she could hear nothing at all over the noise. She was sound: sound and movement: movement and pain: pain and — With a burst of heat, everything went silent. The Rynosseros Cycle – Terry Dowling A created man in future Australia is a defender of AI and the right thing to do in general. Which the powers that be do not like at all and hence work at his destruction. This all leads to a final confrontation between sandship fleets pro AI and con. The former hopelessly outnumbered. Tom Rynosseros makes a desperate run elsewhere covered by his friends but changes his mind and turns back to face the battle with his fellow Coloured Captains. It isn’t just the human fleets with capabilities in this battle, however. “Oh if you could see them as they ran, the seven against the dazzling thunder of the thousand, a few bright stars before the crackling storm, six kilometres becoming five, four, steadiling falling to nothing in the beat, beat, beat of the dance. Oh, if you knew how all across the land we sang in our thousands, not unision, no, no, fervent discord, sand and sang, all o fus that lived, the greatest and the least, startling noamds, travellers, vagrant stonement, delighting so many who had forgotten to remember we were always there. And if we could show you how it was at that moment our Captain knew with all his heart, how it was at the last, before the fleets met and the sky, yet again, rained fire and ruin, and the chevron plunged into the fire we made-the belltress-how the tribes, the humans in their prid and disregard, had forgotten that, having tasted life, we too would strive, learn, borrow, use everything we had, would rise up and protect our own, what we had made. Our Tom Rynosseros. Ours.” Gwenda Bond Blackwood, is a September 2012 launch title for Strange Chemistry, the new YA imprint of Angry Robot Books. She is also a contributing writer for Publishers Weekly, regularly reviews for Locus, and guest-edited a special YA issue of Subterranean Online. Her nonfiction work has appeared in the Washington Post, Lightspeed, and Strange Horizons, among others, and she has an MFA in Writing from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. She lives in a hundred-year-old house in Lexington, Kentucky, with her husband, author Christopher Rowe, and their menagerie. You can find her online at Gwenda Bond’s debut novel,, is a September 2012 launch title for Strange Chemistry, the new YA imprint of Angry Robot Books. She is also a contributing writer for Publishers Weekly, regularly reviews for Locus, and guest-edited a special YA issue of Subterranean Online. Her nonfiction work has appeared in the Washington Post, Lightspeed, and Strange Horizons, among others, and she has an MFA in Writing from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. She lives in a hundred-year-old house in Lexington, Kentucky, with her husband, author Christopher Rowe, and their menagerie. You can find her online at gwendabond.com or on twitter (@gwenda). When I was thinking about this, it turns out that you’re absolutely right. Many of my favorite series are still in progress. But I immediately thought of two that I think are pretty much perfect all the way through, with just the right endings. The first is Holly Black’s Curse Workers series. Each volume is twistier than the last, but without ever breaking the world’s rules or cutting the characters–especially main character Cassel Sharpe–the tiniest break. Black Heart, the final book in the trilogy, doesn’t have a comma or an action sequence out of place. It takes the reader exactly where they want to go emotionally, without ever becoming predictable. These are masterfully constructed books that keep the reader guessing and hoping all the way through. The second is Cynthia Leitich Smith’s Tantalize series. These are fun, funny, smart books with just the right amount of darkness. The story branches out to encompass new characters over four books, but that growth is seamless. Rather than resenting the focus on new characters, we take comfort in the presence of the ones we already love (Quincie, Kieren), while getting sucked into the stories that come with the the introduction of Zachary and Miranda. By the time the series gets to Diabolical, the last book, it–literally, and literarily–encompasses Heaven, Hell, and our world in between, and the stories of all four characters conclude in a satisfying way that leaves the world still open to our imaginations. Howard Jones The Desert of Souls, made Kirkus’ New and Notable list for 2011, and was on both Locus’s Recommended Reading List and the Barnes and Noble Best Fantasy Releases list of 2011. Additionally, The Desert of Souls was a finalist for the prestigious Compton Crook Award and a featured selection of The Science Fiction Book Club. Its sequel, The Bones of the Old Ones, will become available on December 11, 2012. He is hard at work on a third novel of Arabian fantasy as well as a sequel to his Pathfinder Tales novel, Plague of Shadows. He can be found lurking at his web site, Howard Jones’ debut historical fantasy novel,, made Kirkus’ New and Notable list for 2011, and was on both Locus’s Recommended Reading List and the Barnes and Noble Best Fantasy Releases list of 2011. Additionally,was a finalist for the prestigious Compton Crook Award and a featured selection of The Science Fiction Book Club. Its sequel,, will become available on December 11, 2012. He is hard at work on a third novel of Arabian fantasy as well as a sequel to hisnovel,. He can be found lurking at his web site, www.howardandrewjones.com Black Gate or twittering @howardandrewjon. So many of my favorite series writers don’t actually have end points, or, like Leigh Brackett’s Skaith novels, end with a weaker entry. Fritz Leiber’s Lankhmar stories don’t really conclude, exactly, and I prefer the stories written earlier in the cycle in any case. To my mind, the fantasy series that ends the best is Michael Moorcock’s Elric Saga. The conclusion is a perfect cap to the series, and surpasses most of the final novel itself. Avert your eyes now if you want to avoid spoilers. The novel Stormbringer ends with the sword itself triumphant. Not Elric, the doomed anti-hero who has wielded the soul-sucking blade for so long, but his blade. In the final moments of the book Elric has not just ushered in a new age for his nation, he has ushered in a new era for the entire world, the one catch being that his best friend must sacrifice himself upon Stormbringer, and the extra catch being that Stormbringer slays Elric as well. Stormbringer rises as the “last manifestation of Chaos which would remain with this new world.” The spirit that had been the sword then “looked down on the corpse of Elric of Melniboné and smiled. ‘Farewell, friend. I was a thousand times more evil than thou!’” It’s a bleaker end than the sort I usually like, but it is so note perfect for the series that I couldn’t help nodding at an authorial vision perfectly achieved. Years later I’ve met little to equal it, and nothing to surpass it. My next favorite would have to be The Pnume, from Jack Vance’s Planet of Adventure sequence. After four heart-pounding books following Adam Reith’s efforts to escape the planet Tschai, the reader witnesses Reith finally manage a way off, complete with a handful of loyal friends and the woman he loves. The moment is all the more superb because the four books in the Planet of Adventure sequence never flag; not in pacing, not in prose quality, not in the fabulous march of Vance’s outstanding imaginative world and culture building details. At no time have I ever had to say to someone that “well, stick with it through the third book because the fourth book makes up for it.” Nope, if you like what you find in the first, you’ll find theme, variation, and development upon it through the whole rest of the series. When you close the final cover you’ll smile to yourself with satisfaction of having read a tale well told. Tom Merritt Tom Merritt is co-host of the science fiction and fantasy book club Sword and Laser as well as hosting Tech News Today and Frame Rate on the TWiT network. He likes to write stuff too. Up until recently I kind of shied away from series. I made exceptions for the big guns like Dune and Lord of the Rings. And Douglas Adams kept tricking me into reading a series. I’m a big Philip K. Dick fan, and with the exception of the loosely tied-together Valis series, his books are all one-offs. However of late, as I get exposed to more authors and more fantasy, I’ve been drawn into lots of series, none of which I’ve finished. Mainly because the authors haven’t either. So I have this gaping hole in my reading list of series which are definitively done. As much as I absolutely adore Dune, it isn’t a great ending. And it hasn’t even properly ended with the work Kevin J. Anderson and Brian Herbert have been doing. Lord of the Rings, as we all know, is just really a great big novel, not a proper series, though it does have one of the best endings ever. I suppose, of the series I’ve read, the two that I finished feeling satisfied and happy are wildly different in styles. First, I was extremely satisfied with the ending of Harry Potter. For whatever you think of Rowling’s universe, she ended it in just the way I as a reader enjoy the most. That means I wasn’t sure who survived until the very end, not everyone I wanted to survive made it, which kept it interesting, and the way the survivors arrived at the end left them changed forevermore. If Rowling ever does re-visit the universe, it won’t continue the Harry Potter story. It can’t. She wrapped up that narrative and Harry has moved on to a new life. That’s one way a good series should end. The other I’d mention is Neal Stephenson’s The Baroque Cycle. This was the perfect grand banquet of reading for me. I compare it to a delicious meal that even though I’m eating a lot, keeps me going with tempting dishes, but never quite satisfied me until the end. The best part about this series, is I don’t remember exactly how it ended. That wasn’t the point of this story for me. As cliche as it may be to say, it was about getting there, not arriving. I still carry images of pirates, hidden clans of diseased peasants and magnificent card-sorting systems in my head. They may not come up exactly daily, but often enough. Of course I’m leaving out many good ones like His Dark Materials, Ender’s Game and more, but I’ll leave it at that for now. Veronica Belmont Veronica Belmont is co-host of the science fiction and fantasy book club Sword and Laser and of Tekzilla on Revision3. So while I don’t often have the chance to finish an entire series because of the book clubs, one does come to mind: The Phèdre Trilogy, the first part of the Kushiel’s Legacy series by Jacqueline Carey. I don’t want to give any spoilers, but the final battle takes place in one of the darkest, scariest settings I’ve ever experienced in a book. By that point, you’re so in love with all the characters that it’s just gut-wrenching. Like this: Like Loading...Teodorin Obiang given suspended sentence in France for plundering public money to fund jet-set lifestyle in Paris Teodorin Obiang, the son of Equatorial Guinea’s president, has been given a three-year suspended jail term by a French court for plundering public money from his oil-rich but impoverished west African state to fund a jet-set lifestyle in Paris. Obiang, 48 – the eldest son of president Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo – was tried in absentia and also given a suspended fine of €30m for embezzlement, money-laundering, corruption and abuse of trust. French trial reveals vast wealth of Equatorial Guinean president's son Read more The landmark case – spearheaded by two anti-corruption NGOs, Sherpa and Transparency International – marks a turning point in France, which has long turned a blind eye to the families of corrupt foreign dictators buying up Paris real estate and going on luxury spending sprees. It is the first of three cases involving families of African leaders from various countries, including Gabon and Congo-Brazzaville, accused of using “ill-gotten gains” from their nations to fund luxury lifestyles France. The court demanded the confiscation of assets including Obiang’s €107m mansion near the Champs-Élysées, which boasts a hammam, disco, gym, hair-dressing studio, gold-plated taps and hundreds of artworks. The case revealed the staggering spending habits of the presidential family of a state where a majority of people live below the poverty line. Obiang, who was appointed a vice-president by his father, was accused of spending more than 1,000 times his official annual salary on the six-storey mansion on one of Paris’s most exclusive avenues as well as a fleet of fast cars and artworks, among other assets. The house was decorated with more than €40m-worth of furniture, including a €1.6m Louis XV desk, a Rodin sculpture and a dozen Fabergé eggs. Obiang owned two Bugatti Veyrons, the most expensive and fastest street car in the world, costing about €1m a piece and capable of reaching 250mph — part of luxury fleet that filled the garages around the cobbled courtyard of his mansion. During the investigation, French police needed trucks to tow away 11 luxury cars worth around €5m, including a Porsche Carrera, an Aston Martin and a Mercedes Maybach. More lorries were need to clear other assets, including bottles of wine worth thousands of euros each. Obiang’s lifestyle was in stark contrast with that of ordinary people in Equatorial Guinea, where over the half the population lives on less than €1.65 a day despite the country being one of Africa’s top oil producers. In 2000, when Obiang began building up his car collection, Equatorial Guinea was on paper the wealthiest African country per inhabitant, yet a majority of its people lived below the UN poverty line. Facebook Twitter Pinterest French police needed trucks to tow away 11 luxury cars worth around €5m. Photograph: Laurent Gillieron/AP French prosecutors argued Obiang could not have funded the purchases without raiding state coffers. Obiang insisted the money came from legitimate sources. Equatorial Guinea argues that the Paris mansion is a diplomatic mission and therefore untouchable. Obiang’s lawyers have referred the issue to the international court of justice in The Hague. In an interim ruling in December 2016, the UN court ordered France to give the property the same protections as all other diplomatic locations. It cannot be confiscated and auctioned off by French authorities until the court in The Hague has decided the matter. Obiang’s father has ruled Equatorial Guinea – a former Spanish colony – for more than three decades, making him one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders, and rights groups have labelled his administration as one of the world’s most corrupt. William Bourdon, lawyer for Transparency International, hailed what he called a historic verdict, and a “worldwide message to all kleptocrats”. The suspended sentences mean that Obiang will only face jail or have to pay the fine if he is found to have re-offended in France.Lexington-based West Sixth microbrewery is once again expanding into a new market, this time into the only remaining one in the state without their product – Northern Kentucky (and the Greater Cincinnati area). The company, founded by four friends, signed a deal with Stagnaro Distributing. Their cans and kegs of India Pale Ale began hitting the shelves this week. The founders will also be attending Cincinnati Beerfest. In a press release, the company explained how the addition of brewer Andy Smith is making the northern Kentucky/Cincinnati roll out possible. In addition, the company purchased new kegs for the expansion, needing an average of five additional each time a new market is entered and five more each time a new account such as a restaurant or bar is added. The company reported in the press release that the time is right for this latest expansion, adding “There are a ton of events coming up in Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati early in the year, and we want to be there for each and every one.” The beer is currently available at a few places — Party Source, DEPs, Liquor City, Party Town, I-75 Liquors, Hyde Park Wine and Sprits, and a few others — for an up-to-date list, look here. Photo: via West Sixth Brewing Facebook pageA Catholic school gets to decide if its principal is Catholic enough, the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this week. The ruling upheld a lower-court finding that Joanne Fratello had no right to sue for discrimination when the Archdiocese of New York declined to renew her contract as principal of St. Anthony School in 2011. The public-interest law firm Becket, which argued the case for the Archdiocese, had also won the 2012 US Supreme Court decision that served as precedent by protecting a Lutheran school’s similar rights. At issue was the “ministerial exception,” which allows religious institutions to discriminate on the basis of religion — that is, to require those with religious-leadership roles to effectively advance the relevant faith. That, the court found, plainly covers the job of a St. Anthony principal, who is expected to lead students in daily prayer and host them at religious ceremonies and to ensure that the curriculum and teachers express Catholic faith. And, under the ministerial exception, no one except the religious institution itself has any right to decide whether a given individual meets its own religious tests. Call it a win not just for religious liberty, but for common sense.Former White House chief of staff Jack Lew testifies before the Senate Finance Committee on his nomination to be treasury secretary on February 13, 2013 in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. AFP PHOTO/Mandel NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images) WASHINGTON -- Congressional Republicans went hunting for controversy over last year's terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, in an unlikely place on Wednesday: the Senate confirmation hearing for Treasury secretary nominee Jack Lew. Lew, President Barack Obama's chief of staff since January 2012, was grilled by Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) about who briefed the president during the hours the attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi was taking place. Four Americans were killed in the Sept. 11 assault, including Christopher Stevens, the U.S. ambassador to Libya. The question of President Barack Obama's whereabouts during the seven-hour siege resurfaced as a focal point of Republican concern during a hearing last week when outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said he did not brief the president after an early evening meeting about the attack. One recurring conspiracy theory holds that Obama signed off for the night while the assault raged, motivated in part by a desire to sleep well before a fundraiser the next day in Las Vegas. Panetta last week insisted that even if he did not personally speak with the president, the White House was in regular contact with national security officials throughout the attack. "The president is well-informed about what is going on, make no mistake about it," Panetta said amid contentious questioning from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). Burr, questioning Lew before the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday, suggested no one knows who kept Obama informed -- if anyone did -- as the attacked progressed. Ticking off a list of officials who had previously said they did not brief the president, Burr said, "Now, we’ve eliminated a lot of people who had contacts within the intelligence community that knew firsthand what was going on in Benghazi. Let me ask you again: Who briefed the president on actually what was happening throughout this seven-hour period?" Lew responded that while he was one of several people who met with Obama about the attacks, "intelligence community was in close touch with the White House, with the national security team on a near-constant basis." In fact, White House officials have previously said that Obama was informed of the attack by National Security Advisor Tom Donilon, and was "kept apprised throughout the evening and then again Wednesday morning." In her own Benghazi testimony before a Senate committee last month, outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she spoke with the president late in the evening, and that she and her staff "kept talking with everyone during the night." Another clue to the seemingly straightforward question of who actually spoke to the president may be found on the White House official Flickr feed, which includes a photograph from the night of the attack showing Obama being briefed by his deputy national security adviser, Denis McDonough, while Lew, Donilon, and Vice President Joe Biden look on.Foreign Policy has just published a list of its “top 100 global thinkers” and the winner is… 1. Ben Bernanke for staving off a new Great Depression. Chairman, Federal Reserve \| Washington The Zen-like chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve might not have topped the list solely for turning his superb academic career into a blueprint for action, for single-handedly reinventing the role of a central bank, or for preventing the collapse of the U.S. economy. But to have done all of these within the span of a few months is certainly one of the greatest intellectual feats of recent years. Not long ago a Princeton University professor writing paper after paper on the Great Depression, “Helicopter Ben” spent 2009 dropping hundreds of billions in bailouts seemingly from the skies, vigilantly tracking interest rates, and coordinating with counterparts across the globe. His key insight? The need for massive, damn-the-torpedoes intervention in financial markets. Winning over critics who have since praised his “radical” moves (including Nouriel Roubini, No. 4 on this list), he now faces an uphill battle in his bid for permanently expanded Fed powers. The radicalism is far from over.Yeshiva parents and graduates are suing the state for turning a blind eye to chasidic yeshivas that fail to provide boys with an adequate secular education. Citing the precedent-setting 1954 U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion in Brown v. Board of Education that “education is perhaps the most important function of state and local governments” and that “it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education,” the suit argues that “despite being aware of their individual and collective responsibilities to provide plaintiffs with a substantially equivalent education, defendants have knowingly, willfully, and consistently failed to comply with the law.” Although most boys begin school at the age of 3, many don’t begin learning English or studying secular subjects until fourth grade. Between the ages of 8 and 13, boys get roughly 90 minutes of math and English a day — and no science, history or other secular subjects at all. At 13 they begin studying religious subjects full-time, the lawsuit says. Advocates for Justice, a public-interest law firm, filed the class-action lawsuit Friday morning in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on behalf of five yeshiva graduates and two sets of parents who currently send their children to chasidic yeshivas. All of the schools connected to the plaintiffs are either in Spring Valley, Monsey or New Square in the East Ramapo Central District Board of Education, located about 25 miles north of New York City in Rockland County. Get Jewish Week's Newsletter by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up “Defendants have acted with deliberate indifference to the consequential harm they have caused and are causing by their willful blindness and deliberate refusal to acknowledge that yeshiva students need, require, and are legally entitled to, at the very least, a minimally adequate secular education,” the complaint says. The suit asks that the court require the yeshivas to slowly introduce more secular subjects into the curricula — taught by qualified teachers who are given the resources and support necessary to gain the respect of the students — until the schools are teaching a minimum of three hours of secular education per day. It also asks the court to require New York State to develop a mechanism to enforce the required changes to develop a “program for former student plaintiffs to remediate the ongoing harm that has been inflicted upon them by the failure to properly educate them.” Advocates for Justice attorney Laura Barbieri says the specifics of such remediation would be worked out if the suit prevails, but she could imagine it taking the form of the yeshivas funding a GED program for its graduates at a local community college. She compares the process to constructing a building. “I can build the house, but the rooms have to be decorated by the parties in an agreement,” she said. “I think what we’re doing here is beginning the process.” The lawsuit was spearheaded by the nonprofit Young Advocates for Fair Education, or Yaffed, which was started by Naftuli Moster, who found that his Borough Park chasidic yeshiva left him woefully unprepared for college. At 18, Moster did not know how to do long division or write an essay. He’d never heard of a molecule, a cell, or the U.S. system of checks and balances. Moster said that even the 90 minutes of secular studies he did receive each day were of poor quality. Yeshiva administrators considered secular education as a waste of time, he noted, since Judaic studies were paramount, and students treated the classes — held at the end of the day after eight hours of religious study — as a time to goof off. Advocates for Justice is working on the issue pro bono on behalf of Yaffed in East Ramapo while civil rights attorney Norman Siegel is working with Yaffed (also pro bono) on a potential lawsuit against the city’s Department of Education’s lack of oversight of chasidic yeshivas that are primarily in Williamsburg and Borough Park. The East Ramapo complaint asserts that the schools themselves broke the law by hiring uncertified teachers incapable of teaching secular subjects, creating a public burden by failing to prepare their students to earn a living, misusing federal education funds and, most strikingly, discriminating against boys by giving them significantly less secular education than girls (who get more because they don’t study Talmud). “By their individual and collective acts and omissions, Defendants have contributed to if not created a culture of ignorance that results in the certitude that generations of yeshiva students, once adults, become financially impoverished, have no alternative but to be sustained principally by public benefits, fail to obtain meaningful employment, and fail to become productive civic participants in our society,” the complaint says. The lawsuit does not name the plaintiffs because they are afraid their communities will retaliate. “They and their families risk being shunned or expelled from the community, having their businesses boycotted and ruined, suffering verbal threats and abuses, physical assault, and property damage,” the complaint says. Examples of the price people pay for not following the rules in places like New Square and Spring Valley abound. Four years ago, a New Square man who prayed with nursing home residents instead of at the shul of the town’s grand rebbe, David Twersky, was badly injured after a Skerver follower tried to set fire to his home. Although Shaul Spitzer pleaded guilty and received a sentence of seven years, he was widely supported by community members at his sentencing. And in his memoir, “All Who Go Do Not Return,” Shulem Deen writes of being declared a heretic, forced to move out of New Square and eventually shunned by his wife and five children after he began questioning his belief in God and exploring the secular world. Yaffed’s claim against East Ramapo’s school board and New York State comes several years after Moster started Yaffed. First the group tried to bring the issue to the attention of city and state officials and the yeshivas themselves. After being rebuffed for years, Yaffed finally got some traction over the summer when it submitted to the New York City Department of Education a complaint signed by 52 yeshiva parents, teachers and former students. At the end of July, the DOE promised to investigate and Daniel Dromm, the chair of the city council’s education committee, also promised to take up the cause. In the months since, the DOE has not released any information about the investigation, except to say they were approaching the task as “partners” to the schools rather than as investigators. In addition to the state, the parents and graduates are also suing the New York State Board of Regents and its chancellor, Merryl Tisch; the New York State Department of Education and Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia; the East Ramapo Central District Board of Education and its superintendent, Deborah Wortham and the schools (and their principals) that the current students attended: Yeshiva Avir Yakov in New Square, United Talmudical Academy and Yeshiva Darkei Emunah in Monsey and Yeshiva Tzion Yosef in Spring Valley. All of the defendants named in the suit either did not respond to requests for comment or declined to be interviewed. The NYC DOE did not respond to requests for an update on the DOE investigation.King of Servers double-sided ID prize ⧉ Organizers for the King of Servers team tournament – arguably the most fun you can have playing Netrunner – provided us with an exclusive look at one of the participation prizes for the fan-run/ANRPC event. Made out of carbon fiber, these Blue Sun and Argus Security IDs were produced by the lovely Tony Sarkees, whose awesome work we’ve featured here in the past. Unfortunately, sign-ups for King of Servers have already hit the cap at 36 teams, but there is a waitlist you can get on (if you’ll be in the area for the FFG Worlds Championship at Roseville, MN headquarters this November), and crews looking to fill out their rosters of four! You can still enjoy this dope flyer I made for the event, too.Healthy living: How to live longer It is possible to live a longer and healthier life Some aspects of our health and vitality are governed by our genes and how our mother behaves during pregnancy, but many lifestyle factors, including fitness, diet and weight all impact on our ability to live a long and healthy life. Start young Even before we are born, our health can be affected by the lifestyle choices our mother makes. Studies have shown that if an expectant mother is highly stressed this may impact on their baby, leaving them less able to handle stress later in life. Heavy drinking during pregnancy can lead to foetal alcohol syndrome in babies - which can cause a life-long learning disability as well as physical problems. Smoking can also affect their development. Research also suggests a pregnant woman's diet can increase her child's risk of obesity by changing the unborn baby's DNA. Having a happy childhood may boost longevity, as a study suggests those who are unhappy in their youth have a greater risk of heart disease as adults. Getting outdoors is also key, as sunlight is an important source of vitamin D. At present one in four children are deficient in this vitamin, which is needed for building strong and healthy bones. Vitamin D helps our bodies to absorb calcium and phosphorus from our diets. Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. Benefits of exercise The pressures of home and family life can make it feel like there's little time to exercise. Aside from weight loss, there is a lot to gain from exercise and it can make a huge difference to staying healthy: Exercise means a healthier heart because it reduces several cardiovascular risks, including high blood pressure and heart disease Being physically active can bolster good mental health and help you manage stress, anxiety and even depression. Regular exercise can help you achieve and maintain an ideal weight and reduce the risk of diabetes Weight bearing exercise, such as running is especially good in promoting bone density and protecting against osteoporosis - which is when bones become thin, weak and break easily Bone health In childhood our bones are strong and, if they break, they usually repair quickly. When we get older this process slows down and our joints can become weak and fragile. We begin to lose bone density from our mid-30s, which is a normal part of ageing. Lifestyle factors such as having a calcium-rich diet and exercising frequently can keep bones healthy and minimise the risk of fractures. Sunlight exposure is also crucial to up levels of vitamin D. Staying socially active Continue reading the main story The Okinawa - Japanese fishermen who live long lives Okinawa has around four times more centenarians than Britain Their most significant cultural tradition is known as hara hachi bu, which translated means eat until you're only 80% full In a typical day they consume around 1,200 calories - about 20% less than most people in the UK We all know that friends are important for a happy life, but it has recently been discovered that friendship could actually help us live longer. Studies on loneliness have found that social isolation is associated with a higher rate of death in older people and loneliness is the "hidden killer" of the elderly. In a similar vein, research has shown that people who marry live longer than those who are single. The researchers believe that those who marry have better social support networks, minimising the risk of isolation. Avoiding junk food A good diet is central to overall good health, though avoiding certain foods and drinks may help prolong your life. Eating too much high-calorie food rich in simple carbohydrates (sugars) or fat could lead to weight gain or obesity. Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. Some fats are known to be particularly bad for you. Trans-fats, made from hydrogenated vegetable oil, can be found in margarine, biscuits, cakes and fast food. It can raise the level of our 'bad' cholesterol, significantly increasing the risk of atherosclerosis which blocks arteries, leading to heart disease and stroke. NHS watchdog NICE has called for them to be banned in food. Reducing salt intake is also important to keep your heart healthy, as eating too much salt could lead to high blood pressure - which in turn may lead to heart failure, stroke and other complications. Drinking too much alcohol can also have devastating effects on our health - not only can it leave us with a hangover the next day, but drinking more than the recommended intake on a regular basis can also cause long-term damage to the body's internal organs. Chronic misuse is one of the major causes of liver disease. Ditching cigarettes is also key. Smoking increases your risk of more than 50 serious health conditions. It causes about 90% of lung cancers, damages your heart and your blood circulation, worsens respiratory conditions and affects fertility. And finally, is it all in our DNA? Although there are measures we can take to help us live a long and healthy life, there may be an element of luck involved - depending on our DNA. Much research into ageing has been focused on the role of telomeres. These are the protective tips found at the end of chromosomes, sometimes likened to the tips of shoelaces. Their role is to safeguard the end of the chromosome and to prevent the loss of genetic information during cell division. Each time our cells divide, the tips of our telomeres become shorter. Eventually they become so short, they stop our cells dividing which means the cells die, which is how we age. Studies have revealed that longer telomeres have been linked to a longer lifespan, while shorter telomeres have been linked diseases such as heart disease and dementia. Longer telomeres can also be inherited by the next generation. Maybe one day in the future, we will be able to predict how long we will live for. For more information and advice, visit NHS ChoicesStop and Seize: In recent years, thousands
for leading thinkers interested in pursuing AI research that’s focused on safety). We also expect such a partnership to: Improve our understanding of the field of AI research, and give us a better sense of which interventions are most likely to be effective for reducing risks. Improve our ability to generically achieve our goals regarding technical AI safety research, particularly by helping us form relationships with top researchers in the field. Better position us to generally promote the ideas and goals that we prioritize within AI. As stated in the previous section, we think a partnership with OpenAI is particularly appealing due to our shared values, different starting assumptions and biases, and potential for productive communication. As our views and OpenAI’s views evolve (regarding the most promising paths to reducing potential risks from advanced AI), it is likely that both we and OpenAI will be putting out further public content to share our thinking. Details on Open Philanthropy’s role Holden plans to visit OpenAI roughly once a week for all-hands and other meetings. Preliminarily, he expects to generally be an advocate for: Encouraging work on alignment research, to the extent that there is promising work to be done. Intensive analysis of potential future policy challenges with respect to AI (we expect to publish more on this topic in the future). Focusing on high-quality basic research. We also believe we are well-positioned to help improve connections between OpenAI and groups in the risk-focused AI community, such as the Future of Humanity Institute (FHI) (which is also an Open Philanthropy grantee). A note on why this grant is larger than others we’ve recommended in this focus area We expect that some readers will be surprised by the size of this grant, and wonder why it is so much larger than grants we’ve recommended to other groups working on potential risks from advanced AI. We think it would be prohibitively difficult to communicate our full thinking on this matter, but a few notes: As we’ve written previously, we consider this cause to be an outstanding one, and we are generally willing to invest a lot for a relatively small chance of very large impact. We think this cause will be disproportionately important if it turns out that transformative AI is developed sooner than expected (within 20 years, or perhaps even sooner). And if that happens, we think it’s fairly likely that OpenAI will be an extraordinarily important organization, with far more influence over how things play out than organizations that focus exclusively on risk reduction and do not advance the state of the art. We generally feel it is very hard to make predictions about, and plans for, 10+ years from now. We think that working closely with OpenAI will put us in much better position to understand and react to a wide variety of potential situations, and that this is much more likely to result in the kind of impact we’re looking for than supporting any particular line of research (or other intervention targeting a specific scenario and specific risk) today. In fact, much of our other work in this cause aims primarily to help build a general field and culture that can react to a wide variety of potential future situations, and prioritizes this goal above supporting any particular line of research. We think that OpenAI’s importance to the field of AI as a whole makes this partnership an excellent opportunity for that goal as well. We are often hesitant to provide too high a proportion of a given organization’s funding, for a number of reasons. OpenAI has significant sources of revenue other than Open Philanthropy, and we are comfortable with the overall proportion of funding we are providing. (This is less true of other grantees in this space to date.) Plans for learning and follow-up Key questions for follow-up will include: Has our partnership resulted in concrete differences in OpenAI’s activities and/or changes in our thinking? Does OpenAI still seem to be one of the few leading AI research groups, in terms of talent and likelihood of making progress toward transformative AI? How well-aligned are we with OpenAI’s leadership on key issues relating to potential risks from advanced AI? We plan to do informal reviews each year. We currently plan to do a more in-depth review to consider further renewal at the end of this three-year term. The key questions for renewal will be whether OpenAI appears to be a significant positive force for reducing potential risks from advanced AI, and/or whether our involvement is tangibly helping OpenAI move towards becoming a positive force for AI safety. Our process OpenAI initially approached Open Philanthropy about potential funding for safety research, and we responded with the proposal for this grant. Subsequent discussions included visits to OpenAI’s office, conversations with OpenAI’s leadership, and discussions with a number of other organizations (including safety-focused organizations and AI labs), as well as with our technical advisors. Relationship disclosures OpenAI researchers Dario Amodei and Paul Christiano are both technical advisors to Open Philanthropy and live in the same house as Holden. In addition, Holden is engaged to Dario’s sister Daniela. SourcesThe game is all about building and managing a maximum security prison (unexpected?) We like our dark themes here at Introversion, and this one has been particularly hard to get right. Prisons are an emotive and political issue, and if mishandled a game about prisons would probably be a very uncomfortable experience. We think we’ve got the feel about right. Many people have correctly identified our big influences for this project in Dwarf Fortress and Dungeon Keeper, or just about anything by Bullfrog. We love those games so much, and mixing their mechanics with a topic like prisons has been an incredibly satisfying creative challenge. Rock Paper Shotgun had the opportunity to go hands on with the game. Some excerpts below: had the opportunity to go hands on with the game. Some excerpts below: This opening sequences gives you a good glimpse of what is going to happen in the full game. While your tasks are very much based on building, there’s quite a lot of other stuff going on, with prisoners being fed, showered, and let out into the yard for some exercise, and the guards and so forth going about their business. This fully working prison has a bunch of important things to warn you about what will need to be taken care of later in the game, such as a power grid, and security to keep the prisoners in. The presentation is all fairly minimalistic, with 2D, boxy characters milling about, but it does give the impression that there’s a lot going on. A big prison is a complex system to take care of. Crucially, I suppose, Prison Architect does have the feel of the classic “Theme” games, and I can see it eating the same sort of mass of hours that Theme Hospitals and their ilk got through. Little dudes milling about, albeit in grim circumstances. (Just as Theme Hospital’s people were sick but cute.) Because of this peculiarly cartoon cheeriness, however, it does not feel like an Introversion game, if that means anything at all to say that. here. You can read more about hands on impressions by RPS fromPosted on June 23, 2017 at 3:38 PM More than 800,000 customers having particular routers have been cautioned to change their passwords with immediate effect following investigations from Virgin Media since hackers could get access and steal their details. The default passwords which were only eight characters long and had only lowercase letters from A-Z were termed vulnerable to hackers since they had only two letters wiped off and therefore the hackers had an easy mode of guessing and accessing their personal data. Investigations of the smart home devices and appliances brought about the discovery. It was found that these devices and appliances were connected to home networks and therefore hackers could access them in less than 4 days and in such an easy way. SureCloud accessed the Virgin Super Hub 2 router and other routers of the same age marking them less safe. A Virgin Media spokesperson deemed the security of their customers as the most important thing to them. He further added that they were upgrading their systems and equipment so that they could meet standards as per the industry. The spokesperson continued further by saying that they regularly support their customers despite the fact that all happened due to technology, this support is associated with advice and updates such as giving them chances of upgrading to Hub 3.0 which had a stronger security. The research was conducted on popular smart gadgets and devices such as Bluetooth toys, smart padlocks, and wireless cameras. Some of these devices appeared difficult to hack, unlike others. Among the 15 tested devices, 8 were found to have at least one security flaw. It was found that some gadgets and devices, such as the Fredi Megapix home CCTV camera system operated over the internet without a password, but instead possessed a default administrator account. Similar cameras were also found and consisted of the same. The Watchdog report revealed that hackers had the potential to tilt the cameras and hence monitor any activity in the house, a condition which would easily provide access to people with malicious plans. SureCloud had a chance to hack the CloudPets stuffed toy hence allowing messages to be sent as an own voice to the child from family and friends. The messages acted as an alert on flaws to the manufacturers of the 8 affected products but neither Fredi Megapix nor CloudPets responded to this. The consumer group said that seriousness on security on the internet enabled and related devices were to be taken by the industry. This was to be done by addressing the basics such as password issue among others. Alex Neil, Managing Director of home products said that smart home gadgets are of great benefit and therefore needed to be taken seriously on daily basis. He further added that people need to take some steps so as to protect their home, though hackers are becoming more sophisticated. He insisted that manufacturers ought to sell secure smart products.These are not like that. These are the ridiculous innovations nobody asked for, and yet somebody went ahead and made them real. Like... When you look at the history of video games, most innovations come from stuff that gamers had been clamoring for all along: better graphics, more intuitive controls and the ability to tell fellow players to eat a bag of dicks through a computer screen. 7 Metazoa Ludens -- The Game That Lets Your Pet Murder You If you own a pet but don't have time to play with it because you're too busy, you know, playing GTA and stuff, the Metazoa Ludens project was made for you. It's a system that allows humans and animals to interact in fun, productive ways. For example, by turning your hamster into a giant monster that wants to kill you. Via Wired.com Only one of those things isn't true in the real world. Continue Reading Below Advertisement In Mice Arena, developed by Mixed Reality Labs, you and your hamster share the same virtual space, only the tables have somewhat turned. As your actual hamster chases a piece of bait in the real world, in the virtual world you are the one being chased by a giant hamster. By making the character in the game run in terror, the human is actually controlling the crane that carries the piece of food the hamster is chasing. At the same time, the movements of the hamster are replicated by its oversized man-eating version inside the video game thanks to a series of sensors and cameras built into its tank. But this isn't just for hamsters: Other possible Metazoa Ludens games in development include Jellyfish Trone (a Tron-like game where a real jellyfish is the snake that cuts you off) and Chicken Pacman (in which the chicken is represented by a ghost chasing you through a maze). So to summarize, it's a way to play with your cuddly pet without actually touching it (you can even play over the Internet), and it trains your pet to successfully chase you down and eat you (since it's learning all of your real-life evasive maneuvers and how to defeat them).Ukraine’s Energoatom And South Korea’s KHNP Sign Cooperation Agreement (NucNet) Ukraine’s national nuclear energy generating company Energoatom and South Korea’s nuclear operator Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP) have signed a memorandum of understanding aiming to improve bilateral cooperation in the nuclear industry. The main focus of the cooperation efforts will include the completion of Units 3 and 4 of the Khmelnitski nuclear power station in western Ukraine. Both reactors are Russian designed VVERs. Work began on them in the 1980s, but they remain less than half built. Sok Cho, chief executive of KHNP, said he remains “firmly convinced” that the completion of Khmelnitski-3 and -4 “will be successful” if Energoatom and KHNP “work together toward a common goal.” There are several reasons to be skeptical about the deal. Ability of Ukraine to pay for the reactors. The country can’t or won’t pay for Russian gas. Supply Chain in Ukraine and use of Odessa as port of entry for large components. The Russians are not going to sell components to the South Korean EPC. Ongoing Russian sponsored military hostilities in eastern provinces which have the objective of destabilizing the current Ukrainian government. As for what South Korea is thinking, here are a few ideas. Based on its success in the UAE, S. Korea feels that they are up to any challenge including dealing with all the dysfunctional forces in Ukraine. S. Korea has mis-read or does not take seriously Russia’s intentions to recapture the Ukraine breadbasket before China finishes buying all of its output. Memorandums for cooperation among nations on nuclear energy are a dime a dozen and timeless in that they have infinite shelf life with no money changing hands. S. Korea also inked this week a similar agreement with Kenya. S. Korea’s counterparts in Ukraine having inked a deal for a nuclear fuel plant with Westinghouse last April now feel confident to finish the two partially built reactors since the plant will provide reliable fuel services for it and their other 15 reactors. Ukraine To continue efforts to diversify nuclear supplies / services (NucNet) Ukraine’s national nuclear operator Energoatom will continue to diversify its supply of nuclear materials and services, Yuri Nedashkovsky, Energoatom’s president, was quoted as saying in a statement on the company’s website. Mr Nedashkovsky spoke at a media briefing after Energoatom and the Anglo-German-Dutch company Urenco signed a contract for Urenco to supply uranium enrichment services to Ukraine. The Ukraine government also signed a uranium mining agreement with state owned uranium firms in Kazakhstan. Nedashkovsky said Energoatom is “on the path of diversification of supply in several ways” including work by Westinghouse in manufacturing nuclear fuel assemblies for Ukraine’s Soviet-built VVER reactors. Ukraine has 15 reactors in commercial operation, all of the VVER type. They produced about 56 percent of the country’s electricity in 2015, according to data by the International Atomic Energy Agency. IAEA sees Asia as driver of nuclear energy (WNN) Asia is one of the regions where nuclear energy is “high on the agenda” and could be one of the drivers for global nuclear power deployment, according to the deputy director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Speaking at a conference in Manila, Mikhail Chudakov said, “There are several member states already operating nuclear power plants, and many more aspiring states [are] exploring the potential for developing nuclear power programs in this region.” There are currently 128 nuclear power reactors operable in five Southeast Asian countries plus Taiwan with a total generating capacity of more than 100 GWe. There are also 40 units under construction and firm plans in place to build dozens more. Prospects for restart of TEPCO’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant get a boost (Oil Price) Tokyo Electric Power Co. Holdings Inc.’s (TEPCO) plan to restart the defunct Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant has an increased chance of being implemented after the prefecture governor, who has campaigned against its reopening, decided against running for re-election, according to a new report by Bloomberg. TEPCO shares rose as much as 12 percent Wednesday morning – the largest price jump since May 2015, presumably in reaction to the announcement. Niigata prefecture governor Hirohiko Izumida said he would not pursue a bid for a fourth term for the October 16th elections. The governor has long opposed plans to return the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant – the largest of its kind in the world – to production. Izumida has previously demanded that TEPCO, who also owns the Fukushima Daichi and Daini facilities, conduct further investigations into the causes of the triple meltdown at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant in 2011 before proposing plans to restart any of the firm’s reactors. “The next Niigata governor will likely not make as many relentless demands as Izumida,” Japanese analyst Hidetoshi Shioda said. Japan may give up on fast breeder reactor project (Japan Times) The government is considering scrapping the troubled Monju fast-breeder reactor after calculating that readying it for restart would cost too much. A political decision on decommissioning the reactor is now in sight, with Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said as he participated in talks to determine its fate. The facility in Fukui Prefecture has been beset by safety problems and has only been operational for a total of 250 days since it first went critical in 1994. Decommissioning Monju would deal a serious blow to the nation’s “plutonium economy” policy, in which the reactor was designed to play a central role. The plan is to develop a commercial fast-breeder reactor that produces more plutonium than it consumes. The science ministry has been trying, without success, to find a new entity to run the reactor, which is currently operated by the government-backed Japan Atomic Energy Agency. The ministry was ordered to do this by the Nuclear Regulation Authority in November, after the NRA expressed exasperation with the operator’s consistent failures. In either case, substantial amounts of money are needed. The agency estimated in 2012 that it would cost around ¥300 billion to scrap the reactor in a process lasting over 30 years. Russia and Turkey ‘Considering’ joint funding for Akkuyu nuclear project (NucNet) Russia and Turkey may set up a joint investment fund for the construction of the Akkuyu nuclear power station, Nihat Zeybekchi, Turkey’s minister of the economy, was quoted as saying by Russian state-controlled news agency RIA Novosti. Akkuyu, near Mersin on the country’s southern Mediterranean coast, is to be built in cooperation with Russian state-owned nuclear corporation Rosatom under a contract signed in late 2010. The station will have four 1,200 MW VVER units and is scheduled to start power production by the end of 2022. There is no public certainty about the cost of the project, but earlier media reports have estimated it at some $20bn (€17bn). Russia had proposed to finance 50% of the plant cost with the rest coming from Turkish or international investors. So far Rosatom has been unsuccessful in its quest for capital. Plan for nuclear reactor for Jordan to get feasibility study (WNN) A feasibility study on the construction of nuclear power plants in Jordan is to be prepared in the first half of next year, Sergey Kirienko, director general of the Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom said. Kirienko spoke to reporters at the second Eastern Economic Forum that opened today in the Russian city Vladivostock. In March 2015, Russia and Jordan signed an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the construction and operation of two 1000 MWe VVER units at Az-Zarqa in central Jordan. “The feasibility study will provide answers to questions about financing the project,” Kirienko said, as quoted by TASS news agency. The total estimated cost of the project is $10 billion, with 30% to be financed in equal parts by Jordan as a customer and Russia as the reactor vendor. Negotiations are under way on securing the remaining funding. Khaled Toukan, chairman of the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission, recently told local media that the country’s first nuclear power plant could be operational by 2025, if sufficient financing is secured. # # #Years from now the Oculus Rift I hold in my hand will gather dust in your attic. You’ll stumble across it like your very first mobile phone. I can’t believe how big this thing was, you’ll say. How the hell did I walk around with this thing strapped to my head? You’ll say these things because the technology housed within this clunky device — with its low resolution, its cables that tie you in knots — will be as common and essential as a modern smart phone. It’ll be something everyone recognises. It will be a device that transforms so quickly, evolves so rapidly, that you’ll barely be able to keep pace. It will be streamlined and accessible, it will be overdesigned or under-designed depending on what happens to be fashionable at that specific time. In five years time the Oculus Rift I hold in my hand right now will look and feel like a lumbering brachiosaurus. And this is not a criticism; quite the opposite. It’s the highest compliment I can pay to a piece of technology that I expect will change lives and almost certainly transform the way we play video games in the very near future. The Oculus Rift feels like the beginning of something actually incredible. Strangely, it’s the moments when you’re dragged out of the experience that reminds you how potent the Oculus Rift can be. I’m staring down at the ocean; I quickly shift round. In the real world I lift my hands, but I can’t see them. It’s instantly disorientating. Consciously I am aware that my own hands will not appear in this virtual simulation, but sub-consciously I expect them to exist in this space. That’s the dissonance right there. Whoah. This is not real. It's unreal. But the dissonance only serves to highlight how ‘immersive’ the Oculus Rift experience is. In video game writing ‘immersive’ is a dead, lifeless word, but we must use it to describe this experience because no other word will suffice. ‘Immersive’: the adjective has a new weight and meaning through the existence of the Oculus Rift. Here’s another example. As a test my friends placed a chair in real life relative to the point where a virtual chair existed in the virtual world. They placed an object on it and asked me to pick it up. As I leaned forward to pick it up I didn’t move forward in the virtual world like I did in the real world — obviously. The disorientation of these conflating worlds was significant, to the point where my brain tried to compensate. My brain tried to tell me that the chair was actually moving away from me. Mind bending. Here’s a simpler example: I’ve shown the Oculus Rift to a number of people now and every single person has attempted to walk forward in real life in order to move forward in the virtual world. And every single one felt disorientated, confused and weird when they continued to stand still. Now remember the first time you played Mario 64. For the first five minutes you forgot about the Princess, you couldn’t care less about Bowser, you just wanted to run in frantic, careless circles because you could, because that was possible. The beauty of the Oculus Rift is the resurrection of that feeling; that precise same feeling. Something bewilderingly new; new enough that doing something silly and inconsequential feels like the most important thing you could be doing at that particular point in space and time. Ironically it’s when playing traditional games — with traditional goals and traditional verbs — that the experience starts to lose its lustre. Playing Team Fortress 2, the instant I placed my hands on the mouse and keyboard the novelty of this strange new experience was sucked right up and out through my fingers. It was all too easy to remember I was playing a video game; all too easy to slip into the same old routines. It’s hard to say precisely what the Oculus Rift will do for games, how it will change them, if at all. It’s a difficult discussion to have but I will say this: the Rift brings out the game designer in all of us. Everyone I showed it to removed the device with a crazed look and an idea for how it might be used. Every. Single. One. I can’t wait until I can do this, shoot a gun, move with my feet, explore this type of world, do this thing. They should make a game that lets you this. They should, they could. Hopefully they will. That’s the power of the Oculus Rift — it removes the strait jacket and sends your imagination spiralling in multiple different directions at once, towards multiple different stratospheres. Every single person who has received this device in the mail over the last week has opened the box with wide eyes and a giddy feeling in their gut. Every single one of them has an idea for a game and I can’t wait to see if they can transform these wonderful possibilities into a (virtual) reality.CLOSE Insider Nate Taylor goes one-one-one with Pacers president Larry Bird. Clark Wade/IndyStar Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (33) dunks against the New Orleans Pelicans in the first half at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Monday, Jan. 16, 2017. (Photo: Mykal_McEldowney/Indy_Star) Story Highlights Pacers at Lakers, 10:30 p.m. Friday, Fox Sports Indiana & ESPN Larry Bird knew he was not doing Myles Turner a favor. Bird, the Indiana Pacers’ team president, felt Turner, the 20-year-old phenom, needed to be the team’s starting center after last season ended. Yet Bird knew that meant the Pacers’ youngest player would be asked to bang in the paint with the biggest, fiercest and toughness players in the NBA. Turner, as the Pacers reached the midway point of the season in their win Wednesday over the Sacramento Kings, has accepted the challenge. One of the biggest reasons Bird is optimistic about the second half of the Pacers’ season is that Turner is starting to thrive in his new role. “You forget the fact that he’s a young man playing in a men’s league,” Bird said of Turner in telephone interview Friday. “I always say throwing that kid out there – what I did to him this year – is really unheard of. His body is not mature for where it’s going to be in a couple years. You’re our starting center. Go out and get Dwight Howard. That’s a tough assignment. The other night, playing against DeMarcus (Cousins), probably the best big man in the league. Those are tough chores, but the kid doesn’t back down.” Turner had one of his best defensive halves of the season Wednesday, guarding Cousins well enough in the second half for the Pacers to rally from a 22-point deficit. Turner also scored 16 points and collected five rebounds. In 40 games this season, Turner is averaging 15.7 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. He is shooting 52.9 percent from the field and an impressive 42.9 percent behind the arc. “He plays hard,” Bird said of Turner. “He works hard. He wants to be great. He’s going to be great. To me, I think he’s got a chance to be one of the best players or maybe the best player (in the franchise’s history). You’ve still Paul (George) with a bunch of time left, too, and you had Reggie (Miller) here with all the other great ones. But being a 20-year-old and doing what this kid is doing just blows my mind.” Indiana Pacers president Larry Bird fields questions from reporters during their season ending press conference Friday Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The Pacers finished the season 38-44 and missed the playoffs. (Photo: Matt Kryger / The Star) Bird emphasized that the Pacers are still led by George, the team’s perennial All-Star small forward. But Bird believes Turner will continue to mature and grow playing alongside George and Jeff Teague. Although Turner has played in just 100 career regular season games, Bird expects Turner and George to become a more formidable duo in the future. “He’s still playing with Paul George and Paul gets a little frustrated at him at times, but night-in and night-out that kid battles you,” Bird said. “With his work ethic, his desire, his mentality to be great, I think the future is unbelievable for that young man.” Bird is among many in the NBA who have been impressed with Turner’s rapid development. “Turner is going to be a superstar,” Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers said in December. “I think no one will argue that. In fact, it will probably happen quicker than any of us thought. He’s special.” George said his teammate was one of “the best up-and-coming talents in the league” in July after the after Turner participated in the USA Basketball camp as a member of the USA Select team that helped train George and the rest of the national team for the Olympics. Bird, who was a Hall of Fame player with the Boston Celtics, was known for his tireless workouts. He called Turner a relentless worker. Bird is eager to see how much Turner improves in terms of his strength and understanding of how to be an elite rebounder. NEWSLETTERS Get the IndyStar Motor Sports newsletter delivered to your inbox We're sorry, but something went wrong The latest news in IndyCar and the world of motor sports. Please try again soon, or contact Customer Service at 1-888-357-7827. Delivery: Sun - Fri Invalid email address Thank you! You're almost signed up for IndyStar Motor Sports Keep an eye out for an email to confirm your newsletter registration. More newsletters But with Turner’s ability to shoot, block shots and play aggressive defense, Bird is already appreciative how much he has marveled at his sophomore center. “For what we did, to just throw him in there and say good luck, he’s done remarkable,” Bird said. He later added: “He got his feet wet last year and this year just throw him in there and go get them. He’s done pretty good. He’s 20 years old. I couldn’t imagine doing that at 20 years old in this league.” Call IndyStar reporter Nate Taylor at (317) 444-6484. Follow him on Twitter: @ByNateTaylor. Get insight on the Pacers by downloading our app: http://bit.ly/1BR4fDs Pacers at Lakers, 10:30 p.m. Friday, Fox Sports Indiana & ESPNAccording to the latest survey from the National Association for Business Economics (NABE) hiring over the next six months looks grim. A NABE Poll Shows Fewer U.S. Companies Planning to Hire Only 23 percent of the firms polled in June plan to add to staff in the next six months, the National Association for Business Economics said on Monday. NABE's prior survey, conducted in late March and early April, had shown 39 percent of companies planning to add workers. A July 6 Labor Department report, showed companies asked employees to work longer hours last month, even though they slowed the pace of hiring. Among companies that produce goods rather than provide services, the impact was even greater, with nearly four in five reporting a Europe-driven decline in revenues. Three months earlier, only about a quarter of total firms polled thought sales had fallenADVERTISEMENT Hillary Clinton has a fundamental problem going into the general election against Donald Trump — as well as a fundamental opportunity. The problem is that people think they know Clinton, and the person they know is someone they don't like — and, much more important, don't trust. Voters don't trust Trump either — but he's the new flavor, and has the advantage if he is allowed to define the contest as a referendum on Clinton and the status quo. Before that happens, Clinton needs to define herself for this election, in terms that reflect who she really is, but in a positive way, and that connect emotionally with the electorate at large and, especially, with the segment of the Romney coalition where Trump may be most vulnerable: married white women. The opportunity to do that is rapidly approaching. The time to strike is right after she secures the nomination, and does what she needs to do behind the scenes to bring Bernie Sanders back into the fold. That's the point where people will be listening to her for the first time as the leader of her party. That's her chance to tell them who she is. So who is she? What is the "best version" of Hillary Clinton, in terms of being able to connect to the public emotionally, establishing a strong and effective contrast with Donald Trump, and also being authentic to who she really is? I find it useful in doing this kind of exercise to try to distill the answer down to the simplest terms possible. A single sentence — or even better, a single descriptive word. For my money, Hillary Clinton's single word is: LOYAL. Now, I can already hear folks on the left laughing. "Loyal" is your word for the authentic Hillary Clinton? The woman who betrayed her mentor, Marian Wright Edelman? Hey, who do you think she's loyal to — Goldman Sachs? But last I checked, welfare reform was signed not by her, but by her husband. Last I checked, Glass-Steagall was repealed not by her but by her husband. Who do I think she's loyal to? I think she's loyal to him. And that's the rock on which I propose that she rebuild her emotional connection with married women. Think back to the days of the Monica Lewinsky scandal. What would have happened to Hillary Clinton if she had not stood by her husband, but instead had gone into seclusion? If she'd planned her Senate run without him and filed for divorce right after her victory? It's impossible to know, of course, but it's hard to believe that anyone would have held it against her. If she handled it all with grace and class, it could have helped her enormously. Why didn't she? It's possible that she just plain loves him. That's what Barney Frank said at the time, and it may be true. It's possible that she was afraid to be without him — afraid, in particular that she couldn't hack it on her own politically. I wouldn't be at all surprised if Bill played on those fears. From the outside, we have no way of knowing the real reason — but I can say that these particular reasons are not particularly helpful to her, politically. But it's possible that she didn't leave him because that's just not what she does. Because she's someone who sticks, someone who's loyal. And that's a reason that is helpful politically. It aids her on a personal level. As I have said before, Hillary Clinton does best when people remember that she bleeds. And this was a time when she was cut pretty deep. Also, while people would have sympathized with her as a wronged woman if she had left Bill, I strongly believe that they can also sympathize with her as someone for whom preserving the marriage was just more important than her own hurt feelings. Plenty of women have done the same. It's also helpful on a political level. "Pragmatist" is an ugly word this season, particularly on the Democratic side. Clinton is pretty fully committed to rehabilitating the word — but how do you do it, emotionally? How do you tell a story that makes someone see sacrificing some of your integrity as a positive? A lot of progressives in this election are clearly yearning for someone who is pure. Well, someone who cared about being pure more than being loyal would have left Bill after Monica. But the pure are left alone. Is that where progressives want to be? Meanwhile, if you want to talk about a contrast to Donald Trump, that's the contrast to draw. It's not just that Trump has unceremoniously dumped two wives. He's also blatantly ditched investors, leaving them holding the bag in his multiple business bankruptcies — and then bragged about it afterwards. As a candidate, he switches policy positions minute by minute — and denies having done so even when presented with recorded proof of his prior statements (as, for example, with his supposed opposition to Hillary Clinton's war in Libya). The point isn't that Trump is a "flip-flopper" — someone who moves whatever way the wind blows. Voters might not mind that so much if the wind is blowing their way, or if they think they can blow harder than the wind. The point is that Trump cuts and runs. He's built his career on rolling the dice and leaving somebody else to pay his debts when he comes up snake eyes. And this is the man who we're supposed to believe will now be "greedy for America?" That's not the way Hillary Clinton rolls. It's not just that she's not the type — it's that she knows the type. She is intimately familiar with the type of man who lies, and cheats, and depends on someone else to clean up his messes. She just has to remind us about that part of her life, and we'll make the connection ourselves. And once an emotional connection is formed around this word, "loyal," it can be put to use in multiple contexts. Foreign policy is one obvious place. Clinton's hawkishness is almost certainly a net-liability for her, but the best spin that can be put on it is to call her loyal to the commitments America has already made and to the men and women of our armed forces. Meanwhile, the worst spin that can be put on Trump's incoherent ramblings isn't that he's a neo-isolationist, but that he's somebody who will make commitments and abandon them at the drop of a hat, leaving allies and enemies alike bewildered and, frankly, contemptuous. In domestic policy as well, Clinton ads that read like bragging — I'm such a fighter; I work so hard; you should be grateful to have someone like me as your president — can be recast as statements not about how we should feel about her, but how she feels about us. That we're the people she'll be loyal to, now that she's the boss. Obviously, she isn't going to want to do this. And it may not be necessary. Consolidating the support of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents after securing the nomination may be enough to restore her lead. Trump could discover that his act plays really well with 30 percent of the population, not so great with 20 percent, and terribly with 50 percent. The economy could get stronger, and Obama could get more popular, giving Clinton a powerful tailwind. Anointed successors to two-term incumbents lost narrowly in 1960, 1968, and 2000, and lost dramatically in 1952 and 2008. But maybe this year will be like 1988, currently the sole post-war exception to the rule. But Trump is going to go there whether she wants him to or not. He's already calling her an enabler of her husband's misdeeds. Taking the high road and refusing to engage is much better than slinging personal mud back at him — but it can also look haughty and aloof, exacerb
and Freddie Mac were easing credit requirements for mortgages it purchased from lenders, and as the housing market boomed, banks embraced these new standards with a vengeance. Between 2004 and 2007, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac became the biggest purchasers of subprime mortgages from all kinds of applicants, white and minority, and most of these loans were based on the lending standards promoted by the government. Meanwhile, those who raced to make these mortgages were lionized. Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies even invited Angelo Mozilo, CEO of the lender which made more loans purchased by Fannie and Freddie than anyone else, Countrywide Financial, to give its prestigious 2003 Dunlop Lecture on the subject of "The American Dream of Homeownership: From Cliché to Mission.” A brief, innocuous description of the event still exists online here. Many defenders of the government’s efforts to prompt banks to lend more to minorities have claimed that this effort had little to do with the present mortgage mess. Specifically they point out that many institutions that made subprime mortgages during the market bubble weren’t even banks subject to the Community Reinvestment Act, the main vehicle that the feds used to cajole banks to loosen their lending. But this defense misses the point. In order to push banks to lend more to minority borrowers, advocates like the Boston Fed put forward an entire new set of lending standards and explained to the industry just why loans based on these slacker standards were somehow safer than the industry previously thought. These justifications became the basis for a whole new set of values (or lack of values), as no-down payment loans and loans to people with poor credit history or to those who were already loaded up with debt became more common throughout the entire industry. What happened in the mortgage industry is an example of how, in trying to eliminate discrimination from our society, we turned logic on its head. Instead of nobly trying to ensure equality of opportunity for everyone, many civil rights advocates tried to use the government to ensure equality of outcomes for everyone in the housing market. And so when faced with the idea that minorities weren’t getting approved for enough mortgages because they didn’t measure up as often to lending standards, the advocates told us that the standards must be discriminatory and needed to be junked. When lenders did that, we made heroes out of those who led the way, like Angelo Mozilo, before we made villains of them. Now we all have to pay.Members of PIAC, the TDSB’s parental involvement advisory committee, worry a motion to make criminal checks mandatory for each and every school volunteer, including parents and grandparents, will make it difficult for schools to get the help they need. A local parent advisory group is concerned proposed changes to school volunteering policies will wipe out countless activities, including pizza lunches, fun fairs and field trips. “Our worry is that staff are going to cancel activities because they can’t get enough screened parents,” says John Trafananko, father of two elementary school students and co-chair of PIAC. School trustees are expected to discuss the motion at a meeting on Wednesday. “We think it’s draconian what they are suggesting. This is going to kill parental involvement.” Currently, the school board requires police checks only for volunteers who have “regular and ongoing” contact with students, according to the TDSB’s employee services’ protocol. But under the proposed changes every volunteer would require police screening — whether they spend hours at a school each day or wish simply to accompany their child’s class once on a trip to the zoo, Trafananko says. “Will every parent that goes to pick up a child need to have a police check?” he asks. “There’s many layers to this.” The checks could involve getting fingerprinted, according to the Toronto Police Services website, cost potential volunteers about $16 at least and take up to three months to complete, making it impossible for parents or grandparents to help out occasionally or at the last minute. As well, says Kate Wallis, who has a child in high school, parents who are newcomers to Canada might be wary of undergoing such a check.New York Knicks point guard Raymond Felton is set to make his first return trip to the Rose Garden on Thursday after spending a disastrous 2011-12 season with the Portland Trail Blazers. He sounds pretty excited. Al Iannazzone of Newsday reports on Twitter... Raymond Felton said when returns to Portland tomorrow: "there are certain people there I don't want to see and better not come near me." Frank Isola of the New York Daily News reports on Twitter... Raymond Felton on the eve of his return to Portland says his brief time with the Blazers was the "worst moment I had in basketball for sure" Raymond Felton says he has no problem with Portland fans but "certain people there I don't want to see and better not come near me." Just a guess but "certain people" that better not "come near" Felton in Portland are probably media folks & maybe someone in organization On possibly facing a hostile crowd in Portland, Raymond Felton said: "I could care less what they do or what they say. That's behind me." Last summer, Felton promised to "drop 50" points in his return to Portland. "I'm a free agent so maybe those bloggers and those people who write won't have to see me again. Maybe they won't, until I'm coming in on the other end and droppin' 50 on 'em. We'll see what happens. Who knows. Still no bad taste in my mouth with Portland. I still got a lot of great relationships there with the owner, management and as well some of the players. Who knows what might happen. I still might go back there. We'll see what happens." Felton's 2011-12 season got off to a slow start when he returned from the lockout in poor condition and it went downhill from there, as he struggled with turnovers and poor outside shooting. In March 2012, Felton was implicated in a "mutiny" against former coach Nate McMillan and hit with the "cancer" tag. In April 2012, Felton welcomed his critics to confront him at his condo and said that criticism of his play and conditioning was a "spit in my face." The Blazers sign-and-traded him to the Knicks in July 2012. In November 2012, he clarified that it wasn't his intention to eat his way out of Portland. -- Ben Golliver \| [email protected] \| TwitterI used to be a regular TechCrunch reader, but I’ve been struggling with their messy and slow UI for a while. As a big fan of cleaner and faster interfaces and inspired by Hacker News, CNN Lite and the early Product Hunt, I wanted to spend a day redesigning TechCrunch. Upvotes The way Reddit, Hacker News, Product Hunt and other platforms use upvotes, helps a good chunk of their users quickly navigate through what’s popular. A website like TC, visited by investors and others that would love to have a quick overview of what’s trending, can dramatically improve the way people navigate by seeing what’s popular. Stories The difference between TC compared to HN and Reddit is that the stories are written by their own authors. It’s not a social network that links to other websites, they’re a news publishing company. Having the upvote system, combined with in-house written content, creates a unique experience. One could potentially even follow particular authors who regularly write about the subjects that interests you. Feeds Besides the Popular, Latest and Jobs feeds, there could be feeds that deliver more value to the users. Feeds for deals, events and other categories that could be monetized, while still keeping a clean and fast interface. That’s it. If you’d like to play around with the source files of this design, you can download and use the Sketch files here for free.Villagers complain of police brutality after being forced out of their camping site in fields targeted for shale gas drilling US energy company Chevron has resumed its search for shale gas at a controversial site in north-east Romania after hundreds of riot police forcefully removed protesters from the village of Pungesti. For more than two months, the village, which is believed to be sitting on large reserves of the valuable natural resource, has been the site of largely peaceful protests. Villagers, many of whom are elderly farmers, have set up camp next to the fields targeted for drilling, spending their nights in makeshift tents and cooking on open fires. Even as the weather turned and temperatures dropped below zero, they looked set to stick the winter out. "We want the mayor to leave and Chevron to leave. We need courageous men, not to use force, just to show them we are united and we are not afraid," said Alexandru Focșa, 45, a farmer who has been camping since October. At 4am on Monday the Romanian gendarmerie [paramilitary police force] moved in to secure the way for Chevron's trucks. In a scene that resembled a military operation, they occupied the village, blocking all access points with riot police vans and preventing anyone from leaving or entering for over 24 hours. Several villagers were detained and fined for the criminal offence of blocking a public road. Villagers say that anyone leaving their homes was stopped for questioning. With no journalists allowed entry at the time, details are vague. But local newspapers claim that between 30 and 40 people had been beaten by police. Many villagers complained of brutality and injustice. Costică Spiridon, 56, a former village mayor, said: "They came on Tuesday morning with their clubs, they shoved me, I fractured a rib." By the time the police started to move out and the roads were opened up, Chevron had built a new access road, erected a metal fence around the drilling site and deployed their own private security team. Prime minister, Victor Ponta, has responded to anti-fracking protests around the country by saying that "the actions of the gendarmes were 100% according to the law and I congratulate them for this." But others are demanding investigation. Maria-Nicoleta Andreescu, executive director of the Helsinki Committee Association for the defence of human rights in Romania, said: "There are important signs that indicate that the gendarmes' actions were at least abusive if not illegal. It is very clear is that by restricting the access of the press in the area the authorities did not allow the public to be informed." In response to questions from the Guardian, Chevron said: "The company is committed to building constructive and positive relationships with the communities where we operate and we will continue our dialogue with the public, local communities and authorities on our projects." Explaning this week's events, a spokesperson said they are "committed to working with local communities to explain the benefits of natural gas." • Additional reporting by Stefan MakoAs noted, TNA has postponed their tour of India until 2016 some time. An official announcement will likely be issued on Thursday but the dates have been removed from their website. TNA talents informed via e-mail this evening that the tour was postponed due to logistical issues, specifically the safety of flying abroad. The crew was scheduled to leave the United States this weekend fly to Paris, France, and then fly to India. There are a lot of unhappy TNA talents right now, according to PWInsider, as it has already been a tough year in terms of getting steady work from TNA. Regarding speculation on the tour being postponed due to low ticket sales, that is not the case as TNA TV partner Sony Six was financing everything. There's no word yet on when the tour will take place but the e-mail to talents stated 2016 some time and didn't give any further details. Source: PWInsiderAnother season, the same old way to fail. Arsenal have a particular way of losing games and all the familiar tropes were there in abundance on Wednesday: the squandered chances, the needlessly complicated attacking moves, the lack of urgency, the defensive laxity. Arsène Wenger seemed wearily resigned after the game, which is hardly surprising – he has done the press conference over and over again. The difference is, this wasn’t Barcelona or Bayern Munich inflicting the defeat; it was Monaco. Seemingly going out of his way to avoid using the term, Wenger effectively confirmed he felt his side had been complacent but that charge of underestimating Monaco applied to his tactical set-up as much as anything. When Arsenal beat Manchester City at the Etihad in mid-January, they were arrayed in a 4-3-3, Francis Coquelin flanked by Santi Cazorla and Aaron Ramsey. Here, it was a 4-2-3-1, which, willing as Cazorla was, simply did not offer sufficient protection for the back four. What was extraordinary was what willing victims Arsenal were. These were failings seen a thousand times before, familiar enough to obliterate the sense engendered after the victory at Manchester City that somehow a new, grittier Arsenal had been forged from the long history of past mistakes. There was a staggering naivety about Arsenal’s play, so they resembled a team that had never played in a two-legged tie before. Monaco were solid, sitting a screen of three players in front of the back four, and clinical on the break – but no more than that. The finishes of Dimitar Berbatov and Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco were superb but other than that Monaco offered nothing particularly beyond what would be expected of a competent side that had conceded only two goals in its previous 12 games. This was a story of Arsenal failing to fulfil the basics. It was as though their domination of possession in the opening minutes – they had more than 90% of the ball for the first five minutes – lulled them into a sense that this would be a game of attack against defence, that somehow the basics no longer applied. When Danny Welbeck lost possession on the halfway line on the left there was a general sluggishness about covering. As João Moutinho received the ball in space, Cazorla was forced across, which in turn left Geoffrey Kondogbia unmarked. He had time to take a touch and measure his shot. Wenger was right to say there was bad luck in the way it deflected off Per Mertesacker on its way in but it is also true that had Mertesacker not turned his back, had he not been the closest defender to Kondogbia 10 yards away, there wouldn’t have been a chance for misfortune to take effect. The second and third goals were even worse, so bad that even Wenger admitted they were “suicidal”. Fabinho deserved credit for the way he battled almost to the halfway line after picking up the loose ball but when he slipped a pass through to Anthony Martial, Arsenal’s defence melted away, the full-backs caught high upfield, so that he had the simplest task to roll the ball inside for Berbatov to score with relish and elan. That might have been a warning and yet when Arsenal had got back into the game at 2-1, they were caught again. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was dispossessed and must bear some of the responsibility but again the defence behind him vanished as the ball was worked to Ferreira-Carrasco. “The heart took over the head,” said Wenger – which may be true but it shouldn’t really be an excuse. This is Arsenal’s 17th consecutive season in the Champions League: they of all sides should not be making neophyte’s errors – but there had been issues throughout. A look at the heat maps showed just how narrow Welbeck and Alexis Sánchez ended up playing, they and Olivier Giroud forming a tight triangle. Quite apart from the fact that meant Monaco’s defence was never stretched, it also meant that they were always able to play the ball out through the full-backs. That hinted at a much bigger question: can Sánchez and Mesut Özil play together? In theory, the hyperactive charging of Sánchez and the more languid stylings of Özil should complement each other but perhaps they are simply too different. Certainly, when both play in a 4-2-3-1 the sense is of a team tipped too far towards creativity, lacking defensive responsibility. Although Cazorla has taken a deeper role over the past season, Arsenal effectively played with six attacking players. With a coherent pressing structure, that is – just about – achievable but nothing Wenger has done in the past decade has shown him capable of drilling a team to press with the mutual understanding Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund or even Southampton do. Without that the selection smacked of the word Wenger was so determined not to use: complacency.If Kerry's embarrassing route to a potential semi-final doesn't spark change in the GAA, nothing ever will Clare. Tipperary. Clare. If you set that as the path to the All-Ireland football semi-finals, most teams in Ireland would fancy their chances, never mind the most successful county in the history of the sport. For Kerry to make it to the last four of Ireland's most prestigious competition, all they had to do was beat Clare, beat Tipperary, and now beat Clare again. All-Ireland SFC quarter-final Tipperary v Galway Clare v Kerry Sunday 31 July — GAA JOE (@SportsJOE_GAA) July 23, 2016 The imbalance is an affront. Not only is the division of the qualifier system causing serious unfairness, but the way the provincial format currently is has really given some counties a leg up, and some other counties a boot in the stones. Something as simple as splitting the backdoor teams into A and B pots has wreaked havoc. It meant Kerry and Galway waited on the winners from Tipperary/Derry and Clare/Roscommon. Meanwhile, Dublin and Tyrone are looking at being paired with Donegal and Mayo in the quarter-finals. So, if Kerry were to reach the last four of the country's premier tournament, all they will have had to do was beat Clare and Tipperary and then Clare again. And that's it. Tyrone, on the other hand, will have had to face Derry, Cavan, Cavan, Donegal, and probably Mayo. A lot of the times, Cork were free-wheeling into the last eight as well. They usually just had to win a Munster semi-final, lose to Kerry in the decider and then sat one match off the quarter-finals - having won one game in a seeded, unbalanced provincial series. Tipperary made history on Saturday and nothing should be taken away from them. They've beaten opposition from divisions higher and the way Conor Sweeney performed against Derry will go down as one of the displays of the summer as he relentlessly hauled the Premier County back into the reckoning. But you look at the beaten Munster finalists and you see how they've had three weeks to prepare for the game after losing to Kerry. But Derry had to go through epic comebacks against Meath and Cavan in those two free weekends of Tipp and then turn around seven days later and fight for a place in the quarter-finals. Most beaten provincial sides face the dreaded six-day turnaround, like Roscommon and Monaghan had to recently. Not only is there an imbalance in the standard that counties are facing to progress into the All-Ireland series, but teams from Connacht and Munster are generally being helped into later in the year because there are simply less sides to face. The competitiveness is a whole other issue entirely but as long as the provincial championships remain traditional and directly affect the All-Ireland series, as long as teams are seeded, as long as qualifiers are divided into A and B pots then there will never be any real fairness in the way counties go through the football championship. And, if Kerry make it to the last four having beaten Clare and Tipperary, how on earth can the GAA let that continue? Listen to our new GAA podcast with Colm Parkinson. Click here to subscribe on iTunes.Glen Boyd: I was very close to making a commitment to a very large-scale art piece at Burning Man. Something that would have taken a good six to nine months of my life between the fundraising and the architectural design and engineering, and then a month living out there. Of course, at the end, you end up burning it. So there's something very poetic about that, but also final. There had been an opportunity we'd been discussing about starting the festival because of another festival [Emerge-n-See] in Oregon that decided that they weren't going to be returning. It was a little festival that happened down in Salem, and we saw that as an opportunity. We knew that if we waited another year we might miss the window, so it was really tough for me to decide to give up planning this dragon for almost two years. I guess the joke I said at the time—which wasn't a joke—was, "Well, I know at least I'm not going to be burning it at the end and we'll have the opportunity to get our money back." That hasn't been the case yet.hidden German scientists have invented a Star Trek-style transporter that can scan an object and 'beam' it to another location. The new machine scans a physical object, destroys it in the process, transmits it over the internet and re-builds it using a 3D printer in a new location. Since it is effectively an early prototype for a Star Trek teleportation machine its creators have named it "Scotty" after the chief engineer on the Starship Enterprise, who Captain Kirk was regularly seen to order: "beam me up". The machine scans small objects with a camera layer-by-layer, as a milling machine slowly destroys it. By slicing the object into layers it is possible to get a detailed view of the object, even including any hollow cavities. A detailed model is then encrypted and digitally transmitted over the internet to a second machine which reconstructs it with a 3D printer. The user only has to place an object into the sender unit, name a recipient and press the'relocate' button, The Telegraph reported. Its creators, from the Hasso Plattner Institute in Germany, said that the machine effectively "relocates physical objects across distances". "Scotty guarantees that a personal, handmade gift remains unique when sent across distances, ie that there is no other copy - an important aspect that emphasises the intimate relationship between sender and receiver," researchers said. PTI Tech2 is now on WhatsApp. For all the buzz on the latest tech and science, sign up for our WhatsApp services. Just go to Tech2.com/Whatsapp and hit the Subscribe button.Loading... Loading... Former professor at University of Minnesota Duluth, and avid independent media activist and researcher, James Fetzer, held an interview late last year with former NYPD Human-Trafficking and Vice-related Crimes Detective James Rothstein. In the interview, Rothstein uses his career investigating satanic cults like the Process Church of the Final Judgement in relation to human trafficking, pedophilia, drug-smuggling, organized assassinations, occult human sacrifice, and levels of political corruption that involve any and all of these topics—and applies this to a detailed analysis of the Pizzagate story. As many researchers have been saying: the real evidence for the truth of Pizzagate lies firstly, in the overwhelming amount of circumstantial evidence that empirically warrants investigation just by a sense of common morality; and secondly, the fact that this circumstantial evidence, when cross-analyzed with the overwhelming amount of political pedophilia case studies already on record—is cause for a blaring alarm. Surely, there is no literal “smoking gun” to Pizzagate, but any officials willing to happily sweep this under the rug are literally not doing their job. Furthermore, anyone who slanders Pizzagate investigations is not only clearly unaware of primary sources like Detective James Rothstein, but they are also willing to laugh away research about proven child abuse. Unfortunately, so many people do not look at the research in this manner, and are happy to dismiss it with headlines they feel comforted with. These people are not inherently shameful or evil, but surely they are negligent, and this apathetic reaction to such an ominous line of research is nothing less than shameful. The shame comes not from the critique of the research, but the total lack of willingness to be 100% sure that no children are currently in this type of danger, under the noses of the public. Rothstein not only claims that his investigations can confirm at least a 30-40% infiltration-rate of this satanic activity within the nation’s bureaucratic offices (with some of his alleged sources claiming up to 70% of infiltration), he also lays a solid case for the fact that the Watergate scandal involved a little known black-mail portfolio of political pedophilia owned by G. Gordon Liddy. Rothstein’s formal investigations and research corroborate extensive evidence for highly-organized satanic-cult crime activity in New York, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. It would not be a stretch to consider that states within this band between New England and Minnesota would have similar statistics. Public awareness of this epidemic is crucial. Fetzer’s interview with the detective can be viewed below: Sources: http://www.d.umn.edu/~jfetzer/, http://www.conspiracyarchive.com/2014/08/24/the-ghost-of-roy-cohn/ Editor’s Note: For more information on this ongoing investigation that you will not receive from the mainstream media, research the links below: Related Reading: 13 Most Essential Data-Points in #PizzaGate Pedophilia Allegations The Podesta Brothers Revealed to be in Portugal the Day of Madeleine McCann’s Disappearance The Daily Sheeple Shut Down for Pizzagate Podesta Wikileaks Story Trump “Promises,” Pizzagate, and the Establishment’s Dark Secrets Another Pedophile Ring Involving Politicians Was Just Busted Six Case Studies That Point To A Massive Child Pedophilia Ring At The Highest Levels Of Power American Pedophilia: Prerequisite of a Wealthy Elitist This story is much larger than just this pizza joint, regardless of what the corporate media tries to sell, but take a look at the images below, and ask yourself is that seems normal for a place that has child sleep overs, as well as known pedophilic bands that play there after hours. None of the images below are criminal to look at, yet highly suggestive and cannot be simply explained as “out of context,” as the context is quite clear(and the comments beside the images are very important to acknowledge): (All of the links once again work, but they will no doubt continue trying to scrub the Internet of any proof) Comet Ping Pong Instagram Photos: https://i0.wp.com/ambitjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/PizzaGateInstagramJimmyCometyounggirlducttape.png https://i2.wp.com/ambitjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/pizzagatejimmcometgermanbabypleasedonttouch.png https://i2.wp.com/ambitjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/hotard-1.png https://i0.wp.com/ambitjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/chickenlover-scott-cummings.jpg https://i0.wp.com/ambitjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/freezerkillroom.png https://i1.wp.com/ambitjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/creepy-bloody-guy.png https://i0.wp.com/ambitjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/cumpanda.png https://i0.wp.com/ambitjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/cumpanda2.png https://i1.wp.com/ambitjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/pizza-69-sex.png https://i2.wp.com/ambitjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/pizza-in-bed.png http://archive.is/YObkd https://imgur.com/VmC91r1 https://i.sli.mg/hPSDPx.png https://i.sli.mg/RJSVVs.jp Podesta’s Favorite Artist: https://i0.wp.com/ambitjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Biljana-Djurdjevic_Serbia_paintings_artodyssey-6.jpg https://i2.wp.com/ambitjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/ParadiseLostHangingOn.jpg https://i1.wp.com/ambitjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/ParadiseLostFarAwayFromHome.jpg https://i.sli.mg/q3zKdG.png (Shirt reads: “I love infants”) Help Us Be The Change We Wish To See In The World.On Sept. 10, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution designating Oct. 7 - Oct. 13 Naturopathic Medicine Week. The resolution recognizes the value of naturopathic medicine in providing safe, effective, and affordable health care and encourages Americans to learn about the role of naturopathic physicians in preventing chronic and debilitating conditions. According to Jud Richland, the American Association of Naturopathic Physician's CEO: Passage of this resolution is an historic achievement for naturopathic medicine. The Congress has now officially recognized the important role naturopathic medicine plays in effectively addressing the nation's health care needs as well as in addressing the increasingly severe shortage of primary care physicians. For those not yet familiar with the profession, naturopathic physicians attend four-year, in-residence, full-time post-graduate naturopathic medical schools, which are recognized by the Federal Department of Education and by local educational, credentialing bodies. There are currently seven naturopathic medical schools in North America. To read more about these schools and the standard education, see: The Association of Accredited Naturopathic Medical Schools. To find a naturopathic physician, see the website for the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians: http://www.naturopathic.org/. Naturopathic physicians are trained to take a full history and perform physical exams; NDs use laboratory and diagnostic imaging to help arrive at accurate diagnoses. Instead of focusing on pharmaceuticals and surgery, NDs work with natural medicine approaches including therapeutic nutrition, botanical medicine, lifestyle modification and physical medicine to stimulate patients' innate healing capacity. NDs are trained to look at the whole patient, to understand the full impact of various stressors on physical, mental and emotional health. NDs both refer to and accept referrals from other health care providers for both diagnostic and treatment support. Some NDs work in solo practices, others in groups, yet others in integrative medical care settings with MDs, DOs, DCs and allied health care providers. In states where NDs are licensed, some accept insurance reimbursements. There are 17 states plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands that currently license NDs to practice naturopathic medicine. Many others states are currently in legislative efforts. In some states such, naturopathic physicians practice as primary care providers; in others, NDs work in more adjunctive ways. Naturopathic practitioners are doctor level expert providers of natural medicine and increasingly are receiving deserved recognition as such. Naturopathic doctors also work in international medicine, public health, in medical research and as writers and teachers in the field. For further information, see http://www.naturopathic.org/. For more by Amy Rothenberg, ND, click here.When Trevor and I became tight — as neighbors, in our early 20s — I was smoking a bit myself, almost competing with him. But when I hit 30, I backed up off it, as the song says. I never stopped liking the stuff or feeling that it benefited me, for that matter, but the habit was starting to make me dumb, and I was just humble enough by 30, I guess, to realize I hadn’t been born with enough cerebral ammunition to go voluntarily squandering any of it. Meanwhile Trevor stayed committed. And when we get together, a couple of times a year, I won’t lie, I fall prey to old patterns. Every so often it causes worry in my wife, especially since our daughter came along. Mostly I think she sees it as a useful pressure valve, which keeps me straighter and narrower the rest of the year. (Study, subvert: happiness = winner.) That night in our suite at the Disney hotel — not a theme hotel, just your standard luxury resort-dorm — the kids ran psychotically repetitive figure eights. A small child on Disneying Eve is a thoroughbred before the gates open. I watched my wife and Shell sit talking and laughing at the illuminated laminate kitchenette counter. Shell, who runs a garden center, still looks exactly as she did when we met her, a hippie soccer mom, with pretty German features and long dirty-blond hair, whose face will break from affectlessness into sudden disarming smiles. She had a deep history with Disney, something I hadn’t known. She described being brought there as a child, with her sisters, and the way their father, a career military man, rushed them through the park, insisting they go on every ride, maximizing their fun-dollar. At noon they went back to the parking lot, into the van. There they ate prepacked lunches. Then they all napped. “All five of you?” All five, mother, father and three girls, in an Econoline. Forty-five minutes of silence. Then back to the park. “You did this every year?” They did it twice a year, in spring and fall, knocking down the attractions like obstacles on a high-speed course, never repeating. The detail of the van naps drew me in. I imagined being a child and lying awake when others were sleeping, the strangeness of that silence. Later, when the children were huddled lumps in various spots on the sofa bed, Trevor and I stood on the balcony. He talked about how challenging it would be the next day, and during the next days and nights, in the park, not being able to smoke. That wasn’t high on my list of concerns — in fact, I was foolish enough to think that the fact of Disney, that we would be spending our time in the heavily surveilled park, might banish the very notion of smoking weed, easing Trevor’s miniwithdrawals and making my life easier, too, in that I wouldn’t spend too much time stoned, only a few puffs at night like this, it would be a nonissue in terms of domestic harmony. Trevor wasn’t trying to hear that at all. He was definitely stressed. “I’m gonna lose my mind in there,” he said. “Have you ever been in there?” I had once, when I was 11. I didn’t remember much. It bounced off. “Well, we go every year,” Trevor said. “And every year I feel like my skull’s about to split open.” “I always figured you were doing brownies,” I said. “I do do brownies,” he said. “I have brownies. But, you know....” I did. Edibles are good, and wise heads move toward them over time, to save their lungs, but there’s something about the combination of oxygen-deprivation and intense THC-flush that comes with smoking and in particular from smoking joints. There’s no real substitute, for the abuser. A brownie can alter your mood over hours, but a joint swings a psychic broom around you — it clears an instant space. “I actually saw this thing on the Internet,” Trevor said, “where people were talking about getting high in the park.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story “At Disney World!” I said, as if I hadn’t been listening. He led me back inside and quietly cracked open his laptop on the kitchen counter. “Check this out,” he whispered. Only the two of us were awake. I dropped into one of the swivel stools in front of the bright screen. I was reading before I knew what I was reading, but it was like a chat room. Or a forum. “Forum” is the better term. A motif of cannabis leaves and naked women holding glittery buds ran down the left margin: a pothead forum. Trevor scrolled it down to a posting, the subject of which read, “Re: Hello from Disney World.” An anonymous person, evidently the veteran of a staggering number of weed-smoking experiences in the park, had done a solid for the community and laid out his or her knowledge in a systematic way. It was nothing less than a fiend’s guide to Disney World. It pinpointed the safest places for burning the proverbial rope, telling what in particular to watch for at each spot. Isolated footpaths that didn’t see much traffic, conventional smoking areas with good hedge cover, places where you could hide under a bridge by a little artificial river — those were its points of interest. The number of views suggested that the list had helped a lot of desperate people. The main point was clear and consistent: “Be ready to book it.” Next morning I seized the long plastic rods and parted the curtains: rain! Oh, well. We would have to stay in and read. M. J. laughed at me. “Good luck telling that to Shell,” she said. During the previous night’s pre-Disney planning, it had come out that our friend inherited more of her father’s attitude toward the park than we had imagined. She was ready to rock, packing up gear and squinting at me as predicted when I mentioned the weather, making an “are you serious?” face. “Did you bring ponchos?” she asked. When I replied that we didn’t own any ponchos — we had an umbrella — she said, “We can buy some extras on the way.” Trevor winked from the door of their bedroom, where he was dressing Lil’ Dog. All will be well, bro. He made the rolling sign, pinching his fingers together. Both families fit into the camper, and so we just took that. But by the time we lurched into our appointed spot in one of the moonscape Disney World lots, gestured toward it by a series of old men, all showing the same drunk-on-power stone-facedness, it was raining too hard to get out of the vehicle. Even Shell would have to wait. She looked fidgety, sitting in her damp poncho and staring less through than at the steam-blind windows, while the Backyardigans played. Advertisement Continue reading the main story I was thinking about my late father. I don’t know why. He would never have brought us here. Could never. My father could not have Disneyed. It requires something, not willpower, exactly, but willingness. You can’t smoke cigarettes in those long lines. That would have driven him mad. The strain of pretending to have fun for many hours would have exasper
MSN Movies wrote: "With just a few minutes of screen time, Gary Oldman crafts one of cinema's most memorable villains: the brutal, dreadlocked pimp Drexl Spivey. Even in a movie jammed with memorable cameos from screen luminaries [...] Oldman's scar-faced, dead-eyed, lethal gangster stood out."[18] Jason Serafino of Complex named Spivey as one of the top five coolest drug dealers in movie history, writing: "He's not in the film for a long time, but the few scant moments that Gary Oldman plays the psychotic dealer Drexl Spivey make True Romance a classic... Oldman gave us a glimpse at one of cinema's most unfiltered sociopaths."[19] "Robbers", a song by the English indie rock band The 1975 from their 2013 debut album, was inspired by the film. Vocalist Matthew Healy explained: "I got really obsessed with the idea behind Patricia Arquette's character in True Romance when I was about eighteen. That craving for the bad boy in that film [is] so sexualized."[20] Brad Pitt's stoner character in True Romance, Floyd, was the inspiration for making the film Pineapple Express, according to producer Judd Apatow, who "thought it would be funny to make a movie in which you follow that character out of his apartment and watch him get chased by bad guys".[21] Soundtrack [ edit ] Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating AllMusic The True Romance: Motion Picture Soundtrack was produced by Hans Zimmer[22] and it has mostly rock music from the '50s, with also rock music from the '90s. See also [ edit ]The Canadian Press WINDSOR, Ont. -- Canada Border Services Agency says its officers have made a major cocaine bust at the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ont. CBSA says a commercial truck and trailer were sent for secondary examination where officers discovered 52 bricks of suspected cocaine inside three duffel bags and a tote located in the storage areas of the truck. CBSA officers seized the suspected cocaine and arrested a 26-year-old Toronto man in the July 27 incident. RCMP have charged Lavdrim Mehmeti with importing cocaine and possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking. Mehmeti remains in custody and is scheduled to appear in court in Windsor on Aug. 4. Since January 2014, the CBSA says it has made 57 cocaine seizures with a combined total weight of 302 kilograms in the southern Ontario region.FUBAR Directed by Michael Dowse Produced by Michael Dowse David Lawrence Paul Spence Melanie Owen Marguerite Pigott Mark Slone Written by Michael Dowse David Lawrence Paul Spence Starring David Lawrence Paul Spence Gordon Skilling Music by English Teeth[1] Paul J. Spence Cinematography Michael Dowse Distributed by Odeon Films Release date May 24, 2002 ( ) Running time 76 minutes Country Canada Language English Budget $400,000 CAD (estimated) FUBAR is a 2002 mockumentary film, directed by Michael Dowse, based on the lives of two lifelong friends and head-bangers living out their lives, constantly drinking beer. FUBAR debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in the 'Park City at Midnight' category, which previously launched such films as The Blair Witch Project. Since its release, it has gained critical acclaim and a cult status in North America, but especially within Western Canada. It was both filmed and set in Alberta, particularly in and around Calgary. It was filmed entirely with digital cinematography, on a shoestring budget that required many involved with the project to max out their credit cards in order to complete the movie (according to an interview on their official website). Many of the people featured in the movie (including the fist-fighters) were bystanders who thought that the filmmakers were shooting a documentary on the common man. FUBAR features characters partly based on a comedy routine performed by David Lawrence and Paul Spence that they developed based on the head-banger subculture. Lawrence, Spence, and Dr. S.C. Lim also appear in Dowse's It's All Gone Pete Tong. (Dr. Lim plays himself in FUBAR as Dean's doctor. Lim actually is Dowse's personal physician in real life.) The characters of Terry and Dean were later seen again, featured in the Michael Dowse-directed music video "The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism" by The New Pornographers. Plot [ edit ] This is the story of two lifelong friends, Terry (David Lawrence) and Dean (Paul Spence), who have grown up together: Shotgunning their first beers, forming their first garage band, and growing the great Canadian mullet known as "Hockey Hair". The lives of these Alberta everymen are brought to the big screen by documentarian Farrel Mitchner (Gordon Skilling), a young director who decides to take a look at Terry and Dean through a lens, exploring the depths of friendship, the fragility of life, growing up gracefully, and the art and science of drinking beer "like a man". Their lives are complicated by a snubbing by their "party leader" Troy, better known as Tron (Andrew Sparacino). When Farrel discovers that Dean is hiding a serious case of testicular cancer, the wheels are set in motion for Dean to seek treatment from Dr. S.C. Lim (Dr. S.C. Lim). With Dean's last weekend before surgery approaching, Terry decides to take Dean, Farrel and the film crew camping. Things take an unexpected turn by the third day, and Terry and Dean must cope with further tragedy.[2] Cast [ edit ] Role Actor Farrel Mitchner Gordon Skilling Trixie Anderson Tracey Lawrence Chastity Murdoch Sage Lawrence Dr. S.C. Lim Dr. S.C. Lim Ron Miller Jim Lawrence Troy (Tron) McRae Andrew Sparacino Laurie D'Amour Laurie D'Amour Fist Fighter #1 Cameron Swirka Fist Fighter #2 Peter N. Cipriano Soundtrack [ edit ] A sound track album FUBAR: The Album, was released in 2003.[3] Sequel [ edit ] It Brandon Ryan reported in April 2009 that funding had been secured for a sequel film.[4] FUBAR 2 was filmed in Edmonton, Alberta.[5] Director Michael Dowse reported that the plot involves Terry and Dean moving to Fort McMurray, Alberta. Once again the dialogue is heavily improvised, and the budget is "a lot more" than the first film.[6] The sequel premiered at the 2010 Toronto Film festival on September 9, and was released throughout Canada on October 1. Television series [ edit ] On February 10, 2017 Rogers Media and VICE Studios Canada announced an eight-episode television series based on the films to air on Viceland later that year. The show will see Lawrence and Spencer reprise their roles with Dowse returning to direct.[7] Reception [ edit ] FUBAR received generally mixed reviews, with a 55% rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.[8]I didn't read Potter as a child, unfortunately Christians were making a fuss over it and it was banned. Now as an adult with an 11 year old daughter I delved in and having read the firs chapter of the first book, I declared I didn't get the fuss... I am now in my second read through of the books. I finished them in three weeks. We've watched the first three movies and I await my daughter finishing each box anxiously so we can watch the next! The books are so well written they transport you, nothing less. It's a great escape at the end of the day. As for all the Christian hullabaloo there's no real magic in the book. It's on par with bewitched or cartoons. I suppose if you're the type to ban Disney then these aren't for you, but for the rest of the population they're really harmless and silly. The later books are a bit darker but the first several are really kind of cartoon magic. This second book is better than the first as we are already introduced to all the characters. Character development and friendships deepen in the second book and you begin to become attached to the little magicians and start to realize why this series created such a rabid fandom. The books are adventurous and imaginative and have so much heart. The stories are packed with substance- very little to no filler in these books. They're a kids series, but it's the first time in a long time I have read a book and didn't feel like skimming a good bit. There's nothing you want to miss in these! It's great for a parent to read with their child, bc anytime you can bond over something especially as they get older it's a wonderful thing. And for those adults who didn't read as a kid, go ahead, you won't be bored. Yes they're kids books but they're written on a level everyone can enjoy. That's the real magic!Regular unleaded petrol is the most popular type of fuel in Australia. Credit:Chris Ratcliffe A government discussion paper quietly released on Tuesday afternoon argues that reducing the amount of sulfur in the petrol sold in Australia would produce strong environmental and health impacts. Australia has the lowest quality petrol of the 35 countries in the OECD, below Mexico, Turkey and Estonia. The paper proposes five options, including: Phasing out regular unleaded petrol over two to five years, with sulfur in premium unleaded and ethanol blends limited to 10 parts per million (down from 50ppm); Bringing Australian standards into line with Europe, with a 10 ppm sulfur limit for all fuels including regular unleaded (down from 150ppm); Limiting sulfur in regular unleaded petrol limited to 50ppm from 2020 and 25ppm for premium unleaded; and Business as usual NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury said the association supported improving Australian fuel standards but was growing "increasingly concerned" about the ideas suggested by the government. "If you go down the path of phasing out regular unleaded you would be exposing motorists to even more rorts than we are now," he said. The Altona refinery in Melbourne would be affected by changes to fuel standards. Credit:Luis Ascui "Premium unleaded already costs 21 cents more than ethanol - imagine what could happen if we adopt European standards." The Australian Automobile Association said in a submission to government that reducing the availability of regular unleaded petrol would have "significant cost implications for the vast majority of motorists". "This would be particularly bad for those that drive older vehicles, who would be forced to pay a higher price for fuel, without any emissions benefits being realised." Regular unleaded petrol is used by around 80 per cent of motorists in the states and territories outside NSW. In NSW, which has an ethanol mandate, regular unleaded is used by around 22 per cent of motorists, premium unleaded 30 per cent, ethanol 18 per cent and diesel 30 per cent. The paper acknowledges the the impact on "different socio-economic groups" of phasing out regular unleaded will have to be carefully analysed. It says particular attention will also have to be given to the impact on regional communities and domestic refineries. The Australian Institute of Petroleum has warned the introduction of European standards here would threaten the viability of the refineries, three of which have already closed in the last five years. "Given the potential impact on Australian oil refineries we're seeking a careful and thorough consideration of costs and benefits of change, particularly to refineries and Australian motorists," chief executive Paul Barrett told Fairfax Media. The closure of the Vitol-operated refinery in Geelong would have major economic ramifications for the Victorian industrial city. An AIP submission to the government's fuel review said the industry would need at least five years to implement any significant changes. "If the implementation of the 10ppm sulfur petrol leads to refinery closures, it will also place a significant volume demand on the import market in Asia providing upward pressure on the price of new Australian grade fuel specifications," the submission warns. When releasing the discussion paper on Tuesday, Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg and Infrastructure Minister Paul Fletcher said the proposals, open for consultation until March, were "designed to keep Australia in line with international vehicle markets and keep us enjoying some of the cleanest air in the world". Melbourne motorist Alison Lansley said she would struggle to afford the switch to premium unleaded for the family's 16-year-old Toyota. "I guess if they mandated it, we wouldn't have much of a choice. But if it's better for the environment, that's okay," the Carlton resident said. But Patrick O'Neill was angered by the proposal. "It would piss me off that I have to pay more for something I didn't want," the Albury father of two said. "I can afford it, but my kids can't, so that's not fair." - with Alexandra LaskieAbout The goals for this project and what you are funding in PROJECT CLEAN AIR. To develop an effective, simple and affordable way to start neutralizing CO2 in the atmosphere by the end of 2016. Background. Basically, I got so frustrated with the world's leaders' inability to agree to start cutting down on the greenhouse gases. All this research about global warming and the horrendous effects on our climate- and the total lack of action from the worlds governments. Made me somewhat puzzled. They are informed that this is about to happened but for some reason they can't get there. So why can't WE do something? You and me? I got tired of waiting. Two years ago,I decided to try to develop something myself that would capture CO2. The idea is that it must be simple and cheap to make so there will be more of them. Just a step above planting pine trees. But better AND best of all, bypass all the political bickering until they can get their act together. I also decided not to present any scientific research on PROJECT CLEAN AIR- to avoid any senseless debate about the scientific facts. It will just waste time from our real goal. Also I am not trying to convince anyone about the looming effects of global warming. Either you agree or you don't. We just have a simple statement that most people can agree upon - We need to lower the CO2 in the atmosphere - and let's just leave it at that. And here is where you come in as a contributor. We need to raise enough money so we can develop an efficient, simple and cost effective way to start eliminating CO2, Now. One example of how to neutralize CO2. JORD, the panels. I created small test panels with a chemical that starts changes color when exposed to CO2 so you can actually see it working. Approximately 100 grams of the chemical can absorb at least 15 liters of CO2, The idea is to have a removable cassette in the panel which can be replaced when it becomes fully saturated with CO2 just send it back to be recycled. JORD CO2 SCRUBBER PANEL The developing and testing part. We are planning to consult professionals who do this for a living and are good at it. There are several different proven ways to neutralize CO2, we just have to narrow the contestants down through testing and developing. Is there a market for this? By making the scrubber affordable for municipalities, businesses and private people,we can make it work, with a good recycling network in place, if needed.We also plan to have a web-site developed for PROJECT CLEAN AIR and have a option for contributions so people can raise funds for local scrubbers in their communities. How long is this project going to take? I'm hoping within 18 months to able to have a finished product. Really, don't know. But that's what we are aiming for. We'll keep you informed.Image copyright Science Photo Library Image caption Surgical robots allow doctors to improve recovery time and minimise scarring A study into the safety of surgical robots has linked the machines' use to at least 144 deaths and more than 1,000 injuries over a 14-year period in the US. The events included broken instruments falling into patients' bodies, electrical sparks causing tissue burns and system errors making surgery take longer than planned. The report notes that the figures represent a small proportion of the total number of robotic procedures. But it calls for fresh safety measures. "Despite widespread adoption of robotic systems for minimally invasive surgery, a non-negligible number of technical difficulties and complications are still being experienced during procedures," the study states. "Adoption of advanced techniques in design and operation of robotic surgical systems may reduce these preventable incidents in the future." Robotic surgery can reduce the risk of infections and help patients heal more quickly. The UK's Royal College of Surgeons said it believed the report should be "treated with caution". "The authors note 'little or no information was provided in the adverse incident reports' about the cause of the majority of deaths, meaning they could be related to risks or complications inherent during surgery," said a spokeswoman. "The authors do not compare the level of complications in surgery where robots are not used, nor do they examine the benefits of robotic surgery which are starting to be reported." More accidents The work was carried out by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Chicago's Rush University Medical Center. Their paper says 144 deaths, 1,391 injuries and 8,061 device malfunctions were recorded out of a total of more than 1.7 million robotic procedures carried out between January 2000 and December 2013. This was based on reports submitted by hospitals, patients, device manufacturers and others to the US Food and Drug Administration, and the study notes that the true number could be higher. Image copyright Thinkstock Image caption Surgeons face the risk of broken parts causing injury or lengthening procedures Its authors say the number of injuries and deaths per procedure has remained relatively constant since 2007. But due to the fact that the use of robotic systems is increasing "exponentially", they add, this means that the number of accidents is increasing every year. They highlight that when problems do occur, people are several times more likely to die if the surgery involves their heart, lungs, head and/or neck rather than gynaecological and urological procedures. They acknowledge that the data does not pinpoint why, but suggest it is because the former are more complex types of operations for which robots are less commonly used, so there is less experience and expertise available. The researchers did not, however, compare accident rates with similar operations in which robots were not used. Their study has not been peer reviewed. Falling sales Surgical robotic devices are typically expensive - costing millions of pounds - but offer advantages. They can allow surgeons to use smaller instruments, letting them make smaller and more nimble cuts. That can mean patients recover faster, with less risk of infection and the promise of smaller scars. In addition, the development of remote surgery means that doctors do not always need to be in the same room as their patients, allowing specialists who are in demand to treat more people. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The report acknowledges that the "vast majority of procedures" involving robots were successful Despite these benefits, sales of surgical robots declined by 2% in 2013 - the most recent year for which figures have been published by the International Federation of Robotics. That has been linked to some medical experts questioning claims that the cost of using such machines is justified by improved outcomes. "There is no good data proving that robotic hysterectomy is even as good as - let alone better - than existing, and far less costly, minimally invasive alternatives," the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said in 2013. "Aggressive direct-to-consumer marketing of the latest medical technologies may mislead the public into believing that they are the best choice." Others specialists have, however, vouched for such systems' benefits in other procedures. "The Royal Marsden has performed more robotic surgical procedures for prostate cancer than any other hospital in the UK," states the London hospital's website. "We have dramatically improved functional and oncological outcomes for patients undergoing radical prostatectomy [the removal of the prostate gland to treat cancer]." Broken parts Although the study links hundreds of injuries and deaths to robotic surgery, in most cases the FDA's logs do not make clear whether the use of the machines was directly responsible. In fact, of the headline figures, only a minority - five of the deaths and 436 of the injuries - are specifically tied to technical errors that occurred during an operation. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The study suggests surgical teams should be given more training on how to deal with malfunctions But the authors say there is still reason to be concerned. They list 1,166 cases of broken/burned parts falling into patients' bodies, which contributed to 119 injuries and one death. Uncontrolled movements and spontaneous powering on/off of the machines are said to have caused 52 injuries and two deaths. Electrical sparks, unintended charring and damaged accessory covers are linked to 193 injuries, including the burning of body tissues. And the loss of quality video feeds and/or reports of system error codes are said to have contributed to a further 41 injuries and one death. The report's authors suggest that one way to tackle such problems would be to give surgical teams more troubleshooting training - including the use of computer simulations that feature technical problems - to help them learn how to restart surgery more quickly after interruptions.Image caption It is up to the flag state of the vessel whether or not armed guards are allowed Ships sailing under a British flag will be able to carry armed guards to protect them from pirates, the prime minister has announced. David Cameron says he wants to combat the risks to shipping off the coast of Somalia, where 49 of the world's 53 hijackings last year took place. Under the plans, the home secretary would be given the power to license armed guards for ships. No ship carrying armed security has yet been hijacked, the government claims. Up to 200 vessels flying the red ensign - the British merchant navy flag - regularly sail close to Somalia. Officials estimate that about 100 of those would immediately apply for permission to have armed guards. Under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea every ship is subject to the jurisdiction of the country whose flag it carries. It is thought many British-registered ships already carry armed guards because they feel they have no alternative. However, licensing ships to carry armed guards could still fall foul of laws in other countries. Egypt recently announced that armed guards would not be permitted on ships sailing through the Suez canal. Shoot to kill? Analysis Until now, vessels flying the British flag have not been licensed to carry their own weapons on board, something other countries have permitted. Pirates operating out of Somalia now range over around three million square miles of sea leaving existing navy patrols stretched. The hope will be that armed patrols act as a deterrent, but there are risks. Some experts warn of the danger of an escalation in the violence with pirates responding with heavier weapons. The practicalities can also be complex - some countries are less willing than others to have foreign nationals working for private security companies carrying weapons in their ports or while sailing in their waters. And while maritime and security industry experts believe this measure may help, it is unlikely to deal with the fundamental causes of the piracy problem - that will require more effective governance and stability in Somalia. Mr Cameron said he wanted to legalise armed guards after talks in Australia with Commonwealth leaders from the region over the escalating problem faced in waters off their shores. But armed guards would only be permitted while passing through dangerous waters, such as the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Previous government policy had strongly discouraged the use of private armed guards on board UK vessels. But ministers began to consider amending the position to combat piracy in "exceptional circumstances", Foreign Office Minister Henry Bellingham said in a submission to the Commons' Foreign Affairs Committee earlier this year. The Home Office looked at how to apply UK firearms legislation on board UK ships, and whether it was feasible to authorise and monitor the possession of "prohibited" firearms at sea, he said. Mr Cameron was asked if he was comfortable with giving private security operatives the right to "shoot to kill" if necessary, and told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show: "We have to make choices. Opposing views Commentators debate the use of armed guards on ships. Rose George says in the Guardian that there is currently no deterrent to pirates and every seafarer she has met wants to sail with armed security aboard. But Brigadier Paul Gibson argues in the Times that the Royal Marines should have been given the task of arming ships as shipowners would have been confident of their legality. "Frankly, the extent of the hijack and ransom of ships round the Horn of Africa is a complete stain on our world. "The fact that a bunch of pirates in Somalia are managing to hold to ransom the rest of the world and our trading system is a complete insult and the rest of the world needs to come together with much more vigour." The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), which represents over 80% of the world's merchant fleet, welcomed the move as likely to have a deterrent effect - but said it was only a "short-term measure". 'Dreadful impact' Secretary general Peter Hinchliffe said the ICS was concerned about how pirates would respond to the move. "To date, no ships with armed guards on board have been captured. But pirates will respond with increased firepower to overwhelm the armed guards, and when that happens the impact on the crew will be pretty dreadful," he told Reuters. Peter Cook, director of the Security Association for the Maritime Industry (Sami), welcomed the policy change, but Commodore Angus Menzies, from the Honourable Company of Master Mariners, said it would "shift the problem elsewhere". Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption David Cameron: ''I want to make sure more of these pirates actually face justice'' Mr Cook said many armed guards were former Royal Navy and Royal Marines personnel, and he added: "With the current redundancies it has provided them with an ideal place to go." Transport Secretary Justine Greening said it was "sensible" for ships to be able to take "appropriate measures to protect their crew and cargo". Shadow Foreign Office Minister, John Spellar, welcomed the move but said more details were needed from the government about how it would be implemented. High velocity rifles Sami director Mr Cook said most armed guards would be using high velocity rifles, which were used to "deter pirates" from attempting to board a ship. Image caption Use of armed guards would be restricted to voyages through particular waters in affected areas He confirmed that no vessel with armed guards had been taken over by pirates, and said in several cases guards had fired shots at pirates. The general secretary of the International Transport Workers' Federation, David Cockroft, told the BBC: "This is a reassuring move for the seafarers, but the worry is that in the past we've seen the pirates respond to each new defensive measure by choosing heavier weapons and more savagery. "There is no substitute for all the big shipping flags taking the fight to the pirates themselves, with action against their bases, arrests and jailings." "So far some of the biggest registers, all flags of convenience, are leaving it all to Nato, EU Navfor, combined forces and a few independent deployments." Maritime risk consultants Haymarket said the introduction of armed guards would save the British shipping and insurance industries millions of pounds. John Bisseru, a maritime risk specialist at the firm, said: "Prevention is the way forward, and qualified and trained armed guards will be significant step." France and Spain provide so-called military vessel protection detachments, while Italy is planning a similar measure. In July, the Foreign Office Minister Mr Bellingham said limited military resources meant it was not possible to free up Royal Marines for a ship protection role. Other counter-piracy measures being taken include offering support from Treasury officials to Kenya to help its officials track down pirates' assets. Mr Cameron also said help could be given to countries such as the Seychelles and Mauritius who were acting to bring pirates to court and imprison them.Android One has become a part of the broader hardware strategy, under which Motorola's Rick Osterloh has joined Google recently. Google is taking a broader view of its hardware business. So you should expect to see a position around what we are doing on low-end devices all the way through. We still continue to support a number of OEMs (original equipment makers) that partnered with us on the programme. However, speeds at which the devices are coming to the market are completely dependent upon the OEMs. We still have interest from a number of OEMs wanting to work with us on programmes like the Android One. The program is about mass market low-end devices, more affordability and to drive services into the market, and the premium things that we are working on with a number of OEMs.The tug-of-war between congressional Republicans and President Barack Obama over agency appointees finds a new mediator on Jan. 13: the Supreme Court. In an unusually lengthy, 90-minute oral argument, the court will hear not only from the litigating parties but also from 45 Republican senators concerned about presidential overreach in National Labor Relations Board v. Noel Canning. As with most Supreme Court cases, the underlying legal question — whether Obama lawfully appointed three officials to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) two years ago — is quite narrow. The ruling, however, could alter the constitutionally prescribed balance of powers. On Jan. 4, 2012, following a regular session of Congress but during a series of “pro forma” Senate meetings intended to prevent a formal recess, the president named three members to the NLRB. In the preceding months, Senate Republicans lacking supermajority power had blocked his previous nominations, leaving the labor board unable to conduct business for lack of a quorum. Filibusters had similarly left dozens of federal judgeships vacant and stopped the appointment of Richard Cordray to direct the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. (He was recess-appointed on Jan. 4, 2012.) The following month, restored to a full five members, the NLRB affirmed a Washington state ruling that Noel Canning, a unionized soda-bottling company, had violated its contractual promise to pay 40 cents more per hour to employees. Disgruntled by this outcome, Noel Canning took the case up to the conservative Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit — and invoked a new, winning argument: the president’s January appointments had been unconstitutional, so the board had not in fact achieved a quorum and had no right to decide cases. The Constitution empowers the president “to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate,” but what does this long-disputed Recess Appointments Clause mean? In the case before the justices, Noel Canning and Republican amici, or “friends of the court,” contend that a true “recess” occurs only between formal sessions of the Senate — in the absence of any meetings — and that intersession presidential appointments should fill only vacancies that literally arise (“happen”) during such recesses. According to the brief submitted by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and his allies, the Senate has a fundamental right to define “recess” and “withhold its consent” to block the confirmation process. It’s about “the role of the Senate to make its own rules rather than the White House making the decision,” Don Stewart, spokesman for McConnell, said in a telephone interview.The FBI report suggests that the former Secretary of State lacked the requisite intent to provide false statements to authorities tying her inconsistent statements to memory lapses from her 2012 concussion. © AFP 2018 / MANDEL NGAN Media Blackout: Top Doctor Says Fears Over Hillary’s Health Not a ‘Conspiracy’ The Hillary Clinton campaign faces a new challenge in the wake of the release of the FBI releasing its investigation notes regarding the criminal probe into her homebrew server which opponents suggest imperiled US national security and existed solely as a vehicle to circumvent Freedom of Information Act requirements in order to mask malfeasance between the State Department and the Clinton Foundation – is Hillary Clinton’s mental fitness sufficient to handle the duties of the presidency. Narratives about the former Secretary of State’s health are nothing new with stories initially popping up as part of an opposition assault questioning whether she recovered from a 2012 concussion that resulted in a blood clot in her brain. These questions about Clinton’s health seemed to rely on nothing tangible with Hillary acquitting herself of question of mental competency from the debate stage in the Democratic Primary navigating a strategic path despite an onslaught by progressive challenger Bernie Sanders. Then video emerged that gave many Americans pauses as Hillary Clinton’s head bobbed back and forth uncontrollably for 30 seconds after two reporters asked her a question concurrently with the face of one of those reporters demonstrably horrified at what appeared to many viewers to be a seizure or at minimum some sort of abnormal biological reaction to stress. Hillary quickly weaved out of the catastrophe once her head started shaking asking if anybody has had the “iced latte” before suddenly ending questioning. While Hillary’s team has carefully crafted her political schedule to prevent such stressful run-ins with a team of reporters and the media has largely dismissed her health as anything more than a conspiracy theory despite one of the nation’s top doctors calling her medical history at best "disconcerting," it seems it was Hillary herself who opened the door to renewed questions about her mental and physical well-being. The FBI report features a number of outlandish, borderline unbelievable responses by the former Secretary of State such as her saying she didn’t know that a small "c" on a document referred to classified material — she purportedly believed it meant the third paragraph in an alphabetic listing. Hillary also claimed that she was unaware that drone targeting coordinates were classified material suggesting instead that it probably "depended on the context." These are responses from a person who served the State of New York as a US Senator for 8 years in an environment wrought with national security issues in the wake of 9/11 and who was America’s top diplomat for over 4 years not knowing at all what a classified marker is or that drone strike coordinates need to be kept secure from foreign enemies. However, the most damning finding of the nine page report, at least for her presidential ambitions, comes on page 9 of the FBI report which called into question her mental and physical fitness for office at the end of her tenure as Secretary of State. "Clinton states she received no instructions or direction regarding the preservation or production of records from State during the transition out of her role as Secretary of State in early 2013," the statement read. "However, in December of 2012, Clinton suffered a concussion and then around New Year had a blood clot. Based on her doctor’s advice, she could only work at State for a few hours a day and could not recall every briefing she received." According to the FBI report on their interview with Hillary Clinton, the former Secretary of State’s statement which directly conflicted with her testimony before Congress was the product of a memory lapse associated with her 2012 concussion which is part of why she lacked the requisite intent. Maybe Hillary Clinton hit her head and suffered sufficient damage to impair her memory or she merely suffered the type of amnesia alleged perpetrators fall into to avoid providing an incriminating response, but either version of events is likely to play well with the American people.SINGAPORE - A pair of Singaporean siblings was taken to task in Singapore for corruption-related offences allegedly committed in China involving close to $2.3 million. The siblings were each charged in court on Thursday (June 29) with 50 counts of corruption-related offences involving about 11.1 million yuan (S$2.26 million). Judy Teo Suya Bik, now 65, and former Seagate senior director of logistics Teo Chu Ha, alias Henry Teo, now 68, are accused of committing the offences in Shanghai, China, between April 2007 and November 2010. Judy Teo allegedly obtained the bribes from Shanghai Long-Distance Transportation and Feili International Transport as a reward for helping them secure contracts with Seagate Technology International. This was allegedly done by providing the two firms with confidential information obtained from her brother. Henry Teo, who currently owns a Singapore-based company known as Ampro Tools Enterprise, is accused of abetting his sister by engaging in a conspiracy with her to obtain the bribes. The siblings are also accused of one count each of an offence under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act. In 2012, Henry Teo allegedly used $703,480 - benefits of his sister's purported criminal conduct- to buy in her name, a unit on the fourth storey of Summerhill condominium in Hume Avenue near Upper Bukit Timah Road. Judy Teo is accused of abetting the offence by instigating him to use the money to buy the property. The siblings were not represented by a lawyer and told the court that they intend to engage one and claim trial. They are out on bail and will be back in court on July 13. The bail amount was not mentioned in court. In a release, Singapore's Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) said that Singaporeans who commit corrupt acts overseas can be taken to task by the authorities here under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The agency noted that the Act has provisions for extra-territorial powers over a Singapore citizen. CPIB also said that it worked with the Chinese authorities in investigating the case and received valuable assistance from them. It added: "Singapore adopts a zero-tolerance approach towards corruption. The CPIB takes a serious view of any corrupt and criminal practices, and will not hesitate to take action against any party involved in such acts." Offenders convicted of corruption can be jailed for up to five years and fined up to $100,000 for each charge.This morning, the Intel & The Floor Blockchain Hackathon kicked off. The blockchain hackathon, which is organized by Intel, The Floor & the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, is running for 2 days, from 29-30 March 2017 at the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange together with the participation of leading banks. Nxt and Ardor core developer, and managing director of Jelurida, Riker (Lior Yaffe), is attending and has been updating the Nxt community throughout the day. Here’s a short summary of the event so far for Nxt’s representative. Hackathon Subject: Blockchain solutions for banks Participant Objectives: Banks will be presenting challenges in advance and participants will develop solution using one of the common blockchain platforms: ethereum, R3 Corda, Hyperledger Sawtooth lake, Hyperledger Fabric, Bitcoin or others. Riker had, beforehand, cleared with the organizer, that a Nxt/Ardor/Jelurida blockchain solution was welcome. His idea, which he pitched and discussed with the Nxters on Nxtchat yesterday evening, was to code a use case around the Nxt Asset Exchange and its built-in dividend distribution system, as it’s one of the Nxt features very relevant for banks, and also
driven man of faith was basically my take on Bridge, something akin to Matt Murdock, where his job and his belief were always in opposition with one another. I called G. Willow Wilson for some help; aside from graciously and patiently allowing me to Muslim-Check the story a little, she recommended me a handful of books including Michael Muhammad Knight’s amazing THE TAQWACORES which I recommend whole-heartedly. Thank you, Willow. Thank you, Michael. I never really got my hands around Bridge; I didn’t stick the landing. Maybe PUNISHER: WAR JOURNAL wasn’t the place and I was a baby writer. As a reader, I love it when reach exceeds grasp. I love reading books where people aim higher than what they achieve. I love interesting failures. As a WRITER, I fucking hate it, and hate me, because I am the worst and the things I write are the worst. There’s a story I tell a lot, and maybe it’s apocryphal, about Alan Moore. Someone asked him why he left SWAMP THING, back when he left SWAMP THING, and Moore’s response was something like “I wanted to tell stories about the environment and the big muck monster kept getting in the way.” He’s absolutely right. Bridge was a lesson learned in that; I wanted to talk about the dismal American treatment of Muslim people in the era of modern asymmetrical terror, and the guy with the guns kept getting in the way, so I didn’t force it. • Frank in the van: just this page, this first page, oh lordy. Where to start. “Di Pasquale” was the surname of family friends; my Dad got a kick out of that. There’s too many words on this page. It’s slashed in half by a river of text. Even the word balloon looks big to me (it’s not, but as time went on I became more convinced that each sentence, each sentence fragment, needs its own balloon). It is, as they say, amateur night in Dixie. (Nobody actually says that.) The Billy Joel bit – I had this idea that if Frank lived in the same world as us, he’d know the same crap as us, and something about that terrified me. Something about The Punisher getting a song stuck in his head as he’s shooting people made him both more real and more scary to me. A world where Frank Castle stays awake at all hours watching GILLIGAN’S ISLAND on a bad black and white TV before going out and murdering criminals terrified me in a kind of Travis Bickle way. I’m not sure it works, in retrospect, and when I get nervous I go for easy jokes and that’s how all this stuff reads to me now. I can’t believe I got away with that Budd Dwyer reference. It’s in such bad taste I wish I could take it back. The “Mastercard” line is a reference to the very first issue of the ongoing series THE PUNISHER, back in the day, by Mike Baron and Klaus Janson (I think). The line always stuck in my head: “Mastercard, I’m bored. The friendly natives will entertain me.” I didn’t know what it meant then, I don’t know what it means now, but it’s wedged in my head. I can’t remember the names of the parents of my kids’ classmates and I cannot do math to save my life but I remember that one line from one Mike Baron comic from 1987. I’m writing nervous, I’m writing cute. I did it then and I do it now only now I edit it out. It’s squirrely writing and I’m trying to cover my terror with jokes. There’s something that dates really badly in the tone, a kind of juvenile notion of wit. I think I was trying to badly imitate … I don’t know. The Bill-and-Joe Era of tone, I think. Which is hard to explain but there was a certain air of fuck it, go for broke in the tone of Marvel then and I think I was trying to emulate that. I hope I knock it off soon. I love the idea of Frank calling his van a “secret hideout.” I did a whole thing speculating on why, of all the characters in the Marvel U I could’ve gone after, I went after Stilt Man. • I confess to getting a little frisson when I got to write “The Daily Bugle.” I probably went out of my way to put it in the story. The Smuggler’s Tunnels under Manhattan are an Urban Legend, right? I had done a bunch of research for a METAL GEAR SOLID book that ended up never happening (I wrote a short that Ash Wood drew, which was pretty bucket-list stuff) and that was part of it. There’s no such thing as wasted research. This sequence was the first time I’d butt my head against what would be My Problem With This Series, the thing I never quite got my head around to my own detriment, and to the detriment of the book: The CIVIL WAR storyline introduced “Cape Killers” – S.H.I.E.L.D. agents whose job it was to hunt and kill Unregistered heroes. So they come after Frank, and Frank – he can’t kill ‘em. Because they’re, what, kind of cops, kind of soldiers, they’re not criminals so they fall outside of his sanction. Which, okay, makes Frank the Road Runner instead of the Coyote for a scene or three, that’s okay, but it opened up a bigger question. The idea of “Frank gunning for supervillains, amok in the world of capes” means capes coming after Frank, because he’s a killer, because he’s insane, because he’s dangerous – he can’t kill them BACK, they’re heroes. And he can’t kill any REAL villains because, y’know, they’re valuable characters that act as threads which weave the whole Marvel tapestry together; if you want to be crassly commercial, they’re valuable pieces of corporate IP. So who can Frank shoot? Because the heroes and villains of the Marvel Universe are kind of the whole POINT of the Marvel Universe. You can’t just have Frank go around killing off characters (It’s bad sportsmanship, as a writer, bad partnership, if nothing else. If I’m breaking all the toys in my corner of the sandbox, nobody else can play with them…). Especially in the shadow of such a wonderful MAX title, figuring out how to write Punisher in the Marvel Universe kind of eluded me. Should it be like the A-TEAM, where somehow miraculously nobody ever dies? Wouldn’t that be a cop-out? I’d settle for writing Frank on the edges of the Marvel U, commenting on it all. I’ll get into it more when we get to the second volume… • Stuart Clarke. This guy is an old villain called “Rampage” that was kind of like a Tony Stark but for bad guys (amongst other things which you can Bing). Or look up “Recession Raiders.” Go ahead, I dare you. Frank needed a Microchip (in the eighties series, Frank’s weapons-guy and tech-guy was called Microchip because it was the Eighties), the series needed an ultimate villain (spoilers!), and I thought the idea of a Tony Stark for bad guys, a Tony Stark with no resources, in the shape of a guy that hates Tony Stark’s guts during CIVIL WAR had a lot of meat on its bones. So in comes Clarke. (It occurs to me now that Clarke was a rough blueprint for what would become Ezekiel Stane over in THE ORDER and IRON MAN, but more on that in a few weeks.) • I have no idea why I wrote the “Born Again” reference into the last page. Because it’s my favorite Marvel story, maybe. Reference as cheap irony, maybe. I was shaking in my boots, reaching out for anything I could. I’ll confess – and I never ever shook this the whole goddamn time I wrote at Marvel – I was (am) worried I’d be taken for a tourist and not the tried-and-true Marvel lifer I am; I would twist myself into knots pulling out arcane characters and obscure references to continuity (watch how often I use character’s, especially villains, real names) to prove to some imaginary tribunal judging me that I really DID know my stuff, I really DO love Marvel, I really DIDN’T have to look up Stuart Clarke. I don’t know who I thought was silently judging me or why I thought they were doing it but time and again I’d bend backwards to connect dots in my longbox that nobody (but maybe Tom Brevoort) got or cared about. All the way through writing FF, which mapped along the first year of Stan and Jack’s FANTASTIC FOUR in ways sometimes so oblique as to be… well, really, really oblique. We’ll get to that, though, down the road. This effected me to my detriment across my whole time at Marvel, is the point. • By issue’s end we start to get into strange waters – because the gravitational pull of CIVIL WAR gets felt. A book like this, spinning out of a massive, and massively successful, crossover event, takes its cue from the mothership and by the end of my first issue I’d written Frank up to the point where he shows up in CIVIL WAR. Which is where things got tricky. This is a first issue. Everything about it reads like a first issue. Too many words in some places, not enough in others; the pacing is all off, the characters are oblique if not outright opaque (and when you’re using first person captions, and that’s your outcome, you’re in trouble), I couldn’t separate babies from bathwater if my life depended on it. Everything about PWJ #1 not only reads like a first issue but it reads like a FIRST first issue. Which it very much was. CASANOVA had started by this point, or at least I’d started writing it, but that’s an entirely different beast. First issues are really hard. That’s good writing; bing “good writing” and it’ll bing up that sentence exactly. First issues are brutal. You have to find the tone and timbre of a series in a sliver of space. Sometimes it takes writing pages, more pages than just twenty, before it all comes together in your head, to find characters and their voices, their world, the premise, your whole idea, your vision and ambition, and to figure out how to follow through on it. I know writers that think it’s twenty-some issues before a team settles into their book; these days at the big two you barely have six issues to find it, let alone twenty. Writing first issues is extraordinarily difficult to do well. Bendis does them well, almost as a rule. Warren Ellis writes maybe the best in the business. Kelly Sue kills herself over first issues. I’m hit or miss on ‘em; this one is a big miss. I read it now and see a guy that clearly has the yips and, on top of that, has a massive crossover to navigate, and that massive crossover has hit some potholes… But more on that next time. (I promise I’m not going to go issue to issue in detail like this; it’s just, hey, this was my first full length Marvel book. Next time we’ll wrap up PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL: CIVIL WAR, which includes one of my favorite issues from the run.)Creative Cloud for Mac update removed the first folder in alphabetical order without permission, even if it had nothing to do with Adobe Adobe has pulled an update for its Creative Cloud desktop application for Mac computers after users complained that it was deleting important files from their machines without reason or warning. During the installation of the update, which could happen automatically if set to do so, the Adobe program deleted the first folder on a user’s machine, as listed alphabetically. Adobe said in a statement: “In a small number of cases, the updater may incorrectly remove some files from the system root directory with user writeable permissions. “We have removed the update from distribution, and are in the process of deploying a new update which addresses the issue. When prompted for the update, Creative Cloud members should install it as normal.” The issue was brought to light by users of backup software Backblaze. Part of the Backblaze backup system was stored within a folder on a Mac’s root directory named “.bzvol” and therefore was highly likely to be the first folder on the system which the Adobe update would delete. Backblaze’s suggested solution was to create a folder called “.adobedontdeletemybzvol” on the user’s system that was higher in alphabetical order than the crucial.bzvol directory. The company later rolled out an update for its software that automatically created a dummy directory “.aBackblaze” for the Adobe updater to delete without issue. Other users found the Adobe update would delete a folder required for the proper functioning of OS X’s autosave and versioning functions for documents, while any folder that started with a space on the root directory would likely fall victim to the update’s deletions. Head of social for Backblaze Yev Pusin said: “It’s difficult to tell exactly which data may have been removed, but you can open the root directory on your Mac and try to look towards the top for any folders that are empty. This would have occurred to only one folder (that we know of) so the topmost hidden folder or the first folder with a space as the first character would have been affected.” Adobe said a fixed version of the update should be immediately available.Survey: L train riders endorse 18-month, full-time shutdown By Benjamin Kabak By· Published in 2016 I sort of disappeared on everyone last week. After Monday’s report on the W train, I didn’t have anything else ready for last week, and I was in Los Angeles for a mix of business and pleasure without much time to write. I know a few readers were asking after some additional content, and I’ll try to give a heads’ up next time before I disappear for a week. On the plus side, it’s been a relatively slow news week, but with a transit system that runs 24 hours a day, there’s always something going on. Being in Southern California for eight days gave me a chance to see life in the automobile dystopia that is Los Angeles. My hotel was a few miles from my office, and I had to drive to work. Leaving at 6:30 a.m. is fine; the three miles went by in a flash. Leaving at 8:30 a.m. was a different story as the local roads were packed. Luckily, I could avoid the freeways at most peak hours, though it took an exceptionally long time to get to Dodger Stadium on Wednesday. Unfortunately, I didn’t have to chance to explore Los Angeles’ latest transit toy: the Expo Line extension to Santa Monica. It opened a few days before I arrived but wasn’t close to where I was or where I needed to be. On the first business day of operations, a drunk driver snarled morning service by driving onto the tracks. It was a very LA moment. I meanwhile was stuck in areas along Santa Monica and Sunset Boulevards. These areas don’t have much in the way of dedicated transit infrastructure because wealthy residents in the Hollywood Hills and Beverly Hills didn’t want bus lanes skirting their neighborhoods. Sound familiar? Ultimately, though, Los Angeles is engaged in a much more ambitious transit expansion plan than New York City, and it may come to fruition within the next decade. I’m doubtful it will be ever enough — without a congestion pricing plan — to alleviate LA’s infamous traffic, but it’s forward progress for a region that isn’t known for transit investment. Meanwhile, in New York, as politicians continue to claim that everything under the sun except for congestion pricing, including more ferries and more bus lanes, will solve Manhattan’s congestion problems, we pick up where we left off: with the L train. The MTA hosted its third meeting on the upcoming shutdown last week, this one in Canarsie, and although the agency had no new information to add to the public presentation, a Riders Alliance survey of L train riders found that the vast majority of them would favor the shorter, full shutdown of the tunnel between Manhattan and Brooklyn. According to the survey, a whopping 77 percent of riders said they preferred the 18-month shutdown rather than a three-year plan that would lead to an 80 percent reduction in L train service. In either case, trains will still run between Lorimer St. and Canarsie, and L train riders urged the MTA to increase service on lines that feed into or run parallel to the L, including the G, J/Z, M and A/C lines. Straphangers also requested dedicated bus lanes along 14th St. in Manhattan, more biking options and infrastructure, and increased ferry service. The city will and should implement all of these ideas once the shutdown arrives in 2019. “During the shutdown of the L train, the MTA must adopt an ‘all-of-the-above’ approach to keep residents of Williamsburg, Bushwick, Brownsville, East New York, and Canarsie connected to the rest of our city,” Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams said. “The MTA has the ability and the responsibility to reduce the disruption that Brooklyn residents and business owners will experience, providing a variety of alternate routes including expanded service on other subway lines, a dedicated lane for buses on the Williamsburg Bridge, and more choices for commuters who want to travel by ferry or bicycle. I urge the MTA to continue its dialogue with stakeholders from every community of Brooklyn that depends on the L train to develop a comprehensive mitigation plan, one that fulfills all of the needs unique to those communities.” The RPA again stressed its call to improve all facets of the L during the shutdown, and I firmly believe missing the opportunity to dig out tail tracks at 8th Ave. could go down as one of the city’s 21st Century transit mistakes. Luckily, there are three years for everyone to sort out the solutions, but it seems that the 18-month survey, as I wrote in Crains New York in April, is the way to go.Last week, I posted the 10 Worst Myths About Abortion. Since I couldn’t cover all of the many bad myths, here are the next 10: Myth 11: Making abortion illegal will stop abortion. Fact: Of the approximately 42 million abortions that occur annually worldwide, almost half are unsafe and/or illegal. Making abortion illegal will not stop women from having abortions; it will only make abortions more dangerous. Myth 12: Abortion causes breast cancer. Fact: A 2003 review of existing human and animal studies conducted by the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) concluded that having an abortion or miscarriage does not increase a woman’s subsequent risk of developing breast cancer. Myth 13: Pregnancy as a result of either rape or incest is extremely rare. Fact: The callousness of this statement always shocks me, and it’s no consolation to the girl or woman who finds herself pregnant as a result of rape or incest. If a rapist does not use protection (and the victim isn’t using contraception), the chance of a pregnancy is the same as any instance of unprotected sex. In the U.S., it’s estimated that 4.7 percent of rapes will result in pregnancy. In addition, women who are repeatedly raped–such as victims of ongoing incest–are more likely to become pregnant. Internationally, rape is often used as a weapon of war, with some militias setting up rape camps designed to impregnate women as a way of humiliating and stigmatizing them. Myth 14: Emergency contraception causes abortions. Fact: Emergency contraception prevents ovulation and is not effective once the fertilized egg has been implanted on the uterine wall. It will not cause an abortion but can prevent an unwanted pregnancy. Myth 15: Having an abortion can cause infertility. Fact: A safe, uncomplicated abortion should not affect a woman’s ability to have children in the future. Myth 16. Pro-choice activists promote abortion. Fact: Pro-choice activists and organizations support comprehensive sex education, access to contraception, condom use and other means to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies. Anti-choice activists and organizations are generally opposed to providing people with the means to control their reproductive lives. Myth 17. Adoption is an alternative to abortion. Fact: The alternative to abortion is giving birth. Adoption is an alternative to keeping and rearing a child. Adoption should be about finding loving homes for children, not creating children to be adopted. Furthermore, there are no guarantees that a child will be adopted. In the U.S. alone, there are currently 114,000 children in foster care who are eligible for adoption. Myth 18. More contraception leads to more unintended pregnancies and more abortion. Fact: Belgium and the Netherlands, where contraception is widely used, have the world’s lowest abortion rates. The highest abortion rates are in countries with a limited number of contraceptive methods. Myth 19: It is impossible to be personally opposed to abortion and be pro-choice. Fact: Pro-choice simply means that you believe abortion should be a choice for women. Whether you would choose it for yourself is irrelevant. Myth 20: All religions believe abortion is a sin. Fact: Not all religions believe abortion is wrong. In fact, the Episcopal Church, Presbyterian Church (USA), United Church of Christ, United Methodist Church, Unitarian Universalist Association, Conservative and Reform Judaism believe the decision must be a woman’s. I’m sure there are still more myths out there; let me know what I missed!Veteran leftwinger given key role as Andy Burnham becomes shadow home secretary, with Angela Eagle and Heidi Alexander given frontbench roles Jeremy Corbyn, the new Labour leader, is facing the first test of his ability to lead the parliamentary party after appointing his closest political ally, John McDonnell, as shadow chancellor. The decision means that the five most senior positions will be filled by men, including Andy Burnham as shadow home secretary, Hilary Benn as shadow foreign secretary, and Tom Watson as elected deputy as well as Corbyn and McDonnell. Corbyn’s biggest problem may now be the fierce resistance within the parliamentary party and even among some union leaders to the appointment of McDonnell, with some asking Corbyn to appoint Angela Eagle as shadow chancellor, to balance the shadow cabinet politically and by gender. Eagle was instead given the business portfolio and will also become shadow first secretary of state, deputising for Corbyn in the Commons. McDonnell was Corbyn’s leadership campaign manager and has advocated nationalisation without compensation in the past as well as 60p tax rates. Among MPs, his appointment was seen as a disavowal of Corbyn’s commitment to create a political consensus. Charles Clarke, a former home secretary, said on Monday that he was “aghast” at the appointment of McDonnell, and took it as an indication that Corbyn was appointing hard-left allies instead of building a broad shadow cabinet. He told the BBC’s Radio 4 Today programme that he thought centrist MPs would probably begin to form their own shadow Treasury policy within the party. Gisela Stuart, a Labour MP who sits on the intelligence and security committee, told the same programme that Corbyn was “not taking the party to 2020” and the Labour party needed to debate what it stood for, which would create conflict. Another brewing political row in the party is over its Europe policy, as former shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna said he was leaving the frontbench by mutual agreement because he could not secure an unambiguous promise from Corbyn to campaign for the UK to stay in the EU. However, Benn, the new shadow foreign secretary, insisted he knew that Corbyn would campaign for Britain to fight to stay in the EU “under all circumstances”. Corbyn’s first challenge in the House of Commons on Monday will be Labour’s response to the trade union bill, led by Eagle, which the whole party strongly opposes so he is unlikely to see any defiance of the whip. In further appointments, Diane Abbott was made shadow secretary of state for international development, Seema Malhotra will be shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, and Heidi Alexander, a relatively new MP, is the new shadow health secretary. Alexander, a former whip, has helped establish the “Red Shift” group set up in the wake of the election defeat, calling for the party to show that it understood that “money did not grow on trees”. Corbyn victory energises the alienated and alienates the establishment \| Gary Younge Read more The existing shadow justice secretary, Lord Falconer, an ally of Burnham and one-time Blairite, will remain shadow lord chancellor. The lack of high-profile jobs for women went down badly with many. The Labour MP for Hull North, Diana Johnson, tweeted: Diana Johnson (@DianaJohnsonMP) It is so very disappointing - old fashioned male dominated Labour politics in the top positions in Shadow Cabinet #notforgirls Both Harriet Harman as deputy leader and Yvette Cooper as shadow home secretary have stood down. Cooper will head a taskforce examining the refugee crisis. Benn defended the appointments, saying it was “old-fashioned” to view the biggest jobs as leader, chancellor, home secretary and foreign secretary. He said shadow international development, handed to Abbott, was also extremely important, especially given the refugee crisis. Watson, elected deputy leader on Saturday, said on Sunday that he thought Labour must support remaining in Europe and stressed that he supported a renewal of the Trident nuclear submarine system, a position Corbyn has rejected for a decade and had made a centrepiece of his triumphant leadership campaign. After a day – and night – at Westminster huddled with advisers, including the reappointed shadow chief whip, Rosie Winterton, Corbyn faced a slow drip of ministerial resignations and then, late in the evening, moved to stabilise the parliamentary party by making a series of appointments. Alongside Corbyn and Watson’s own election, the quintet now at the top of the party is entirely male. Tom Watson: unifying stalwart or manipulative and divisive fixer? Read more McDonnell, an hour before the announcement of his new position wa made, shared a platform with Yanis Varoufakis, the former Greek finance minister, at a TUC fringe meeting. He defended the appointments that were soon to be declared. “I am hoping that within the hour we will have a shadow cabinet put together. As you know, that has been slightly more challenging than the traditional shadow cabinet. It will be as broad-based as we could possibly make it and as inclusive as possible,” he said. McDonnell, the former head of finance at the GLC under Ken Livingstone, quipped that some people were already trying to compare him to Varoufakis because of his anti-austerity views: “Someone said to me ‘are you going to be Britain’s Yanis Varoufakis?’ And I said, ‘I could never be that cool,’” he said, to laughter from a supportive audience. Regarding the trade union bill, which will go before the Commons on Monday, McDonnell said he and Corbyn would “expect” Labour MPs to vote against it during its second reading in parliament and would convene a conference for those who oppose austerity across Europe. He refused to say whether a Corbyn-McDonnell administration would support or reject withdrawal from the EU. “Jeremy has made it clear is that what we should be working with parties across Europe for is a reform package across Europe itself. Whatever [David] Cameron comes back with, we will have to assess what that is. If it is any attack on employment rights or the promotion of TTIP [Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership], we will be rejecting that package but we will have to come up with a reform programme as well. Jeremy has not supported withdrawal but has not given Cameron a free pass on it,” he said.The lower house of Switzerland’s parliament on Wednesday advanced a bill prohibiting the Swiss government from providing aid to NGOs engaged in boycotts of Israel. The legislation calls for cutting off foreign aid to any groups that promote “racist, anti-Semitic or incendiary” actions or that call for boycotts of Israel, according to the Basler Zeitung daily. The bill, which was proposed by Christian Imark of the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, passed in the National Council with 111 votes in favor to 78 against. Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up The Swiss People’s Party has backed a number of referendums aimed at restricting immigration and supported a ban on the construction of mosque minarets in Switzerland, which became a constitutional amendment following a referendum in 2009. Imark, who said before the vote that he did not want to take a position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, said that the Swiss government needs to be careful about who it is funding. The Foreign Ministry in Bern, he said, supports groups that “demand boycotts of and sanctions against Israel and engage in anti-Israel incitement, lawfare as well as campaigns of anti-Zionism and racism, which call for the destruction of Israel and sometimes even have direct connections to terrorist organizations.” He cited in that context Israeli and Palestinian NGOs such as Al-Haq, Adalah and Breaking the Silence. Swiss parliament approves a Motion to end funding of NGOs who work for terror, hate, racism or antisemitism. #BDSFAIL pic.twitter.com/ydYSST3lPZ — Dominik Feusi (@feusl) March 8, 2017 Olga Deutsch, the Europe Desk director for NGO Monitor, a watchdog and critic of foreign funding for such NGOs, hailed the vote, describing it as “an important precedent in seriously countering BDS campaigns, anti-Semitism, and hatred.” The Neue Zürcher Zeitung daily said the vote was a great success for NGO Monitor, which had lobbied the Swiss government on the issue and provided information on a number of the pro-BDS groups receiving Swiss funding. According to NGO Monitor, the Swiss government provided $2.38 million between 2013 and 2016 to the Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Secretariat — a donor organization sponsored by a number of European governments — which in turn distributed the funding to various Israeli and Palestinian groups, including, allegedly, the terrorist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The bill will now head to the Council of States — the Swiss parliament’s upper house — where it is expected to be voted on in May. Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.All platforms: You want change? Ubuntu 10.04, the next long-term release of the free operating system, is full of change. Window buttons are on the left, default apps are replaced, the theme is new, and many more upgrades are worth exploring. Click any of the images in this post for a larger view. One of the first things any user will notice in the pic above, whether new to Ubuntu or a veteran Linux user, is the button layout. Ubuntu 10.04, also known as "Lucid Lynx," has opted for a left-side, Mac-style lineup of maximize/restore, minimize, and close buttons, but switched around the order, so that the close/kill button is the right-most button on a left-hand button panel. That is certainly new, and will take some getting used to. An alpha-testing friend of mine said it took "a few hours" over one or two days to start using the buttons without thinking too much about it, but he still occasionally catches himself mousing toward the wrong side of a window. Time will tell whether this was a smart long-term move for Ubuntu. Advertisement There's also a new purple/dark gray theme that's seen the usual "It's elegant"/"It's awful" debate around the net. I haven't used the beta enough to render a real verdict, but it was definitely time to try something new. As predicted, Ubuntu 10.04 will have a built-in music store that ties together with the free 2 GB of Ubuntu One cloud storage given to each user. Ubuntu One's music store is built into the Rhythmbox music player, and once you try to access it, Ubuntu will install the proper MP3 codecs so you can, you know, play MP3s. Alas, I didn't get very far with my own installation, but it does look like a nice alternative to buying songs manually through Amazon and processing them through Rhythmbox. Advertisement Ubuntu One itself is integrated into the operating system, and logs in automatically when you sign into your account, after first setting up your credentials. The Ubuntu One folder that automatically syncs whatever you drop in it, just like Dropbox, is stashed in your home folder; why the left-hand location links don't include Ubuntu One by default, I don't know. From your user panel (detailed further down), you can set preferences for how much bandwidth Ubuntu One can use, and control which computers your Ubuntu One account syncs to. Advertisement Ubuntu is moving, with each release, toward a more social, net-connected experience built more tightly into the operating system. Clicking on your user name icon in the upper-right corner brings down a user panel that can set your chat status through the Empathy chat client, which connects to Google Talk, AIM, Yahoo Messenger, ICQ, and many other protocols. You can also set up "Broadcast" preferences to send out messages through Twitter, Facebook, and other short messaging/social network services. And Ubuntu One preferences are controlled through this panel as well. Advertisement I've called Simple Scan a big step forward for Ubuntu, as it takes something that previously involved four windows and hundreds of micro-controls and pared it down to what most people need: a "Scan" button, a rotate-and-crop tool, and a choice of just a few DPI resolution levels. Simple Scan is a default application in Ubuntu 10.04, along with the PiTiVi video editor, which I haven't had a chance to try out in much depth (I've found OpenShot to be remarkably usable of late). There's a quick tour through what's new and changed in Ubuntu 10.04, but it's certainly not everything. Ubuntu 10.04 Beta 1 is a free download that can be used as a live CD or installation disc on most hardware. Advertisement If you give Ubuntu 10.04 a go as a live CD, virtual machine, or on your hard drive, tell us what's new and exciting, and what's just goofy, in the comments. If you're an Ubuntu user who doesn't want the fuss of setting up a test run, consider using TestDrive for a super-simple VirtualBox try-out. Ubuntu 10.04 LTS [Ubuntu]KARACHI, Pakistan (REUTERS) - Gunmen on motorcycles killed at least four people at a religious gathering of Shi'ite Muslims in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, on Saturday (Oct 29), police said, in the latest attack claimed by the Sunni militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi's Al Alami faction. The shooting took place in the North Nazimabad neighbourhood of the sprawling metropolis of more than 18 million people, where sectarian, ethnic and political violence is common. Lashkar-e-Jhangvi's Al Alami faction, which targets Shi'ites and Pakistan's security forces, killed more than 60 police cadets in the southwestern city of Quetta on Monday in an attack in conjunction with Islamic State. But it said it carried out this attack on its own. "Lashkar-e-Jhangvi Al Alami accepts responsibility for those killed in this attack, and we announce that there is no room for the enemies of the companions of the Prophet Muhammad in Pakistan," said Ali bin Sufyan, the group's spokesperson, in a statement. Provincial police chief Allah Dino Khwaja told reporters men on two motorcycles fired on the gathering. Four people were killed and three others wounded, Nasir Aftab, a senior police officer, said. Violent crime has dropped significantly in Karachi since the launch of a paramilitary operation in the city three years ago, but targeted attacks still occur frequently. Shi'ite Muslims make up about 20 per cent of Pakistan's 190 million people, and sectarian attacks against them - including bombings and targeted attacks - have become increasingly common in recent years. Since 2002, more than 2,500 Shi'ite Muslims have been killed in such attacks, according to data gathered by the South Asia Terrorism Portal. At least 23 people have been killed in such attacks this year, it said.WHEN the price of oil reached another record on May 6th, of over $122 a barrel, analysts pointed to attacks on pipelines in Nigeria and turmoil in Iraq as the immediate causes. Even small disruptions to supplies from such places can cause the price to jump, since only Saudi Arabia has the capacity to replace the lost production, and it does not seem inclined to do so. But to understand how supplies became so scarce in the first place, one must look at the state of the oil industry in Russia, the world's second-biggest producer. Get our daily newsletter Upgrade your inbox and get our Daily Dispatch and Editor's Picks. Over the past seven years, according to Citibank, Russia accounted for 80% of the growth in oil production outside the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. The increase in its output in the early part of the decade matched the growth in demand from China and India almost barrel for barrel. Yet in April, production fell for the fourth month in a row. It is now over 2% below the peak of 9.9m barrels a day (b/d) reached in October last year. Before that, the growth in Russia's output had been slowing steadily, suggesting that the drop is not a blip. Leonid Fedun, a vice-president of Lukoil, a local oil firm, says Russia's production will never top 10m b/d. The discovery that Russia can no longer be relied upon to cater to the world's ever-increasing appetite for oil is naturally helping to propel prices to record levels. Oil and gas have been the foundation of the regime of Vladimir Putin, Russia's outgoing president, and are also a preoccupation of his successor, Dmitry Medvedev, who was chairman of Gazprom, the state-controlled gas giant. The flow of petrodollars has created a sense of stability, masked economic woes and given Russia more clout on the world stage. Yet the malaise afflicting its most important industry is almost entirely man-made. “Geologically, there is no problem,” says Anisa Redman, an analyst at HSBC, a bank. In principle, Russia's bonanza could continue for years: it has the world's seventh-biggest oil reserves, at 80 billion barrels, according to BP, a British oil firm. And oilmen reckon there are 100 billion more barrels to find—“the biggest exploration prize in the world”, in the words of Robert Dudley, the boss of TNK-BP, BP's Russian joint venture. But Russia has regulated the industry so poorly that production is falling despite the
the 3rd and 4th squadrons, 52 were wounded. Well over 100 horses were also lost. The Soviets had left behind 150 dead, 300 wounded, 600 prisoners (among which some Mongolian platoons equipped with Italian uniforms, which had been taken from the Sforzesca division), 4 cannons, 10 mortars and 50 machine guns.[4] Shortly afterwards some German liaison cavalry officers arrived. They were deployed at the left of the Savoia and they had witnessed everything from the neighbouring heights. They expressed their wonder and admiration for the anachronistic episode to Bettoni Cazzago saying: "Colonel, these kinds of things, we cannot do them anymore".[5] After removing the wounded and the dead, the battlefield remained covered with dead horses. Given that the relatively high casualties would prevent the launching of any more charges, should the need arise, commander Bettoni decided not to pursue the Soviets, which thus retained a solid foothold on the west bank of the Don river. However the "Izbushensky Charge", as it was then named, temporarily relieved the whole area of Soviet pressure, delayed the full Soviet attack on Tschebotarewskij by 24 hours, and likely bought time for the routed "Sforzesca" division to seek safety.[4] The bold action was repaid with a gold medal to the regiment standard and to Captain Abbà and Major Litta Modignani who died in action. Another 54 silver medals and 49 war crosses were also awarded.[6] A much loved and much honoured survivor Italian horse of the Izbushensky charge was Albino, who lived, though blinded in the battle, until 1960.[4] Media representations [ edit ] In September 1942 the "Istituto Luce" dispatched a film crew in order to take staged footage of the Savoia in action. The only original pictures were shot by Cpt. Abbà right before starting the attack with the 4th squadron. His camera was found on his body and was returned to his mother by 2nd ltn. Compagnoni. They show, from far away, the dust of the 2nd squadron about to end the first swipe.[4] In 1952 the movie "Carica Eroica" was made, directed by Francesco De Robertis and based on the Izbushensky Charge. Notes [ edit ] Bibliography [ edit ]Day laborers struggle to navigate their boat due to water Hyacinth plants taking over the water’s surface in the Buriganga River in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The condition of some parts of the river is unnavigable due to a lack of maintenance and pollution from chemical waste. Abir Abdullah/European Pressphoto Agency The following is a guest post from University of Michigan-Dearborn political scientist Salomon Orellana. ***** Concern over climate change continues to grow among climate scientists and across the political spectrum. But climate change is a difficult problem to address in large part because its consequences are not immediately apparent, and thus it can be difficult to convince the public to accept the material sacrifices required. In democracies, this task can be made more difficult by the incentives parties and politicians face to pander; that is, to pursue votes by appealing to voters’ short-term interests. In the case of global warming, this would be by appealing to voters’ preferences for material comfort in the present at the expense of a future stable climate. In my recent book, I make the case that democracies with fewer parties in the legislature struggle more with pandering than democracies with more parties. As I discussed in an earlier post at The Monkey Cage, this dynamic is consequential to important social problems such as crime and incarceration, but it is also quite relevant to how societies respond to other complex and critical problems such as global climate change. In two-party systems, when one party panders on material comfort (e.g., “gasoline prices have risen under the current government”) or even survival (e.g., “carbon taxes will cost jobs”) versus doing something about climate change, the other party feels great pressure to follow suit. This dynamic also tends to reduce dissent on issues like carbon taxes, and thereby can influence public opinion and the policies governments adopt on such issues. Most people actually demonstrate a preference for protecting the environment when responding to general questions about the environment; however, levels of commitment to environmental protection tend to decline as people begin to realize that there are specific material costs involved. Survey questions that more specifically address the costs of environmental protection tend to show lower levels of support. This may help explain why presidential candidates in the U.S. will make general statements about protecting the environment, but they tend to avoid making statements about specific steps that might involve materials costs, such as carbon taxes. In multiparty systems, smaller parties can take the risk of promoting dissenting ideas, including suggestions that fossil fuels should be taxed at a higher rate. Thus, voters are more likely to be exposed to discussion of specific costs involved with addressing climate change. Does such exposure affect the public’s willingness to accept those costs? Conversely, does more frequent exposure to pandering positions lessen public tolerance of those costs? We can begin to answer to these questions by turning to the World Values Survey, which asked the following question across dozens of countries: Can you tell me whether you agree strongly, agree, disagree or strongly disagree? The Government should reduce environmental pollution, but it should not cost me any money. The wording makes it easier for respondents to reject the costs of protecting the environment and thus provides a more accurate measurement of respondents’ environmental commitment. Disagreeing with the statement, therefore, reflects a greater willingness to accept materials’ costs to protect the environment. The figure below compares the proportion of respondents in various countries selecting “disagree” or “strongly disagree” in response to this question with “legislative fractionalization,” or the probability that two deputies picked at random from the legislature will be from different parties. A score of.5 — which is about what the U.S. scores — indicates a pure two-party system. As can be observed, countries with more parties tend to have higher public willingness to bear the costs of protecting the environment. These results hold across time and across larger samples of countries (I report such results in my book). Number of Parties and Support for Environmental Protection (Data: Legislative Fractionalization (World Bank Database of Political Institutions), Survey data from World Values Survey Association (fifth wave of combined EVS/WVS file); Figure: Salomon Orellana) The variation in support across countries also appears large enough to influence government policies. One policy area that seems most clearly affected by such dynamics is taxation of fossil fuels, especially gasoline taxation. In the U.S., for example, it has been historically difficult (if not impossible) for a presidential candidate to run on the position that taxes on gasoline should be higher. On the contrary, both parties tend to attack one another when gasoline prices rise. Indeed, even Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore (who may have emphasized environmental protection more than any recent major party presidential candidate) urged incumbent President Bill Clinton, during the 2000 presidential election campaign in which Gore was competing, to draw on the government-held emergency petroleum reserve to bring oil prices down. This seeming consensus reinforces the position that gasoline taxes should be low. Consequently, the American public should tend to be more opposed to increases in gasoline taxes and politicians should be less willing to increases gasoline taxes. In the figure below, I compare gas prices in countries with legislative fractionalization. Oil is considered a relatively “fungible” commodity (it sells for roughly the same price around the world), and therefore, variations in the price of gasoline should to a great extent reflect government actions, such as subsidies or levels of taxation. Indeed, it does appear that gasoline prices are correlated with the number of parties in the legislature – of course, Italy and the U.K. are noticeable outliers, suggesting that other factors can play an important role. These results match previous research showing that countries with fewer parties and less proportional electoral systems tend to use more CO2 per capita. Number of Parties and Gasoline Prices (Data: Legislative Fractionalization (World Bank Database of Political Institutions), Gasoline Prices (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit); Figure: Salomon Orellana) In sum, this evidence suggests a couple of key conclusions. First, the institutions we use to govern ourselves can have a large influence on the policies societies choose. Second, human preferences (and therefore voter preferences) can align with our long-term interests even for complex policy problems such as global warming, especially when exposed to dissenting ideas.Illustration: Luo Xuan/GT Apart from its food, China is also well-known for its culture - and in particular, fengshui, an art based on the belief that the arrangement of specific items within a room or building can direct a person to certain destinies. Despite being long-regarded as a superstitious activity by Chinese authorities, fengshui is popular among individuals, and in the workplace, due to its lengthy history. Said to have been formed in the Warring States period (475BC-221BC) over 2,200 years ago, fengshui has made headlines once again, this time after China University of Political Science and Law (CUPL) in Beijing was initially thought to put a giant tons-heavy rock from Taishan Mountain at its Xueyuan Road campus to foster prosperity. Taishan Mountain, the preeminent of China's five sacred mountains, rose to new heights in fame in 2000, when an age-old folklore was revived and bestowed rocks from the mountain with a somewhat efficacious effect. Many more people started to believe that the rocks, which had been enchanted by a legendary exorcist, are able to ward off evil spirits, and foster good fortune, wealth and harmony. In fact, towns and villages located around Taishan Mountain have since prospered from their close proximity to the site, as average housing prices in the area have shot up to 8,000 yuan ($1,307) per square meter. But after much public attention over the nature of the sacred rock weighing tens of tons, it appears that CUPL is not - at least, publicly - a believer in the rocks said to hold positive energy from Shandong Province's famous mountain. The school addressed the issue on Wednesday, saying that the rock displayed at its campus was "not about fengshui," but rather meant to mark the university's 30th anniversary of its graduate school. The remark came just days after an unnamed vice director of one of the university's departments posted an online photograph of the stone, claiming that it represented the "bliss of the law." Yet what netizens have taken away from all of the news is that rocks from Taishan Mountain must truly be sacred. It is said that local governments are in favor of such grand rocks, as they are believed to imply stability and safety. Local courts, for example, often choose to place stone carvings of a unicorn or qilin, a mythical Chinese chimerical creature, outside courthouses to symbolize strength in the judicial system. In Yucheng, Shandong Province, three giant stones stand in the main square. Each was consecutively erected by the incumbent leader of the former city head. It seems that every successor believed it was a sacred stone that got their predecessor promoted. Local officials everywhere practice their own superstitious beliefs. Some government leaders refuse to arrange their offices on the eighth floor of a building, opting instead for the seventh. This stems from a traditional Chinese idiom, which literally translates to "seven up, eight down," which is often used to describe an unsettled mind. Like political and religious beliefs, officials appear reluctant to drop the superstitions that they have long practiced. It is a daunting problem disturbing China's officialdom. But it won't go away until we stop obsessing over superstitious beliefs. We should first start by asking officials: how will the placement of a stone help better govern a city or the nation? The author is a Global Times reporter. 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Subscribe to our free newsletters. There’s no special reason to display this graphic yet again — except maybe for the fact that (a) Jeb Bush is once more begging us to stop blaming stuff on his brother, (b) the Republican Party is about to embark on yet another nonstop yakathon about how the budget deficit is going to doom us all, and (c) the doom-monger in chief, Paul Ryan, will be speaking in prime time tomorrow. Plus Ezra Klein reminded me of this today. Click the link if you want more detail, but I think the chart pretty much speaks for itself. Nearly every single thing driving the current increase in public debt — tax cuts, wars, the recession, and measures to fight the recession — was a result of Bush-era policies that were enthusiastically supported by nearly every single Republican currently hanging out in Tampa. They only got religion after a Democrat won the White House and had to clean up the mess they left behind. Their success at convincing half the country that Barack Obama is responsible for our soaring debt is surely one of the greatest political propaganda victories of all time.Those of us eating a plant-based diet often find our food choices causing more questions and consternation during the upcoming weeks than during the rest of the year. One of the perennial concerns I’ve found people have is that if everyone went vegan, what would happen to all the animals—chickens, turkeys, pigs, and cows? If we stopped eating them, wouldn’t they just take over the Earth, threatening our survival? For years this question irked me because it seemed patently ridiculous, and worse, would be used to justify the cruelty of eating animal foods. Now, though, whenever I hear this question, I see it as an opportunity to deliver a brief meditation on how our world can be healed. Advertisement Imagining the world gradually going vegan is imagining the most positive possible future for our species, for the Earth, and for all living beings. First of all, as we reduce the number of animals we are eating, that will send a message to agribusiness to forcefully inseminate fewer female pigs, turkeys, cows, fishes, and other animals, so fewer animals will be imprisoned, and there will be less mutilation, killing, violence, terror, and suffering. It also means there will be lower demand for GMO corn, soy, alfalfa and other feed grains, and thus less deforestation, monocropping, and pollution. As this continues, there will be more food to feed starving people, and also monocropped land can be returned to being critically-needed habitat for wildlife, whose populations are being decimated by the habitat loss caused by grazing livestock and growing feed grains. As the vegan trend continues, streams will come back and run cleaner. More birds, fish, and other animals will be able to thrive, there will be far less toxic pesticides and fertilizers needed, and the oceans, which we are devastating, will begin to heal. As studies continually demonstrate, livestock production is the main driving force behind global warming, and this also will decrease. In addition, by eating less animal-based foods, people will be healthier physically as they eliminate the toxic fat, cholesterol, and animal protein that drive obesity, diabetes, arthritis, cancer, kidney disease, heart disease, and drug use. People will become healthier emotionally and spiritually, also, as they cause and eat less misery, and our culture, as its level of violence decreases, will become healthier as well. As forest, rainforest, and prairie communities come back to life, along with riparian and ocean communities, the devastating mass extinction of species that is going on right now will slow down. To raise and slaughter hundreds of millions animals daily for food on this planet, we are forcing hundreds of species of animals and plants into extinction every week. Because of our appetites for a few species of birds, mammals, and fish, we are destroying the Earth’s genetic diversity, and it seems absurd to be unconcerned about these tens of thousands of species, but to care only about the few that we’re eating. In any event, the animals we imprison today for food lived freely in nature for millions of years and could do so again. The animals that we most intensely enslave for food and products, such as turkeys, ducks, geese, chickens, and fish, are all doing just fine in the wild (aside from being hunted and having their habitat destroyed). They would continue to do so, and this is also true for pigs, sheep, and goats, which even today have substantial wild populations. There is no reason to think that the animals we are eating and using wouldn’t be able to return to their natural lives living freely in nature—they already are! Cows are the only possible question—their progenitors, the aurochs, were forced into extinction in the 1600s, but it is certainly conceivable that cows could be reintroduced into central Asia and Africa where they lived for millions of years, and with time would return to the ecological niche they inhabited before cruel human enslavement tore them from their ancestral homelands. Advertisement Advertisement So, it’s a refreshing question to ponder. It’s remarkably uplifting and heartening to reflect on “what will happen if we all stop eating meat, dairy products, and eggs?” Contemplating this, we see clearly that there’s nothing stopping us from creating a heaven on this beautiful and abundant Earth – nothing except the culturally mandated, deeply-ingrained, and deluded habits of routinely abusing animals for food. Each one of us can question this, and I hope the next time you hear this question, you’ll welcome it enthusiastically! We can all discuss this question a few times during the holidays, and by doing so, pull back the curtain to reveal the positive future we can create together. There is no action more powerful anyone can take to subvert the dominant paradigm of exploitation and inequality than to shift to a plant-based diet for ethical reasons. By going vegan, and spreading the vegan message creatively, we take the most effective action to create a world where peace, abundance, sustainability, freedom, and universal joy are not just possible but natural. Advertisement Image Source: Nick Ares/FlickrWhat Can Be Done? As many know, I am an unapologetic supporter of the horror genre. It allows for us to all feel one overwhelming emotion together in unity, while also telling a complex or surreal story with hidden themes and deeper messages. Personally, I feel it is the only genre that can deliver on all it is expected to, no matter what medium it is being created for whether it be television, film, literature or gaming. Silent Hill, The Twilight Zone, Jacob's Ladder and The Shining all exist in different mediums but all tell complex (occasionally contrived) and creepy stories with a dark theme driving them forward. The horror is easy to translate from the script to the screen/page due to how in your face or subtle it may be. It has been proven time and time again that horror can be used in practically any meidum and it has also been proven that horror novels or stories can provide great entertainment after being translated from one medium to another. Unless it's the works of H.P Lovecraft. These short stories sit in an awkward spot, with very few having ever managed to be translated from one medium to another. The way the stories are told, the first-person perspectives of unknown protagonists, the subtle and minimalist way that the horrors lurking in the shadows are described to the audience... It all leads to material that is just very problematic to translate to other mediums. It's been a long fascination of mine to see what people could do with the source material of Lovecraft, what with all the gothic imagery, interlocking mysteries and a wealth of original and terrifying beings. I mean surely using these detailed worlds as a layout for a video game would make the process easier right? Well as it turns out, not really. The Issues Faced Lovecraft has a very specific way of writing his monsters. They are never given fully detailed descriptions of what they look like, meaning a lot of it is open to interpretation, which normally would make a game developers job easier ("Go wild and create what you like") except, the monsters are meant to be open to interpretation in order to invoke a stronger sense of fear. These monsters aren't meant to have an identifiable, physical form. And that is where the issue lies. Games are almost entirely a visual medium that can leave a lot open to interpretation but still require a narrative structure that players can interact with in order to be considered a good game, as well as being user friendly. As such, how would a game developer create a visual representation of a monster with little to no description? Some would argue that an artist would simply use his own interpretation to create a monstrosity that invokes fear, but in doing so, said artist would miss the entire point of why Lovecraft's creatures are scary in the first place. Making Cthulhu a boss monster at the end of the game would miss the point as to why Cthulhu is such a formidable creation. It isn't something you can beat with your wits and your strength, Cthulhu is something that cannot be defeated by mortal men. Scary right? That thing is terrifying and easily something that equals the horror that my mother-in-law inspires whenever she enters a room. Yet it is a beast of flesh and blood, which, in the minds of anyone playing a video game, means that it can be beaten and possibly killed. How Did Lovecraft Do It? Well, besides having stories filled with blatant xenophobia and a mild dose of social anxiety, Lovecraft also managed to create images of these deities through descriptions alone, normally descriptions that are incredibly brief and barely even give the reader any inkling on what the creature in question looks like. It also became a trope throughout his tales to have the character go mad upon the mere sight of these creatures, purposely keeping descriptions of his creations to a mere few sentences. Coupling the lore with his penchant for existential plots, Lovecraft managed to terrify readers with the possibility of madness-inducing terrors living in the real world, existing on a plane of existence we cannot yet fathom. This isn't to say that Lovecraft never had monsters at the forefront of his stories; on the contrary, he normally wrote about people/monsters who are disciples of a more powerful being that operates in the background pulling the strings. In doing this, Lovecraft creates tension form the unseen horrors, but also crafts suspenseful action-packed scenes with the monsters that are present in the foreground. He also, like other great authors such as Dickens and Shakespeare, drew inspiration from the period of time that he lived in and allowed it to inlfuence his work... For better and for worse. Given the time period, his views on migrators were unpleasant at best and downright racist at worst, which carried over into his storytelling, especially in his charcaterisation of certain characters who are meant to be Arabic in origin. This does however, allow him to write some interesting stuff regarding humans as a race itself, especially when he began crafting the Cthulhu Mythos and started exploring the human condition. Existential storylines and insanity became staples of his connected universe, inspiring horror writers for generations to come, creating some of the most memorable short-stories in literary history. Of course, given the heavy themes and lack of description surrounding his creations, this type of storytelling is far easier to do in text than on-screen, so the big question is this: How do you translate so many heavy-hitting themes into a video game? Well, apparently, you make Bloodborne. Doing Some Things Right Bloodborne captures the feeling of Lovecraft not just through its creature design, but also through its thematic elements and its tone both of which, I'd argue, are far more important in capturing the feeling of Lovecraft's work. What's the point of playing a game inspired by Lovecraftian lore, if it doesn't feel like it belongs between the pages of his books? The villagers in both the Fishing Hamlet and Yharnam are effectively apostles of the Great Ones or are being manipulated to do their bidding, the world around you reveals itself to be hiding creatures of unlimited power, the race and class divide is shown to be present in Yharnam through visual storytelling and item description, the themes of different dimensions, the concept of religions being erected to worship these awful deities... These are elements that FromSoftware nailed, showing that interpreting Lovecraft's works into a game takes more than just having Cthulhu in the game. All of Lovecraft's works are on display within Bloodborne in one form or another, the most obvious ones being The Call of Cthulhu, The Shadow Over Innsmouth, Nyarlathotep, The Nameless City to name but a few. The Fishing Hamlet in Bloodborne: The Old Hunters is effectively the town of Innsmouth, in both its architecture and town layout as well as its inhabitants being ripped right out of that specific short-story, what with their fish-like characterisation and their relationship with both those living in Yharnam and with the deities living in the nearby ocean. Ever noticed how similar the journey into the Upper Cathedral Ward and eventually Ebrietas' lair is similar to the journey into the depths of the Exham Priory in the story Rats in the Walls. They both share thematic elements as well: Your protagonist journeys up into an area beforehand locked away, while RitW's protagonist journeys downwad revealing a hidden world. Your protagonist finds creatures that were experiemented on and used for The Healing Churches benefit, while in RitW's story, the narrator finds people that were bred for the sole purpose of being consumed by the wealthy people above. Both have horrible creatures locked away from the world and both have a tone of melancholy scattered about the prevalent feeling of horror. They share major elements, both in storytelling and thematic terms. That's without delving into the other pieces of Lovecraftian lore so obviously on display: The xenophobia of the Yharnamites (especially as Djura points out the man and beast are no different) and the obvious class divide between those in the Healing Church/The Choir and those in Old Yharnam, the abuse of The Great Ones (who noticeably share a name similar to The Great Old Ones) and the madness that is created when humans dabble in supernatural powers. That is just to name a few similar points between them. Evidently there is one overarching theme of both Bloodborne and Lovecraft's works, and it is that humans live in a world where horrors lay just out of eyesight. Both pieces constantly hammer home that we, as a species, are insignificant in the gretater schemes of the universe. As a loose translation of Lovecraft's works, I have yet to find one better than Bloodborne. And Doing Some Things Wrong Of course this doesn't mean that Bloodborne flawlessly adapts Lovecraft into the medium of video games. As a survival-horror game, and more importantly, as a Souls-esque game, combat is involved and weapon mechanics are implemented into it, meaning that these God-like beings are able to be slain. In doing so, the creatures lose some of their intimidation factor because your protagonist can stand in the presence of an Amygdala without snapping and going insane. This isn't the status quo the whole way through the game, on the contrary there are a couple of Great Ones stated to be unseeable and therefore cannot be killed, so it's obvious that Miyazaki understands why the monsters in Lovecraft's works are so terrifying, but it still stands that by including combat into the game, you feel like you can kill something no matter how many tries it may take you. Every creature is well-designed and incredibly detailed, making them all the more intimidating to the player, yet the intimidation factor is lessened somewhat by the fact that the monster standing in your way is gross and horrifying, but no worse than the countless creatures you have killed before coming up against it. The ability to kill the enemies makes them nowhere near as terrifying as those featured in Lovecraft's stories, though at least they still have their own aura of terrific majesty. On the opposite side of this coin, the creatures featured in the video game Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth (above) are fairly bland-looking from a design standpoint and are featured in a game that really doesn't appear to understand why Lovecraft's work is so revered, throwing in creatures and situations with a tenuous set of plot-threads holding it all together. Of course, the game doesn't start off with any combat, utilising a stealth/evasion approach to enemy encounters (though of course those tense encounters are spoiled later on after the weapons are introduced). CoCDCotE has all the elements of Lovecraft there for the taking, the ideas of insanity and the inclusion of The Deep Ones and The Great Old Ones really shows that they were attempting to translate Lovecraft's work into a video game format, but the awkward voice acting, tenuous story, awful animations and clear misunderstanding of what "horror" really is. The story does little more than reference creatures and places that are present in Lovecraft's short-stories, but nothing beyond that, coming together in a climax that is both disappointing and rather disjointed. The lack of foreboding and genuine horror is a severe issue in this game, making encounters with monsters feel either oddly crafted or downright boring... Not something you should be saying about a horror game that takes inspiration from some of the most iconic horror stories of all time. What Can Be Done? The short answer: Not much. Bloodborne is probably the best interpretation of Lovrecraft's work I've seen and probably the best we can hope to get because, in the long and short of it, I think Lovecraft created his stories in a way that perfectly suits the medium they were crafted for. They were to writing what Undertale is to video games, a creation that worked by using every tool their specific medium allows to create the best overall experience they can, meaning they cannot be faithfully translated from one medium to another. I really hope that the upcoming Call of Cthulhu is a great game, that it utilises Lovecraft's lore to its full potential while also crafting a narrative around it that feels involving and creepy. There has to be an air of menace to the game and its environments, but I am not holding my breath. While Bloodborne managed to make the creatures feel threatening and included well-thought-out themes present in the writings of Lovecraft, while Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth managed to partially adapt areas present in his work to the video game medium and while Amnesia: The Dark Descent translated the idea of going mad at the sight of hideous abominations, games are too different from Lovecraft's works to really click in a way that can prove successful, despite those examples I mentioned did a few things right. Bloodborne works so well because it has its own story but simply draws on themes detailed in Lovecraft's collection. I'm all for being proved wrong, hell I hope I am, but as detailed above there are so many problems that developers are forced to face when attempting to shift Lovecrafts stories from one medium to another. You do one thing right and automatically three things will go wrong and you're forced to be unfaithful to Lovecraft;s original vision. Storytelling issues are faced by anyone attempting to adapt works from one medium to another, it comes with the territory. Lovecraft's works are in a tough spot where they are incredibly well-written and still hold up all these years later, but will always suffer in one way or another when people attempt to translate the stories into a video game. I just hope nobody ever asks me to help translate a Lovecraftian story into another medium, because that prospect is more terrifying to me than anything that madman could ever hope to conjure up. You are logged out. Login \| Sign upThis past Saturday, some twenty thousand people marched through the streets of Birmingham, Alabama. They were there at the invitation of the conservative radio and television host Glenn Beck, as part of a movement known variously as Restoring Unity, Never Again Is Now, and All Lives Matter. (A blimp adorned with the third motto floated overhead.) Beck himself had been invited, too, by Bishop Jim Lowe, the pastor of Birmingham’s Guiding Light Church, a predominantly black, non-denominational congregation whose members number in the thousands. More specifically, the way that Beck tells it, the two came together in a sort of divine meet-cute, at an event last year. “This preacher is sitting there,” Beck explained to a studio audience on TheBlaze, his television network, in June. “I keep looking at him. And God is like, ‘You’ve got to talk to him.’ ” Last weekend bore the fruit of that introduction. The jumble of event names did not seem to deter the crowd, who reported hours earlier than the advertised 9 A.M. start time to the designated corralling area, on Sixteenth Street and Seventh Avenue North. That placed the start of the event in the heart of Birmingham’s civil-rights district, just a block north of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, where, in the fall of 1963, a Ku Klux Klan bombing killed four girls and wounded nearly two dozen other parishioners. The location was deliberate, and, according to several rally attendees, entirely appropriate. “Personally, I believe that a lot of the fights that were necessary in those days happened here. There’s a lot of similar battles to be won,” Kyle Wipf, a thirty-seven-year-old painter for John Deere, told me. He had driven the fourteen hours from Des Moines, Iowa, with his wife, Rachel. “The same Biblical principles apply in both situations.” Joe Preston, a financial adviser from Smithfield, North Carolina, agreed. “What people did back then, just letting it happen here—I’m talking about white people—to me is akin to just sitting here and letting ISIS do things to Christians. Planned Parenthood, people just letting that happen. It’s the same thing.” Preston had travelled to Birmingham with his friend Ryan Harris, who cited the “racial divide” as his motivation for attending the march. “People who are supposed to be the non-racist people, if you pay attention, they’re the ones promoting all this stuff,” Harris said, citing “black leadership” generally, and Al Sharpton in particular, as examples. Debbie Bennett, a retired hospice worker from Kansas City, Missouri, walked the route with a cane in one hand and a poster of Frederick Douglass in the other. PHOTOGRAPH BY JOE SONGER/AL.COM VIA LANDOV If these concerns sound scattered, it is because Beck’s followers feel beset from many sides—political, racial, religious. They’ve got a lot of ground to cover. Despite the talk of unity, though, the crowd’s diversity was largely limited to age and geographic origin. One of the few African-American couples whom I saw told me that they were there as members of Lowe’s church; they didn’t have much to say about Beck. “I wish there were more black people here,” Mark Seymour, a fifty-seven-year-old children’s performer who lives near Birmingham, said. Why, I asked, did he think that the city’s African-Americans had absented themselves? “It’s kind of like the plantation thing,” Seymour suggested. “Why do they continue to vote for policies that hurt them? That’s just the way it is.” What did he hope the march would accomplish? “I want to say that we turned on people’s hearts,” he said. The rally started a few minutes late. It was led by Beck, Lowe, the nineteen-eighties action star Chuck Norris, and those marchers who had sprung for a deluxe ticket (twelve hundred and fifty dollars, plus forty-four dollars and seventy-five cents in Ticketmaster fees), which earned them, among other things, a “priority spot” in the crowd, a meet-and-greet with Beck, and an unspecified book authored by the same. The assorted “All Lives Matter” posters bobbed up one block, to the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, then turned left, past Kelly Ingram Park, where, in May of 1963, police let loose fire hoses and attack dogs on a packed crowd of protesters. Since Birmingham’s civil-rights district sits adjacent to its financial district, it wasn’t long before the Unity marchers entered the valley of the city’s few skyscrapers. Another left turn, a few short blocks, and the Glenn Beck faithful arrived at the convention center, where, two hours later, they would hear directly from their leader. When the Restoring Unity Speaker Series finally started, a little after noon, it drew about half as many people as the march and lasted well over four times as long. The Guiding Light Church choir provided a gospel background. Norris had been scheduled to lead the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance, but he bowed out to look after his wife, who had fallen ill during the morning’s procession. The actor Jon Voight filled in for him. Pastor Rafael Cruz, the father of the Republican Presidential candidate and Texas senator Ted Cruz, delivered the invocation prayer. Alveda King, a niece of Martin Luther King, Jr., spoke for several minutes, as did Lowe. David Barton, the founder of WallBuilders, a group dedicated to infusing the United States government with Christian values, gave a crisp tour through God’s decisive influence over historic military victories, such as the Revolutionary War and the Battle of the Bulge. Audrea Taylor, a youthful
and Greens for allowing the United Steelworkers union to pay for the salaries of deputy party director Glen Sanford, campaign director Bob Dewar and long-time NDP campaign organizer Gerry Scott. Rather than donate cash, the Steelworkers put members on the union's payroll and lent them to the NDP. At the time, Green Leader Andrew Weaver questioned how NDP Leader John Horgan could campaign against big money corrupting politicians, when he then "quietly goes into a backroom and strikes a deal with a union to have them pay for his senior staff?" On Tuesday, Mr. Weaver's spokesperson said if a ban on such in-kind donations is not included in the NDP's campaign finance bill, his caucus will work with the Liberals to introduce an amendment doing so. Mr. Sanford, now the NDP's volunteer vice-president, said there is little difference between cash and in-kind donations, such as his labour, provided they are given at full market value. "I don't particularly see a problem with that per se; where the problem lies is big money's influence in politics – and we said we are going to ban it," he said in an interview on Tuesday. A Liberal Party spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday. Story continues below advertisement Story continues below advertisement Campaign-finance reform will be among the first issues facing the new NDP government. The New Democrats have already faced criticism since the election for holding a private, $325-a-ticket fundraising event and for continuing to accept union and corporate donations while waiting to take office. The outgoing BC Liberals had long refused to implement any limits on political donations despite repeated criticism of the party's fundraising practices, including cash-for-access events in which donors paid up to $10,000 for a chance to sit down with the Premier. Earlier this year, the Liberals relented somewhat and pledged to form a panel after the election that would review overhauling campaign finance rules. The Liberals finally reversed course last month when the government presented its final Throne Speech as the party faced imminent defeat at the hands of the NDP-Green alliance. In that Throne Speech, the Liberals also said they wanted to outlaw in-kind donations, despite enjoying a clear advantage last year by raising almost $640,000 versus the NDP's $41,000, according to annual reports filed to Elections BC. It is unknown how much was donated through these in-kind contributions during the campaign as all parties must submit their reports to Elections BC by Aug. 8. The Greens say they have not accepted in-kind donations from businesses or unions since last September and received about $1,300 in these contributions from individuals during the election. The Liberals raised $13.1-million in donations last year, while the NDP raised $6.2-million. Nearly two-thirds of the money raised by the Liberals – $7.7-million – came from a relatively small collection of corporate and business donors. Of the money donated to the NDP, $1.8-million was from unions. Story continues below advertisement The Greens and the NDP have agreed to work together on key issues, including campaign finance, electoral reform and the environment. Dermod Travis, executive director of IntegrityBC, a non-partisan government critic, said these in-kind donations deserve to be banned outright as they are often too complicated to provide an accurate appraisal of the services or items provided. "Without wanting to point to specifics, I've seen cases in party financial reports that caused me to scratch my head at how they got valued at what was that price," he said.AhemSo, remember this? Considering Sunset Shimmer's personality in the movie, I was greatly intrigued by that picture. It made me wonder what really happened when she first arrived in the human version of Equestria. I was even more perplexed when I heard digibrony's thoughts on Sunset. It seems like there's more to her than meets the eye.Er, anyway, I thought I would try to complete the portrait in vector format. Do with it what you will, just give credit please! And PLEASE feel free to offer suggestions if you think I screwed up on her lower half.Inkscape SVG: [Link] Plain SVG: [Link] Mostly traced from this screenshot: [Link] Don't know what Ponyscape is? Well, you'll need it, if you want to get the most out of the SVG I've provided. You can learn all about that at this group:Fixed her eyes and some other things with the helpful suggestions of, and redditor Fringe Pioneer -------------------------My Little Pony: Equestria Girls belongs to HasbroWhile Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus demagogues over the World War II memorial, promising vets he’ll use Republican National Committee funds to keep it open after Republican intransigence shut it, he might want to find some women he can spend his cash on. Remember his “autopsy” of the 2012 race and his commitment to remake his party? One key component involved reaching out to women, who are deserting his party in droves, to “address concerns that are on women’s minds in order to let them know we are fighting for them.” Better check on how that’s going, Reince. A National Journal poll released Thursday found that a growing number of American women believe the Republican Party has moved farther away from their concerns since the election. Advertisement: A third of all women polled said the party had drifted away from them; only 14 percent said it had moved closer (46 percent said the party hadn’t moved). But the most striking change took place among college-educated white women. For some reason, Mitt Romney made inroads with that group last year; Obama had won them in 2008 but lost them narrowly last year. Almost half (45 percent) of college-educated white women say the Republican Party has moved away from them, and of that group, two-thirds say it’s because the party has become more conservative. The news is bad among younger women, as well. Among women under 50, 29 percent said the party had moved away from them, to 11 percent who said it had moved closer. Reince Priebus, call your rebranding office. This polling data gives me an excuse to revisit one of the most farcical chapters in the fast-moving government shutdown crisis – last Saturday night, when House Republicans decided to attach the so-called conscience clause to the continuing resolution, preventing regulations providing contraception without a co-pay from taking effect. When I first saw the news on Twitter, while I was at dinner, I was sure it was satire: Who could possibly think such a move would bring the two sides closer to compromise? It had to be some Lizz Winstead hashtag game: #insaneGOPamendmentstoCR. But of course it was for real. Bringing the two sides closer to compromise wasn’t the point: Republicans have been using the continuing resolution debate to reward their most extreme and demented constituencies. As written, the measure apparently would have denied women other preventive services, like mammograms, without a co-pay. Why not deny us dental care? Or attach a rider making it illegal to wear shoes? Luckily it went nowhere – which is where it seems our country is going, right now. Unbelievably, GOP women (apart from Michele Bachmann) have been mostly off camera during the shutdown debate. Did you see that cute photo House Majority Leader Eric Cantor tweeted, of his House colleagues waiting in vain for a conference with the Senate? All white men, nobody of color, no women (unless those were binders full of women on that table). Advertisement: Targeting Obamacare, which is popular with women, and specifically going after the contraception provision -- that wasn’t in Reince Priebus’ rebranding report, I don’t think. But they knew these policies would be unpopular with women: Polling for Republican members on the politics of a government shutdown to defund Obamacare found a huge gender gap, with 61 percent of Republican women opposed to the idea, while 48 percent of men favored it. The GOP keeps digging an electoral hole for itself with women, and they don’t seem to care.From the sudden jump scares, grotesque monsters, unsettling atmosphere and a compelling story, the horror video game genre holds a special place in most of our hearts. The genre, in my personal opinion, really got its big break in the 1990s with video game titles like Silent Hill making their appearance. Throughout the years the horror genre has evolved, new incredible video games have came out to market as newer consoles launched to the masses around the world. Now that we’re in the latest generation of consoles and 2015 is upon us, here are some worthy horror video game titles you’ll want to keep a close eye on for their upcoming release dates. Since this is a list, we’re sure there are some video games we may be missing, have a title worth checking out that is set to release in 2015, simply let us know in the comment section down below! Call of Cthulhu Developers: Frogwares Studio Publisher: Focus Home Interactive Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC Call of Cthulhu has made its rounds for quite a few years now. In fact it was first brought out to the world all the way back in 1928 by author H.P. Lovecraft through a short story featured in Weird Tales. Unfortunately, news is still a bit scarce on the video game title though the concept images released prove to carry a very dark and mysterious atmosphere. This will be the latest Call of Cthulhu video game iteration released since Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth, a video game that was well received by critics but wasn’t a major hit in market.Revelation Online New Player Guide Revelation Online New Player Guide covering all the basics of the game. Game Basics What is Revelation Online Revelation Online is a game developed by Netease, a giant tech company in China and published by My.com (Russian company with HQ in Amsterdam). It is a high fantasy game with some scifi elements set in an ancient Chinese Wuxia backdrop. It has action combat, dungeons, raids, 3v3 Arenas, battleground (10v10, 20v20, 30v30), territory/guild wars, open world PvP, reputation grind and minigames. It has a very large open world with no load screens (unless you are teleporting around using waypoints). Current level cap in China is Level 79 but Closed betas are capped to Level 49. We might see a cap of 59 at launch. Lolis are present in this game, if that is your thing. Lastly, this game is not your typical Asian MMO grinder. Leveling up is easy but to actually progress in the game you need to do doing group content with other players. Endgame is all high end group content like hard dungeons and raids. Is it P2W? Hard to say as we don’t know the NA/EU business model and cashshop won’t be available in CBT1. In the Chinese version of the game, it is somewhat Pay2Win as you can exchange cashshop credits for ingame credits to purchase equipment upgrades at a faster pace. Cosmetics are also not cheap in the Chinese version with costumes costing hundreds of local currency and things like Wings costing thousands (a few hundred US dollars equivalent). However, the Chinese players are on the average quite wealthy so their business model and prices cannot be compared to the NA/EU servers. Gameplay Options This game support 3 different gameplay options and you can swap to any of them anytime you want. You will need to make a selection once you load into the game but can change this selection anytime after. WASD with Tab Targeting – Standard MMO gameplay style. Action Combat – You use your mouse to target, left mouse click and right mouse click are bound to abilities. Similar to Tera/BnS/BDO. Mouse Move – You click on the ground with your mouse to move, similar to Diablo games. Action Combat is fine for most classes but healers may need to use WSAD due to the need to target different players. You can get around this by using the hotkeys to target group members. Something healers need to setup is a keybind for target self. This is in your keybind options, by default it is ctrl. Holding ctrl and any of the healing abilities will cause it to land on yourself instead. What Class Should I Pick? Revelation Online has a trinity system (Tank, Healer DPS) so you will need to pick the role you play first. Vanguard – Tank (Plate) Spiritshaper – Healer (Cloth) Blademaster – Offtank/DPS (Plate) Occultist – Offhealer/DPS (Leather) Gunslinger – Pure DPS (Leather) Swordmage – Pure DPS (Cloth) Offhealer and Offtanks are usually not used to main heal/tank the hardest content ingame but they can do fine for daily dungeons and activities. Swordmage, Gunslinger and Blademaster are all competitive on the DPS rankings. Occultist can be competitive but it is not a pure DPS class so it will never able to out damage the pure DPS classes assuming they are equally geared/skilled. It does however provide plenty of support buffs and can hold out on its own when used as a DPS. Revelation Online does have a system where you can swap out attribute/skill presets out of combat so healers and tanks don’t have worry about having difficulty doing quests or soloing as they can swap into a more damage heavy role. What Race Should I Pick? There are 3 races for each gender. Classes are not gender locked but they have limitations on what races it can be. Race Vanguard Blademaster Spiritshaper Occultist Swordmage Gunslinger Buff Looking Male X X X Normal Looking Male X X X X X Feminine Looking Male X X X Female with Long Legs X X Normal Female X X X X X X Loli X X X X Here is a visual guide to the different races. They all have different idle poses, voice, and different actions for emotes. Buff Looking Male Normal Looking Male Feminine Looking Male Female with Long Legs Normal Female Loli Some races do have a few unique hairstyles. Character Customization Character Customization is fairly comprehensive in this game. You have presets you can apply without having to fuss with the customization.A large selection of hairstyles (some are unique to specific races) and sliders for everything from breasts to butt size. One thing to mention about hand slider is that it affects your character’s weapon size in game. So if you want large weapons then you should make your hand as large as possible on the slider. Once you have decided on a customization, you can save it as an xml file that can be used later or shared with other players. Game Interface General Interface The interface is fairly standard, you got your minimap, quest log, chat windows, and buttons for accessing other functions of the game but there are several things I want to point out. On the top left corner of your screen is a button to customize your interface. Clicking it will activate the customization interface where you can move everything in your UI. There are other buttons on that top left bar that are worth mentioning. Clicking the little square on the leftmost side of the bar allow you to customize what appears on the top bar. This little pin is what you press when you get stuck, it will teleport you to somewhere nearby. This little keyboard allow you to change between the different combat modes (action, WASD, mouse move) Revelation Online features a camera mode where you can take picture of your characters or scenery. In this mode WASD moves your camera instead of your character and you can change the focal length, focus, light, depth of field, and rendering mode. Autopathing If you have played Black Desert Online, you know what autopathing is. This game also features autopathing. You can click on the underlined quest text in your quest log and it will auto path you to the NPC. Clicking on the little feet icon next to the underlined text will directly teleport you to the location (this consumes an item). You can do the same on the map by right clicking on location and it will autopath you there. World Map Pressing M will bring up the world map. There are filters and tabs on the right where you can select/deselect items to be displayed on the map. On the top right of the map are buttons where you can search for a NPC, send your current coordinate to the chat window, and an option to set up custom makers. Waypoints This game features Waypoints much like the system in Guild Wars 2. They are these blue orbs objects you can find all over the open world. You need to unlock them first by running next to it. Waypoint around costs not only requires game currency but it also consume a special item for each waypoint. Character Sheet Press C will bring up your character sheet. Here you can see your armor/weapons, attributes, and combat stats. There is also a costume section devoted to all the costumes and accessories you can equip. You can also see your gearscore here on the top left. Attributes Attributes points can be gained every level starting at Level 20. There are 5 attributes. Which attributes you need depends on your class but everyone will need some Constitution unless they enjoy lying dead on the floor all the time. For Occultists, 105% of the Dexterity is converted to either Magic Damage (in Shadow Form) or Healing Power (Light Form). For Gunslingers, 100% of the Dexterity is converted into Physical damage. Main Stat/Secondary Stat Blademaster – Strength. Dexterity as a secondary stat. Vanguard – Physique. Strength as a secondary stat. Gunslinger – Dexterity. Strength as a secondary stat. Occultist – Dexterity. Intelligence as a secondary stat. Spriitshaper – Spirit. Intelligence as a secondary stat. Swordmage – Intelligence. Dexterity as a secondary stat. The game has automatic options to place attributes in either balanced, offensive, or defensive options. Power Every 1 point give 1 Physical Damage Every 10 points give 4 Force (each force give 1% Physical Attack) Intelligence Every 1 point give 1 Magical Damage Every 1 point give 0.6 Healing Power Every 10 points give 4 Spirit Power (each Spirit Power give 1% Magic Attack) Physique Every 1 point give 29 HP Every 10 points give 4 Brawn (each Brawn give 1% Physical Armor) Every 1 point give 8 Physical Defense Spirit Every 1 point give 25 HP Every 1 point give 10 MP Every 10 points give 1 HP recovery Every 1 point give 1.6 Healing Every 10 points give 4 Arcana (every Arcana give 1% Magic Armor) Every 1 point give 8 Magic Defense Dexterity Every 1 point give 2 Crit Experience/Aptitude There are two types of Experience points. One is your normal character experience which allow you to gain levels and another is Excelsior that are used for talent (purple icon). You won’t have to worry about the Excelsior until you reach Level 49. Starting at Level 39, you will no longer automatically level once you gained enough experience. Instead, you will need to click on the orange button to level up. Aptitude is a mechanic that increases your experience gain if you don’t play the game so that when you log back in, you can get experience faster. Every day at daily reset you get a fixed amount of aptitude and this aptitude is used up as you gain experience. This aptitude increase the amount of experience you would normally gain from activities. So if you are playing everyday and does everything the game has to offer, you will run out of aptitude points and gain experience at a normal rate rather than an accelerated rate with aptitude. You can see how much aptitude you have with this button. Aptitude upper limit increases as you level up and depending on how much Aptitude you have you get different kind of experience bonuses. While you do get more experience bonus with more Aptitude stored, you also consume them faster when you gain experience. 0 Aptitude: 0% bonus 1-71 Aptitude: 100% bonus 72-142 Aptitude: 200% bonus 143-213 Aptitude: 300% bonus 214 Aptitude +: 400% bonus Ascension Stone is something you collect from doing various activities the game has to offer. Once you collect 25 of these stones, you can double click it to receive an Ascension Essence that you can consume to gain a ton of experience. There is a weekly limit on how much Ascension Essence you can consume based on your level range. You can only consume them after level 20. If you cross the threshold to the next level range without using up previous level range’s weekly limits, they add up together. Level 20-29 – 5 times/week Level 30-39 – 15 times/week Level 40-48 – 30 times/week Level 49-58 – 45 times/week Level 59+ – 60 times/week Skill/Talents Skills and Talents menu is accessed by pressing K. You won’t be touching this menu in your early levels but starting at Level 40 you will start getting skill points you can spend to improve your skills. Here you can see your skills, talents, special skills, and flight skills. For a more detailed discussion of the whole skills & talents system, see this guide. Inventory You can open up your inventory by pressing B. Your inventory has a sort function and its size can be increased via using bags. Your inventory has 6 bag slots at the bottom. The first slot is unlocked automatically but you will need to pay for rest of the bag slots. You can only place bags in unlocked bag slots. 2nd slot costs 100 Gyth Note 3rd slot costs 500 Gyth Note & 20 Backpack Expander 4th slot requires 40 Backpack Expander 5th slot requires 80 Backpack Expander 6th slot requires 160 Backpack Expander Backpack Expander can be earned by doing quests from the Warehouse Maid and also by purchasing it from the Ausgyth Points NPC (80 Ausgyth Points Each). Here is the Ausgyth Points NPC location in Sulan. You can buy backpacks from the NPC next to the Warehouse Maid in Sulan for Gyth Notes (6 slot or 8 slots) for 3000/10000 Gyth Notes The Ausgyth Points NPC also have 18 slot bags for 9920 Ausgyth Points. Salvage You can salvage any gear you don’t need by using these two buttons. The first button salvage a single item while the other button salvage a stack of items. Salvage items will give you Gythil and Hematites. Bank/Material Warehouse To access the bank, you first need to unlock it by press V and then going into the second tab. The bank unlock is on the top left. After unlocking it you can go to the warehouse maid and use your warehouse. There is a material warehouse to store your crafting your maps. To unlock the material warehouse, you also need to unlock it in there but you also need to reach social level 20 (which you can get by gathering/crafting or eat food in the Hot Springs). You can check your social level in the social tab of your character window. Once you reach social rank level 20 you will get a quest from the warehouse maid to unlock it. Currencies There are 4 major currencies in this game. Gythil Currency used for trading between players. Can be used if there is not enough Gyth Note. Gained from quests or selling stuff to other players. Gyth Note Currency used for buying stuff from NPCs and unlocking game functions. Gained from dailies/quests. Ausgyth Points Used at a special vendor. Gained from Demonslayer/PvP weekly rank up chests and from leveling rewards at level 9/19/29/39/49/55/59. Very limited resource. Cashshop Credits Cashshop credits purchased with real life money. Other Key Interface Functions There is a group finder for various dungeons/activities you can access by pressing T. You can access the friends menu by pressing P and chat with your friends directly. Use Shift +C to access your Personal Space. See this guide for more information on the friends system. Auction House can be accessed by pressing R. You don’t need to visit an Auction Maid for buying items but to sell items you will need to visit an Auction Maid until you activate the functionality in the crafting tree. Leveling/Dailies Leveling Process Tutorial Island You will be on the tutorial island from level 1-16. You will be introduced to basic aspects of the game here such as combat, flying etc Keep following the main story quest until you reach level 20. You will get your horse mount at level 17. Level 20-29 Do your easymode Darkfall dungeon at level 20. You can do this 5 times a day. Grab a high level player if there is one so they can get Emperor Social Points. Open up your quest menu (L), do all the quests there, especially the orange Practice and Growth quests and purple Study Guide quests Open up your daily menu (U), there should be a daily to do Four Kings solo activity that grant you a ton of XP. You can also join a guild at level 20 You can start looking for mentors at level 20 (alt +Z for the mentor menu). At Level up Hot Springs and Scour Dungeons daily activity opens up You will get your wings for flying at Level 29 via level up rewards box (press O –> Awards and then click on the Level 29 Rewards to claim them) Eat your Ascension Essences if you are not level 30 yet after you done all of the above. Level 30-35 At Level 30 new dailies will open up on the daily menu (Daily Dungeon, Guild Quests) Your Guardian interface will open up at level 30 as well (press C, go to the last tab). You can also do hardmode Darkfall dungeon at level 30 (5 times a day) You can start doing guild daily quests at level 30. Level 35+ At level 35 you can start doing the Misty Hollow dungeon trial mode (Ragescale Trials). It is a daily activity on the daily menu. At level 35 you can also start doing easymode Deserted Shrine dungeon (2 times a day). At Level 35 you will also get your Secret Market in the daily menu. Level 40 unlocks the hardmode Deserted Shrine dungeon (once a day) Level 45 unlocks the normal mode Misty Hollow dungeon and Godmode Abandoned Shrine. Godmode is a step up on difficulty from the dungeons you have been doing. Dailies Revelation Online is a very daily focused game. If you are not doing your dailies, you are lagging behind. The daily interface can be found by press U and you can access this interface starting at level 20. More dailies start to unlock at level 25, 30, 35, 45 etc. Daily reset occurs at midnight Pacific Timezone for NA servers. If you click on a daily, you can see the possible rewards and clicking on the little orange button will auto path you to the daily area. Here are the dailies and what levels they unlock. Any events and dailies that only appear on certain days of the week will also show up here. Level 20 – Four Kings Daily Level 25 – Hot Springs Inn, Scour Dungeons Level 30 – Guild Daily Quest, Daily Dungeon Level 35 – Misty Hollow Trial, Secret Market dailies Level 45 – Shadow Demons daily activity. Doing dailies will give you daily points, as you get more daily points you unlock more rewards. This feature seems to be absent in the NA/EU CBT currently. 20 Pts – Feathers that allow you to reset the cooldown of your teleport to NPC function 40 Pts – Roses you can give to players in their Personal Space to increase their popularity 60 Pts – Fairy Handwritten that are important to purchase items from a special store for upgrading your equipments 80 Pts – Qing Jades used for handcrafting armor/weapons Dailies Categorized by Rewards There are different types of dailies that reward different type of rewards Icon Reward Type Dailies EXP Four Kings Scour Dungeons Hot Spring Inn Ragescale Trials Gyth Note Secret Market dailies Demonslayer Points Daily Token (Merit points for rank up/weekly reward) Ragescale Trial (Demonslayer Points) Time Strapped? If you are short on time, do these dailies. Four Kings, Guild Daily and Hot Springs Inn can be done solo. Four Kings (10 minutes, good source of XP and Incomplete Pages to upgrade your skills) Daily Dungeon (must for Guardian Points) Ragescale Trial (XP, Accumulated Guardian Points, Special Skills rank up) Guild Daily (5 minutes, need to get those contribution points or you may get booted from guild). Hot Springs Inn (for overnight AFK). Four Kings Daily (Solo) – Level 20 This is a solo activity that not only grant you a large amount of XP but also give you Incomplete Pages necessary to level up your special skills. You get 20 minutes to finish this activity and every death inside removes 5 minutes from the timer. Once you complete the activity, there is a leaderboard to rank your performance. This can be done once a day. The activity is divided into rounds, each round with a different challenge. At level 49 you get a new version of the Four Kings daily that has more rounds. If you beat all the rounds, you will enter a hidden round where you have to face against a copy of yourself. Hot Spring Inn (Solo) – Level 25 Hot Springs Inn is an AFK activity that grant you experience and social experience. To benefit from this activity, however, you need to purchase Spa Wine and Food from the NPC at the entrance. Wine grant you character XP while food grant you social XP. You can potentially consume a maximum of 5 Wine and 5 Food a day at the Hot Spring Inn as you are limited by your food/drink appetite/tolerance. Each drink/food you consume decrease their respective appetite/tolerance by 100. You only regenerate 100 food and drink appetite a day however so you can only consume 1 food/wine per day usually. If you don’t go to the Hot Springs for a couple this, this can accumulate back up to 500 appetite/tolerance so you are not missing anything other than daily points by skipping out. Hot Springs Inn is a good place for mentors/mentee and married couples to hang out as there are specific actions they can do there to increase the XP gain. See this guide for more info. Daily Tokens(Group) – Level 30 Daily Tokens activity is one where your and a couple other players go into a daily dungeon that resembles the existing dungeons in the game but is actually a lot easier. It is pretty quick, the boss have less HP and hurt less. The dungeons are on a daily rotation so everyday you will experience a different dungeon from the previous day. The NPC to enter this daily activity is always at the same place. Daily dungeon is super important to do because it provides a huge amount of Guardian points necessary to rank up your Guardian Ranks. Scour Dungeons (Solo/Group) – Level 25 Scour Dungeons is an activity where you go into a specific dungeon for your level range and beat the crap out of 250 mobs for experience mostly. This is also a good place to awaken your gear later on when you are at Level 49 cap. You can do this activity solo but it will be faster in a group. There are three different dungeons for this, each for a specific level range. As you get deeper into the dungeon onto other floors the mob levels will increase. You can check to see how many mobs you have left for the day by clicking on this button from the top bar. If you have any double XP boosts, use them here. Herbalist can also make teas that allow you to kill more than just 250 mobs. This is also a good place to raise cohesion/mentor points between friends and mentors as each mob killed grant cohesion and mentor points. If the Scour Dungeons place gets too crowded, you can try and see if there is a second instance you can enter where there are less players. There is a NPC that will give you double XP for 1 hr per week. She is in Sulan. Talk to her and you have the option to receive 1 hr of double XP or to freeze your double XP bonus if you don’t plan on using it. Ragescale Trial (Group) – Level 35 Starting at level 35 you can enter the trial version of Misty Hollow. This is basically a place where you defeat waves of monsters and four bosses that spawns between waves. This place is good to level up your special skills and also grant a ton of XP and a good amount of Guardian Points. For players that are above level 45, make sure you are picking the trial version (level 35) as you also have access to the normal mode of the dungeon at level 45. Secret Market Dailies (Solo/Group) – Level 35 This is basically a set of dailies you do to make more Gyth Note as you will need lots of them for skill upgrades, equipment repairs and other things. Depending on your level range, you will get different dailies to do that involves either collecting items or killing monsters. For killing monsters, it is always better to group up to get it done faster. Guild Dailies (Solo) Guild dailies are available once you are level 30 and in a guild. You need to be doing guild dailies everyday to earn contribution points. These contribution points not only help your guild but also your character as you spend these contribution points to obtain permanent stat boosts and temporary buffs.You will get books and items you can donate them to the guild to use for guild upgrades. It is a 10 step quest that only takes a few minutes to do. The last step usually require another guild member to either hug, duel or trick (trick can be done on a NPC, you need to use an item in your quest inventory). Weeklies There are certain activities that only pop up certain days of the week or can be only done a certain times a week. You can see a list of them on the 2nd tab of your daily interface. Currently the weekly tab is unavailable on NA/EU CBT1 so you will need to press O, and then click on the weekly tab to see them. The key ones you need to pay attention are Fairy Garden (not available in CBT1) – show up every Monday and Saturday and done once a day on those days. Best place to get Soul Grid materials and gold grade earrings. Need to be level 35 to participate. Solo activity. – show up every Monday and Saturday and done once a day on those days. Best place to get Soul Grid materials and gold grade earrings. Need to be level 35 to participate. Solo activity. Hunting Quest – Can be done 5 times a week. Need to be level 35. Group activity. PvP weekly quest – Once a week. Solo activity. Weekly 120 Step quest that give you random schematics for handcrafted armor and weapons. Solo activity (Appears to be bugged for CBT1) If you need more activities to do after you have finished all your dailies and weeklies, you can click on the third tab of your daily interface and see what else you can do. It is divided into various categories. Daily/Weekly Lockouts You can see how many runs of each dungeon you have left for the daily/week by pressing O, clicking on the instance tab and vierw the lockouts. Character Progression Getting Your Wings Basic Wings You basic wings unlock at Level 29, you need to claim it via the Awards Menu by pressing O and click on the Awards button. Wings have something called energy, once it runs low on energy, the speed decreases. To replenish this energy, you need to purchase potions from the Wing Items Merchant. There are two versions, one that replenish 10 and another that replenish 50. For your basic wings you can just purchase the blue potion but your level 49 wings will need the purple one. Lightfeather Quad Wings These quad wings are obtained at level 49 via one of your orange Practice and Growth quests. You need to keep doing your orange quests until you get there. The quest will give you an orange looking stone in your inventory. Once you have the stone, unequip your basic wings and right click the stone to upgrade your wings to the purple Lightfeather Quad Wings. Curious Events Curious events is the most important way to get your Faery Orbs, which are used to exchange for important gear upgrade items at the Faery Agency Outer Base Shop. It takes Faery Orbs and Ausgyth Points but each Faery Orb counts as 40 Ausgyth Points so you can use Faery Orbs instead of the limited Ausgyth Points. Item Normal Price Price with Max Orbs Faery Notes 8 Faery Orbs Backpack Expander 2 Faery Orbs Fury Star Essence 2 Faery Orbs 120 Ausgyth Points 5 Faery Orbs Fury Star Scroll 2 Faery Orbs 320 Ausgyth Points 10 Faery Orbs Fury Beast Essence 1 Faery Orb 320 Ausgyth Points 9 Faery Orbs Fury Beast Scroll 6 Faery Orbs 1720 Ausgyth Points 49 Faery Orbs Divine Phantom Daoist Star 18 Faery Orbs 400 Ausgyth Points 28 Faery Orbs Depleted Phlogiston 1 Faery Orb 80 Ausgyth Points 3 Faery Orbs Argent Phlogiston 2 Faery Orbs 400 Ausgyth Points 12 Faery Orbs Red Ticket 18 Faery Orbs 400 Ausgyth Points 28 Faery Orbs Tier Bead Bag 2 Faery Orbs 240 Ausgyth Points 8 Faery Orbs Yulong Angle 1 Faery Orb 80 Ausgyth Points 3 Faery Orbs Special Skill – Broken Seal 6 Faery Orbs 1800 Ausgyth Points 51 Faery Orbs Getting Faery Orbs Faery Orbs are a special currency earned by doing these Curious Events with your Peculiar Tickets. These are group activities that usually require a group of 5 players but for some events 3 players are sufficient. You will need 2 Peculiar Tickets for entry for these Curious events. There are four different Curious Events, they all give
attività di cyber propaganda del Califfato. In un filmato diffuso in più lingue vengono minacciati direttamente gli attentatori dello Stato Islamico: «Siamo sulle tracce degli appartenenti ai gruppi terroristici responsabili degli attacchi, non ci fermeremo, non dimenticheremo, e faremo tutto il necessario per porre fine alle loro azioni», afferma Anonymous. Ore di lavoro Nel video viene ricordato come gli hacker non siano nuovi a questo tipo di azioni. «Durante gli attacchi a Charlie Hebdo, avevamo già dichiarato la nostra determinazione a neutralizzare chiunque attaccasse le nostre libertà. Adesso faremo lo stesso. Aspettatevi la nostra totale mobilitazione. La violenza non ci indebolirà, ma ci darà la forza per unirci e combattere insieme la tirannia e l’oscurantismo», spiega un finto annunciatore il cui volto è coperto dalla maschera di Guy Fawkes, simbolo del gruppo. Dopo il primo attacco in Francia infatti gli hacker hanno colpito gli account di propaganda jihadista in una lunga serie di operazioni sotto l’hashtag #OpIceIsis, segnalandoli a Twitter ma anche attaccandoli nel vero senso della parola. Un lavoro costato ore e ore di lavoro, che ha portato alla creazione di un database di 26 mila account gestiti supporter dello Stato Islamico e alla chiusura di 149 siti. L’obiettivo di Anonymous è infatti quello di silenziare la propaganda del Califfato e di impedire che i gruppi jihadisti usino la rete per reclutare e per diffondere i loro proclami. Ghost e OpParis e gli attacchi DDos Anche per questi nuovi tremendi attentati costati alla vita a 129 persone, gli hacker hanno creato un canale ufficiale @opparisofficial e un canale apposito sulla chat anonima IRC. Tutti sono invitati a segnalare gli account di Isis, il gruppo infatti agisce a livello collettivo e in modo autonomo, essendo privo di gerarchia. E lancia attacchi di tipo DDoS per buttare giù account e piattaforme del Califfato prendendo le informazioni dal database dei profili. Un lavoro dal basso, dunque. Portato avanti per cercare di porre un freno alla ferocia e alla barbarie del terrorismo che sempre di più trova nuova adepti attraverso i social network. Già immediatamente dopo gli attacchi allo stadio, al Bataclan e ai ristoranti, gli hacktivist hanno iniziato ad operare sotto il canale #Ghost, bloccando l’hashtag #parigiinfiamme usato dai supporter di Isis per festeggiare la morte di 129 persone e per diffondere la rivendicazione degli attentati. Di recente tuttavia anche gli stessi social network, Facebook in testa, sembrano aver bloccato molti di questi profili e i jihadisti sembrano aver cambiato strategia spostandosi su altri canali come Telegram o Kik.A driver of a modified Ford GT died earlier today at a standing mile event at California's Mojave Air & Space Port, according to a Ford GT forum. The driver, known as "Jack," drove off the track at approximately 210 MPH before flipping and crashing. UPDATE Multiple members of FordGTForum.com say that the GT owner identified only as "Jack" crashed, possibly because of a heart attack, and rolled his modified supercar off the end of the runway. Here's a report from user ChipBeck: I was at the starting line about to make my first run when a blue GT with white stripes driven by an older gentleman named "Jack" kept accelerating till the end of the runway. He was going 201 mph at the shut down point so he was probably going 210 when he went off. Car flipped 30 feet off the ground, rolled and burned. EMT's tried to revive the driver but he didn't make it. Paramedics said that the car was intact and in reasonabely good shape and it appears that the driver had a heart attack on the course before the accident. Rest in peace.: Mojave is home to the Mojave Mile, which is set to take place early next month. This appears to be a speed day hosted by GT members in preparation for the event. Advertisement Another member added that Jack had modified his vehicle with a Whipple supercharger so that he could hit 200 MPH this year, which he apparently did moments before passing away. Anyone at the event have more details? UPDATE A commenter who says he helped run the event provides some more details, including a clarification that the driver was likely well-below 210 mph when he crashed. This sounds familiar to what we've heard from other sources:Researchers at UC Davis have illuminated an important distinction between mice and humans: how human livers heal. The difference centers on a protein called PPARα, which activates liver regeneration. Normally, mouse PPARα is far more active and efficient than the human form, allowing mice to quickly regenerate damaged livers. However, the research shows that protein fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) can boost the regenerative effects of human PPARα. The findings suggest that the molecule could offer significant therapeutic benefits for patients who have had a liver transplant or suffer from liver disease. The study was published in the journal Oncotarget. "We found that FGF21 is a good rescuing molecule that facilitates liver regeneration and perhaps tissue repair," said Yu-Jui Yvonne Wan, vice chair for research in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at UC Davis and senior author on the paper. "Our data suggests that FGF21 could help with liver regeneration, either after removal or after damage caused by alcohol or a virus." In the study, human and mouse PPARα showed different capacities for liver regeneration after surgery. Even after having two-thirds of their livers removed, normal mice regained their original liver mass within seven to 10 days. By contrast, mice with human PPARα never fully regenerated, even after three months. However, by increasing FGF21, the team boosted human PPARα's ability to regenerate and heal mouse livers. While mouse PPARα has regenerative advantages over the human version, there is also a downside, as this ability can lead to cancer. Human PPARα does not cause cancer; however, as noted, it cannot match the mouse protein's regenerative capacity. This trade-off provides a number of advantages on the human side. For example, several popular drugs target PPARα to treat high cholesterol and triglycerides. Still, in the right context, a more active human PPARα could be a great boon for patients with liver conditions. Using FGF21 to boost this regenerative capacity is an important step in that direction. These results also add another line to FGF21's impressive resume. In addition to boosting human PPARα's regenerative impact on the liver, the protein has been shown to alleviate insulin resistance, accelerate fat metabolism, and reduce fatty liver disease in animal models. "FGF21 is a key molecule to regulate metabolism in the liver," said Wan. "There's research that shows that mice that overexpress FGF21 live 50 percent longer. Now we've shown that it can rescue human PPAR, allowing it to completely regenerate damaged livers in mice. This could provide significant therapeutic benefits for people after transplants or other liver injury." Other authors included Hui-Xin Liu and Ying Hu at UC Davis, Samuel W. French at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and Frank J. Gonzalez at the National Cancer Institute. Researchers at UC Davis have illuminated an important distinction between mice and humans: how human livers heal. The difference centers on a protein called PPARα, which activates liver regeneration. Normally, mouse PPARα is far more active and efficient than the human form, allowing mice to quickly regenerate damaged livers. However, the research shows that protein fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) can boost the regenerative effects of human PPARα. The findings suggest that the molecule could offer significant therapeutic benefits for patients who have had a liver transplant or suffer from liver disease. The study was published in the journal Oncotarget. "We found that FGF21 is a good rescuing molecule that facilitates liver regeneration and perhaps tissue repair," said Yu-Jui Yvonne Wan, vice chair for research in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at UC Davis and senior author on the paper. "Our data suggests that FGF21 could help with liver regeneration, either after removal or after damage caused by alcohol or a virus." In the study, human and mouse PPARα showed different capacities for liver regeneration after surgery. Even after having two-thirds of their livers removed, normal mice regained their original liver mass within seven to 10 days. By contrast, mice with human PPARα never fully regenerated, even after three months. However, by increasing FGF21, the team boosted human PPARα's ability to regenerate and heal mouse livers. While mouse PPARα has regenerative advantages over the human version, there is also a downside, as this ability can lead to cancer. Human PPARα does not cause cancer; however, as noted, it cannot match the mouse protein's regenerative capacity. This trade-off provides a number of advantages on the human side. For example, several popular drugs target PPARα to treat high cholesterol and triglycerides. Still, in the right context, a more active human PPARα could be a great boon for patients with liver conditions. Using FGF21 to boost this regenerative capacity is an important step in that direction. These results also add another line to FGF21's impressive resume. In addition to boosting human PPARα's regenerative impact on the liver, the protein has been shown to alleviate insulin resistance, accelerate fat metabolism, and reduce fatty liver disease in animal models. "FGF21 is a key molecule to regulate metabolism in the liver," said Wan. "There's research that shows that mice that overexpress FGF21 live 50 percent longer. Now we've shown that it can rescue human PPAR, allowing it to completely regenerate damaged livers in mice. This could provide significant therapeutic benefits for people after transplants or other liver injury."We're still expecting Microsoft to offer some type of sneak peak at its Zune replacement during E3 2012 next week, but the company has been dropping hints about its Xbox entertainment plans consistently over the past few weeks. Kotaku reports that several job openings in a Paris-based "Team Xbox Live Music" have appeared recently that reveal Microsoft is working to build "a massive catalog of music content from multiple vendors and development of innovative user interfaces for music consumption on Xbox, Windows, mobile phones and the web." We previously revealed that the company is working on a "Woodstock" music service that will be a cross-platform play, available to Windows 8, Android, iOS, and Xbox users — also playable from a browser. Although we don't know the final name of the service, Microsoft's Yusuf Mehdi recently teased the company's to "go beyond the box to reach all new families of devices," with Xbox. Mehdi also discussed Microsoft's ideas for making entertainment more personal, interactive, and social "across the devices you love," while teasing "new ways to enjoy entertainment" at the company's E3 press conference next week. Kotaku also discovered references to an "Xbox Music Center" in some Linkedin profiles that reveal Microsoft France has an internship program of 150 employees that matches up with a job posting for a program manager role in "Team Xbox Live Music" at the company's offices in Paris. Whatever the service is called, it's clear there's a monumental shift towards Xbox for Microsoft's music and video services and we'll be sure to hear more about it next week.Wow, a great gift! I never really think of treating myself to these kinds of things, and star trek is kind of a guilty pleasure for me that I keep to myself, so this was really nice. Anyway.. Onto the gift! It's 'Star Trek Federation: The First 150 Years', a package that looks into the fictional history of the Trek universe, starting from the 20th century all the way up to Kirk and Spock. I know it's all fake but It's really interesting (to me at least!) The book is written as an in universe historical account, and features fake news clippings from the 'New New York Times', historical documents, all kinds of things that really give depth. The package includes a stand for the book, the book itself and some historical artefacts such as a sketch of the first warp engine. The stand id bigger than it looks and a fun gimmick, it has a button you can press which makes it light up and play a greeting from Admiral Sulu - Oh Myyyy! But the real star of the show is the book itself, it's so comprehensive, i've read the first chapter so far and it's really fun. I'm so pleased with this, thank you summer Santa!Former English Defence League (EDL) leader Tommy Robinson joined 200 supporters at a rally in Birmingham The confrontational rallies were held in cities that included Prague, Amsterdam, Dresden, Calais and Canberra Organised by anti-Islam group PEGIDA, cities across Europe and Australia saw thousands take to the streets Protesters have clashed with immigration supporters and police forces during planned far-right demonstrations Advertisement Violent scuffles broke out across Europe today as thousands of people taking part in far-right anti-Islam protests clashed with pro-immigration groups and riot control police. Police in Dresden, Germany, saw about 2,000 protesters at a rally organised by the group Patriotic Europeans against the Islamisation of the West, making it the biggest of a coordinated series of demonstrations across European cities. Known by its German acronym PEGIDA, the group emerged in Dresden two years ago and has become a magnet for far-right and anti-immigrant sentiment. Scroll down for video Supporters of the Pegida movement (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident) demonstrate in Calais, northern France In Birmingham, placards saying 'Trump is right', 'We will not stay silent as women are raped' and 'Nazism = Islamism' were held up A young Australian protestor poses with a self-made t-shirt displaying the slogan 'Australians say no to the islamisation of our nation!' in Canberra, Australia Members of the Garda Public Order Unit and riot police confront protestors at an anti-racism demonstration against the launch of an Irish branch of PEGIDA in Dublin Policemen arrest General of Army Corps, Christian Piquemal, during a demonstration of the PEGIDA movement in Calais, northern France French Army Corps General Christian Piquemal gestures as he addresses supporters of the PEGIDA movement in Calais, northern France Activists against migrants shout slogans as retired French General Christian Piquemal makes an address during a protest organised by the anti-Islam group PEGIDA, in Calais, northern France, where many migrants have set up camp to seek refuge in Western Europe Around 20 anti-migrant protesters were arrested, including former French Army General Christian Piquemal (holding the megaphone), in Calais, France, after scuffles with police at a banned rally in support of a Europe-wide initiative by the Islamophobic PEGIDA movement Plainclothes police officers wrestle a man to the ground during the PEGIDA demonstration held in Amsterdam, Holland, today The man was detained during at the far-right demonstration, held in the city centre, protesting what they believe is the 'Islamisation of the West' A man sticks his tongue out at the camera as he is led away from the demonstration by plainclothes police officers An estimated 2,000 people marched through Dresden, Germany, today (pictured) - the city where PEGIDA was originally formed A far-right banner showing German Chancellor Angela Merkel's face is captioned with the words: 'We are coming, mommy' The PEGIDA group organised co-ordinated protests across many European cities today, including at its home in Dresden (pictured) Nationalist groups in Europe have been galvanized by the unprecedented influx of refugees from Africa, Asia and the Middle East last year PEGIDA is an acronym given to the group which stands for Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident The protesters carried banners showing the face of Chancellor Angela Merkel depicted as, among other things, a pig and a nun The crowds in Dresden gathered outside the city's main hall to protest against what it believes is an overwhelming influx of refugees Thousands of people gathered in front of Prague Castle, in the Czech capital, for a demonstration called 'Together against islamisation' organized by Czech right-wing populist party Usvit (Dawn - National Coalition) Nationalist groups in Europe have been galvanized by the unprecedented influx of refugees from Africa, Asia and the Middle East last year. Today similar, smaller PEGIDA-style protests were planned in France, Britain, Poland, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands. In the Czech capital of Prague, thousands rallied against the influx of refugees and others in support of them and opposing protesters clashed and had to be separated by police. Martin Konvicka, a leader of the anti-Muslim movement, is calling the influx of refugees an 'invasion' that poses a 'huge threat for us all'. Two other anti-migrant groups are rallying in Prague and another in the second-largest Czech city of Brno. In Dublin, scuffles broke out between people who had gathered to protest against the launch of PEGIDA in Ireland, and those who attended the launch of the group. In Birmingham, meanwhile, police said about about 200 PEGIDA supporters and 60 counter demonstrators turned out. Other demonstrations took place in Warsaw and Graz in southern Austria. In Amsterdam, riot police have clashed with PEGIDA demonstrators as they tried to hold their first protest in the Dutch capital. A square near Amsterdam city hall that had been earmarked for the rally had to be shut down shortly before the gathering as police and explosives experts examined what police called a'suspect package'. Only about 200 PEGIDA supporters were present, where they were heckled by left-wing demonstrators who shouted: 'Refugees are welcome, fascists are not!' Dutch riot police detained several people as officers on horseback intervened to separate the two groups of demonstrators. Other demonstrations took place in Warsaw, Bratislava and in Graz in southern Austria. Protesters light flares, hold up Poland scarves and banners and shout slogans during an anti-immigrant rally in front of the Royal Castle Protesters hold flares and shout slogans during an anti-immigrant rally in front of the Royal Castle in Warsaw, Poland Counter-demonstrators shout slogans as they are separated by police from a Dutch branch of the Islamophobic PEGIDA movement shout slogans during their rally in central Amsterdam Protesters wearing face masks and holding signs of infamous ISIS executioner Jihadi John walk through Birmingham today A few hundred people attended the rally in Birmingham today as they walked from the city's railway station to a remote business park Police officers in Calais, northern France, detain a man taking party in the demonstrations near the town's railway station The Calais march brought some about 20 arrests, local authorities said, and police responded with tear gas after scuffles broke out Policemen and gendarmes arrest a man wearing a ski mask during the demonstration held in Calais, France, today A group of men demonstrate in Warsaw today as rallies supporting PEGIDA were held across cities throughout Europe A PEGIDA supporter in Warsaw arrives at the rally wearing a face mask featuring a skull design Supporters of the PEGIDA movement demonstrate in front of Royal Castle in Warsaw with a banner reading 'will not give back Poland' PEGIDA demonstrators gather on the riverbank in Dresden, where pro-immigration supporters lined the opposite side of the bank A huge police presence was also at the scene of the protest, where riot police had to separate pro and anti-Islam demonstrators Mounted policeman in Dresden stand guard next to an armoured police vehicle as they watch over the protests in the German city PEGIDA emerged in Dresden two years ago and has become a magnet for far-right and anti-immigrant sentiment Riot police were also needed in Amsterdam today in order to separate the groups. The banner pictured reads: 'Islamists not welcome' Mounted Dutch riot police disperse demonstrators during the PEGIDA rally in the country's capital Amsterdam Thousands also turned out to oppose the PEGIDA supporters. Pictured is an anti-Islamist movement in central Amsterdam Members of the Dutch PEGIDA movement march through the city centre during today's demonstration French police officers use tear gas against the activists in Calais, where a protest went ahead despite being forbidden by authorities Calais saw 20 arrests today, where anti-Islam demonstrators opposing the influx of migrants in Europe gathered for a protest A woman holds a placard during a counter-demonstration to a PEGIDA rally in Dublin, Ireland, this afternoon Protesters wave flags during an anti-Islam rally in front of the Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic Kukiz'15 Movement member Robert Winnicki (centre) and co-founder of German anti-immigration movement Pegida Tatjana Festerling (right), during a demonstration of anti-immigrant activists and nationalists Policemen arrest supporters of the PEGIDA movement during a demonstration in Calais, northern France, where many migrants have fled to In nearby Calais, fighting broke out as more protesters clashed with the police during a banned demonstration. France's Interior Ministry had tried to stop the march by members of PEGIDA. They are particularly angry about the build up of some 5,000 refugees sleeping rough in Calais as they try to get to the UK, where they will claim asylum or disappear into the black economy. 'This is our home - migrants get out,' they chanted today as they gathered by the port town's station. A large force of CRS riot police confronted around 150 of them, as a senior officer announced on a loudspeaker that all were banned from demonstrating. FORMER ENGLISH DEFENCE LEAGUE LEADER TOMMY ROBINSON JOINED 200 PEGIDA SUPPORTERS IN BIRMINGHAM Former English Defence League (EDL) leader Tommy Robinson joined 200 supporters of the controversial PEGIDA organisation today to protest against the 'growing influence Islam has on society'. The far-right anti-Islamic group conducted a silent march from Birmingham International train station to a remote business park outside the city centre. EDL founder Tommy Robinson stood at the front of the group holding a banner which read: 'Protect freedom. Reject hate'. Speaking to reporters before he addressed around 200 supporters from a makeshift stage, he said: 'PEGIDA is exactly what it says, patriotic European citizens opposed to the Islamisation of the England and the rest of the continent. 'We are ordinary people, we are opposed to the Islamisation of not just our country but the rest of Europe. 'We are part of the European Union so it affects us, what decision Angela Merkel makes they affect us here. 'We have got many different races here today, I dont incite any hate, I oppose hate. I would like you to tell me what have I said that is hatred. 'I have never been anti-immigration, my mum was an immigrant to the UK. I have never said I am either. 'I am opposed to Islamisation. I don't care who comes into the country as long as they are not coming in to cause us harm. 'The growing influence Islam has on society is not good for society. The more Islam, the less freedom, that is a reality. 'I don't believe that we should be bringing in last year one-and-a-half million fighting age Muslim men into Germany, 600,000 of them have gone missing, 160,000 have gone missing from Sweden. 'We don't know who they are, we don't know what their motives are in being in Europe. We have already seen 130 people killed by so-called refugees in France. 'We have a big problem. The facts are I didn't rape 800 women, I didn't attack 800 women, Muslims did. I didn't rape 1,400 kids in Rotherham, it's not my fault it happened, I just tell you it happened. 'I didn't make 360 Muslims try and commit acts of terrorism last year, I didn't make 2,000 British Muslims go to fight for ISIS. I didn't do that, they did it... I'm just telling the truth.' Tommy Robinson (second from front left) leads the right-wing Pegida UK march through an area on the outskirts of Birmingham today There was a heavy police presence at the silent march and rally, which took place from 2pm till 3pm, as police also managed a crowd of 60 counter protesters from the Unite Against Facism group. Last night officers confirmed no Pegida members had caused any trouble and said just one counter demonstrator had been arrested for a public order offence. The 39-year-old man, from East London, was detained by officers at 1pm outside Birmingham International train station and is currently in police custody. Chief Superintendent Alex Murray, from West Midlands Police, said: 'We've been planning the operation for months, the collective efforts of our officers, Solihull Council, partner agencies, protest organisers and community groups helped ensure the event passed off without any serious disorder. 'We had a large police presence on the ground, including protest liaison officers, in order to deal effectively with any issues. 'But we were confident the rally would be peaceful, our negotiations with Pegida representatives were positive and they stressed their intentions to express their views lawfully. 'Disruption was kept to a minimum - Bickenhill Lane was closed temporarily to allow for protestors to walk from Birmingham International to the demo point but hopefully it didn't hugely inconvenience motorists or local businesses.' West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson added: 'I would like to thank the police for their thorough, sensible planning which has helped ensure the event remained peaceful. 'Protests like this have a knock-on effect on the force's ability to deliver non-emergency policing. 'I sincerely hope this is the last protest of its sort that we see here for a good long while. 'The West Midlands is a place where people live side by side happily, it is sad when people from outside the region try to undermine that.' A further protest against the group under the Birmingham Unites banner was also held in Victoria Square in Birmingham city centre today. This led to fighting, and by 2pm at least 12 arrests had been made, mainly for public order offences and criminal damage. Baton charges and tear gas were used by the police to restore order and counter demonstrators shouted insults at the PEGIDA members. 'We have succeeded in keeping the two sides apart, and are trying to disperse the PEGIDA demonstrators using buses,' said an officer at the scene. PEGIDA, which was founded in Germany in 2014, had announced today's march during the week, but the French government decided it was too big a threat to public order to go ahead. The State of Emergency in France, triggered by last year's terrorist attacks on Paris, allows politicians and police to ban any public gatherings that they consider to be a security threat. Bernard Cazeneuve, France's Interior Ministry, said the ban was also there to protect people from 'all groups that create tensions, division and violence.' The PEGIDA rallies even reached as far as Australia, where a small but vocal group of supporters marched through Canberra Sherman Burgess, known as the Great Aussie Patriot, and Blair Cottrell, leader of the United Patriots Front, were among the speakers Speakers at the anti-Islam rally addressed the crowds in front of the country's Parliament building in the capital Canberra A woman covering herself in Australian flags and wearing the country's colours on her face is pictured at the rally Left, a woman tries to rally women to vote against Islamic immigration. Right, Blair Cottrell, leader of the United Patriots Front, leads the protesters The small but vocal group of demonstrators marched through the nation's capital to protest before its Parliament building Daniel Evans from Reclaim Australia is pictured standing before the demonstrators in the country's capital city, CanberraIf you think you've seen everything, here's a new one... Ever open up a new Mac box and smell it? (or is that just us?) We took that scent - and literally bottled it. Meet the New Mac Soy Candle. No kidding. It's kind of awesome. Popular accessory maker Twelve South has come out with a line of merchandise to promote the brand, ranging from T-shirts and cups to a candle that's been causing quite a stir on the Internet over the last couple of days.Made from soy wax, Twelve South's candle promises to deliver a "New Mac" smell, as in the smell you get when you take a whiff of a freshly opened and unboxed MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, or other Mac product.According to Twelve South, the "New Mac" candle features notes of mint, peach, basil, lavender, mandarin, and sage, which somehow magically combine to mimic the smell of a new Mac.Twelve South is pricing its New Mac candle at $24, and it's been so popular with Apple enthusiasts that it's temporarily sold out. The company expects to have more available for purchase later this month.Twelve South's merchandise page also features a water bottle, coffee mug, t-shirt, drink cooler set, and hat, all ranging in price from $14 to $29.Democratic party leaders have a message for Republicans, who are crying foul over the news that they may get shut out of the health care debate: turnabout’s fair play. In a memo that was drafted and circulated on background in April, Senate Democrats made the case that using a budget reconciliation bill to pass health care reforms is perfectly within their rights, given the Republicans’ promiscuous use of the same tactic when they were in power. Excerpts of the memo were published by various news outlets back in the spring, but the memo doesn’t appear to have been previously published in its entirety until now. And now, with Democrats ramping up the threat that they’ll invoke the process in the fall, they’re rehashing those same arguments. “[S]hould Republicans choose not to cooperate [on health care reform], the inclusion of reconciliation instructions [in the budget] provides a backup option which could be used to prevent a filibuster and approve legislation by a majority vote,” the memo reads. “[T]here is nothing unprecedented or unusual about the use of reconciliation.”The memo goes on note that Congress has invoked the reconciliation 19 times since 1980, including in 2001 and 2003 when “the Republican Congress used reconciliation to pass enormous tax cuts.” “Republicans not only used reconciliation rules to push tax breaks for the wealthy, they also made no meaningful effort to assist the growing number of uninsured Americans,” it reads. Back in the heyday of the Republican majority, the GOP was bullish on the idea of using the process to circumvent the filibuster, and now Democrats are hoping to bring that inconvenient fact back to haunt them. “The fact is, all this rule of the Senate does is allow a majority of the Senate to take a position and pass a piece of legislation, support that position,” said Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH), who now bemoans the idea, in 2005. “Is there something wrong with majority rules? I don’t think so.” Back in the Spring, when Congress was debating the budget itself, House leaders made a very similar argument to support including reconciliation instructions in their resolution. But now that Democrats are coming to view the tactic less as a contingency than as a tool of necessity, they’re resurrecting the pitch to lay the rhetorical groundwork for the political firestorm reconciliation will likely set off. Republicans argue that the budget reconciliation process wasn’t intended for this purpose. On Meet the Press yesterday, Sen. Orrin Hatch said the reconciliation process “has never been used for a substantive approach of one-sixth of the American economy or even a smaller substantive approach. “That was set up — reconciliation — to solve increasing taxes or lowering taxes or cutting back on public spending or spending more,” he said. But a major part of health care reform–subsidies, Medicaid expansions, surtaxes–involves exactly those sorts of fiscal measures. If Democrats do turn to reconciliation, Republicans can’t say they weren’t warned. On April 27, Harry Reid sent a letter to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell warning him that Republicans had until the fall to be constructive partners on health care reform. And in a final warning call to Republicans, Democrats are saying get with the program or get rolled. “Democrats would strongly prefer to address health care on a bipartisan basis using the normal legislative process,” says the memo. “Instead of debating Senate procedure, the GOP should focus on the problem at hand and work with Democrats in finding solutions.”Last week's announcement of a national scheme to "block adult content at the point of subscription" (as the BBC's website had it) was a moment of mass credulity on the part of the nation's media, and an example of how complex technical questions and hot-button save-the-children political pandering are a marriage made in hell when it comes to critical analysis in the press. Under No 10's proposal, the UK's major ISPs – BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin – will invite new subscribers to opt in or out of an "adult content filter." But for all the splashy reporting on this that dominated the news cycle, no one seemed to be asking exactly what "adult content" is, and how the filters' operators will be able to find and block it. Adult content covers a lot of ground. While the media of the day kept mentioning pornography in this context, existing "adult" filters often block gambling sites and dating sites (both subjects that are generally considered "adult" but aren't anything like pornography), while others block information about reproductive health and counselling services aimed at GBLT teens (gay, bisexual, lesbian and transgender). Then there's the problem of sites that have a wide variety of content, such as the venerable LiveJournal, which contains millions of personal and shared diaries. Some of these have material that children – especially small children – shouldn't see, but others don't. Is LiveJournal an adult site? It is, at least according to some filters. Back in 2003, the US-based Electronic Frontier Foundation took the sites most relevant to each major keyword in the US national educational curriculum and checked to see how many of them were blocked by adult content filters that federal law mandates for libraries and schools that receive federal funding. A whopping 78%-85% of material was miscategorised, and tens of thousand of pages that kids should be looking at as part of their education were blocked by the system. The web is vast, and adult content is a term that is so broad as to be meaningless. Even if we could all agree on what adult content was, there simply aren't enough bluenoses and pecksniffs to examine and correctly classify even a large fraction of the web, let alone all of it (despite the Radio 4 newsreader's repeated assertion that the new filter would "block all adult content".) What that means is that parents who opt their families into the scheme are in for a nasty shock: first, when their kids (inevitably) discover the vast quantities of actual, no-fooling pornography that the filter misses; and second, when they themselves discover that their internet is now substantially broken, with equally vast swathes of legitimate material blocked. Presenting a parent who is trying to keep their children safe with the question: "Would you like to block all adult content on your internet connection?" is terribly misleading, designed to play on parental fears and bypass critical judgement. Better to ask: "Would you like us to block some pornography (but not all of it), and a lot of other stuff, according to secret blacklists composed by anonymous third-party contractors who have been known to proudly classify photos of Michaelangelo's David as 'nudity?'" It's simplistic to say that governments should abide by the principle "do no harm", but it's perfectly reasonable to demand that policies should at least do some good. When our national information policy is turned over to anonymous, unaccountable censorware vendors, we fail to deliver a safe online environment for our children and we undermine our own free access to information. It's a lose-lose proposition. As a parent, I worry about what my kid finds on the net. At three and a half, my daughter is already old enough to drive a little tablet and check out cartoons on YouTube. Just the other day, I heard some odd dialogue emerging from across the sofa, and I had a peek at my daughter's screen. To my surprise, I found that she had discovered a little interlinked pocket of aggressive, kid-targeted Barbie adverts, uploaded by the official Mattel account, masterfully wrought pester-power timebombs designed to convert my kid into a nagging doll-acquisition machine. What's more, my kid had heretofore only watched ripped DVDs, YouTube cartoons, and CBeebies and had literally never seen a video advert before. It was a well-timed reminder to me that kids need close supervision when they use networked devices, even ones that access "kid-safe" content (YouTube screens its users' videos for pornography, and offers a crude parental filter). There are plenty of subject areas that require close guidance and supervision when our kids first see them, and there simply isn't any way a parent can rely on Britain's ISPs to stand in for their personal attention and their work to help kids acquire the only filter that can work: common sense and good judgment.Cross: Cathy Young, Fighting For The Mind of Feminism Apr. 27, 2016 (Mimesis Law) — Ed. Note: Scott Greenfield crosses Cathy Young, columnist for Newsday, RealClearPolitics and contributing editor at Reason. Q. Moscow. Not the one in Pennsylvania, either. It will likely come as a surprise to many to learn that for the first 17 years of your life, Cathy Young was named Ekaterina Jung. You moved from Moscow to the United States at 17. What did Ekaterina want to be when she grew up? Looking back on your tender years in the Soviet Union, did you aspire to be a writer? Were you interested in law and civil rights? Did you imagine you would end up a highly respected newspaper columnist in the United States? And
2000. It's a defensive unit that had been coached by Mike Zimmer, who is now the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings. Cincinnati's defense is now led by one of Zimmer’s former assistants in Paul Guenther. I expected a pressure scheme with a lot of Double A-gap looks (like Zimmer’s Minnesota Vikings), and a lot of different combinations up front from a personnel standpoint. That was not the case, however, as I soon came to realize that the Bengals are primarily a four-man rush team. In fact, they blitz the quarterback less than any team in the NFL. On the back end, the Bengals are a primarily zone coverage team, and really only play man coverage on third down. This is a team that plays almost exclusively in "split safety" looks in their zone schemes, meaning they keep two safeties deep downfield, primarily playing Cover 2. Shot 1 - #Bengals are a primarily'split safety' team, and their No. 1 coverage is 'Cover 2' on defense #whodey pic.twitter.com/6A55Awuugn — Fran Duffy (@fduffy3) December 1, 2016 Here’s the Bengals’ Cover 2 scheme in action. There are two safeties deep with five defenders underneath spanning the width of the field. Curl defender Chris Lewis-Harris passes off an out route and stays in the passing lane against this slant route to pick off a Ryan Tannehill pass for a big play. The Bengals play a lot of quarters as well, or as some refer to as Cover 4, where the two outside corners and two safeties split the deep part of the field into four equal parts. Even though the safeties are a bit tighter together when compared to Cover 2, quarters is still considered a "split safety" or "open" look by offenses in the deep middle of the field. Teams that play a lot of both Cover 2 and Cover 4 tend to also play in a coverage called Quarter Quarter Half, where one half of the field is in Cover 2 while the other half is in quarters. Shot 2 - Whether it's Cover 2, Quarters, or this Quarter-Quarter-Half coverage, #Bengals are a zone team. Kirkpatrick has developed well pic.twitter.com/K8EcmJ7SmD — Fran Duffy (@fduffy3) December 1, 2016 That’s exactly what they’re in on this play against the Giants, with the right side of the defense in Cover 2 and the left side in quarters. The interception is made by Dre Kirkpatrick, a former first-round pick of the Bengals who starts on the left side. The former Alabama star has great size (6-2, 185 pounds) for the position, very good fundamental ball skills, and enough speed and quickness to keep up at every level of the field in tight coverage. Many thought Kirkpatrick, who was taken a handful of picks after Fletcher Cox back in 2012, was going to be a bust after his first couple of seasons, but he has developed into the Cincinnati No. 1 cornerback opposite Adam Jones. At safety, the Bengals re-signed veteran George Iloka, who has rare size for the position at 6-4, but surprising range and the ability to come downhill in the run game. Shawn Williams had been the starter next to Iloka, but injuries forced him out of the lineup last week against Baltimore. Cincinnati’s third safety, second-year player Derron Smith, was also injured, which forced slot cornerback Josh Shaw to the safety spot. In his stead, Darqueze Dennard, another former first-round pick who has had a slow start to his career, had to slide into the slot and struggled early on against the Ravens. Williams is available for Sunday, while Smith is out. This is a team that relies on seven-man zone concepts and it has been effective for them so far this season. Don’t expect that to change schematically when the Eagles come to town. At linebacker in their 4-3 scheme, the Bengals have had a lot of moving parts as well. Veterans Karlos Dansby, Vontaze Burfict and Rey Maualuga are listed as the starters, but all have missed some time throughout the year. Vincent Rey is the do-it-all backup, having started in place of both Maualuga and Burfict for various reasons, and he is one of their nickel linebackers as well so he sees a lot of time. Teams have found ways to attack this group in coverage, regardless of whether they’re in man or zone, so that could be a theme to watch out for on Sunday afternoon. Still, against the run, this is a physical group that wants to come downhill and wreak havoc. Shot 3 - At LB, Vontaze Burfict is a pure throwback. Very physical and a ferocious tackler. Extremely effective between the hashes #Bengals pic.twitter.com/oYRuP3MmNL — Fran Duffy (@fduffy3) December 1, 2016 Burfict is the biggest name at the position for this team as one of the leading tacklers and most intimidating players in the league since his arrival a few years ago. His athleticism is not his strong suit, and he has been known to false step here and there. But when he comes down at the point of attack, he is very impressive taking on blocks and if he gets his hands on you as a ball carrier you’re likely going to the ground. Up front, the defensive line is a group with an interesting skill set. This is a unit that must get home against quarterbacks because of the low percentage of blitzes, but with only 21 sacks (24th in the NFL) it hasn’t happened enough in 2016. Still, there are a few players who the Eagles must account for in their protections. Shot 4 - DT Geno Atkins is still so quick laterally. Disruptive player up front #Eagles OL must account for inside pic.twitter.com/o3MSqXN37p — Fran Duffy (@fduffy3) December 1, 2016 Veteran defensive tackle Geno Atkins is one of the best disruptors at defensive tackle in the NFL. Atkins is a pure 3-technique with the lateral quickness, short-area burst and sneaky strength to overwhelm blockers on quick speed-to-power moves. He can ruin a quarterback’s day on any play. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to see the Eagles slide their protection in Atkins’ direction for a good amount of the time on Sunday. Shot 5 - DE Carlos Dunlap is one of the most physically gifted edge rushers in the NFL. Great length / AA but inconsistent with rush plan pic.twitter.com/C6pgAOxPfI — Fran Duffy (@fduffy3) December 1, 2016 At defensive end, the Bengals certainly have a "type" in what they look for body-wise. Carlos Dunlap (pictured in the two shots above) and Michael Johnson have similar body types with their long, basketball player-like frames and scary athleticism for their size. Neither player is particularly skilled as a pass rusher, but they excel coming off the edge because of their burst, length and flexibility. Those two typically play most of the game, but behind them with Will Clarke and Margus Hunt are two more players with similar builds. Clarke typically plays the most on the outside, but both rotate inside at defensive tackle in the team’s nickel and dime subpackages. Shot 6 - Not a true Double A blitz bc LB Green Dogs off the TE, but #Bengals will present these looks. Still blitz less than any team in NFL pic.twitter.com/19MFLP8Kp8 — Fran Duffy (@fduffy3) December 1, 2016 Just because the Bengals blitz less than any team in the NFL, it doesn’t mean they don’t send extra rushers every once in a while. Most of the time they come from a Double A-gap pressures like this one. Now on this play, it’s not a true Double A-gap blitz, because both of those "mugged" linebackers actually drop in man coverage. When Vincent Rey sees that the tight end is staying in to block, he actually "green dogs" and becomes part of the rush, which helps lead to a sack. The Eagles must be prepared for these kinds of looks up front from the Bengals' defense and defensive coordinator Paul Guenther.A voodoo priestess and her supposed bodyguards allegedly robbed a victim after a palm reading in Tremé.Watch reportAccording to a news release from the New Orleans Police Department, the victims allowed a woman, claiming to be a voodoo priestess, into their home in the 1300 block of Esplanade Avenue. The priestess performed a palm reading for three women and demanded money from the victims afterward.The priestess said she had two men waiting outside who were her bodyguards and ordered the victims to go to a nearby ATM machine and withdraw more money.After the victims gave the money to the woman, the trio fled the area.Anyone with information on this crime is asked to call NOPD Det. Kevin Richardson at 504-658-6373 or Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111.Sign up for our email newsletters to get breaking news right in your inbox. Click here to sign up!13484466 A voodoo priestess and her supposed bodyguards allegedly robbed a victim after a palm reading in Tremé. Watch report Advertisement According to a news release from the New Orleans Police Department, the victims allowed a woman, claiming to be a voodoo priestess, into their home in the 1300 block of Esplanade Avenue. The priestess performed a palm reading for three women and demanded money from the victims afterward. The priestess said she had two men waiting outside who were her bodyguards and ordered the victims to go to a nearby ATM machine and withdraw more money. After the victims gave the money to the woman, the trio fled the area. Anyone with information on this crime is asked to call NOPD Det. Kevin Richardson at 504-658-6373 or Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111. Sign up for our email newsletters to get breaking news right in your inbox. Click here to sign up! AlertMeWith urbanisation growing at a greater rate than population, one architectural firm looks to make skyscrapers sustainable, by making them out of wood. Simon Frost reports. In a bid to cater for population growth in a sustainable way, the American architectural firm behind New York’s One World Trade Center has developed a structural system that could see wood-framed skyscrapers sprouting up in cities around the world. Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) completed the Timber Tower Research Project in 2013, using its 42-storey Dewitt-Chestnut Apartments building, built in 1965, as a concrete benchmark for the prototype. The structure consists of solid mass timber for the primary members, such as the floor panels, columns and shear walls, which are connected with steel reinforcing through concrete joints. The floors would use cross-laminated timber panels of around 200mm thickness, spanning between the central shear wall core and columns at the perimeter of the building, with the ends of the panels restrained from rotation by the concrete joints and vertical structure (see diagram). The Timber Tower is expected to be the world’s tallest wooden building, standing at 127m, offering 10,000m2 of space and, SOM claims, up to 75% carbon savings compared with traditional materials. Skyscrapers are built almost exclusively from steel and concrete, which have higher material strengths than wood and more straightforward conformance to building codes. But the Timber Tower would comprise as much as 80% wood, which would greatly reduce the carbon cost compared to energy-intensive steel and concrete production. The structure would require supplementary steel-reinforced concrete, mostly for the highly stressed connecting joints. The foundations up to the first floor would also be concrete, to protect against moisture and allow for the large open space expected in entrance areas. However, further research and physical testing are necessary to overcome scepticism and verify the system’s performance – especially with regards to fire. Speaking at the Timber Expo event in Birmingham, UK, in October, Dmitri Jajich, Associate Director at SOM, said, ‘The fire resistance of timber is more a perception issue than a technical problem. When mass timber burns, it creates a charring layer, so it actually takes a long time to fail.’ It is hoped that flammability tests of exposed timber elements will show that fires will self-extinguish, and extensive component, assembly and full-scale fire tests will also be carried out in addition to physical testing. Jajich made reference to similar obstacles met by the world’s first reinforced concrete skyscraper, the Ingalls Building in Cincinnati, Ohio. When it was built in 1903, it provoked opposition from both the public and the engineering community, as concrete was still considered an unsafe material at such great heights. One journalist camped opposite the building overnight when the supports were removed so that he could be the first to report its collapse. SOM is confident that its structural system is technically feasible, and could revolutionise skyscrapers – but it needs to prove this before the research can become reality.Testimonials Add your own! * Name * Body Oh boy...where do i begin...My whole life has been a lie. In order to check my privilage, i sawed this quiz in half. I'm what you'd call a Vagiterian, and i'm super privilaged!!! Hugh Janus Somehow being Jewish is more privileged than being non-religious. Maybe that's true though, I should feel grateful for having almost no extended family because most of my grandparents' relatives were slaughtered by the Nazis! eric jr As a gay Muslim, i find that this site proves the oppression that has more than a choke hold on our country. (United States). This site said my privilege was -940. Even though i make more money than the average Muslim female. Around 140$ U.s. dollars a year. But because i'm not white and a male, i'm oppressed, thanks site!!! Reacheal Kinihf Who knew I was both opressed and an opresser??? Apparently having found a job after months of searching makes me The Enemy Of All. This will be quite the change after being killed by the thousands in England for not really being all that into having sex, what with asexuals being the most opressed people in history. Glad I have my evilness to comfort me now! Thanks, CheckMyPrivlige!!! Oppres Sed Hello everybody i am an opressed white frisian. i got a score of -135, to which i can totally identify. For my whole life i felt opressed by the tyrannic/fascist/gay-loving/hateful savages that call themselves dutch people. Finally my opression was recognized. I printed out my opression olympics certificate and it proudly hangs in my office now. thank you so much for the confirmation i needed, now i can safely feel opressed, without getting opressed by my opressors. kind regards Kees Westra As a white middle-class middle-aged man, working in an office in a medium-sized city, with a basic family and a basic life, it's the first time I've got an above-average score at anything! So proud to be a SHITLORD, thanks! John Smith Thank you, Checkmyprivilege! Now I, a white lesbian sikh female dragonkin, can see just how oppressed I am! Now I don't have to be scared to take up entire rows on the bus. I can show my score and point my scaly fingers at them in all my dragon-y rage when anyone tries to stop me from taking my seats, or even worse, sitting on my incorporeal tail! Nineet Abdallasakasam Extremely oppressed, -325, and still kicking ass! Strong white men don't need privilege to win. Mike Post Thank you checkmyprivilege.com for showing me how privileged I am. When I see others being more successful than I am I can say its okay I'm a privileged what male. John Yarbrough I am a Mexican immigrant who has come to steal your jobs. I feel like checkmyprivelege.com has helped me gain respect between my friends and peers. Pedro Gonzalez I'm a 32 yr old white, cis straight masculine male man, attractive slim average height able-bodied neurotypical, christian, aristocrat, & physician. I am the most oppressed person on the planet. Why? Because despite being normal, healthy, & wealthy... me, my family, and anyone i care about could be brutally tortured and slaughtered for doing absolutely nothing wrong at the click of a finger. Hail Kim Jong-un. Pudoo Patel™ I am extremely oppressed. I can't believe it took me this long to find out. As a white lesbian gay I thought I was blessed. Emily G. Thank you Check My Privilege! I've discovered that even if someone is a Black, transgender, Muslim, Latino, dragonkin, birdkin, deaf, autistic, mentally disabled, diseased, intersex person, and have a net worth of $1,000,000,000, they are still cripplingly oppressed. I had no idea! I also discovered that i am extremely oppressed as a white, cis, straight, fairly well off female. I will use this information to yell at people on Tumblr when i don't have an argument. So thank you ;) Ethnic Kekistani Shitlord This is absolutely amazing. I thank with all my heart checkmyprivilege.com. No longer do I have to feel ashamed of my privilege because despite being a straight white male living in the middle class, I have discovered through this test that I am actually extremely oppressed. I shall carry my extreme oppression with pride everywhere I go. No longer will I accept SJW's calling me a privileged patriarchal supporter who deserves nothing and was just lucky for the way God made me. Now I can stand with then and wave my flag of oppression and outrage against those more privileged than me. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart, checkmyprivilege.com. Oppresed White Straight Male Absolutely fantastic service. Will force upon my neurotypical European oppressive counterparts. Very pleased to know I have retained my ranking as the Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux RaceTraitors. Heil and have a great day. the_Eugeniest Creamy Memey I had no idea i'm opressed. Thank you. Wow 10 out of 10, would definitely use this service again. Being a cis, white South African male immigrant to the UK, living on a reasonable income whose family directly benefited from Apartheid, I was labouring under the delusion that I was privileged in some way. But thanks to CheckMyPriviledge.com, I now know that I am in fact -280 privileged. I will now demand all the free money… reparations I am so obviously owed by my liberal, progressive, SJW peers. Thanks CheckMyPriviledge.com, you are a God sent. Krunchy Van Clutch-plate I'm paler than mozzarella cheese, and thanks to CMP, I found out I'm a violent oppressor. Now that I've been enlightened, who knows what I can accomplish now? Frank Sinatra I am fully disabled. I am currently institutionalized in Antarctica. I make nothing for money, and I have never had a job in my life. I identify in at least two thousand different ways. I am a shitlord privileged. ;) <3333~~~ 8==D Ahmed Bajkir I am a wannabe-wigger person of color (50% aznz), placenta-sexual aromantic, metaphysically fliud (sometimes an agent, other times an abstract object - like the number 3), quasi-non-binary genderfluid (occasionally agendered), morbidly obese pro-ana pro-mia fruitarian (breatharian on saturdays), partially disabled, scientologist, pro-necrophilia pro-incest pro-beastiality pro-pedophillia pro-furry, heterophobic pencil-phobic hydrophobic placenta-phobic phobic-phobic, nth-wave femynyst with approx 7676.76 headmates, MDD APD OCPD GAD BPD PPD ELEMENOPEED, 3d-hating trans*-dimensional space-gremgryll with telekinesis & unquantifiable STDS. I dabble in quantum electrodynamics & professional modelling. I am also married to the 11th dimension & 66 sith lords but i must reproduce via photosynthesis. I DARE YOU TO OUT-OPPRESS ME! pic related is me on the far left: http://i.imgur.com/FLwxCFw.jpg Dr. Gwendilin Gwenneth Sessily the 8th™ Thanks Checkmyprivilage.com for showing me that I am a uber shitlord! that must check his privilege and give back to the transethnic transgender demikin that are extremely oppressed by my white Christian Hetero Privilage. Jesus Loves you Jesus Christ As A Whit3, M3xican, Sis-Gend3r, Trans p3rson who id3ntifi3s as th3 leader of th3 Fr33 world i just hav3 to say that this w3bsit3 is th3 b3st. M3xIcAn Ill3gAl M3M3 DeALEr I took this test and found out im a priveleged shit fucker with aids I changed to muslim and now i'm good now thanks Meme As a cis white heterosexual male who makes approximately 500000000000000 shitzillion dollars every microsecond, checkmyprivilege.com made me realize the fault of my ways. All because of this test, I will be donating every penny I own to the Africa Demi-Ethnic Trans-Nigga Charity of Southwestern Sudan, and I will identify as a ethno-spirited transgender, transpecies, transethnic, transdimensional demi-wolfkin fymale. Thanks, checkmyprivilege.com! Cock thanks CheckMyPrivelege i now know that i was under privileged all my life. hitler Thanks CheckMyPrivelege, because of checking my privilege I now feel at liberty to be accepted by my peers as a well-developed, self-reflective snowflake with multiple advantages on this shitty oppressive planet! Zach Hell yeah. I am a uber-sh!tlord when do I get my white privilege club card and start receiving my monthly check. I am really tired of this hard work crap for a living. Also do I have to wait for my membership card or can I immediately start looking down on the oppressed. Matt Thanks CheckMyPrivilege! I am a Cis, Christian, Latino, Poor ass Extremely oppressed bitch! Wow! :D Judith I thought that as a decently intelligent person living in the USA in a decent neighborhood in a good home would make me privileged. But then I forgot the fact that I'm Hispanic, trans, gay, short, and want to be a scientist when I grow up. Now I know that I'm extremely oppressed. Thank you! OzzieCLOSE The Senate has blocked four gun measures, two from each party, in the wake of the Orlando massacre. Here's what each measure would have done. The Supreme Court gets another chance Thursday to consider bans on assault weapons. (Photo11: Rich Pedroncelli, AP) Dylan West says the Pink Pistols gun club in Atlanta has been a stagnant group since he joined a year ago. But that's all changed now. The gun club for LGBT people has roughly doubled in size to 230 members following this month's nightmarish shooting at an Orlando gay nightclub that left 49 dead and 53 injured. "There’s always been a necessity for self-defense in the LGBT community,” said West, who grew up in Alabama surrounded by guns. Pink Pistols has 35 active chapters across the U.S., and nationally, its Facebook membership has increased from 1,500 before the shooting to about 6,500 as of Monday afternoon, spokeswoman Gwendolyn Patton said. That hike has encouraged some and worried others. Patton said several of the chapters have become active since last week. The organization helps its members “select a firearm, acquire a permit, and receive proper training in its safe and legal use for self-defense," according to its website. Omar Mateen, the killer in the Orlando attacks, did not belong to the Pink Pistols. West, who is gay, said that while the Orlando nightclub shooting has thrown the issue into the national spotlight, attacks against the LGBT community “are nothing new.” The FBI reported 999 hate crimes committed against LGBT people in the United States in 2014, the most recent available data. Because the LGBT community is often the target of violent attacks, it’s important for LGBT people to carry guns to protect themselves, said Dave Kopel, an attorney and gun rights advocate. “People have to be their own first responders,” he said. “Law enforcement tries to get there as fast as possible to intervene, but they can’t be there all the time and it’s good when people have the tools and abilities to stay alive until law enforcement shows up.” But others aren’t as sure that the uptick in gun interest among LGBT people is a good thing. Timothy McCarthy — director of the Sexuality, Gender, and Human Rights Program at Harvard University’s Carr Center for Human Rights Policy — called it both understandable and lamentable that some LGBT people are turning to guns. It makes sense that LGBT people might feel scared after the shooting and want to arm themselves, McCarthy said, but he also said an urge to buy more guns “might be misplaced and problematic.” “Because I don’t believe that more guns is going to lead to less violence,” he said. “The more guns we have in circulation, the more guns we have in use, that sets us up for more violence.” But McCarthy also pointed out that 6,500 people — the approximate Facebook membership total of the Pink Pistols — is only a “tiny, tiny fraction” of the LGBT community. “So I also don’t think we should make so much of this,” he said. Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/28MeQUODecision to compete in the red state, where a victory would effectively deny Trump a path to the presidency, is based on polling and early voter numbers In the frenetic dash to election day, Hillary Clinton will swing through the usual key target states for any Democratic candidate: Ohio, Florida, North Carolina – and Arizona? On Wednesday, Clinton will visit the Grand Canyon State for the first time since winning the Democratic nomination, a move that signals the campaign’s increasing confidence in her chances of turning a traditionally red state blue. “This is very rare,” said Richard Herrera, an associate professor in the school of politics and global studies at Arizona State University, of a visit from a Democratic presidential nominee. Democrats have carried the state only once since Harry Truman was in office: Bill Clinton in 1996. If the Clinton campaign is this confident to make a play for Arizona, she is serious about her chances of winning here Richard Herrera “If the Clinton campaign is this confident that it makes sense to make a play for Arizona, she is serious about her chances of winning here,” Herrera said. The Democrat’s hope of a victory in Arizona largely rests with the state’s rapidly growing Hispanic population, a group Trump repeatedly has antagonized throughout his nativist campaign. As many as one in five eligible voters in Arizona are Hispanic, but turnout rates have lagged behind those of other groups. “It’s tight,” a senior Clinton campaign aide said on Tuesday of the race in Arizona. “We think it’s about even right now.” A number of polls in the past few months have shown Clinton slightly ahead or within striking distance of Trump in the Grand Canyon State. The RealClearPolitics polling average has Trump ahead by about one percentage point. At campaign rallies in Las Vegas and Phoenix on Wednesday, Clinton is expected to appeal directly to Latino voters in an effort to harness the backlash against Trump into a surge of support for her campaign. The Democratic nominee will rail against Trump’s policy on immigration and offer her candidacy as a riposte to the divisive campaign he has run in a speech that highlights the disparaging comments he has made about immigrants, Mexicans and a federal judge of Mexican heritage, according to a campaign aide. In Phoenix, she will be introduced by the parents of Damian Lopez Rodriguez, an Arizona native who was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq, the aide said. The parents appeared in a Spanish-language ad for Clinton. Clinton’s visit is a continuation of the campaign’s vigorous push in the state. Early last month, the campaign announced that it had ramped up its efforts in the state, investing another $2m to be spent on TV and digital advertising as well as voter registration efforts. Ahead of her south-western swing, the campaign released on Wednesday a pair of Spanish- and English-language TV and radio ads aimed at mobilizing the Latino community against Trump. The ads are titled “27 million strong”, a reference to the estimated number of eligible Latino voters. Arizona asks 'the unprecedented': could Democrats sweep the west? Read more On Thursday, Clinton’s running mate Tim Kaine will deliver a speech entirely in Spanish at a community center in Phoenix and will hold a rally at a high school in Tucson, a rare blue bastion in the state. Last week, the campaign deployed top surrogates to rally troops in the state, including Senator Bernie Sanders, Chelsea Clinton and first lady Michelle Obama. Before Obama took the stage in Tempe, the crowd heard from congressman Ruben Gallego, a Democrat. “We are officially a swing state!” he boomed into the microphone, drawing loud applause from the more than 6,000 people who turned out to see the first lady speak. The decision to compete in Arizona is based on assessment of factors, including internal polling and early voter numbers. Campaign manager Robby Mook said that based on early analytics showed a higher than anticipated turnout there among minority groups, young people, women and independents. Campaign aides have repeatedly said that they believe Arizona is a true battleground state – and not a potential cherry atop a pleasing electoral map. Still, stealing the red state would all but deny Trump a path to an electoral college victory. “Arizona ain’t an indulgence,” campaign spokesman Brian Fallon said on Twitter last week. “It’s a true battleground. Perhaps even more favorable-looking right now than some other places we’ve been on TV.” Clinton’s visit to Arizona less than a week before voters go to the polls was made before the announcement that the FBI was reviewing emails related to her private server while she was secretary of state, and perhaps reflects a confidence that has been somewhat dented since then. Trump has visited Arizona seven times, including once to give a major speech on immigration in which he doubled down on his improbable but central campaign plank: build a border wall that is paid for by Mexico. Arizona ain’t an indulgence. It’s a true battleground Brian Fallon, Clinton campaign spokesman He also touts endorsements from two of the state’s most stalwart conservatives: former Arizona governor Jan Brewer, known for ushering through a hardline immigration law that inspired a rash of copycat legislation, and Maricopa County sheriff Joe Arpaio, who has been charged with contempt of court for disobeying a judge’s order in a racial profiling case. Trump, who faces a difficult path, has embraced new polling that shows the race tightening as reason to spend his finally days campaigning in traditionally Democratic states like Michigan, New Mexico and Wisconsin. Herrera expects Clinton’s visit to the desert will energize Democrats across the state and may help boost Latino voter registration. A Clinton victory in the historically red state could prove to be the start of a long-anticipated political shift – or it could be one-off twist in a wild election year. “That’s the big question,” Herrera said. “And the answer is, we just have to wait and see.”The design of the Bitcoin core protocol is imperfect but may provide a level of utility meriting adoption. While well-designed systems often provide the desired requirements of the present, many fail to fulfill the unforeseen requirements of the future. The result is the incursion of undesirable cost in the form of chronic inefficiency, disruptive redesign and potential failure. As a former Boston resident, it was always difficult to visualize the city’s original footprint at the time of the American Revolution. In 1776 Boston’s physical foundation was little more than a series of islands and marshes spanning an expansive bay. Much of what modern occupants consider the heart of the city was in fact underwater. It is interesting to imagine how the 15,000 inhabitants of the period may have designed the city had they the foresight to imagine its future growth; today the greater Boston area serves host to over 6.5 million. What significant costs may have been avoided by incorporating key elements into the original design? Graphic 1.0 Satellite image of modern day Boston, Massachusetts overlaid with the historic footprint of the peninsula from 1776 highlighted in red. Like a young city on the verge of relatively unfathomable growth, the Bitcoin protocol faces some recognizable design challenges moving forward. The growing ecosystem would be wise to contemplate the long term benefits that may be achieved by striving for a more perfect design. Boston’s Big Dig and the Cost of Redesign The deliberate design of Boston’s famous streets reflects the needs of the era; pathways to provide as direct a route as possible between points of interest amidst an array of physical obstacles. Traces of the original hills, marshes, and ocean barriers have long disappeared as the city’s peninsula was aggressively expanded with landfill up until 1890. Today 70% of the city is built upon landfill. Graphic 2.0 City limits of Boston, Massachusetts displayed over time. The two primary modes of expansion include landfilling existing marshes and mudflats and the annexation of adjacent communities. If modern planners could go back in time they may have requested several design considerations of early inhabitants. The list would likely include the request for a wider central artery downtown. In the absence of this foresight, with each passing generation the infrastructure of the city grew in such a way that respected existing design while most often only accommodating the immediate needs in the short term. Another way of looking at these developments is as a series of workarounds and compromises. Due to the chronic and suffocating traffic of the 1950s, city officials commissioned a 6-lane highway named the John F. Fitzgerald Expressway. Regarded as an innovation at the time, the project displaced over 20,000 residents and cost over $772 million dollars ($6.2 billion today adjusted for inflation). By the 1960s the average daily volume of vehicles on the expressway surpassed the capacity of 75,000 per day and by the 1970s grew to over 200,000. The resulting traffic inspired nicknames including the “Distress Way," the “Largest Parking Lot in the World” and my personal favorite the “Other Green Monster”. In many ways, the construction of the John F. Fitzgerald Expressway can be viewed as no more than an expensive bandaid on a wound that required stitches. The next attempt to address Boston’s congestion would become one of America’s largest, most expensive and technically challenging public works project in history. The Central Artery/Tunnel Project was more widely known as the Big Dig and spanned from 1982 to 2007. The project replaced the former expressway with a series of tunnels that effectively navigated the new central artery beneath the city. The costs associated with the Big Dig were greater than those of the Panama Canal and Hoover Dam combined with final estimates over $24 Billion. Despite fantastic costs and the controversies surrounding them, the Big Dig was considered a feat of modern engineering. It is clear that the city is better off today than it would have been had the project never occurred. That being said, wouldn’t it have been better if they didn’t have to deal with this problem in the first place? Had earlier Bostonians the incentives and knowledge to plan for significant growth the city could have avoided over $30 billion in redesign efforts, 20 years of disruption, and a half-century of costly traffic. A seemingly unlikely premonition for the Bostonians of the 1700s, such insights are not so far fetched for Bitcoin developers when contemplating the future requirements of the core protocol. Ideal Future State and The Bitcoin Dream Protocol A popular approach to innovative design and redesign is to imagine an ideal future state without limitation. The approach can be applied to any product, process, system or service and frees designers from the trappings of perception. In this way design can work backwards from an envisioned state of perfection and truly challenge what is possible. Table 1.0 retrospectively displays what the developers of Boston’s Big Dig may have envisioned when designing the future state of the central artery. Table 1.0 A former state and future state comparison of Boston’s central artery design. The future state features reflect the achievements of the Big Dig. Undesirable features are highlighted in red while more desirable alternatives have been highlighted green. Like the city planners of Boston’s Big Dig the developers of the Bitcoin core protocol are looking ahead and identifying the future requirements of bitcoin’s design. Table 2.0 evaluates the current state of the protocol and displays an ideal future state that can be referred to as the Bitcoin Dream Protocol. Some may scoff at this proposal but it is important to keep in mind that this is simply a proposed display of perfection, not expectation. Table 2.0 A current and ideal future state comparison of the key features and functions of the bitcoin core protocol and ecosystem. Less desirable features are highlighted in red while more desirable alternatives have been highlighted green. The Costs of Adopting Imperfect Design The phrase “there is always room for improvement” reflects the reality that every design ever adopted has been imperfect. The adoption of imperfect design comes with three distinct forms of cost; inefficiency costs, failure costs, and opportunity costs. These costs are defined as follows: Costs incurred over time as a result of chronic wastes. Examples might include low productivity, wasted resources, or poor gas mileage.Costs due to a fundamental failure of a design to fulfill its purpose. Examples range from disasters such as the Fukushima Nuclear Plant or the Hindenburg to simple failures such as your computer screen freezing.Costs of a designs inability to fulfill the full potential that could be provided by an alternative. Examples could include using a skateboard instead of a car for a cross-country trip. In his address at the Bitcoin 2014 Conference in Amsterdam, Holland, Gavin Andresen discussed what he perceived to be the key challenges facing the Bitcoin protocol. Among them the communication process for enacting change to the protocol, the structure that incentivizes the centralization of mining pools and the fact that there is only one core implementation. Table 3.0 considers Andresen’s concerns in addition to other prominent imperfections of the existing core protocol from table 2.0 and displays estimations of the potential costs associated in the
justice system.” Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minnesota) “Our society has had many years to assess the impact of mandatory minimums and harsh sentencing, and the verdict is in. Harsh sentencing have not made our society safer nor sentencing fairer. “The only people who benefit from these laws are those who have a financial stake in imprisonment: the private prison industry and vendors to the public system.” Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois): “This policy shift flies in the face of the growing bipartisan consensus that we need to reduce — not increase — the length of prison sentences for nonviolent drug offenders.” Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont): “The Attorney General’s new sentencing policy is an ideologically motivated attempt to resurrect the failed policies of the War on Drugs.” “This will not make us safer — quite the opposite, it will strip critical public safety resources away from targeting truly violent criminals in order to house nonviolent drug offenders. Unfortunately, I cannot say that I am surprised. In recent years, when he was still a senator, the Attorney General was the most vocal opponent of bipartisan efforts to restore sanity to our nation’s counterproductive and hugely expensive sentencing policies.” Vanita Gupta. former Director of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division: “No surprise that Sessions is taking us backward in the fight to end mass incarceration.” Sen. Cory Booker (D-New Jersey): “This effort is a thinly veiled attempt to ramp up the failed War on Drugs and prosecute more nonviolent low-level offenders.” Sen. Kamala Harris (D-California): “Jeff Sessions wants to turn back the block on the progress we’ve made on sentencing reform — and we must speak out against it.” Rep. Justin Amash (R-Michigan): “Let’s pass criminal justice reform to put an end to this unjust, ineffective and costly policy.” Rep. Barbara Lee (D-California): “As President Trump distracts with outlandish threats, AG Sessions quietly brings back the harshest sentences of the failed War on Drugs”Nikola Tesla, inventor of alternating current motors, did the basic research for constructing electromagnetic field lift-and-drive aircraft/space craft. From 1891 to 1893, he gave a set of lectures and demonstrations to groups of electrical engineers. As part of each show, Tesla stood in the middle of the stage, using his 6' 6" height, with an assistant on either side, each 7 feet away. All 3 men wore thick cork or rubber shoe soles to avoid being electrically grounded. Each assistant held a wire, part of a high voltage, low current circuit. When Tesla raised his arms to each side, violet colored electricity jumped harmlessly across the gaps between the men. At high voltage and frequency in this arrangement, electricity flows over a surface, even the skin, rather than into it. This is a basic circuit which could be used by aircraft / spacecraft. The hull is best made double, of thin, machinable, slightly flexible ceramic. This becomes a good electrical insulator, has no fire danger, resists any damaging effects of severe heat and cold, and has the hardness of armor, besides being easy for magnetic fields to pass through. The inner hull is covered on it's outside by wedge shaped thin metal sheets of copper or aluminum, bonded to the ceramic. Each sheet is 3 to 4 feet wide at the horizontal rim of the hull and tapers to a few inches wide at the top of the hull for the top set of metal sheets, or at the bottom for the bottom set of sheets. Each sheet is separated on either side from the next sheet by 1 or 2 inches of uncovered ceramic hull. The top set of sheets and bottom set of sheets are separated by about 6 inches of uncovered ceramic hull around the horizontal rim of the hull. The outer hull protects these sheets from being short-circuited by wind blown metal foil (Air Force radar confusing chaff), heavy rain or concentrations of gasoline or kerosene fumes. If unshielded, fuel fumes could be electrostatically attracted to the hull sheets, burn and form carbon deposits across the insulating gaps between the sheets, causing a short-circuit. In space, the outer hull with a slight negative charge, would absorb hits from micro-meteorites and cosmic rays (protons moving at near the speed of light). Any danger of this type that doesn't already have a negative electric charge would get a negative charge in hitting the outer hull, and be repelled by the metal sheets before it could hit the inner hull. This wouldn't work well on a very big meteor, I might add. The hull can be made in a variety of shapes; sphere, football, disc, or streamlined rectangle or triangle, as long as these metal sheets, "are of considerable area and arranged along ideal enveloping surfaces of very large radii of curvature," p. 85. My Inventions, by Nikola Tesla. The power plant for this machine can be a nuclear fission or fusion reactor [or any number of power generating devices] for long range and long-term use to run a steam engine which turns the generators. A short range machine can use a hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell to run a low-voltage motor to turn the generators, occasionally recharging by hovering next to high voltage power lines and using antennas mounted on the outer hull to take in the electricity. The short-range machine can also have electricity beamed to it from a generating plant on a long-range aircraft / spacecraft or on the ground. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Nov. 24, 1987, Vol 109, No. 328, The Forever Plane by Geoffrey Rowan, p.D1, D7.) (Popular Science, Vol 232, No. 1, Jan. 1988, Secret of Perpetual Flight? Beam Power Plane, by Arthur Fisher, p. 62-65, 106) One standard for the generators is to have the same number of magnets as field coils. Tesla's preferred design was a thin disc holding 480 magnets with 480 field coils wired in series surrounding it in close tolerance. At 50 revolutions per minute, it produces 19,400 cycles per second. The electricity is fed into a number of large capacitors, one for each metal sheet. An automatic switch, adjustable in timing by the pilot, closes, and as the electricity jumps across the switch, back and forth, it raises it's own frequency; a switch being used for each capacitor. The electricity goes into a Tesla transformer; again, one transformer for each capacitor. In an oil tank to insulate the windings and for cooling, and supported internally by wood, or plastic, pipe and fittings, each Tesla transformer looks like a short wider pipe that is moved along a longer, narrower pipe by an insulated non-electric cable handle. The short pipe, the primary, is 6 to 10 windings (loops) of wire connected in series to the long pipe. The secondary is 460 to 600 windings, at the low voltage and frequency end. The insulated non-electric cable handle is used through a set of automatic controls to move the primary coil to various places on the secondary coil. This is the frequency control. The secondary coil has a low frequency and voltage end and a maximum voltage and frequency end. The greater the frequency the electricity, the more it pushes against the earth's electrostatic and electromagnetic fields. The electricity comes out of the transformer at the high voltage end and goes by wire through the ceramic hull to the wide end of the metal sheet. The electricity jumps out on and flows over the metal sheet, giving off a very strong electromagnetic field, controlled by the transformer. At the narrow end of the metal sheet, most of the high-voltage push having been given off, the electricity goes back by wire through the hull to a circuit breaker box (emergency shut off), then to the other side of the generators. In bright sunlight, the aircraft / spacecraft may seem surrounded by hot air, a slight magnetic distortion of the light. In semi-darkness and night, the metal sheets glow, even through the thin ceramic outer hull, with different colors. The visible light is a by-product of the electricity flowing over the metal sheets, according to the frequencies used. Descending, landing or just starting to lift from the ground, the transformer primaries are near the secondary weak ends and therefore, the bottom set of sheets glow a misty red. Red may also appear at the front of the machine when it is moving forward fast, lessening resistance up front. Orange appears for slow speed. Orange-yellow are for airplane-type speeds. Green and blue are for higher speeds. With a capacitor addition, making it oversized for the circuit, the blue becomes bright white, like a searchlight, with possible risk of damaging the metal sheets involved. The highest visible frequency is violet, like Tesla's stage demonstrations, used for the highest speed along with the bright white. The colors are nearly coherent, of a single frequency, like a laser. A machine built with a set of super conducting magnets would simplify and reduce electricity needs from a vehicle's transformer circuits to the point of flying along efficiently and hovering with little electricity. When Tesla was developing arc lights to run on alternating current, there was a bothersome high-pitched whine, whistle, or buzz, due to the electrodes rapidly heating and cooling. Tesla put this noise in the ultrasonic range with the special transformer already mentioned. The aircraft / spacecraft gives off such noises when working at low frequencies. Timing is important in the operation of this machine. For every 3 metal sheets, when the middle one is briefly turned off, the sheet on either side is energized, giving off the magnetic field. The next instant, the middle sheet is energized, while the sheet on either side is briefly turned off. There is a time delay in the capacitors recharging themselves, so at any time, half of all the metal sheets are energized and the other half are recharging, alternating all around the inner hull. This balances the machine, giving it very good stability. This balance is less when fewer of the circuits are in use. Fairly close, the aircraft / spacecraft produces heating of persons and objects on the ground; but by hovering over an area at low altitude for maybe 5 or 10 minutes, the machine also produces a column of very cold air down to the ground. As air molecules get into the strong magnetic fields that the machine is transmitting out, the air molecules become polarized and from lines, or strings, of air molecules. The normal movement of the air is stopped, and there is suddenly a lot more room for air molecules in this area, so more air pours in. This expansion and the lack of normal air motion make the area intensely cold. This is also the reason that the aircraft / spacecraft can fly at supersonic speeds without making sonic booms. As air flows over the hull, top and bottom, the air molecules form lines as they go through the magnetic fields of the metal sheet circuits. As the air molecules are left behind, they keep their line arrangements for a short time, long enough to cancel out the sonic boom shock waves. Outside the earth's magnetic field, another propulsion system must be used, which relies on the first. You may have read of particle accelerators, or cyclotrons, or atom smashers. A particle accelerator is a circular loop of pipe that, in cross-section, is oval. In a physics laboratory, most of the air in it is pumped out. The pipe loop is given a static electric charge, a small amount of hydrogen or other gas is given the same electric charge so the particles won't stick to the pipe. A set of electromagnets all around the pipe loop turn on and off, one after the other, pushing with one magnetic pole and pulling with the next, until those gas particles are racing around the pipe loop at nearly the speed of light. Centrifugal force makes the particles speed closer to the outside edge of the pipe loop, still within the pipe. The particles break down into electrons, or light and other wavelengths, protons or cosmic rays, and neutrons if more than hydrogen is put in the accelerator. At least 2 particle accelerators are used to balance each other and counter each other's tendency to make the craft spin. Otherwise, the machine would tend to want to start spinning, following the direction of the force being applied to the particles. The accelerators push in opposite directions. As the pilot and crew travel in space, outside the magnetic field of a world, water from a tank is electrically separated into oxygen and hydrogen. Waste carbon dioxide that isn't used for the onboard garden, and hydrogen (helium if the machine is using a fusion reactor) is slowly, constantly fed into the inside curves of both accelerators. The high speed particles go out through straight lengths of pipe, charged like the loops and in speeding out into space, push the machine along. Doors control which pips the particles leave from. This allows very long range acceleration and later deceleration at normal (earth) gravity. This avoids the severe problems of weightlessness, including lowered physical abilities of the crew. It is possible to use straight-line particle accelerators, even as few as one per machine, but these don't seem as able to get the best machine speed for the least amount of particles pushed out. Using a constant acceleration of 32.2 feet per second per second provides earth normal gravity in deep space and only 2 gravities of stress in leaving the earth's gravity field. It takes, not counting air resistance, 18 minutes, 58.9521636 seconds to reach the 25,000 miles per hour speed to leave the earth's gravity field. It takes about 354 days, 12 hours, 53 minutes and 40 seconds (about) to reach the speed of light - 672,487,072.7 miles per hour. It takes the same distance to decelerate as it does to speed up, but this cuts down the time delay that one would have in conventional chemical rocketry enormously, for a long journey. A set of superconducting magnets can be charged by metal sheet circuits, within limits, to whatever frequency is needed and will continue to transmit that magnetic field frequency almost indefinitely. A shortwave radio can be used to find the exact frequencies that an aircraft / spacecraft is using, for each of the colors it may show whole a color television can show the same overall color frequency that the nearby, but not extremely close, craft is using. This is limited, as a machine traveling at the speed of a jet airliner may broadcast in a frequency range usually used for radar sets. The craft circuits override lower frequency, lower voltage electric circuits within and near their electromagnetic fields. One source briefly mentioned a 1941 incident, where a shortwave radio was used to override automobile ignition systems, up to 3 miles away. When the shortwave radio was turned off, the cars could work again. How many UFO encounters have been reported in which automobile ignition systems have suddenly stopped? I figure that things would not be at all pleasant for drivers of modern cars with computer controlled engine and ignition systems. Computer circuitry is sensitive to small changes in voltage and a temporary wrong-way voltage surge may wipe the computer memory out. It could mean that a number of drivers would suddenly be stranded with their cars not working should such a craft fly low over a busy highway. Only diesel engines, already warmed up, and Stanley Steamer type steam engine cares are able to continue working in a strong electromagnetic field. In May, 1988, it was reported that the U.S. Army had lost 5 Blackhawk helicopters and 22 crewmen in crashes caused by ordinary commercial radio broadcasting overriding the computer control circuits of those helicopters. Certainly, computer circuits for for this aircraft / spacecraft can and must be designed to overcome this weakness. One construction arrangement for this craft to avoid such interference is for the metal sheet circuits to be more sharply tuned. Quartz or other crystals can be used in capacitors; in a very large number of low-powered, single frequency circuits, or as part of a frequency control for the metal sheet circuits. The aircraft / spacecraft easily overrides lower frequency and lower voltage electric circuits up to a 6 mile wide circle around it, but the effect is usually not tuned for such a drastic show. It can be used for fire fighting: by hovering at a medium-low height at low frequency, it forms a double negative pole magnet of itself and the ground, the sides being a rotation of positive magnetic pole. It polarizes the column of air in this field. The air becomes icy cold. If it wouldn't put the fire out, it would slow it down. Tesla went broke in the early 1900's building a combination radio and electric power broadcasting station. The theory and experiments were correct but the financiers didn't want peace and prosperity for all. The Japanese physicist who developed superconducting material with strong magnetism allows for a simplified construction of the aircraft / spacecraft. Blocks of this material can be used in place of the inner hull metal sheets. By putting electricity in each block, the pilot can control the strength of the magnetic field it gives off and can reduce the field strength by draining some of the electric charge. This allows the same amount of work to be done with vastly less electricity used to do it. It is surprising that Jonathan Swift, in his Gulliver's Travels, 1726, third book, "A Voyage to Laputa", described an imagined magnetic flying island that comes close to being what a large superconducting aircraft / spacecraft can be build as, using little or no electric power to hover and mover around. Excerpt from Nikola Tesla: Man Ahead of His Time (or How To Build a UFO) by Bill Jones Most UFOs are Tesla’s Flying Saucers by Christian Soderberg, Henry Makow - via Nexus Illuminati Werner von Braun was in Los Alamos, New Mexico around 1937 testing Tesla’s “saucer” technology which then developed into a “wonder weapon” program of Nazi Germany. The Daily Mail recently reported about “flying saucer” projects in Nazi Germany and Hitler’s plans to use these “wonder weapons” to attack England and USA. The article talks only about jet-propulsion “saucers”, but the Germans were also building real ‘anti-gravity’ saucers based on inventions of Nikola Tesla (1856-1943). UFOs or “flying saucers” are man-made, not “alien space ships”. Following the wave of “UFO” sightings in early 1950s, Professor Giuseppe Belluzzo (1875-1952), a scientist-engineer and a former Italian cabinet minister, who apparently personally worked in one of these German-Italian “flying saucer” projects in the 1940s, was quoted in Italian and American newspapers saying: “There is nothing supernatural or Martian about flying discs, but they are simply rational application of recent technique...some great power is now launching discs to study them.” You can read more about Professor Belluzzo’s saucer project here and here. Nikola Tesla’s “flying stove” ’…You should not be at all surprised, if some day you see me fly from New York to Colorado Springs in a contrivance which will resemble a gas stove and weigh as much… and could, if necessary enter and depart through a window.’ Thus Nikola Tesla wrote to a Westinghouse Electric Company manager in 1912. In some books about Tesla and his inventions, this description of his “box like” flying machine is told to be about his helicopter-like ‘flivver’. Actually Tesla’s “flying stove” used an electro-propulsion system, which was to be powered by external power stations and Tesla’s ‘wireless transmission of energy-system’ or with a power generator inside the craft. In a 1911 article from The Sun Tesla describes his flying machine: “Dr. Nikola Tesla leaned back against his chair at the Waldorf last night and talked calmly of airships without planes, propellers or any of the other gear of the now familiar aeroplanes hurtling through space at tremendous speeds or driving more slowly carrying great loads, and in either case always as safely as the most prosaic of wheeled vehicles.” “…How about aerial navigation?” Dr. Tesla was asked. He considered for a moment or two and then replied with great deliberation: “The application of this principle will give the world a flying machine unlike anything that has ever been suggested before. It will have no planes, no screw propellers or devices of any kind hitherto used. “It will be small and compact, excessively swift, and, above all, perfectly safe in the greatest storm. It can be built of any size and can carry any weight that may be desired” – The Sun, New York – ‘Tesla Promises Big Things’ In a 1911 New York Herald article Tesla specifically explains that his flying machine is not a conventional airplane, nor a ‘lighter-than-air’- airship ( a Zeppelin-type). He also tells us that his flying machine is not affected by winds or “holes in the air”, and that it can be held “...absolutely stationary in the air, even in a wind, for great length of time.” starting from section: Ten Horse Power to the Pound Anyone familiar with the operation principles of the so called “conventional airplane” understands that Nikola Tesla’s flying machine described in these 1911 quotes has to be an ‘anti-gravity’ craft, so a real “flying saucer”. According to William Lyne, the author of the books ‘Pentagon Aliens’ and ‘Occult Ether Physics: Tesla’s Hidden Space Propulsion System and the Conspiracy to Conceal It’, Werner von Braun was in Los Alamos, New Mexico around 1937 testing Tesla’s “saucer”-technology which then developed into a “wonder weapon”-program of the Nazi Germany. After WW II this secret “Tesla saucer”-program travelled back to US along with von Braun who started also working on the US rocket and space programs. The Smoking Gun: An F.B.I. Report of a “Tesla saucer” A proof of a German electro-propulsion (anti-gravity) flying saucer comes from FBI reports. In 1957 a Polish immigrant offered his help to the FBI to explain the “car engine stalling UFO sightings” of the 1950s, and shared his experience as a WW II POW working at a prison camp at Gut Alt Golssen near Berlin. In the report he tells that while going to work to a nearby area in 1944, they started to hear a high pitched noise similar to a large electric generator and their tractor engine stalled which they couldn’t get starting again. They didn’t see any machinery nearby but when the noise stopped, they could get their tractor starting again. A few hours later working in the same area, he saw a vehicle slowly rising vertically from behind a tarpaulin-type wall around 50 feet high, surrounding a circular area of 100-150 yards in diameter... “..This vehicle[...] circular in shape, 75 to 100 yards in diameter, and about 14 feet high, consisting of dark gray stationary top and bottom… The approximate three foot middle section appeared to be a rapidly moving [...] producing a continuous blur similar to an aeroplane propeller, but extending the circumference of the vehicle. The noise emanating from the vehicle was similar to the noise previously heard. The engine of the tractor again stalled [...] the noise stopped, after which the engine started normally. Uninsulated metal, possibly copper, cables one and one-half inch to two inches in diameter, on and under the surface of the ground, [...] were observed…” A photocopy of this FBI report can be found in ‘Hitler’s Flying Saucers: A Guide to German Flying Discs of the Second World War’ (on this chapter) a book by Henry Stevens. ...the Chinese also have Tesla’s ‘anti gravity propulsion’-technology. Because the global ‘war industrial complex’ (banker-industrialist cabal) wants Tesla’s inventions to remain a secret they have produced propaganda for decades to make people believe the “flying saucers” are of extraterrestrial origin, but they’re not. It also seems that most of the super powers of our planet are aware of this technology. There was an article in China Daily a while ago about the Hangzhou-UFO which made an airport to close down for a while. The source on the matter to China Daily said that the UFO was related to the Chinese military. The information that the Hangzhou UFO was connected to the Chinese military was also reported by ABC News. Producing energy ‘over-unity’ One more reason for the banker-industrialist cabal to keep Tesla’s ‘flying machine’ hidden away from the public is that it apparently used(uses) ‘over-unity’-technology to power itself... and naturally “the cabal” don’t want people to have clean and FREE energy because they would make very little money this way. Tesla talked quite often about extracting energy from the Aether (dynamic light bearing ether) but because most of Tesla’s notes and papers were confiscated by US authorities after his death in 1943, these over-unity-generators are mostly treated as a “myth” or as bogus science, because: “...There is undisputed scientific consensus that perpetual motion would violate either the first law of thermodynamics, the second law of thermodynamics, or both.” (Wikipedia). But naturally, there can be errors in these man-made laws. One of these over-unity-generators is mentioned by Tesla as his ‘particle beam’-device. He tells us that this ‘high potential electro-static generator’ ”...can be made self-existing be suitable connections.” ‘Self Existing’ means this generator produced ALL the energy it needed to operate itself (..and more). This generator ran on air (perhaps liquid air) and it was hermetically sealed so the same gas was used over and over again (and the air was probably re-liquefied after the combustion process). William Lyne explains the operation of this type of generator on page x.(preface) in his book Pentagon Aliens. All the generator needed was an external energy source to start it up, after which it ran till someone stopped it or because of a mechanical failure. This Tesla mentions in his correspondence with Sava Kosanovic, March 1, 1941... "I add that in the station one must have a small generator or battery of 30 volts for activation." I also believe this ‘particle beam’ invention of Nikola Tesla is the device from which they developed the device that they use to make ‘crop circles’.A new right-wing media talking point has taken shape in recent days as special counsel Robert Mueller investigates Russia's interference in the 2016 election and whether President Donald Trump's campaign had anything to do with it: that even if anyone on the campaign did collude with Moscow, it would not technically be illegal. The liberal watchdog group Media Matters for America has been documenting the evolution of this argument since Fox's Geraldo Rivera first brought it up in mid-May. "What is the crime?" Rivera said May 10 during an appearance on Sean Hannity's show. "If the Russian KGB chief is talking to Paul Manafort and the chief says, 'You know, I've got this dirt here that says Hillary Clinton was this or that,' and Paul Manafort says, 'Next Wednesday, why don't you release that, that'd be great for us.' That's not — I don't know that that's a crime at all. What's the crime?" Right-wing columnist Ronald Kessler went further on May 21. "There's no violation of law if, in fact, the campaign colluded with Russia, whatever that means," he told CNN's Fareed Zakaria. Fox News' Gregg Jarrett seemed to agree. "Collusion is not a crime," he told Fox News' Happening Now on May 30,echoing an op-ed he wrote in which he argued that "colluding with Russia is not, under America's criminal codes, a crime." "Only in antitrust law," Jarrett said. "You can collude all you want with a foreign government in an election. There's no such statute." "Collusion is not breaking the law," conservative writer Michael Reagan, the son of former President Ronald Reagan, told CNN's Don Lemon on May 31. "You mean if the Trump folks colluded with the Russians, that's not breaking the law to influence the election?" Lemon asked. "What law?" Reagan replied. Hannity was next. "What was the collusion?" he asked on his show last Friday. "That maybe somebody in the Trump campaign talked to somebody in Russia because Russia supposedly had the information that Hillary Clinton had destroyed on her server when she committed a felony and tried to cover up her crimes? "Is that a crime, to say, 'Release it?' To show the truth? To show damaging information?" Two days later, Fox's Brit Hume said on "Fox News Sunday" that "collusion, while it obviously would be alarming and highly inappropriate for the Trump campaign to — of which there's no evidence, by the way, of colluding with the Russians — it's not a crime." Just one of the aforementioned hosts and commentators returned requests for additional comment about how they would respond to criticism for taking this position. "He didn't fu----- collude," Reagan said. "Get over it." 'These violations are criminally enforceable' Former White House counsel Robert Bauer, now a partner at the law firm of Perkins Coie, said the view that collusion would not be a crime is "flawed." "It fails to consider the potential campaign finance violations, as suggested by the facts so far known, under existing law," Bauer wrote on Just Security earlier this month. "These violations are criminally enforceable." Bauer pointed to a campaign finance law that prohibits foreign nationals from providing "anything of value … in connection with" an election. "The hacking of the Podesta emails, which were then transmitted to Wikileaks for posting, clearly had value," Bauer noted, pointing to Trump's frequent praise of the organization. "And its connection to the election is not disputed." Josh Douglas, an election and constitutional law expert who teaches at the University of Kentucky Law School, also cited campaign finance laws — specifically, the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, also known as the McCain-Feingold act — when asked whether collusion with a foreign power to win an election was illegal. Like Bauer, he said the question would be whether any of the Russian activity "would fall under that law as an expenditure," and whether the Americans involved — in this case, the Trump campaign — had a "specific intent to engage in that prohibited act." To Bauer, the intent seems clear: "The President and others associated with the campaign made no bones about the value to them of the purloined email communications.... He drew on the emails in the debates with Secretary Clinton. Notably, when he was asked during the debates to acknowledge the Russian program of interference and given the opportunity to openly oppose the actions, he wouldn't do so. He also mentioned Wikileaks 124 times in the last month of the campaign. The Russians could only have been strengthened in the conviction that their efforts were welcome and had value. That covers the evidence in plain sight." James Gardner, an election law expert at SUNY Buffalo Law School, said the answer to whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia "depends on what specific actions formed the basis of collusion." Political historian Allan Lichtman agreed, saying indictments and prosecutions would depend upon the particular circumstances of a case and interpretations of the law that are not always clear. Both Lichtman and Gardner said the federal statute criminalizing treason could apply. But putting aside treason, "there are numerous laws" that could be implicated by collusion with any foreign government, Lichtman said. Those include the Logan Act, which forbids dealings by private individuals with foreign governments involved in disputes with the US; the Stored Communications Act, which creates Fourth Amendment-like privacy protections for email and other digital communications; and the Espionage Act. John Coates, an election law expert at Harvard University Law School, pointed to relevant federal statutes that could apply, including at least two federal statutes governing campaign contributions and donations by foreign nationals and two governing fraud and conspiracy offenses. U.S. President Donald Trump listens to a question during a joint news conference with Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos (not pictured) at the White House in Washington, U.S. Kevin Lamarque/Reuters 'The death of outrage' Andy Wright, a professor of constitutional law at Savannah Law School, said that if Americans entered into an agreement to assist illegal Russian influence operations, "it could create a conspiracy which is a federal crime." Additionally, Wright said, American citizens colluding with a foreign power to illegally affect an election "could constitute aiding and abetting that foreign power's criminal campaign finance violation." Ultimately, questions about whether the Trump campaign's encouragement of Russia's cyberattacks constituted a form of collusion revolve around whether Trump and his associates incorporated Moscow's meddling into their overall campaign strategy, Bauer asserted. That includes whether "specific plans" were made to build messaging around the hacked emails and Wikileaks, and if the campaign made a conscious decision not to denounce the Russians so that the meddling would continue. "Was the message intended for Russia discussed during preparations for the presidential debate, which would explain Mr. Trump's special care in refusing to assign direct blame for the hacking to the government or to reject any assistance from the hackers?" Bauer wrote. The idea that collusion is inherently legal, moreover, is "absurd," said Mark Kramer, the program director for the Project on Cold War Studies at Harvard's Davis Center for Eurasian Affairs. He added the form such collusion would have taken — hacking, a clandestine transfer of funds, conspiracy — would be serious crimes on their own. More broadly, the notion that it would be above water for an American presidential candidate to leverage a foreign adversary to subvert an election "would really signal the death of outrage," said Wright. And those repeating the talking point are also ignoring the very real possibility that the candidate who colluded would then be beholden to that foreign government — and irrevocably compromised. "Our national security clearance system relies on being able to vet foreign sources of leverage," Wright said. "Of course, the premise of kompromat is shame. Some of the president's defenders appear to be post-shame."Mr. Soros sent the maximum contribution, $2,100, to Mr. Obama, the first-term senator from Illinois, just hours after he declared his plans to run. “Soros believes that Senator Obama brings a new energy to the political system and has the potential to be a transformational leader,” said Michael Vachon, a spokesman for Mr. Soros. Mrs. Clinton’s presidential operation is only one day old, but she already finds herself in a breakneck competition against Mr. Obama for fund-raising supremacy in two towns that she and her husband have mined heavily for political gold: New York and Hollywood. Mr. Obama’s entrance into the race has also put up for grabs other groups that are primary targets for Mrs. Clinton, including African-Americans and women. At this early stage in the nomination fight, securing donations and signing up fund-raisers are among the best ways of showing political strength in a crowded field (seven Democrats and counting). And Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton are looking to raise at least $75 million this year alone. Advisers said yesterday that they had begun corralling donors to build quickly on the formidable $14 million that Mrs. Clinton already had in the bank. They predicted that they would outpace Mr. Obama, though they acknowledged that he is moving impressively to try to match Mrs. Clinton’s national fund-raising network, which has been in the making far longer than his. Mrs. Clinton faces some fatigue among donors after more than 15 years of Clinton fund-raising, Democratic contributors and strategists said, and some skepticism about whether she can win. Yet she has the Democrats’ most popular rainmaker at her full disposal, former President Bill Clinton, and she has influential friends like the lawyer and power broker Vernon E. Jordan Jr. to help keep African-American donors and others by her side. Notably, no prominent Clinton fund-raiser has moved to Mr. Obama’s camp (though his aides are working on it). Mrs. Clinton has also lined up a powerful roster of fund-raising and economic advisers in New York, including the financiers Roger Altman, Steven Rattner, Blair W. Effron, Alan Patricof and Mr. Rattner’s wife, Maureen White, a former finance chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “Maureen and I will happily do everything we can to help her,” Mr. Rattner said. “Based on our long relationship with her, we feel that she has demonstrated incontrovertibly that she would be an effective candidate and a terrific president.” For all of the attention swirling around Mr. Obama, meanwhile, he faces many obstacles as he seeks to become the nation’s first black president. His background, including a father from Kenya and a mother from Kansas, has elevated his appeal, but it does little to answer questions about whether he has the experience to serve in the White House. Picking off Clinton loyalists is no easy task, either. Hours after opening his fund-raising committee on Tuesday, Mr. Obama convened separate conference calls with donors in Chicago and on the East and West Coasts; in the East Coast phone call, according to participants, Mr. Obama asked them to keep an open mind about his candidacy even if they had been allies of Mrs. Clinton. Photo James Torrey, chairman of the global hedge fund Torrey Funds, said he signed on with Mr. Obama not as a snub to Mrs. Clinton, but because he believed that the Illinois senator had the best chance of inspiring Democrats and other voters. “I know it’s perceived as an anti-Hillary thing,” Mr. Torrey said in an interview Friday. “I think she’s marvelous, I think she’s a great senator, but I’d rather see Barack Obama as president. I think the Republicans will make it their life’s work to bring her down.” Several New York and Hollywood donors offered a similar assessment: they liked Mrs. Clinton as a senator, but worried that her rating in a new Washington Post/ABC News Poll released Saturday was at 41 percent, despite having nearly 100 percent name recognition. Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You will receive emails containing news content, updates and promotions from The New York Times. You may opt-out at any time. You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters. Some of her veteran supporters in New York are now on the fence, including the business executives Orin S. Kramer and Robert Zimmerman, who are active in Democratic politics. Others say they plan to play it safe and contribute to both candidates. In Los Angeles, the producers David Geffen, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Steven Spielberg are working to plan a fund-raiser for Mr. Obama after he officially enters the race, which he is scheduled to do on Feb. 10. Mr. Geffen has signed on with Mr. Obama, while Mr. Katzenberg and Mr. Spielberg
process engineer. By increasing the amount of RO-treated water vented to the cooling tower, the company was able to save money on chemical use, such as bleach and sulfuric acid. “We’re aiming for a good mixture of RO water and city water,” Files says. “We use about 50/50.” Using too much city water in the cooling tower means increased ions and minerals, which cause fouled pipes and plating on heat exchanger plates, meaning lost efficiency, says Neal Jakel, general manager of the ethanol plant. The goal is maximizing the amount of times water can cycle though the cooling tower loop. Increasing the amount of RO water used to 50 percent has reduced the amount of blowdown, or water discharged from the cooling tower. That change was “low hanging fruit,” Files says, easy to implement immediately with a quick payback in savings of both water and chemical costs. And, there are other ethanol plants out there that could easily do this. In order to evaluate it, plants just need to do a cost-benefit analysis to discover what point gives the best return on investment. Illinois River Energy is also working on optimizing heat reclamation. Although the project has taken more time to implement, it has had a very good cost return, Files says. By expanding the use of heat exchangers, the company has been able to recover and reuse heat while also reducing the use of cooling towers, which ultimately saves both chemicals and water. “It’s kind of a cascading cycle,” he says. Gray Water to the Rescue One of the more difficult to implement recommendations from Rajagopalan’s report was using wastewater from nearby municipalities that would typically get discharged. The idea is not new. Tharaldson Ethanol LLC, a 153 MMgy ethanol plant in Casselton, N.D., has been using treated wastewater pumped in from Fargo, N.D., since the plant was built. The $15.3 million project included building a wastewater treatment plant and installing 26 miles of underground pipelines. About 15 percent of the water used at the ethanol plant is piped back to Fargo as gray water, where it is retreated to drinking water standards. The former Levelland Hockley County Ethanol LLC ethanol plant, renamed Diamond Ethanol LLC after being purchased at auction by Palmer Energy in mid-May, began utilizing city wastewater for its water needs when the 40 MMgy plant began operations four years ago, Rick Osburn, city manager, tells EPM. The company went bankrupt and put the Levelland, Texas, plant in cold idle in December 2010 but is expected to be restarted by its new owners, a company formed by Conestoga Energy Partners LLC. Although the city has an adequate supply of water, it wasn’t “comfortable” selling the ethanol plant city drinking water, considering the plant would need up to 10 MMgy of water monthly at full capacity, Osburn says. Instead, about $70,000 in grant money was used to build a 3-mile pipeline so the ethanol plant could utilize city wastewater. The ethanol plant paid for the needed water filtration system, plus it purchases a small amount of city water for things like drinking and eye wash stations on a separate meter and water system, he says. Using city gray water is a good way to conserve water, Jakel says, adding that it’s something the Illinois River Energy is currently investigating. There are two major roadblocks, however. The first is that the majority of ethanol plants are located in rural areas with their own on-site wells. Not many ethanol plants “have the luxury” of being co-located next to a city that could supply them with both freshwater and gray water. “It’s probably only a handful, probably only less than 20 or 25 max,” he says. Cost is also a big factor. Unlike the plants in North Dakota and Texas, both located in areas where getting access to water would have been challenging or impossible, Illinois River Energy has access to plenty of low-cost water. A gray water project would require an additional treatment facility and a 3- or 4-mile pipeline to be built under a major highway, a river and railroad tracks. Such a multimillion dollar project is hard to justify when the $40,000 currently paid monthly for water is considered. “We need to have a driver here,” he says, “like some sort of tax incentive or grant to help augment the investment.” On the plus side, the treated water could be used for both fermentation and cooling towers. That would add up to a significant amount of well water displacement, considering that nearly 65 percent of the plant’s water use is for cooling tower water. There are some additional boxes to check, including looking at the possible impact to the plant’s permit for the vapors released from the cooling tower, as well as coming up with a cost estimate. “By the end of this year we hope to have a final decision,” Jakel says, adding that the company is hoping for public/private cooperation to make the project happen. Corn-ethanol plants aren’t the only ones that could use treated effluent water to reduce the amount of water consumed. Currently, Rajagopalan and other researchers are working on a study that shows it is feasible to reduce the water consumption of cellulosic ethanol production with the use of treated effluent water and other water-saving methods. Cellulosic ethanol production is expected to use 6 to 10 gallons of water per gallon of ethanol produced. “There is even more interest in seeing if we can conserve water in those operations,” Rajagopalan says. Author: Holly Jessen Associate Editor, Ethanol Producer Magazine (701) 738-4946 [email protected](Desi Galli) A Curry Hill restaurant is opening up a second location in the East Village, and as part of the new menu, it's planning to offer up what it's calling desi poutine, a South Asian twist on the French-Canadian staple. If you're not familiar, in its native form, poutine is french fries topped with cheese curds and gravy. At the new Desi Galli location, slated to open on April 16th at 172 Avenue B, at East 11th Street, the updated poutine will be topped with tikka masala gravy and grated paneer. According to an announcement by the restaurant, the dish is inspired by co-owner PriaVanda Chouhan's childhood in Montreal. Desi Galli specializes in Indian street food, and touts its gluten-free, vegan, and vegetarian options. Indian/Pakistani-inspired poutines come in all sorts of configurations, and seems to be widely available in Ottawa and Quebec, Canada. Desi Galli claims that its version is the first offered in New York City. We'll refrain from judgment on the dish until we try it, but it certainly looks like a good option after a long night touring the neighborhood's drinking establishments. The new Desi Galli Location is set to open from noon to 11 p.m., Sunday to Wednesday, and noon to 3 a.m. Thursday to Saturday. For more information, visit the restaurant's website.Dropbox for Windows 10 is here By Steve Guggenheimer / Corporate Vice President of Developer Platform & Evangelism and Chief Evangelist, Microsoft Share Share Skype The Dropbox app for Windows 10 will begin rolling out in the Windows Store this week as a free download for Windows 10 customers. Dropbox makes it easy to view or edit your files on any device, anytime and anywhere; to privately share files of any size with anyone; and to back up your work automatically. With this new app built on the Universal Windows Platform, users will be able to take advantage of the convenience of Dropbox with great Windows 10 features such as Windows Hello, Live Tiles and Notifications. Here are some of the new features in the Dropbox app for Windows 10: Updated for Windows 10: Performance improvements and faster launching for our Universal Windows Platform app. Performance improvements and faster launching for our Universal Windows Platform app. Enable Windows Hello: Add an extra layer of protection with Windows Hello, which uses either your face, fingerprint, or iris instead of your password to unlock your Dropbox. Quick Access to Recent Files: Using Jump List, all you have to do is right-click on the Dropbox app icon in your taskbar. Interactive Device Notifications: Accept a shared folder invitation without opening the app with Notifications. Quick Search: You don’t need to click on the search icon; just type what you want to search. Drag and Drop: To move or copy a file into Dropbox, just drag and drop it from Windows File Explorer. Within the app, you can also move or copy files into other folders by dragging and dropping them between folders (hold Ctrl to copy). Commenting: Add comments directly on your files, and bring others into the discussion with @mentions. Coming Soon: the Dropbox app for Windows 10 Mobile. Stay Tuned! Our partnership with Dropbox has helped more than 17 million people get more work done on the go. With Windows 10 running on over 200 million devices worldwide, we’re excited to continue to offer our fans easy and convenient access to photos, documents, and files anytime, anywhere. You can also head over to the Dropbox Blog where Michael Shaffer, Vice President of Business Development and Partnerships at Dropbox talks more about the app and our work together. The Dropbox app for Windows 10 is optimized for tablets and will begin rolling out in the Windows Store in the coming days. If you’re using a Windows 10 PC, you can try out these features* with the new app or use the Dropbox desktop client. Hardware dependent. Windows 10 features are available in the Dropbox for Windows 10 app via the Windows Store. Updated June 28, 2018 8:40 amWATCH: Honoring Trans Military Members This Veterans Day The TransMilitary documentary team reminds us that the lives of all U.S. veterans are valuable. Why, then, force trans service members to continue serving in silence? U.S. Navy veteran Landon Wilson is among the estimated 134,000 transgender military veterans the U.S. commemorates today. But even as the country pauses to reflect on the work and sacrifice of its service members, it remains clear that all veterans cannot be equal until all active members of the military are equal, as well. Under an ongoing ban on open military service by transgender Americans — that was not impacted by 2011 repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy — nearly 15,500 trans service members are still unable to be out about their gender identities, pursue any aspect of transition, or seek medically necessary health care, according to the University of California at Los Angeles' Williams Institute. If these men and women reveal their trans identities — or if, like Wilson, a mismatch in their gender markers on military paperwork is discovered — they can be discharged. This remains the case despite research, such as a recent landmark study from the Palm Center, that has increasingly concluded that there is "no compelling medical rationale" to continue disqualifying trans American from serving openly in the U.S. armed forces. The video below, produced by the team of TransMilitary, a documentary centered around the lives of trans service members in the U.S. and U.K., succinctly raises awareness of of the ban while still saluting those who continue to serve in silence. "This Veterans Day, I pause to honor all the men and women who made it possible for me to wear the uniform," Wilson declares. "But if it were up to me, I would still be wearing it today."Mexico's ambassador to Caracas and his wife were kidnapped overnight and then freed on Monday [Reuters] Mexico's envoy to Caracas was seized overnight then freed in the latest high-profile kidnapping in Venezuela, where violent crime is routinely listed as citizens' top worry. In the style of "express" kidnappings that are rife in Venezuela, four armed men seized ambassador Carlos Pujalte and his wife in their car after a reception in the upscale Country Club zone of Caracas, diplomats and officials said. The kidnappers then released the couple in a slum before dawn on Monday. "We're so happy he is safe, I've been up following the case all night," said a senior European diplomat, whose own security has been increased in recent months. Kidnappings, armed robberies and murders are common in the South American OPEC member nation that has enormous oil wealth alongside widespread poverty. The Venezuelan attorney general's office said a full investigation was underway. Mexican embassy spokesman Fernando Godinez said his boss was recovering well after his release. "His health is okay. He and his wife are giving statements [to the police] right now," Godinez told a local radio station. "We regret this situation deeply." Senior diplomats from Chile and Belarus were also seized in similar incidents last year, according to diplomatic sources. The Chilean consul, Juan Carlos Fernandez, was injured by a bullet, and beaten during his November kidnapping. Robbery was the assumed motive of those incidents. High crime statistics "We don't know yet what happened last night, if they robbed the Mexican ambassador or asked for a ransom or what," said a foreign security expert at one of the embassies in Caracas, who was tracking the case closely. "It's a worrying trend though." Late last year, Major League Baseball player Wilson Ramos, a catcher for the Washington Nationals, also was kidnapped for two days during a visit home, before being released during a raid by security forces on a mountain hideout. Crime is arguably the top issue for voters in the run-up to an October presidential election. Police are often involved, and murder rates make Caracas one of the most dangerous cities in the world, ranking with some war-zones. Though rich and poor alike complain constantly about crime in Venezuela, the issue has traditionally not weighed heavily on President Hugo Chavez's approval ratings. The latest poll released on Monday by the local Hinterlaces company gave him a 64 per cent approval rating, with 50 per cent of those surveyed saying they would vote for him in October. "Chavez supporters have a strong emotional attachment to him and this has led some of them to fail to assess the situation objectively despite the statistics and the growing evidence of the government's responsibility [for the crime problem]," said Venezuelan analyst Diego Moya-Ocampos of the IHS Global Insight think tank. Interior Minister Tareck El Aissami says Venezuela's official annual murder rate is around 48 per 100,000 residents, but non-governmental organizations put the figure higher. The Venezuelan Violence Observatory, for example, said murders had doubled in the last decade to reach a record of more than 19,000 - or about 60 per 100,000 people - in 2011. "But in Venezuela we have not had a war. How can this be explained?" the NGO asked in its latest publication, saying political polarisation underpinned the problem.The image above - one of around 400,000 mammograms used by Zebra Medical Vision - shows what a breast looks like to AI. Advertisement It has been colour-coded to make it easier for a self-teaching neural network to identify breast cancer. Using this technique, Zebra Medical Vision claims to have been able to detect cancerous cells with 91 per cent accuracy. This is an improvement on the typical radiologists' rate of 88 per cent, with fewer false positives. "Right now," says Zebra Medical Vision founder Elad Benjamin, "this is better than human performance." This AI can spot skin cancer as accurately as a doctor Cancer This AI can spot skin cancer as accurately as a doctor Launched in 2014, Tel Aviv-based Zebra Medical Vision, which consists of 25 employees, has developed image-scanning algorithms to identify bone, lung, liver and heart disease. It didn't begin to look at breast cancer, however, until it was approached in 2015 by British computer programmer Phil Teare. "His wife had died of cervical cancer at a very young age, so he had a different motivation and he really dived into it," Benjamin recalls. Using anonymous data from 14 hospitals - including biopsy and pathology records as well as images - Teare began work on an algorithm that could identify malignant cells in mammograms. That meant finding a way to make the scans machine-readable. He approached this problem by using colour to differentiate features. "Phil separated different signals within the image and fed them into the red, blue and green channels of the network." The result is being prepared for US clinical trials in hospitals before submission to the Food and Drug Administration towards the end of 2017. When the technique becomes commercially available, Benjamin expects it to have a big impact. "In five or seven years, radiologists won't be doing the same job they're doing today," he explains. "They're going to have analytics engines or bots like ours that will be doing 60, 70, 80 per cent of their work."A NEBRASKA SENATOR once said of a Supreme Court nominee, “So what if he’s mediocre? [The mediocre] are entitled to a little representation.” But in Mike Pence mediocrity is overrepresented. Not even Donald Trump commends this intellectually blinkered, right-wing provincial as America’s Savior. He began as a talk show host in 1994 in small-town Indiana, fulminating about the global warming “myth,” the perfidy of Washington, and the verities of an evangelical Christianity menaced by cosmopolites. Piety swiftly merged with pragmatism: ambitious for office, Pence learned what worked — an antichoice, antigay agenda served up with reckless rhetoric couched in a pose of rectitude. He informed his audience that Clarence Thomas was being “lynched,” and that “despite the hysteria from the political class and the media, smoking doesn’t kill.” A quarter-century later, Pence remains as small as his beginnings. The flexibility of his conscience surfaced in his first race for Congress. He used campaign funds to pay for his mortgage, car, credit card, golf, and groceries. To smear his opponent, he sent a mailer depicting lines of cocaine; ran an ad portraying an Arab sheik; and spread a story that the Democrat was selling his farm to a nuclear waste facility. Only after losing, did Pence deploy an ostentatious show of guilt. Advertisement Once in Congress, he joined the Tea Party and displayed a rigid intolerance for anything outside the crabbed confines of evangelical conservatism. He attacked sex education and reproductive choice with the zeal of Savonarola, decrying stem cell research, the use of condoms to prevent STDs, and organizations whose services included abortion. To further this agenda, he proposed changing the definition of rape to “forcible rape” and shutting down the government as a tactic to defund Planned Parenthood. Get Today in Opinion in your inbox: Globe Opinion's must-reads, delivered to you every Sunday-Friday. Sign Up Thank you for signing up! Sign up for more newsletters here His apotheosis came as Indiana’s governor: a statute barring women from aborting fetuses with grave chromosomal damage; exposing doctors who assisted them to prosecution for wrongful death; and requiring that aborted fetuses be buried. A federal court swiftly struck it down. His war against LGBT rights is unyielding. He called banning gay marriage “God’s idea.” He advocated diverting money for AIDS research to “ex- gay” therapy programs. He fought legislation to protect gays from job discrimination and hate crimes, and opposed gays serving in the military. As governor, Pence spearheaded a “religious freedom” law allowing business owners to deny service to LGBT citizens. Struggling to defend this, he gave an incoherent interview to George Stephanopoulos which exposed his excruciating inability to transcend robotic talking points. More than narrow, he looked dense. Equally mindless was his opposition to a needle-exchange program, provoking an outbreak of HIV-AIDS in an Indiana county. But then Pence exudes myopia. His fealty to the NRA is craven and comprehensive. He questions climate change and the theory of evolution. He tried to bar Syrian refugees from entering Indiana. In the cul-de-sac of his mind, he plays to the only audience he knows — people who think like him. Advertisement Increasingly, Indianans did not. By 2016, his reelection campaign was flagging, his normally polite constituents booing him in public. Locals were stunned when, bereft of attractive options, Donald Trump reluctantly offered him a shot at ultimate power. For Pence, this was a gift from God; for others, a revelation of character. Shamelessly, he combined obsequious testimonials to Trump as leader, family man, and Christian with transparent calculation. Particularly revealing was Pence’s oscillation between toady and schemer in the wake of the “Access Hollywood” tape. At first, he crowed that Trump was “still standing stronger than ever.” But as revulsion for Trump’s serial groping mushroomed, Pence rediscovered his moral compass, intoning prior to one of the presidential debates, “We pray for his family and look forward to the opportunities he has to show what is in his heart [in tomorrow night’s debate].” Whereupon he vanished. His calculus was transparent: Pence would await Trump’s performance before defending him, poised to resign from the ticket — or replace Trump at its head. But Trump survived. “Proud to stand with you,” Pence tweeted, then attacked Bill Clinton for moral turpitude. That’s Pence. His public persona reeks of smarmy sanctimony — every untruth, evasion, and vacuous bromide delivered in a portentous pipe organ voice accompanied by squints, nods, and shakes of the head which, Pence clearly imagines, convey a pious gravity. The effect is that of an unctuous church elder selling pyramid schemes to credulous parishioners, never doubting he is doing God’s work. Every self-serving self-deception reveals the depths of his shallowness, the breadth of his hypocrisy. Advertisement His salvation is not ours. Richard North Patterson’s column appears regularly in the Globe. His latest book is “Fever Swamp.” Follow him on Twitter @RicPattersonA creamy white cheddar cauliflower soup with a hint of thyme. Although the winter has been pretty mild so far I have still been enjoying some hearty soups with the most recent one being this roasted cauliflower and aged white cheddar soup. It never ceases to amaze me how simple vegetable soups like this one can be so good with so few ingredients and that might be why I keep coming back to them. The main vegetable in this soup is of course the cauliflower and it is roasted before being added to the soup to concentrate its flavour and to get a bit of caramelization going. Up next is the basics with the onions and garlic followed by the herb of choice, thyme and finally the cheese. For the cheese I went with a white cheddar and one trick to keep in mind when adding cheese to soup like this is that if you use a stronger flavoured cheese like an aged cheddar then you will not need to use as much of it to get the same flavour. This soup can be amazingly creamy if you use heavy cream for some of the liquid but you can keep it on the lighter side by using milk. If you are not worried about trying to keep things on the lighter side then cook some double smoked bacon for garnish and use the grease to saute the onions and garlic. This will add even more flavour and a really nice smokiness.Comparing Indian States and Countries by GDP per capita This is a comparison between 33 Indian states/UTs and countries by GDP per capita on Nominal and PPP basis. GDP per capita (2014) of countries are based on the IMF World Economic Outlook (April-2015). Equivalent countries names are according to closest countries gdp per capita figures. Rank of states are world rank with comparing gdp per capita of 188 countries. To calculate GDP in Dollar, Formula = (GDP of India in Dollar)(NSDP of state in Rs)/74380. For example, gdp (nominal) per capita of Tamilnadu = 1626.98112664/74380. gdp (ppp) per capita of Tamilnadu = 5855.31112664/74380. Tamilnadu nsdp per capita in 2013-14 is 112664 INR. India nsdp per capita in 2013-14 is 74380 INR. According to IMF, GDP per capita of India in 2014 is $1,626.98 and $5,855.31 in nominal and ppp terms, respectively. When comparing Indian states with countries on nominal basis, All Indian States/UTs has ranking below 100. On ppp basis, 5 states/Uts are in top 100. India richest states Goa has GDP (nominal) per capita of around 4903 US Dollar and GDP (ppp) per capita of around 17644 billion international dollar. Per capita Income of Goa is equivalent to Jamaica on nominal basis and is equivalent to Azerbaijan on ppp basis. Among 188 countries, Goa is at 101th and 70th position in nominal and ppp terms, respectively. Poorest state Bihar is equivalent to Nepal (in nominal) and Papua New Guinea (in ppp). In world ranking, Bihar is at 173th and 158th position in nominal and ppp terms, respectively.Hey everyone - this week we are proud to present the premiere vinyl release of the soundtrack to one of the greatest video games of all time: CONTRA! A limited version of the record (pressed on Yellow, Orange & Red vinyl) will be premiering at our San Diego Comic-Con booth (#835), but we wanted to give CONTRA fans the opportunity to pick up the soundtrack online, too. When doors open for Preview Night this Wednesday at 8PM (CT), our Red & Blue version of the record will be available at mondotees.com. Read more about our San Diego Comic-Con releases here. MONDO Contra - Original Video Game Soundtrack LP. Music by Konami Kukeiha Club. Artwork by Eric Powell. Featuring both NES/FAMICOM and Arcade versions of the soundtrack. Pressed on 180 Gram Red & Blue Half-and-Half Vinyl. $25 Mondo is proud to celebrate the 30th anniversary of CONTRA franchise with the premiere vinyl soundtrack release of the classic shooter that started it all. The year is 2633 and aliens have taken up base on Earth. It's up to Bill and Lance of the Contra unit to rescue the planet from the possible domination of the evil Red Falcon... It's a simple premise anchored with the intriguing original artwork that inspired allusions to the iconic imagery of '80s action stars. Still, despite its simple origins as a coin-consuming arcade platformer, it took the gaming world by storm when it hit home consoles and single-handedly defined the shooter for years to come. The music is electrifying. Catchy, rhythmic, and iconic. 'Base Theme' and 'Snowfall' push the envelope of 8-Bit music, creating memorable, looping hooks that never overstay their welcome. CONTRA is a difficult game, and these ear-worms are always there to motivate you through endless deaths and continues. Featuring both the NES/FAMICOM and the original Arcade version of the soundtracks, on two sides of a 180 Gram vinyl with all new original artwork by Eric Powell. Online version pressed on half-red half-blue vinyl. Our friends who are attending San Diego Comic-Con will be able to purchase a super limited tri-color version pressed on the colors of the iconic Contra 'C' (Yellow, Orange and Red). On sale Wednesday (7/19) at 8PM (CT): - Yellow, Orange, Red Vinyl (at San Diego Comic-Con, Booth #835) - Red/Blue (online at mondotees.com)While a martial artist relies on their physical prowess, mastery of their skills, and control of the elements around them, their clothes aren’t entirely purposeless. While clothing doesn’t impart anything to combat ability, both visual aesthetic and symbolism of what the clothing represents can be important. The outfits you wear will have no effect on your abilities, but some do have additional attributes. First, you must be wearing an outfit in order to gain the benefits from your Soul Shield. Beyond that, certain costumes can also represent your allegiance to a faction, and donning such an outfit will flag you for attack by those of the opposing faction. While your blue or red PvP costume will show you’re either fighting for the Cerulean Order or the Crimson Legion, there are other, regional factions you’ll come across during your travels. By wearing their clothes you can influence the faction’s members—and their enemies—to react to you in a different way. This can come in handy if you’re being sent to infiltrate an enemy stronghold. But your allegiance is not bound to these regional factions. You can easily obtain the costumes belonging to each regional faction, and choose to wear them at any point. Wardrobe The Wardrobe feature (F3) allows you to browse all of the costumes available within the game—including ones for the Summoner’s Familiar—preview their appearance on your character, and even tells you where they can be obtained. It also serves as a storage closet where you can keep the costume looks you’ve already obtained, and quickly swap to different outfits. Some outfits are just torso coverings, like shirts and pants, while others might also include a matching head item, like a hat or mask. Costumes drop from enemies and bosses, can be rewarded from completing quests and challenges, are unique drops from limited-time events and holidays, or can be purchased from the Hongmoon Store. You should try to collect as many as possible!Indian Prime Minster Manmohan Singh. (Photo11: Harish Tyagi, AP) Story Highlights Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been in power for a decade Singh is 81 and was not expected to seek another term Rahul Gandhi could take reins of the world's biggest democracy NEW DELHI (AP) — India's prime minister said Friday that he would step aside after 10 years in office, paving the way for Rahul Gandhi to take the reins of the world's biggest democracy if his party stays in power in this year's elections. In only his third news conference in a decade, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that Gandhi — the 43-year-old heir to India's Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty — has the best credentials to become the next head of the Congress Party and prime minister. Singh is 81 and was not expected to seek another term. "I have ruled myself out as a prime ministerial candidate," Singh said. "Rahul Gandhi has outstanding credentials. … I do hope the party will take the right decision at the appropriate time." Friday's news conference came at a time when the Congress Party's stock is low, battered by corruption scandals, internal feuding, and an inability to deal with a stumbling economy and deep-rooted problems with poverty, infrastructure and education. The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, led by Narendra Modi, has the momentum ahead of the May elections, after trouncing Congress in recent state polls. The vote was seen as a gauge of voter sentiment in the secular country of 1.2 billion. Singh said it would be disastrous if Modi became prime minister. Modi, chief minister of western Gujarat state for the past 11 years, is credited with turning his western state into an industrial haven. But critics question whether the Hindu nationalist chief can be a truly secular leader over India's many cultures. Modi has been accused of doing little to stop anti-Muslim riots in the state in 2002, which left more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, dead. "Without discussing the merits of Modi, it would be disastrous for the country to have Narendra Modi as the next prime minister," Singh said. Asked about BJP claims that he was a "weak" prime minister, Singh said: "If by a strong prime minister they mean you preside over the massacre of innocent citizens on the streets of Ahmadabad, if that is the measure of strength, I do not believe that is the sort of strength this country needs, least of all from its prime minister." Ahmadabad is the commercial center of Gujarat. Modi has denied any role in the violence and says he bears no responsibility for the killings. Last month, he said that he had been "shaken to the core" by the violence and that his government responded to it swiftly and decisively. The BJP was quick to hit back at Singh on Friday, saying that with corruption scandals erupting around the government, the prime minister was in no position to criticize Modi. Singh brought "agony and misery to the country and its people because of his shameful governance," Ravi Shankar Prasad, a top BJP leader, told reporters after the prime minister's news conference. "You are nobody to call (Modi) a disaster," Prasad said of Singh. Singh, a technocrat, was chosen to fill the prime minister's seat in 2004 by Sonia Gandhi, the widow of assassinated Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. But he has been widely seen as a regent, keeping the seat warm until Rahul Gandhi was ready to take what some see as his birthright. Singh also addressed the recent diplomatic furor between India and the United States, touched off by the arrest and strip search in New York of an Indian diplomat accused of underpaying her Indian maid. Singh said relations with the United States are a top priority. "Recently there have been some hiccups," he said. "But I believe these are temporary aberrations. Diplomacy must be given a chance to resolve these differences." Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/Kmwe5vSexual Dimorphism or Five Times Sokka Acceded Victory Proposal n. an offer of marriage In the few years since their friendship – their tentative courtship – had begun, Sokka had learned that Suki's moods were best gauged by the effort she put into their sparring matches. Fans meant she was feeling playful, and the katana meant she was feeling pensive. Sloppiness came only with severe sleep deprivation, and she was absolutely brutal when she was angry. True perfection, the precision of years of practice, was something she only used when she was in an exceptionally good mood, and if the eyeful of bamboo flooring Sokka was getting was any indication, she was positively beaming that morning. If she pushed his arm back any further it was going to come out of its socket, and the way her knee was digging into his spine, he couldn't help wondering if there would be bruising. "All right," Sokka grunted, lifting his head as far off the floor as he could. "All right, I give." She let up on his arm, but didn't let go or take her knee out of his back. "I said I give," he repeated, with a little less dignity. His back was starting to hurt. Suki's response was to announce, in what was possibly the most collected tone Sokka had ever heard her use, "I think we should get married." Sokka choked. There was nothing in his throat besides air, but he still choked, and by the time he was done coughing and sputtering he'd managed to throw Suki off and turn himself over. He sat up, rubbing the spot on his chest where it felt like something had lodged in his windpipe, and blinked dumbly across the three and a half feet separating him from his girlfriend, before letting out a rather unintelligent, "Wha?" Suki blinked back, and repeated herself. She had the grace to blush this time. "Wait," Sokka interrupted – though, as she had finished talking, there was really nothing to interrupt – holding up a hand to stifle any forthcoming protestations. "You," he began slowly, pointing at her "are asking me to marry you." Something akin to courage flitted across her face, and she lifted an eyebrow. "Well, I wasn't really asking so much as-" "No!" he broke in, shaking his head, face a picture of confused despair. "You- you can't! It's not- I don't- No!" Her brows drew down in a sudden reversal of the valor she'd shown just moments before. "No!" Sokka continued, reaching out to grab her shoulders, slightly panicked. "Not no, I won't marry you! Of course I'll marry you! There's nothing I would love more than marrying you, but- I was- I mean- I was supposed to ask!" She mouthed wordlessly for a few moments, looking from him, to the floor, to the corner of the room, before finally training her gaze back on him, her expression moving quickly from despondent, through confused and disbelieving, before settling on righteous indignation. "What?" she demanded slowly, voice balanced carefully between polite inquiry and decidedly impolite insistence. Sokka was impressed by the amount of time she was able to fill with that one syllable. "I was supposed to ask!" he continued, his grip on her tightening. "I was supposed to- to talk to your dad, and prove my worth, and he was supposed to give you to me-" "Give me to you?!" Suki interrupted, pulling away from him. "I'm not a piece of cattle!" "No!" Sokka backpedaled furiously, reaching out to snag her around the waist, dragging her into his lap. "That's not what I meant! Permission! He was supposed to give me permission-" "I can't make my own decisions?!" she demanded shrilly, planting a hand against his face and pushing in an attempt to extricate herself from his embrace. "You pig! I'm sorry I said anything!" With one arm still locked around her waist, Sokka used his free hand to drag her fingers away from his face before she could claw out his eyes. She made a vain effort to reclaim her hand, but when he pinned it behind her back there was absolutely nothing she could do. He laid his chin on her shoulder and pulled her tightly against him before she could get her other hand between them. She scrabbled uselessly at his shoulder for a few moments, muttering obscenities and vague threats, before finally letting out a body-slumping sigh of defeat and relaxing into him. "I'm sorry," he said, voice muffled by her collar. "I didn't- I'm not trying to stake a claim or anything. You can make your own decisions, but," he paused, closing his eyes and taking a few calming breaths, "but that's how you do things down south. And I know it's not what you're used to, and you think it's sexist and unjust, but where I come from that's how you're supposed to treat the girl you're going to marry. That's how you show her you respect her, and how you show her family that you respect her – that you respect them!" He pulled back just far enough to look her in the eye, and went on quietly, "But I guess I can let go of tradition if it really bothers you." He was a little put out when
and vehicles are safe and roadworthy. “The pressure to perform increases greatly at this time of the year with Black Friday and the Christmas peak, but that can never be an excuse to cut corners on standards by unrealistically increasing the number of parcels a driver is expected to deliver, or by the use of unregulated seasonal and casual staff.” DPD, another delivery company that uses self-employed drivers and delivery personnel on Sundays, said some drivers worked six days a week for the peak six-week period leading up to Christmas, but they could choose which hours they worked. Up to two-thirds of drivers worked on a Sunday over the period, but their hours were within the legal limit and would be very light on other days, such as Fridays, when fewer parcels were delivered, the company said. Courier company Yodel said: “Some Sunday delivery has been planned as contingency. If this is required, it is on a completely voluntary basis.”BANGKOK—It’s been a bad year for tourism in Thailand, and at first glance it looked like a new YouTube video was adding to the misery. The video, called “I Hate Thailand,” drew more than one million views within days of being posted last week. But it turned out the clip was produced by Thailand’s tourism authority, using a counterintuitive strategy to attract tourists after the country’s image was battered by a military coup in May and the brutal murders of two British tourists on an idyllic beach in September. The five-minute video shows an angry British tourist on a beach. He introduces himself as James and says his bag was stolen: “I hate this place. I hate Thailand,” he tells a hand-held camera. After mouthing off to a police officer, he meets an attractive Thai woman and finds reasons to like Thailand. In the end, the unshaven, bare-chested foreigner cleans up, puts on clothes, befriends the locals and gets his bag back — wallet, passport and all. Several Thai newspapers reported the video as a real news item last week, prompting the Tourism Authority of Thailand to issue a news release Monday saying it was behind what it called the “romantic-comedy short film.” Article Continued Below “There’s been much hype and speculation following the release of the I Hate Thailand video,” tourism authority Governor Thawatchai Arunyik is quoted as saying. “The intention of this video is solely to depict the renowned Thai hospitality.” The tourism authority said it was inspired by research showing that “unbranded” advertisements tend to receive more interest than conventional commercials. The video, which bears no indication of being funded by the Thai government, was posted on a YouTube account that also gave no clue of ties to officialdom. The strategy is part of a massive campaign to restore Thailand’s battered image overseas and revive tourism, which accounts for about 7 per cent of the economy. The tourism authority has forecast that tourist arrivals for 2014 will drop for the first time in years, after a record year in 2013 when 26.7 million visitors came to Thailand. In this image from a video produced by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, a fictional British tourist talks to a police officer after losing his bag on a beach in Thailand. The video, called "I Hate Thailand," which drew more than 1 million views within days of being posted, uses a strategy of reverse psychology to attract tourists after the country's image was battered by a military coup in May and the brutal murders of two British tourists on an idyllic beach in September. ( THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ) Read more about:A Predator veteran and a great writer/director in his own right, Shane Black’s the man for the Predator sequel. When Shane Black’s name came up in relation to another reboot of the Predator franchise, some people were cynical. What does the Lethal Weapon/Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang scribe know about our favourite interplanetary, vagina-faced skull collector? Doesn’t he specialise in scripting films where the white guy and the black guy trade quips while filling bad guys with hot lead? Didn’t he sort of turn Iron Man 3 into a de facto Lethal Weapon 5, by putting Tony and Rhodes in a wisecracking handgun shootout situation at the end, with an overheating Mike from Neighbours? Not only did Shane Black help with the script on the original Predator movie, he was also in it. You remember him, right? Well, yes. But isn’t John McTiernan’s 1987 blockbuster a perfect example of a film where white guys and black guys (and a Native American guy) trade quips while filling bad guys with hot lead? Also, yes. And, what’s more, no one seems to realise that not only did Shane Black help with the script on that film, he was also in it. You remember him, right? The guy who told jokes about his girlfriend’s spacious genitalia. He was the first one to get Predatored. If anyone knows how to save the franchise, it might just be Shane. Further reading will tell you that Mr Black is not interested in rebooting, rather he would prefer to make a sequel or a prequel. With Arnold back in the movie business and still capable of causing pretend death to countless on-screen adversaries, it would be a cinematic crime not to have the character of Dutch involved in some way. Perhaps he’s part of the establishment now, like Carl Weathers in the original film, and sends our new young hero into the jungle on a false premise, only for his party to be theatrically decimated by something. You know, something? The sort of something that’s out there, waiting for us. And it ain’t no man. Like all long-lasting franchises, the Predator’s tenacity lies in its simplicity. The idea of being hunted by an unseen foe is as old as the hills. Notice I didn’t say successful franchises – Predator (like Terminator or Star Wars) doesn’t endure because people have always made the right choices when creating sequels or spin-offs; it’s still with us because of the affection people have for the original, and because the expanded universe is often full of products far superior to more recent film adaptations. It’s not alien healing technology which keeps Ol’ Preddy alive. It’s our love. Could a film like Predator be made today? Possibly not. The recent Robocop reboot reminded us that, in order to secure a big budget, marketing, etc, compromises have to be made. In that film’s case, the hero’s guns were replaced with a sort of taser technology, which made it possible for Murphy to kill everyone in the face for two hours, but few of them really died, so the studio got their PG-13 rating, and Little Timmy’s Xmas stocking was full of chocolate ED-209s. Cynics made ‘bleh’ noises on the internet, but the film itself was actually quite solid, well-paced, and respectfully mindful of Verhoeven’s original satirical masterpiece. Luckily, we’ve moved on as a society since the 1987 Predator. If you want so see most of that stuff now, you need to pay for HBO In the late 80s, skinned carcasses and exploding Jesse Venturas were par for the course, and everyone walked around with the mini-gun from an Apache helicopter strapped to their shoulder. Good guys dispatched baddies with terrible, sub-James Bond lines. Women were accessories, objects or prizes. And the musical scores all either sounded like John Williams or actually were John Williams. There were also boobs everywhere. Luckily, we’ve moved on as a society since then. If you want so see most of that stuff now, you need to pay for HBO. Can Shane Black make a straight, non-pastiche, Predator sequel in 2015? It’s debatable. There will have to be some nods to the original, a film which may contain the most quotable lines of any film in existence. There also needs to be some Arnie, some camo face paint, some jokes, some explosions, and (most of all) some CHOPPAH. What shouldn’t happen though, is anything that happened in this film, which I’m pretty sure was patched together from discarded bits of script from West Side Story, Boyz N the Hood, and Babe 2: Pig in the City. All images: 20th Century FoxMississippi State on Thursday confirmed an ongoing NCAA investigation into a "potential recruiting irregularity." The school said the investigation is "nearing an end" and it will cooperate fully. "That's been going on for the last several months," Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen said following Thursday's practice. "I'm not able to comment on any of that." Wide receivers coach Angelo Mirando resigned Sunday, less than two weeks before the season opener against Jackson State, in the wake of an ongoing NCAA investigation related to his recruitment of at least one player on the Bulldogs' roster. On Sunday, a statement released by the school said Mirando resigned because of "unforeseen personal issues." In the statement, Mirando said, "It is in my best interest to resign from Mississippi State." He also said he wanted to "stress that these issues are personal." Mississippi State freshman defensive back Will Redmond was the subject of an NCAA interview that his coach at Memphis East High School gave, according to the coach, Marcus Wimberly. "I told them as far as I was concerned his recruitment was on the up and up," Wimberly said. "Who knows what they're looking for. Will chose his school because he felt most comfortable and it was close to home." Mullen criticized ESPN regarding Redmond and said that the defensive back is still practicing with the team. The Bulldogs hired former Minnesota coach Tim Brewster to fill Mirando's position. Mirando was a graduate assistant under Mullen for two seasons before becoming a full-time assistant in 2011. Brewster was fired as Minnesota coach in 2010 after going 15-30 with the Gophers, including 6-21 in the Big Ten. Brewster was at Thursday's practice and said the transition was going smoothly. The 51-year-old said it was "great to be back on the grass today" and that he missed coaching badly. He spent the 2011 season as a television analyst for Fox. He had recently been hired for a similar opportunity for the CBS sports network before accepting the Mississippi State job. "Timing and opportunity in life are so special," Brewster said. "And when the two meet -- an opportunity like this comes up -- it's something I just couldn't pass up at this point." Brewster will lead a veteran group of receivers, led by seniors Chad Bumphis, Arceto Clark, Brandon Heavens and Chris Smith. Mullen said he was pleased to add someone of Brewster's caliber on such short notice. On top of his substantial college experience, Brewster has also spent time as an NFL assistant coach with the San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos. "To me, it's been kind of a blur of a lot of things going on," Mullen said. "Talking to a lot of people while we're preparing for the season, while we're reviewing training camp, while we're still in practice, while we're getting through the first day of school, while we're getting organized to get through this process. It's been very, very difficult. We're extremely fortunate." Mullen said he didn't think Mirando's resignation or the NCAA's investigation would cause any problems for his team's focus. "I like our leadership," Mullen said. "I don't see it being a distraction for our guys at all right now." ESPN college football reporter Brett McMurphy contributed to this report. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.Ingesting ethanol (EtOH) at low doses during social drinking is a common human behavior for its facilitating effects on social interactions. However, low-dose EtOH may have also detrimental effects that so far are underexplored. Here we sought to test the effects of low-dose EtOH on long-term potentiation (LTP)-like plasticity in human motor cortex. Previous cellular experiments showed that low-dose EtOH potentiates extrasynaptic GABAAR and reduces NMDAR-mediated currents, processes that would limit the expression of LTP. Paired associative transcranial magnetic stimulation (PASLTP) was employed in nine healthy subjects for induction of LTP-like plasticity, indexed by a long-term increase in motor-evoked potential input-output curves. Synaptic α1-GABAAR function was measured by saccadic peak velocity (SPV). Very low doses of EtOH (resulting in blood concentrations of <5 mM) suppressed LTP-like plasticity but did not affect SPV when compared with a placebo condition. In contrast, 1 mg of alprazolam, a classical benzodiazepine, or 10 mg of zolpidem, a non-benzodiazepine hypnotic, decreased SPV but did not significantly affect LTP-like plasticity when compared with placebo. This double dissociation of low-dose EtOH vs alprazolam/zolpidem effects is best explained by the putatively high affinity of EtOH but not alprazolam/zolpidem to extrasynaptic GABAARs and to NMDARs. Findings suggest that enhancement of extrasynaptic GABAAR-mediated tonic inhibition and/or reduction of NMDAR-mediated neurotransmission by EtOH blocks LTP-like plasticity in human cortex at very low doses that are easily reached during social drinking. Therefore, low-dose EtOH may jeopardize LTP-dependent processes, such as learning and memory formation."This is a serious allegation, obviously," Leath said in an interview with The Plainsman. "The FBI is involved. We're talking about felony-level crimes. There needs to be a thorough investigation." The University has hired the high-powered Birmingham law firm Lightfoot, Franklin & White to conduct an internal review of the basketball program after federal prosecutors announced Tuesday that Person, a former Auburn star and NBA player, had been charged in an alleged bribery scheme. "I don't have the time or the bandwidth right now to speculate on what might happen in the future," Leath said. "I'm running the university, making sure the students are successful and dealing with these serious misconduct charges." When asked whether he would give a vote of confidence to athletic director Jay Jacobs, who has come under fire this year for the series of scandals that have occurred under his watch, Leath said he was focused on the serious misconduct charges against the basketball program. "One: We need to make sure that we have people capable of doing it, and we thought these people are best capable of doing it more so than our internal personnel," Leath said. "Two: We needed to make sure that everybody is comfortable with the result and that this is an independent investigation by an outside party. So we were able to achieve both goals by hiring Lightfoot Franklin." Lightfoot, Franklin & White has been a longtime go-to firm for the University and the athletics program. The University earlier this month chose the same firm to conduct an internal investigation into the women's softball program after allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced. Since October 2009, Auburn has paid Lightfoot, Franklin & White more than $2.3 million — mostly in legal expenses related to the athletics department, according to University public records. "I think, since I've been here, I have had very straightforward discussions about what my expectations were, and they're capable of delivering on them, or I wouldn't have hired them," Leath said. Leath is in his first year as Auburn's 19th president, having come on board in June after the retirement of former President Jay Gogue. Full Transcript Q: The University has hired a third-party legal counsel to investigate. Can you explain the reasoning behind that? SL: This is a serious allegation, obviously. The FBI is involved. We're talking about felony-level crimes. There needs to be a thorough investigation. One, we need to make sure that we have people capable of doing it, and we thought these people are best capable of doing it more so than our internal personnel. Two, we needed to make sure that everybody is comfortable with the result and that this is an independent investigation by an outside party. So we were able to achieve both goals by hiring Lightfoot Franklin. Q: The University has had a relationship with them for a long time. Do you believe they can be neutral in this? SL: I haven't had a long-term relationship with them for a long time. I never met any of them until June. I guess you're implying the University has had a longterm relationship with them. I think, since I've been here, I have had very straightforward discussions about what my expectations were, and they're capable of delivering on them, or I wouldn't have hired them. Q: There has been a lot that has come out in the last couple of months. You just got here. Are you still confident in the athletics department? Are you still confident in Jay Jacobs?I’ve been reviewing some basic general topology as of late. I will post some of this material here. Apologies to readers who prefer more advanced topics; my current focus is on foundational material. Often, we’d like to prove that a given subset of a topological space has some given property, e.g. that it is open or closed. In many cases, however, the big space may not be easily understandable, but local pieces of it may be. For instance, might be a manifold, and we might not know what the global structure of is, but we do know that is locally homeomorphic (or diffeomorphic) to a ball in. So we need a way to go from local results to global results. Proposition 1 Let be an open cover of the topological space. Suppose and is open in for each. Then is open in. So openness is a local property. This is the easy result. Indeed, since is an open set, each is open in. But so that is a union of open sets, hence open. Similarly, we can deduce the corresponding result for closed sets: Corollary 2 Suppose is an open cover of. Let. Suppose is closed in for each. Then is closed in. Indeed, this follows from the previous result, with replaced with. However, the analogous result is no longer true if we look at closed covers. Consider for instance the closed cover of by vertical lines. The set, defined as the intersection of the graph with the upper right quadrant, is not closed, though its intersection with each vertical line is closed (in fact, is a point). So we need something more. The problem, as we will see, is that there are too many lines. Definition 3 Let be a topological space. A collection of sets (not necessarily open or closed) is said to be locally finite if to each, there is a neighborhood of that intersects only finitely many of the. If a collection of sets is locally finite, then their closures form a locally finite family. This is because to say that an open set does not intersect a set is the same as saying it doesn’t intersect. Local finiteness is the condition that was missing in the previous counterexample: the vertical lines are far from locally finite; in fact, there are uncountably many through each neighborhood. Before getting to the main results, we start with: Proposition 4 Let be a locally finite collection of closed subsets of a topological space. Then is closed. Normally, we cannot claim that an infinite union of closed sets is closed, only for finite unions. However, we have proved earlier that being “closed” is a local property. In other words, if for each, we can find a neighborhood of with closed in (i.e. relatively), then is closed. So for each, choose containing such that intersects only finitely many. Then is a finite union of the by the assumption on. Thus it is relatively closed in. 1. Paracompactness Now that we have seen the usefulness of the local finiteness condition, we consider spaces where we can reduce to locally finite open coverings. This is extremely useful because it enables us to handle things like partitions of unity. First, a bit of terminology. Let be a cover of a space. Then a cover is called a refinement if each sits inside some. Definition 5 A Hausdorff space is paracompact if every open covering has a locally finite refinement. Dugundji’s Topology goes into a lot of technical results about paracompactness. For now, I don’t think I need them, so I will skip over those. So, trivially any compact space is paracompact, since a subcover is a refinement. However, many noncompact spaces are paracompact. Motivated by the case of manifolds, which are locally compact, we start with: Theorem 6 (Dieudonné) Suppose is locally compact. Then is paracompact if it is -compact, i.e. the countable union of compact sets. This is useful. In particular, it implies that a topological manifold with a countable base is paracompact. We shall now prove this result. The first step is to show that -compactness implies the existence of a special kind of cover, one that increases rapidly like a sequence of shells. Lemma 7 Suppose is locally compact and -compact. Then there is a covering collection of open sets with compact closure and. To start with, we can write for each compact. We shall inductively define the increasing sequence. First,. That was easy. Next, assuming is defined and has compact closure, we consider the compact set. We can find a neighborhood of this compact set which has compact closure in view of local compactness. Indeed, pick a small neighborhood of each point in with compact closure, take a finite sub-cover of this open cover of, and take to be the union of the sets in this finite sub-cover. Then this will have compact closure and will contain and. The are ascending by construction, and since they contain the covering, they themselves form an open cover of. We shall now prove the first half of Dieudonné’s theorem. Suppose is locally compact and -compact; we shall prove that it is paracompact. Suppose is an open covering of ; we are to find a locally finite refinement. We construct a nested covering as in the lemma. Then the sets form a covering of by compact sets. This corresponds to the area between the successive layers. This is good, but we need more. We look at the open covering of, which is in fact locally finite because of the nesting of the. With these two, we will make the construction. So, for each, we know that the cover. We can construct a finite refinement of this cover which covers the compact set and which is contained in the open set. I claim that the union satisfies the conditions. Well, first of all, there are only finitely many of the sets in the cover that intersect each set because for large the sets in lie in. Since the cover, we get local finiteness. Moreover, we know that the union actually covers. Furthermore, each is a refinement of, hence their union is too. This completes the proof of one direction. The converse is not quite true, but it is true if is connected. I refer the interested reader to Bourbaki for the proof. 2. Normality We shall now prove that a paracompact space is normal. Recall that this means that if are disjoint closed sets, then they are separated by disjoint open sets. One of the dandy consequences of this is that if is an inclusion of a closed set in an open set, then there is a continuous function which is equal to 1 on and to 0 outside ; this is Urysohn’s lemma. Before establishing the full force of rormality, we start with the weaker result of regularity. Lemma 8 Let be a paracompact space, a closed subspace, and. Then there are open neighborhoods of, respectively, which do not intersect. This is a straightforward exercise in the properties of local finiteness and closedness. We shall construct first and show that its closure does not contain. Indeed, for each, we can choose a neighborhood of and a neighborhood of which do not intersect by Hausdorff-ness. In particular, we have. Now, as a closed subspace, is paracompact (easy exercise). So we can choose a locally finite refinement of the. Then the do not contain because the ‘s are separated from. Let. We have by local finiteness, so. Now is an open neighborhood of, whose closure does not contain. We can thus use and as the two open sets in the statement of the lemma. We are now ready for: Theorem 9 A paracompact space is normal. Suppose are two disjoint closed subsets and is paracompact. For each, we can find containing and containing such that. In particular, we have The cover, so we can find a locally finite refinement of this cover. Call this locally finite refinement. The union of the closures is the same thing as the closure of the union by local finiteness (see the proof of the lemma), so this union satisfies and this, as before, enables us to construct via. This proves normality. 3. Partitions of unity One of the basic reasons we care about paracompactness is that it enables us to get partitions of unity. So, suppose is a topological space and a cover. Definition 10 A partition of unity subordinate to the cover is a collection of continuous functions such that each is supported in and. Moreover, we assume that the supports of the are locally finite (which ensures that the sum is always well-defined). Partitions of unity are fairly ubiquitous. The point is that, by decomposing any as, we can reduce problems about the whole space into problems about the constituent parts, which are generally much simpler. For instance, the Mayer-Vietoris sequence for de Rham cohomology is obtained using a partition of unity. Partitions of unity are also used to prove the general Stokes theorem by reducing to the case of a half-space. This is why the following is so important: Theorem 11 Suppose is an open cover of the paracompact space. Then there is a partition of unity subordinate to. We shall start with a lemma. Lemma 12 Let be a paracompact space and an open covering. Then there is a locally finite refinement with, for each, The point of this lemma is twofold. One, we can make a substantial shrinking of the cover (because we take closures on the left-hand-side). Two, we can make the covering locally finite while keeping the same indexing, which is often convenient. We now prove the lemma. First, for each, we choose an open neighborhood whose closure is contained in some ; we can do this by normality of a paracompact space. The form an open covering of, so we have a locally finite refinement, call it. For each, define In other words, we are collecting together the ‘s to make the ‘s. Clearly all the ‘s are collected together in this manner, so that the form an open cover of. Local finiteness of the implies that of the, which are just bundles of the former; moreover, in the same way we deduce We have now proved the lemma. We now proceed to the proof of the theorem. By replacing the by a locally finite refinement as in the lemma with the same indexing, we can assume that the are themselves locally finite. Now take a refinement as in the lemma. The key property we now want is that. From this, we can use Urysohn’s lemma to choose a continuous nonnegative which is equal to one on but vanishes outside. Then the sum is well-defined, and we can take these are supported in the, and clearly add to one everywhere. The proof is complete. AdvertisementsThe Philadelphia Eagles are young, fast, talented and a dangerous team when all their pieces are clicking. They went on an impressive run at the end of last year to finish 10-6 and make the postseason for the first time since 2010. But there was at least one team who wasn’t looking forward to taking on the Eagles if both teams advanced in the playoffs — the Seattle Seahawks. Former Seahawk safety Chris Maragos said on Thursday morning that Seattle didn’t want Philly on the postseason schedule, per BleedingGreenNation.com: The Eagles, for sure. That was the one team we didn’t want to play. We were always talking in the locker room and we felt like, man, they’re young, they’re hungry, they’re coming on strong with what they’re doing… It was one of those deals where we were like that’s a team that, you know, it’s one of those trap teams that sneak up on you and do some great things. They’re young, talented, aggressive, and one of the teams that we thought were really dangerous. Maragos signed with the Eagles this offseason and has the chance to be a starting safety in Philly after playing understudy in Seattle’s Legion of Boom for three seasons. He will be looking to help improve last year’s league-worst passing defense — the Eagles gave up nearly 290 passing yards per game last year. On the flipside, the Eagles had one of the NFL’s most explosive offenses last year. Led by LeSean McCoy, they averaged a league-high 160.4 rushing yards per game while Nick Foles and DeSean Jackson helped the team average more than 256 passing yard per game, 9th best in the NFL. The Seahawks and Eagles did not meet last year but they will play in Week 14 this season in Philadelphia. That will not be an easy win for the Seahawks, who will be looking to put high-flying defense against the Eagles’ high-flying offense. The last time the two teams met was in Dec. 2011 at CenturyLink Field, where the Seahawks edged the Eagles, 31-14. Tarvaris Jackson (Seahawks) and Vince Young (Eagles) were the starting quarterbacks in that game.Conversion Of Ryan Gosling To Islam Halts Arranged Marriages Nationwide By Yahya Ridwan Burbank, CA (5:00 P.M. PST)– Experts from around the nation gathered in Burbank this afternoon to announce the complete halt to any and all arranged marriages planned within the Muslim community following Ryan Gosling’s sudden conversion to Islam last night. Gosling is confirmed to have attended the evening prayer at the Burbank Muslim Community Center last night, where he professed his new faith and prompted the fortification of the wall which separates the men’s and women’s prayer hall. Witnesses described the scene last night as “gruesomely handsome” and “drop dead haram-status gorgeous.” Fathers across the nation awoke to discover the news of Ryan Gosling’s conversion, immediately terminating any and all marital agreements with less handsome suitors. “My phone blew up with texts about the news,” said father and doctor Uthman Siddiq. “It was all so fast. I immediately called up Farouk Mehdi and let him know the arrangement between our families was off because, you know, it’s freaking Ryan Gosling. And if you haven’t seen him recently, he has come a long way since his performance in Remember The Titans.” Not everyone is happy with Gosling’s conversion to Islam. Adil Ramsi, a 32 year-old single architect believes the conversion of Gosling will negatively impact society for the time-being. “I waited 10 years. 10 whole years for Saad ‘Beach Bod’ Tamir to get hitched. And now this? Also, it’s bad for the community somehow,” said Ramsi. “Every female profile on Halfourdeen.com and shaadi.com has suddenly disappeared, this is outrageous.” Gosling will be attending the Burbank Muslim Community Center fundraiser tomorrow night, where he is expected to be overwhelmed by enthusiastic Middle-aged men with single daughters. ————————– Yahya Ridwan is a staff writer for The Hummus and United States Pacific Region Correspondent. He can be reached though our email address [email protected].• The joint venture between the Newfoundland government and Sprung Enviroponics started in 1987 and ended disastrously in 1989. The province pulled the plug after repeated injections of emergency funds. Its total investment topped $22 million -- double the original contribution. Enviroponics then declared bankruptcy and Newfoundland sold the facility to another company for $1. • A total of about 800,000 cucumbers was produced. The cost to taxpayers per cucumber was $27.50, compared to 50 cents for cucumbers produced out of province and sold in Newfoundland grocery stores. • The project really started to fall apart in January 1989 when Charles Power, the agriculture minister responsible for the greenhouse, resigned from Conservative Premier Brian Peckford's cabinet. He called the project "off the rails" and "out of control." • Five months after this clip aired, all the plants in the greenhouse mysteriously died. Sprung claimed sabotage and offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the saboteur's arrest. But Power called the sabotage story nonsense. • The hydroponic greenhouse project has become a symbol of foolish government spending. In 2001, Globe and Mail columnist Heather Mallick wrote: "As scams to rake in government money went, it was the most embarrassing in Canadian history." • After a decade in office, Peckford announced his retirement from politics in 1989 as the cucumber boondoggle was still unfolding. • The Liberal government elected in Newfoundland after Peckford's retirement appointed a royal commission to probe the cucumber affair. The resulting report called the investment "an improper expenditure of public funds." Government should leave such enterprises, the report said, to "those who have the required expertise and the appropriate capital." • The company that bought the bankrupt greenhouse for $1 soon shut it down, complaining that it cost $60,000 a week just to power its huge grow lights. Since then it has hosted a number of enterprises including a driving range. • Philip Sprung reportedly put $4 million of his own money into the cucumber venture. After it failed, Sprung and his daughter Dawn moved back to Calgary where the family has several businesses. • Although Newfoundland has endured more than its share of cucumber jokes, every province has had a notorious boondoggle, scandal or white elephant. Some examples: - British Columbia: a fleet of three Fast Ferries commissioned by Glen Clark's NDP government cost $454 million -- $244 million over budget. Only two of the ferries were put into service and were quickly deemed unusable by the B.C. Ferry Corporation in 2003. - Alberta: in 1995 an ethics commission ruled that Premier Ralph Klein had displayed "poor judgment," but had not breached ethical guidelines, when he publicly promoted a company in which his wife held shares. - Manitoba: in the 1995 election, Conservative party officials under Premier Gary Filmon spent party funds bankrolling independent native candidates in hopes of splitting the NDP vote in native-dominated ridings. - Ontario: Liberal fundraiser Patti Starr went to jail in 1989 for lying to obtain a grant for a charity where she once worked. Starr had previously been fined for making contributions to Liberal candidates from the charity's coffers. - Quebec: Mirabel airport, which was built in 1975 at a cost of $500 million, is barely used today because airlines claim it is too far from Montreal to be convenient. - Nova Scotia: Premier John Buchanan's government was plagued by patronage scandals and accusations that he used a secret party fund to pay his debts. Buchanan was never charged and he left office to take a Senate seat in 1990. - Prince Edward Island: in 1996, the new government of Conservative Premier Pat Binns took seasonal jobs away from Liberals and gave them to Conservatives. The ex-workers were later awarded $750,000 by the province's human rights commission.'Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like if we'd just adopted a dog': Hilarious Tumblr account lays bare the frustrations of having children New blog attempts to lift the lid on parent's fears, frustrations and secrets One mom wonders what it would have been like 'if we'd just adopted a dog' Another tells her children they're allergic to chocolate when they're not Unscrupulous adults even admit to using their children as a pick-up tool Kind, caring, compassionate and with endless patience, every mother and father wants to project the image of being the perfect parent. But now a new blog called Parenting Confessional aims to lift the lid on their darkest secrets and innermost thoughts that 'you wouldn't dare say to your playgroup'. From lying to their children about chocolate allergies, to using their kids as a pick-up tool, moms and dads are asked to email in their confessionals which are then posted anonymously. Humorous: A new blog asks parents to send in anonymous confessionals about life with children Some confessionals take a humorous look at life as a parent, with one mother admitting'sometimes I wonder what it would have been like if we'd just adopted a dog' and another saying 'I tell my children they are allergic to chocolate. They're not.' Sound advice: One parent admits to lying to stop their children from eating chocolate In another funny post, one mother admits lying to get herself out of trouble after a moment of weakness, saying: 'I ate the cookie dough meant for my son’s class party. And then I blamed it on the babysitter.' However, some of the darker confessionals are outbursts of rage and frustration, with one commenting 'no I don't want to f****** play' and another simply stating 'I prefer adults.' One mother admits making her son cry after her insecurities got the better of her, saying: 'I got so mad that I made my son cry after he said (with a big sweet smile), “Mommy has a fat butt!” I’m still trying to fix that one.' In another dark comment, one parent admits to treating her own mother badly, saying: 'I worry too much about the day my children will start treating me the way I treat my own mom.' Two unscrupulous adults even admit to using their children as tools to try and pick up other parents, or teachers. One'stay at home dad' admits: 'I take my 6-month old to the park around the time the nearby schoolteachers are on lunch break. Cause they coo over my boy. And cause they’re hot.' Shameless: One mother admits wearing some control pants to make herself attractive at home-time, while a stay at home dad posted this message (left) about using his child as a pick-up tool Blunt: Other parents message to express a moment of frustration, or their opinion on children in general The blog was created by Julia Fierro, author and mother-of-two, as a place for parents to share their innermost feelings, emotions and secrets that 'you wouldn't dare say to your playgroup' Meanwhile a rather smug mother confesses: 'Some days, I wear Span
,. In 3rd-semester calculus and onward you’ll be using the times sign quite often. to distinguish it from a times sign:,. In 3rd-semester calculus and onward you’ll be using the times sign quite often. Cross your z’s. Else they look like 2’s:,. Uppercase Roman letters: Put a significant bracket on the uppercase G — it can look like a C or a 6:,,. — it can look like a or a 6:,,. Bar the uppercase I — else it looks like an l or a 1:,,. — else it looks like an or a 1:,,. Put a loop on the capital O so it doesn’t look like a zero:,. so it doesn’t look like a zero:,. Hook the X and cross the Z, just as for lowercase:,. Digits: Don’t slash the 0. The Greek letter phi has a vertical slash; the empty-set symbol has a slanted slash:,,. ,,. Put a loop on the 2 so it doesn’t look like a z :,. :,. Keep the top of the 4 open — if it closes up, it becomes a 9:,. ,. Make the top half of the 5 angular — else it looks like an S :,. :,. Cross the 7. Otherwise it can look like a hurried 1:,. ,. Don’t put a hook on the bottom of the 9 — otherwise it looks like a g:,. Lowercase Greek letters: Many incoming freshmen aren’t accustomed to Greek letters, and substitute alphas with a ’s, and so on. The fact is, though, you’re going to be seeing more and more Greek letters as you go on. Your mathematical world is growing — accept it, and learn to use this beautiful alphabet. ’s, and so on. The fact is, though, you’re going to be seeing more and more Greek letters as you go on. Your mathematical world is growing — accept it, and learn to use this beautiful alphabet. Draw the alpha in one easy swoosh. Be careful it doesn’t look like a 2:,. ,. Put a long tail on the eta and mu to keep them from looking like n and cursive u, respectively:,,,. and cursive, respectively:,,,. Put a hook on the top of the lambda:. . The nu is a very bad letter — it looks like too many others! Unfortunately, lots of people use it. Include the hook on the left, and the point at the bottom, to keep it from looking like a u or v or upsilon:,,,. or or upsilon:,,,. We don’t use omicron — it’s identical to a Roman o. . The upsilon is just as bad as the nu. Happily, not many people use it. Make sure it doesn’t look like a u, v, or nu:,,,. ,, or nu:,,,. Keep the slash in the phi vertical; keep the slash in the empty-set symbol slanted:,. ,. The lower-case chi is tricky, and unfortunately it gets used a lot. Make the upward slash far bigger than the downward slash to distinguish this letter from lowercase x and uppercase X :,,. and uppercase :,,. Keep the omega rounded to distinguish it from w. This one gets used a lot in physics courses.,. Uppercase Greek letters: Most of these are indistinguishable from uppercase Roman letters. (E.g. a capital alpha is the same as a capital A.) So, we don’t use them. Make an uppercase H inside the uppercase theta. Nothing else distinguishes it from lowercase theta:,. inside the uppercase theta. Nothing else distinguishes it from lowercase theta:,. Bar the uppercase phi and psi, just as you would bar an uppercase I:,. ← BackThe American Psychiatric Association will publish a new diagnostic manual in May 2013 and this edition will contain the APA's first major rewrites in 20 years according to the Associated Press. A group of psychiatric board trustees met Saturday outside of Washington, DC to approve the changes. Perhaps the most notable change: the terminology "Asperger's disorder" will no longer be included. The revised manual will instead include the new term "autism spectrum disorder." According to the AP, this terminology is already seen in the field; what had been recognized as Asperger's will be incorporated under this umbrella diagnosis. Autism spectrum disorder will cover a range of individuals, from mild forms to kids with severe autism who often don't talk or interact with others. Dr. David Kupfer, chair of the task force in charge of manual revisions and a psychiatry professor at the University of Pittsburgh, told the AP the aim of the revisions was not to change the number of diagnosed mental illnesses. Rather, he says, the revisions should ensure affected children and adults receive a more accurate diagnosis and then more appropriate treatment. We can't be certain without seeing the potential text, but Ars staffers with experience in these areas believe the dropping of the Asperger's label reflects an adaptation to current clinical procedure—it's simply a new label that won't cause any change in practice. In theory, the revised manual will now closely reflect the subtleties and overlap between dyslexia, Autism, and ADHD, as dyslexia and other learning disorders will remain distinct categories, despite some overlap with autism spectrum. For instance, people with dyslexia can often have as much trouble focusing on tasks as those with autism, but not for the same reasons—instead, it's because dyslexics can't read the instructions. The distinctions among a diagnosis of ADHD, dyslexia, or both hinges on very careful testing. The manual's importance runs deep, as many insurance entities use it to decide what treatments to fund and a number of schools refer to it for inclusion in special education. Other notable edits to the APA's manual include severe recurring temper tantrums coming under a new diagnosis called "disruptive mood dysregulation disorder" (DMDD). The controversial "gender identity disorder"—which many viewed as stigmatizing and incorrectly labeled as a disorder—was also dropped. The manual will now include the new "gender dysphoria," meaning emotional distress over one's gender.Since the last article, gigX held a meeting to discuss the status of the war with Circle of Two / CO2 leadership. You can listen to the entire meeting below and find the reddit thread on this here. In short, gigX announced the withdrawal of CO2 from the tribute region and the re-stage in the NPC nullsec region of Venal. They will maintain their good ties with Test Alliance Please Ignore and will, presumably, help assist them should Northern Coalition. and PanFam (made up of Pandemic Legion and Horde) make any advances into the Vale of The Silent, the home of TEST. Venal also provides a prime place for CO2 to conduct guerilla operations in Tribute should they choose to harass the residents who eventually remain in the region. But the message from gigX was ‘The war isn’t over’ and that they will fight for the Keepstar no matter how bleak the outlook might be. Understandably this is a sensible plan for CO2 who had begun to lose systems at a rapid rate after weeks of holding firm, out of 32 systems in Tribute 14 remained as of the 26th of November, when only 21 days prior they had held all systems. Not long after the announcement, and following the CO2 supercapitals that left M-OEE8 the day before, a subcap move fleet departed from M-OEE8 and started towards the alliance’s new staging system in Venal, PF-QHK. This was picked up my NC. and Panfam spies who, (reportedly) to some amazement, discovered the fleet intended to travel by gate on a route that took them right into the jump/bridge range of both the Northern Coalition. and Pandemic Legion staging systems. Of course the opportunity was too good to miss for an ambush and the result was a one sided slaughter with CO2 losing 78 out of 133 ships to the value of 29 billion ISK. You can find a battle report here and a video from the perspective of Pandemic Legion below. The remainder of the week passed and CO2 continued to move assets out of the region as sovereignty continued to be claimed by Northern Coalition and PanFam. There was, however, a curious swap of sovereignty in the 03C-SU constellation which up until the 26/11 was held by The OSS, an alliance with close ties to Black Omega Security, which is a member corporation of CO2. In one night the entire constellation’s territorial claim units flipped from The OSS to Mercenary Coalition control, but the infrastructure hubs and stations remained under the control of The OSS. It is currently unclear what the situation is with the constellation but it does appear that some agreement was made to transfer the sovereignty without any contest. Seleene, of Mercenary Coalition, was contacted but was unable to comment at the time of writing this article. By Friday the 3rd of December all but the most remote systems in the W-XBGF constellation of Tribute had now fallen to either Northern Coalition, Pandemic Legion or Pandemic Horde including the CO2 staging system M-OEE8. Thus, the final stage had been set for what would be CO2’s final stand – The M-OEE8 Keepstar. The M-OEE8 Keepstar was one of the first of its kind to be deployed in known space and is the first fully operation Keepstar to actually come under siege. They represent a sizable investment by the holding alliance worth many hundreds of billions of ISK, equivalent to a reasonably sized supercapital fleet. Northern Coalition. and its allies with Pandemic Legion, Pandemic Horde and a number of others launched their first attack on this behemoth of a structure on the evening of Saturday the 4th of December. Expecting potentially heavy resistance, if not from the scrambling CO2 and Test forces but at least from the Keepstar itself (which is fearsome in it’s own right), the attacking forces were prepared for a potentially long and drawn out engagement. However 40 minutes after beginning the attack the attackers were able reinforce the citadel with not a single shot fired in return by the Keepstar or from a defending fleet. What appears to be a leaked discord log emerged on reddit not long after the initial reinforcement of the Keepstar which apparently shows a conversation between gigX and a number of other CO2 members indicating that the lack of resistance may have been the result of sabotage from within the alliance. In the log (which you can find here); [BALKA] gigX – Today at 5:57 PM All access to Keepstar defense is removed and only I will keep control of Keepstar because someone with access fcked up our keepstar and turned modules offline [BDZ.] Lord Kaho – Today at 5:57 PM ?! burn that bitch down! [BALKA] gigX – Today at 5:58 PM I took control today and I was able to watch it only because with fighters that still can be used I cant do shit [BDZ.] Lord Kaho – Today at 5:58 PM are you able to see who has turned the moduls offline? [BALKA] gigX – Today at 5:58 PM Logs are not showing that [BDZ.] Lord Kaho – Today at 5:59 PM …. [NOGAG] Seraph IX Basarab – Today at 5:59 PM Do you have a list of people who had access? [BALKA] gigX – Today at 5:59 PM The list was very big and I dont want to point finger on anyone But anyway tomorrow we will try to defend Keepstar with everything we have [BDZ.] Lord Kaho – Today at 6:02 PM but keepstar has 3 reinforce timer or? Qtipp (BSCL) – Today at 6:03 PM Man that sucks.. This back stabbing crap sure can ruin a good game.. [NOGAG] Seraph IX Basarab – Today at 6:03 PM so much for “gudfites” The validity of this log and its source has not been verified as accurate by any 3rd party, but it would explain why the Keepstar failed to fire a single shot in its defence. Theories ranged from; A spy from within CO2 offlining the modules before the Keepstar entered its repair cycle and thus preventing them from being turned on again; A feint of helplessness in an attempt to lure out the Northern Coalition. and Pandemic Legion super capital fleets which would be most vulnerable to the Keepstars weaponry; Or a simple gaff by gigX. Regardless of the reason, the Keepstar was reinforced signalling the start of the week long campaign to bring down the structure with the second of three timers to come out on Sunday 4th at 1900. Twenty minutes before the Keepstar was due to become vulnerable again forces from surrounding areas began to marshal into position with 2,500 in M-O itself which included a CO2 Machariel fleet and a TEST Nightmare Fleet. As the final timer approached Northern Coalition. and Pandemic Legion jumped in their subcap fleets and Super Carriers in onto one of the ‘siege’ citadels that had been anchored in the previous week perched 1,000km from the Keepstar and away from its fearsome weaponry. The super carriers then launched wave after wave of Fighter Bombers and sent them heading towards the Keepstar as the 15min vulnerability window began its countdown. But with local reaching over 4,000 people, time dilation winding down to less than 10% normal speed with less than 10 minutes left on the timer there was a very real possibility for the attackers that they may not be able to begin applying enough damage to the Keepstar to reinforce it. With 4 minutes and 9 seconds remaining however the fighter bombers and attacking subcap fleets had moved into range and began firing at the structure. As the subcap fleets from both the attackers and defenders engaged each other the Keepstar for the first time began firing back in response and began launching Void Bombs at the attacking fleets and activating its point defences. At approximately 20:25 the Keepstars super weapon fired for the first time during the battle aimed at the Pandemic Legion Typhoon fleet that was skirmishing with the Test Nightmares and CO2 Machariels destroying a number of ships. For reasons that have not been verified, DARKNESS. along with ChaosTheory. Blades of Grass, Solyaris Chtonium, proceeded to jump in a fleet of 28 dreadnoughts right on top of the CO2 Keepstar and in range of its primary weapons. Of out those 28 dreadnoughts 20 were destroyed in rapid succession and 8 managed to extract safely. After almost four hours of fighting (but approximately 40 minutes of actual real time) the defending forces began to withdraw as the Keepstars armour failed and the structure was reinforced for the final time. The structure will become vulnerable next Saturday the 10th of December. Since the battle and given its scope it has been almost impossible to obtain an reliable battle report other than ones saved to reddit (which can be found here). Over 4,200 individuals are estimated to have been involved in the battle. Best estimates show that TESTCO fielded some 1,600 ships and were outnumbered by 2,200 ships from NC/PL and allies. Even so, the defenders continued to fight on almost right up until the Keepstar was reinforced and came out on top of the ISK war losing 102bn ISK vs the 160bn ISK lost by the attackers. You can watch a cinematic edit of the battle below by Temppu Gaming below. For the rest of the week there have been uncorroborated rumours that forces have been marshalling from far and wide to prepare for what will be the biggest battle of the year since World War Bee where M-OEE8 was also the focus. Earlier today CCP released a SCOPE Video in anticipation of tomorrows battle. It is almost a certainty that the first operational Keepstar in the history of New Eden will fall tomorrow. The real question will be how much will the defenders put on the line to protect it and what price the attackers will pay to bring the structure down? Credit – Feature image from Razorlen EVE flickr album M-OEE8The Cabinet committee on priorities and planning meets on Tuesdays, usually with Stephen Harper as chairman. He calls a lot of decisions on the spot. But not all. Sometimes decision is reserved pending the Prime Minister’s private decision. When it came time to decide how many seats each province would get in an enlarged House of Commons, a senior source close to the government says, the Prime Minister took the briefing books and spreadsheets and sat alone for hours, juggling options, weighing the political fallout from every scenario. Three days before Minister of State for Democratic Reform Tim Uppal announced the new numbers—15 new seats for Ontario, six each for Alberta and British Columbia, three for Quebec—Conservative MPs were called to a rare Monday caucus meeting so the plan could be run by them. Harper has his control-freak moments, but he prefers to hear complaints from his MPs quietly, before an announcement, rather than loudly after it. All of this is to say that Stephen Harper is still in charge of the Stephen Harper government. Half a year after voters gave that government a majority, it’s still not clear what Harper’s plans are beyond, say, next spring. For now the government is moving forward at full tilt. Peter Van Loan, the government House leader, has moved to limit debate on bills to implement the budget, end the Canadian Wheat Board monopoly, shut down the long-gun registry, and introduce a constellation of tough-on-crime measures. These are good issues for this government. They’re the sort of things Conservative voters were looking for when they voted Conservative. In fact, there won’t be a lot left from the Conservatives’ 2011 platform for them to deliver on, once they’ve cleared this stuff through Parliament. Now here’s the thing. According to the Conservatives’ own fixed election-date law, the next election should in theory be in October 2015. That leaves 3½ years after next spring for them to fill with... something. The fun parlour game on Parliament Hill consists of speculating about what that something might be. The game is all the more fun because we get so few hints. A senior government staffer swore me to six kinds of secrecy and then confessed, “Generally speaking, the government is having a difficult time moving from minority to majority in its headspace.” What do headspace transition difficulties look like? Various sources around the Hill point to short-term focus, a reluctance to plan much past the next couple of years, and a continuation of the iron discipline that became a trademark of the Harper minority governments. One rumour is that all the rushing on bills this autumn is a way to clear the decks in the New Year so Harper can prorogue the House, bring in a long-term, big-vision Speech from the Throne, and use the budget to inaugurate a new era of strong, stable, national, majority Conservative vision and ambition. Well, that’s the rumour. I asked my six-kinds-of-secrecy staffer whether this was actually something that will happen or whether I was making it up. “Currently, you’re making that up,” Six Secrets said. “But boy, would that ever be awesome. God, that would be great. Can you make it true?” I asked a source close to Harper (what, you expect these people to have names?) and was promptly and forcefully discouraged in all this talk of a New Year’s Throne Speech. “Even at the current clip the government will not be able to get its legislation through before the budget in the spring,” Close To Harper told me. And don’t even think about throttling the current parliamentary session where it lies before those bills pass. “How could we, after having bills die on the order paper several times in minority, let it happen to us in a majority? That would be a bit odd.” Veteran observers of Harper will note that “That would be a bit odd” is not quite the same as saying “We won’t do it,” but I’m willing to take it at face value for now. The first priority is the ambitious spending-reduction exercise now under way. There’s a nine-member cabinet subcommittee meeting regularly and for long hours to find things to cut. But refer back to the Commons seat reallocation. “Everybody knows that the final decisions are made by the PM,” Senior Source Close to Government told me. “This silly committee is not the real game. The game is to get out of this round and into the real game, which is the [Prime Minister’s Office].” Meanwhile, the “silly committee” is gently rigged. Ministers make proposals to it on options for cuts. But the PMO hasn’t been shy about calling into ministers’ offices to discourage some options from going to committee. Ministers’ staffs take those suggestions seriously, since it’s the PMO that decides where they work, and whether they continue. “Ministers’ presentations to cabinet are the ones the PMO has written for them, or approved, or weeded out stuff they don’t like,” Senior Source said. With inputs vetted and unpleasant ideas pre-screened, the only surprises are the ones that come from the outside world. More than once lately the PM has responded to surprising news with, “Why wasn’t I told?” Because your staff ensured you wouldn’t be, sir.WHO DECIDES WHICH FACTS ARE TRUE? In 1998 Andrew Wakefield, a British gastroenterologist with a history of self-promotion, published a paper with a shocking allegation: the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine might cause autism. The media seized hold of the story and, in the process, helped to launch one of the most devastating health scares ever. In the years to come Wakefield would be revealed as a profiteer in league with class-action lawyers, and he would eventually lose his medical license. Meanwhile one study after another failed to find any link between childhood vaccines and autism. Yet the myth that vaccines somehow cause developmental disorders lives on. Despite the lack of corroborating evidence, it has been popularized by media personalities such as Oprah Winfrey and Jenny McCarthy and legitimized by journalists who claim that they are just being fair to “both sides” of an issue about which there is little debate. Meanwhile millions of dollars have been diverted from potential breakthroughs in autism research, families have spent their savings on ineffective “miracle cures,” and declining vaccination rates have led to outbreaks of deadly illnesses like Hib, measles, and whooping cough. Most tragic of all is the increasing number of children dying from vaccine-preventable diseases. In The Panic Virus, Seth Mnookin draws on interviews with parents, public-health advocates, scientists, and anti-vaccine activists to tackle a fundamental question: How do we decide what the truth is? The fascinating answer helps explain everything from the persistence of conspiracy theories about 9/11 to the appeal of talk-show hosts who demand that President Obama “prove” he was born in America. The Panic Virus is a riveting and sometimes heart-breaking medical detective story that explores the limits of rational thought. It is the ultimate cautionary tale for our time.Tony Adams was unable to save Granada from relegation. Tony Adams says he will recover from a "nightmare" spell as head coach of Granada and help the relegated La Liga club bounce back next season. Former England and Arsenal captain Adams was appointed to his interim role on April 10 but the team lost seven consecutive matches under his charge, finishing bottom of the Spanish top flight with just 20 points. "It's a nightmare, thank you for putting words in my mouth. I think I'm going to get another heart attack," Adams who had major heart surgery in 2015 while working at Azerbaijani club Gabala, said. "Working with this group of players isn't easy," he said. "But I'm thankful, I just want to say that personally, thankful that I've had the experience. I can't say that I've enjoyed a lot of it, but I'm thankful that I've had the experience. "It's a tough league. There's not much defending going on in this league, especially in our team. To see goals go in so easily, it breaks my heart. I wish I could have had the team in preseason, to stop this." Adams is a vice-president of DDMC -- a company owned by Granada president John Jiang -- and had been working with the club since November 2016 before his unexpected appointment to take charge of the first team. Now the former Wycombe and Portsmouth boss will revert to his previous behind-the-scenes management position, looking to fortify the team for a promotion push. "Hopefully all the negativity stops now and we can put that to bed, close the door on that chapter, that disaster... and learn from it," Adams said after Friday's 2-1 home defeat to Espanyol. "Learn from the mistakes and make sure we never repeat them again." Adams, quoted on Granada's website, blamed the players for the team's relegation in a cutting assessment of their ability and the signings made by the club. "I think nothing was going to work with this group of players," Adams said. "I think we've tried every formation, just like Lucas [Alcaraz, his predecessor] did. We've had three coaches, and we've had the same results, so you have to look at the players. "Formations and selections are just the symptom. The root cause is the recruitment. That's where we've made the mistakes with the players in the first place." Adams said the club have "a fantastic journey" ahead, with sporting director Manolo Salvador appointed in April and a new head coach coming this summer. He added: "This is a long project for us. We want to put it back into La Liga and be proud of this club. My job, it's like building a house, you have to start with the foundations. You've got to get the right players, that's the foundations. Bring them into the club and get a good team. "I've got every confidence in Manolo [Salvador], I think he's very good. He's going to put a good team together. He really is, I'm very confident of that. With the coach coming imminently, I think they're going to work very well together. "Then we need the players. We're going to bring in a few this week. We're going to do our best, try our very, very best, to come straight back in one year."import datetime from django.db.models.query import QuerySet, ValuesQuerySet from django.http import HttpResponse class ExcelResponse ( HttpResponse ): def __init__ ( self, data, output_name = 'excel_data', headers = None, force_csv = False, encoding = 'utf8' ): # Make sure we've got the right type of data to work with valid_data = False if isinstance ( data, ValuesQuerySet ): data = list ( data ) elif isinstance ( data, QuerySet ): data = list ( data. values ()) if hasattr ( data, '__getitem__' ): if isinstance ( data [ 0 ], dict ): if headers is None : headers = data [ 0 ]. keys () data = [[ row [ col ] for col in headers ] for row in data ] data. insert ( 0, headers ) if hasattr ( data [ 0 ], '__getitem__' ): valid_data = True assert valid_data is True, "ExcelResponse requires a sequence of sequences" import StringIO output = StringIO. StringIO () # Excel has a limit on number of rows; if we have more than that, make a csv use_xls = False if len ( data ) <= 65536 and force_csv is not True : try : import xlwt except ImportError : # xlwt doesn't exist; fall back to csv pass else : use_xls = True if use_xls : book = xlwt. Workbook ( encoding = encoding ) sheet = book. add_sheet ( 'Sheet 1' ) styles = { 'datetime' : xlwt. easyxf ( num_format_str = 'yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss' ), 'date' : xlwt. easyxf ( num_format_str = 'yyyy-mm-dd' ), 'time' : xlwt. easyxf ( num_format_str = 'hh:mm:ss' ), 'default' : xlwt. Style. default_style } for rowx, row in enumerate ( data ): for colx, value in enumerate ( row ): if isinstance ( value, datetime. datetime ): cell_style = styles [ 'datetime' ] elif isinstance ( value, datetime. date ): cell_style = styles [ 'date' ] elif isinstance ( value, datetime. time ): cell_style = styles [ 'time' ] else : cell_style = styles [ 'default' ] sheet. write ( rowx, colx, value, style = cell_style ) book. save ( output ) mimetype = 'application/vnd.ms-excel' file_ext = 'xls' else : for row in data : out_row = [] for value in row : if not isinstance ( value, basestring ): value = unicode ( value ) value = value. encode ( encoding ) out_row. append ( value. replace ( '"', '""' )) output. write ( '" %s " ' % '","'. join ( out_row )) mimetype = 'text/csv' file_ext = 'csv' output. seek ( 0 ) super ( ExcelResponse, self ). __init__ ( content = output. getvalue (), mimetype = mimetype ) self [ 'Content-Disposition' ] = 'attachment;filename=" %s. %s "' % \ ( output_name. replace ( '"','\"'), file_ext )This was the first picture I drew after I got hurt the other week, so I do apologize if anything is super off. I'm not used to doing digital art on a laptop! Anyway, since I am intending to cosplay Princess Luna at conventions this year, it is safe to say she's been on my mind lately... So that means Princess Luna art!I like the variegation in her mane and tail, I think I'm going to work on that and see if I can keep coloring it in that way. I want to make a few adjustments next time, but overall I'm happy! I love star backgrounds... CAN YOU TELL?Links:Become a Patron! Head on over to my Patreon Prints, Charms, and Postcards for sale, click here for details:Interested in a Commission? Check out your options below!by Seminole County, Florida ~ named for the Seminole people who once lived throughout the area. The term Seminole comes from the Creek word ‘semino le’, which means ‘runaway’ and the Spanish word cimarrón which means “runaway slave.” While the logo of the Florida State University Seminoles is that of a white man, Thomas Wright a longtime music professor at the school with a free lifetime pass to all athletic events, Seminole is the collective name given to the amalgamation/intermixing of various groups of native Americans and runaway- ex-enslaved Africans who settled in Florida in the early 18th century and fought three wars against the United States. The 1st Seminole War was from 1814 to 1819, the 2nd from 1835 to 1842, and the 3rd from 1855 to 1858. In 1817, future U.S. President Andrew Jackson, called the “Extermination President” for his savagery in profiling and annihilating the Native population, invaded then-Spanish Florida and defeated the Seminoles in the 1st war. And after defeating U.S. forces in early battles of the 2nd War, Seminole leader Chief Osceola was tricked, then captured on Oct. 20, 1837, when U.S. troops said they wanted a truce to talk peace. In 1946, Jackie Robinson, in Sanford at a Brooklyn Dodgers’ baseball training camp, couldn’t stay in a white-owned hotel with teammates and was forced to flee the town in the middle of the night to avoid being lynched by local whites opposed to desegregation of the team. Fast forward to Christmas 1952, in an atmosphere of race terror and state indifference, NAACP leader Harry T. Moore and his wife Harriette were killed when the Ku Klux Klan blew up their’ home on Christmas night. The closest hospital was 35 miles away in Sanford. There was a delay in getting the couple to the hospital and getting a black doctor to attend to them. They both died in Sanford. No one spent a day in jail for his or her murders. Today the racial makeup of the county is 82.41% White, 9.52% Black, 11.15% Hispanic, or Latino, 0.30% Native American 2.50% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 3.06% from other races, and 2.18% from two or more races. Out of a population of 54,000, about 57 percent of Sanford City residents are white and 31 percent are black. A friend asked me if I’d been keeping up with the George Zimmerman trial. My immediate answer was, “Not really. Watching it was really angering me.” But then I admitted I was lying. I had hedged to temper my anger. I also didn’t want to try to explain to the white person on the other end of the phone how it feels being black in the USA these days. Like many others, I believe that Zimmerman is a liar, a racist and a murderer (with the understanding that ‘murder’ is a legal term). I believe that Zimmerman profiled Martin. And I believe that Martin had every right, even a greater right, to fight for his life with all the strength he could muster. He lost the fight for his life because his killer had a gun, and Martin had only a can of Arizona iced tea and a bag of Skittles. Yet if you didn’t know any better you’d think Trayvon Benjamin Martin was on trial, and George Zimmerman the victim. After the five white, one Latina all female jury found Zimmerman not guilty it occurred to me that Martin has been subjected to worse treatment over the airwaves than Adam Lanza, the perpetrator of the Newtown killings. I was disappointed with the verdict. I think my disappointment is related to the reason why blacks are so overwhelmingly in support of Barack Obama. Because, with all the unfairness that comes with living in an environment with pervasive racism and white skin entitlement, blacks still consciously and subconsciously desire white acceptance. To many blacks Obama represents that acceptance. So, though my experience told me it was a done deal from the very start of the trial, I had hoped that a white judge, white prosecutors and for the most, a white jury would be just. I make no apology for my bias against racist and racism. Oftentimes when I’m speaking to a crowd I’ll introduce myself as a father and a grandfather followed by “they can take your car, house, job, a spouse can kick you to the curb, but being a parent and grandparent is something they can’t take from you.” I was a young black boy at one time and I’ve raised black boys. I know what they face. I know that white supremacy does take us out at will. When I was coming up, I would hear a young white man proclaim that “he’s free, white and 21,” and that meant the world was his. For black males the benchmark age is “35 and still alive.” So in all honesty, I despise Zimmerman and every racist thing he and his supporters stand for. That’s the feeling I get by just seeing his image online or in the courtroom or even hearing his voice. I’ve seen too many victims of raw, racist power wielded by fools. No court proceeding or verdict is going to change that feeling in me or that reality for black males. My friend, knowing me as well as she does, never took my “not really” seriously and pressed on until I told her that I had watched most of prosecution’s case, including Don West and Mark O’Mara’s cross-examination of prosecution witnesses. I watched most if not all of Martin’s mother and father, Sabrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, and his brother Jahvaris Fulton’s testimonies. I saw a good deal of the medical examiner, Dr. Shiping Bao, who conducted Martin’s autopsy. I watched Alexis Carter, the instructor who taught Zimmerman’s criminal litigation class and instructed him on Florida’s self-defense laws. And I watched prosecutors Richard Mantei, Bernie de la Rionda and John Guy. I saw very little of the defense’s case other than a couple of minutes of Zimmerman’s mother Gladys’s testimony and O’Mara’s closing. I didn’t waste time or emotional capital watching much of the defense. I saw some. But basically, I saw what I expected to see in their cross-examinations. To me, any witness they put up only served to bolster Zimmerman’s lies. Even so, I went on to tell my friend how excruciating it was to hear the defense argue that Zimmerman, against the instructions of the police, initiated a pursuit of a stranger who was not committing a crime, and that Zimmerman had a greater right of self-defense than his victim. That Martin’s fists and the concrete sidewalk were his “deadly weapons.” That Martin was basically a “homicidal maniac.” But for all Trayvon Martin knew Zimmerman could have been a Jeffrey Dahmer-type. Yet many Zimmerman supporters will only ever see black boys and men as “dope smoking,” “gang-banging” “thugs” and “low-lifes” with no right to exist. That’s what Zimmerman’s father, brother and backers were saying before the start of the trial. They hired attorneys to advance their racism and assert their demand for white privilege. They even found Chana Lloyd, a young, black, attractive female third-year law student to sit behind them in court. Lloyd claimed in an interview that she asked O’Mara, “Is George a racist?” to which he responded, “I wouldn’t work for him if he was.” I won’t be surprised to see Lloyd land a spot on Fox News, where Zimmerman has said he also hopes to be. Obviously, knowing history is not a requirement for a law degree. If it were Lloyd would have had to recognize O’Mara’s Klan defense strategy. That Zimmerman was protecting white womanhood. That’s why in his closing argument he showed the jury of six women, five of whom were white, a picture of Zimmerman’s white woman neighbor, defense witness Olivia Bertalan. The defense invoked the same justification for the killing of Martin that the Ku Klux Klan used to lynch black men in the past. O’
deflation is being caused not by a poor adjustment in the economic system by structural demand deficiencies produced by the country’s ageing and shrinking population. The best case scenario would be that the country’s policy makers realize in time that the experiment won’t work, and come to recognize that they have to learn to live with deflation – in which case the only big headache they will have will be what to do with all that debt (you know, the debt that many thought presented no evident problem). Far worse would be success, since if the Bank of Japan succeed in changing expectations (not in the why, but in the how) and lead people to believe that the currency will be debased every year ad infinitum (even assuming the rest of the G20 could ever agree to this), just to guarantee that 2-percent inflation, then they may well end up forgetting their supposedly innate “home bias” and start converting as many yen as they can get their hands on into dollars or some other convenient monetary unit, in the process creating a run on the currency which will make what happened in Argentina look like child’s play. Such details are doubtless lost on Mr Rajoy and his advisers, which is just my point. The current crisis – which is arguably no longer a crisis but rather a way of life – has all now gotten so complex that the issues involved are almost certainly, and in principle, “beyond their ken.” Spain’s economy will continue to march boldly forward towards what now seems almost guaranteed to be long term decline, while from within the captain’s tower, far from an acceptance that what is happening really is happening, we will continue to hear yet one more crazy and implausible story after another telling us “if only this”, or “if only that” even as representatives of the Plataforma de afectados por las hipotecas (or equivalents) start to assemble outside the local version of the winter palace looking for their hides. Postscript I have recently established a dedicated Facebook page to campaign for the EU to take the issue of the Euro Area accelerating population imbalances more seriously, in particular by insisting member states measure movements of their own national populations more adequately and also by having Eurostat incorporate population migrations as an indicator in the Macroeconomic Imbalance Procedure Scoreboard in just the same way current account balances are. If you agree with me that this is a significant problem that needs to be given more importance then please take the time to click “like” on the page. I realize it is a tiny initiative in the face of what could become a huge problem, but sometimes great things from little seeds to grow. This is a revised version of an article which originally appeared on the Iberosphere website.Would you like your television to look like a tastefully designed piece of furniture, rather than a hideous black slab of high-resolution escapism? Samsung is bucking the trend of just racing toward bigger and better technical specs with Serif, a new framed boob tube that looks like it would more likely be sold at Sharper Image than Best Buy (assuming brick and mortar stores actually still exist anywhere). French designers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec created the product, Samsung's second such collaboration after hiring Yves Behar's firm Fuseproject to create a sleek, iMac-style (but curved) pedestal screen earlier this year. Serif, which comes in white, dark blue and red, is more subtly surprising, though, with a "I" shape when viewed from the side. A back cover hides cables. Mostly, it's a stark reminder that pretty much all other TV sets look the same today—ugly, in a functional kind of way. Samsung has yet to announce a price, but the piece will go on sale in Denmark, France, Sweden and the U.K. on Nov. 2. It's sure to find a market in the U.S., too, even if just among people who prefer to look at it while it's turned off—possibly with a cat on top.Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said Fine Gael’s election manifesto, which he referred to as a “programme for Government”, will be independently costed. His comments follow Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin’s pledge at the Opposition party’s weekend ardfheis to have manifesto commitments costed by an independent auditor and challenge to other parties to do the same. Speaking after the publication of the Action Plan for Jobs 2016 in Oberstown, Naas, Co Kildare on Monday, Mr Kenny said Fine Gael proposed to phase out the Universal Social Charge (USC). “And obviously the phasing out of USC is part of an overall taxation reform which will be spelt out in the Fine Gael programme for Government, which will be independently costed,” he said. However, a Fine Gael spokesman later clarified that the party manifesto would be “independently costed” by the Department of Finance and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, “as it was in 2011”. Asked about Mr Martin’s charge that the Government wanted a “coronation” rather than an election, Mr Kenny rejected his Opponent’s comments without responding directly to them. “The election has not been called yet. It will be a general election. Politicians are but the servants of the people. That’s always been my experience since 1975 and that’ll be the experience again,” he said. Mr Kenny said he never speculated about the outcome of elections. He said the Government had reduced the two lower levels of USC in previous budgets. “We have now taken 500,000 people out of a requirement to pay USC. The benefits have been capped at €70,000, which mean they’re focused directly on the lower, middle-income earners,” he said. “I have said that if re-elected we would reduce USC by a further one per cent in 2017, which cost €250 million and leave sufficient fiscal space to do that. “So we’re very clear on this in terms of phasing out of USC and capping its benefits and having it as part of an overall taxation reform.” Minister for Jobs Richard Bruton, speaking at the same event, said the gradual phasing out of the USC was an important principle. He said Minister for Finance Michael Noonan had made clear on numerous occasions that his ambition was to get the marginal tax rate below 50 per cent. “USC is not like income tax, it doesn’t make capital allowances so it doesn’t provide for the sort of reinvestment that ought to be in a tax structure,” Mr Bruton said. He said Mr Noonan had made it very clear that everyone would benefit from the changes he would make. The benefits would be greater for those on lower and middle incomes, he added. Fianna Fáil has said accountants PwC would conduct the audit on its policies and its assessment would be published with the party manifesto after the election is called. The party also submitted all its policies to the Department of Finance last Friday to verify the accuracy of their costings.It’s around about this time of year when people begin to question their New Year’s resolutions to commit to better health. You know what I am talking about. Right after NYE the number of people at the gym swells to an unholy number of hopeful fitness do-gooders. Yet without fail, by the end of the month the gym population begins to stabilize back to its pre New Year’s resolution numbers. But maybe, just maybe, this article will convince you to stick with your commitment to better health, change your DNA regarding your approach to fitness, and keep on exercising! Because exercise, as a new study has found, does just that. Exercise changes the shape and functioning of our genes, an important step on the way to improved health and fitness! It is well known that exercise improves our health making us fitter, boosting our immune system, and reducing our susceptibility to illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease. But how exactly do our bodies receive benefits from exercise? A recent study, by scientists at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, believes that part of the answer may lie in our DNA. Our genes are amazing things, constantly turning on and off, and being expressed in response to changes in our environment. When genes are turned on they express proteins that prompt physiological responses in the body. Scientist have known that genes respond to exercise, but the real mystery is deciphering how those genes know how to respond to exercise, and the group at Karolinska discovered just that. In short, the answer is epigenetics, a process where a genes operation is changed, but not the actual DNA itself. How does this happen? Primarily through a process called methylation, where a cluster of atoms called a methyl group attach to the outside of a gene allowing it to receive and response to biochemical signals from body. Like those signals the body might send when you are exercising. To assess how exercise might influence epigenetics scientists at Karolinska devised a study to compare and contrasted gene response in the exercised and unexercised legs of participants. They had people pedal one-legged on a bike over a series of months, and then assessed the epigenetic response. Oh the things we do for science! What they found was the exercised legs had significantly different patterns in the methyl groups on their genes, and most of the genes in question were known to play a role in energy, metabolism, insulin response, and inflammation within muscles. Essentially these are the genes that affect how healthy and fit a muscle, and by extension the body, had become. So through exercise, they showed that we can change how are genes are use (i.e. change our DNA), and from that live healthier lives. So get out there and exercise your genes! You can read this awesome study in the journal Epigenetics.HAYWARD — Scientists are taking advantage of next month’s implosion of a 13-story Cal State East Bay building to study a portion of the Hayward Fault using seismic monitors they will place throughout nearby neighborhoods. The implosion of Warren Hall will produce energy similar to a very small earthquake and because scientists know when and where the quakelike event will occur, they can closely monitor the event, said Leslie Gordon, U.S. Geological Survey communications specialist. The data collected will help them better understand the Hayward Fault zone, which lies a little more than 750 yards west of the building. USGS scientists and volunteers will fan out through neighborhoods within a couple of miles of the building beginning Monday, contacting residents to see if they are willing to have the monitors placed temporarily on their property. “We can learn a lot,” Gordon said. “How deep does the Hayward Fault go? Is it splintered? Is it connected to other faults?” Using satellite images, USGS scientists have pinpointed where they would like to place the seismometers, instruments about the size of soda cans that measure shaking, Gordon said. Almost 600 seismometers will be positioned on both private and public property beginning Aug. 12 and retrieved after the implosion in mid-August. The exact date that the building will come down not been set, said Barry Zepel, Cal State spokesman. “It all depends on the contractor,” he said. Warren Hall, a Hayward hills landmark visible for miles and used by pilots as a visual reference point, has been declared the most seismically unsafe building in the California State University system by a review board. The former administration building has sat empty since 2011. Earlier this year, regents authorized demolishing the 42-year-old building and constructing a new five-story administration building on the east side of campus. Cal State geology department employees contacted USGS scientists, who decided to take advantage of the unique opportunity, said geophysicist Rufus Catchings, the lead scientist on what they have named the East Bay Seismic Experiment. The seismometers will measure how fast the energy from the quake travels, Gordon said. When seismic waves emanate from an earthquake, they are amplified in some areas, such as in soft sediment or on the fault itself. That makes the shaking there much more violent, Catchings said. The data will help scientists better map what kind of geological layers lie underground. “If we can look at these things in detail and study it, we can extrapolate on what may happen on the greater fault zone and other fault zones, such as San Andreas,” he said. Scientists also plan to use the implosion to calibrate their permanent seismographs that are spread throughout the Bay Area, Catchings said. “We can check to see how well our seismographic network is locating earthquakes,” he said. “If a seismograph locates this implosion a kilometer off, for example, we can then say, oh, we know we have some errors and try to calibrate our network more precisely.” Contact Rebecca Parr at 510-293-2473, or follow her at Twitter.com/rdparr1.Quick Access Review / Favorite Track / For Fans Of / Atmosphere Levels / Links (Music & Social) Sensations, bro'! Sweet Sensations! How is the sound? Greece. Again. After 1000mods, Naxatras, among many others, Athens delivers another psychedelic gem, Yearling, from Whereswilder : Yearling by Whereswilder Here we go, with the trendy but somehow awesome “Modern Antique” thing, “an engaging modern take on a charming vintage feel and sound“, as they say. I felt The Beatles and Syd Barrett all through Yearling, and it was good. No vulgarity, no sense of kitsch in the melodies and lyrics but an all natural sense of groove, soft and shallow compositions, for the most part but no annoyance throughout the whole album. That said, this vintage tone is mixed with Stoner fuzzyness, energy and aesthetic. What is brought out of it is a psychedelia I felt before, a bit like Colour Haze or Sungrazer, but with a punch that’s more vintage and pop, somehow, coming closer to Tame Impala. It’s obvious to me that the band wanted to share an approach of the world that’s blissful and charming, in some ways. Without enough violence for some people, at least in studio. But with enough charm, poetry and energy to get people to shake heads and close their eyes, smiling (which is what I did, actually). Why is this album worth listening? Mr Lennon? Is that you? You can actually bring your parents to like this. (tested & approved) Music that’ll please to the ears of the non-stonerhead. To bring new people in the fuzzway… In what situation you should listen to this album? From morning to midnight, from Iceland to Nile, this piece of music would always make you smile. Something particular to note? We’d better follow Six Dogs Records, and see what other interesting sounds they will have for us in the future.Now I know what you might be thinking… Science and Sales don’t go together. Before a few weeks ago, I’d probably say the same thing. That is, until I was introduced to the work of Robert Cialdini, a Psychology and Marketing Professor at ASU, who wrote the book the Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. The art of persuasion is something every business owner, sales person, and marketer is looking to figure out. Essentially, how to get people to say yes to you more often so that you can close more deals and bring in more revenue. Cialdini has uncovered 6 universal laws that affect human behavior. Note: These universal laws only work if they are used in an ethical manner. The Six Laws of Human Behavior are: 1. Reciprocity– People feel obliged to give back when they receive something. Cialdini uses this example: When you eat at a restaurant and the waiter brings you a mint with the bill their study shows that tips increase 3%, if the waiter brings two mints with the bill on average tips increase 14%. The key to using reciprocity to your favor is to be the first one to give and make sure the gift is personalized and unexpected. 2. Scarcity– People want more of the things they can have less of. When attempting to make a sale, most people only talk about the benefits of the product. However, as a sales person you should be talking about what makes your product/ service unique and what the customer stands to lose if they don’t buy your product or service. 3. Authority- People follow the lead of credible knowledgeable experts. Cialdini uses this example: In a study, a real estate office was able to increase the number of property appraisals and contracts that they wrote just by having the receptionist who answered customer inquiries say their colleagues credentials and expertise prior to transferring the phone call. 4. Consistency- Looking for and asking for small commitments that can be made. In his example: A study shows that when asked to display a drive safely sign on someone’s lawn, most people refused. However, in a neighborhood nearby they were able to get four times as many people to commit to putting a drive safely sign on their lawn. This is because ten days prior to being asked to put the sign on their lawn, the neighborhood nearby was first asked to put a small drive safely postcard in their window. The people already felt committed to the drive safely campaign therefore felt more obligated to put the sign on their lawn. 5. Liking– People prefer to say yes to those that they like. What determines if someone likes another? Cialdini’s research shows there are 3 important factors: 1. We like people who are similar to us. 2. We like people who pay us compliments. 3. We like people who cooperate with us towards common goals. 6. Consensus or more widely known as “Social Proof”- People will turn to the actions and behaviors of others to determine their own. The example for this: On an infomercial, they were able to increase sales just by changing the wording of the call to action from “Operators are Waiting, Please Call Now” to “If operators are busy, Please Call Again.” Learn more about the Science of Persuasion (Video): How does the Science of Persuasion relate to your sales and marketing strategy? As it turns out content marketing follows these same rules of persuasion. This is why 91% of B2B Marketers and 86% of B2C marketers are using content marketing to grow their business (Content Marketing Institute). Let’s take a look at how content marketing uses the science of persuasion to influence buyers and make more sales: Reciprocity– Content marketers give away valuable insights about their product, service and/or industry to help consumers with the research phase of the buying cycle. In turn consumers build trust with the brand and when making a purchasing decision are more likely to come back to the company that helped them find the information they needed. Scarcity– If you’re the only company in your industry giving valuable information about the products and services you provide and they can’t find the information from your competitors, they are more likely to buy from your company. Authority– Content marketing helps to brand yourself and your company as a credible expert in your industry. Consistency– When at the top of the funnel consumers usually give away a little bit of information about themselves on a form- such as a name and e-mail. To push consumers towards the bottom of the funnel- you can ask them more information to figure out if they’re a qualified lead (for example: title & revenue). The consumers are more likely to give you more information about themselves because they’ve already given you information prior. Liking– Content marketing allows consumers to connect with a brand on a more personal level. By providing them more information up front and helping guide them through the buying cycle you are likely to connect on a level that most brands can’t achieve in their traditional marketing efforts. Consensus or Social proof– When someone shares your content, others look to that person as a trusted resource and are more likely to read it because they shared it. Traditional push marketing tactics aren’t as effective as they used to be. Consumers are tuning out advertising because it doesn’t connect with them on a personal level or build trust with the brand. This is why inbound marketing delivers 54% more leads into the marketing funnel than traditional outbound leads. Is your company going to keep employing traditional marketing efforts or transition to a strategy that can help you persuade your customers to buy and make more sales?Showing that the A-mount is alive and well, Sony has just announced updates to its fast zoom lineup with the full-frame Vario-Sonnar T* 16-35mm f/2.8 ZA SSM II and Vario-Sonnar T* 24-70mm f/2.8 ZA SSM II lenses. These versions boast an AF subject tracking speed 4x faster than their predecessors, reinforced construction with increased weatherproofing, and enhanced image quality. Also, benefitting video shooters, these new lenses utilize a silent AF and iris drive, which ensures that changing settings does not interfere with video quality. The Vario-Sonnar T16-35mm f/2.8 ZA SSM II covers a very useful ultra-wide to wide-angle perspective with a constant f/2.8 aperture, for consistent performance throughout the zoom range. It features a Zeiss T anti-reflective coating for excellent contrast, along with three aspherical elements, one extra-low dispersion element, and one super-extra-low dispersion element for controlling aberrations and offering corner-to-corner sharpness. Also, an internal Super Sonic Wave Motor (SSM) enables fast, silent focusing, while a 9-blade circular aperture provides smooth out-of-focus elements. Sharing many features with the 16-35mm, the Vario-Sonnar T* 24-70mm f/2.8 ZA SSM II provides an extremely versatile wide-angle to short telephoto focal-length range, along with a constant f/2.8 aperture. It also utilizes the Zeiss T* coating, along with two aspherical elements and two extra-low dispersion elements, to reduce chromatic aberrations and distortions. Both lenses are optimized for use on either full-frame or APS-C A-mount cameras and are fully compatible with Sony’s mirrorless E-mount line through the use of an optional adapter.Yoga is not about folding yourself into a pretzel, but let’s be honest, we all love to see the advanced yoga practitioners and teachers tying themselves into unbelievable knots! Careful though, most of the poses are not for the faint hearted (let alone yoga beginners). Needless to say, these are advanced yoga postures and should only be practiced under the guidance of a suitably qualified yoga teacher. Except Shavasana, go nuts with that one. This collection of insane yoga poses features the incredibly inspiring yogis Kino MacGregor, Dylan Werner, and Hannah Franco. Check out their websites for more yoga inspiration. Eka Hasta Vrksasana - One Handed Tree Pose As if balancing upside down on two hands isn’t tricky enough, some yogis do it on one! This pose is part of the 5th and 6th series in Ashtanga, and would obviously only be suitable for anyone who can nail the regular handstand. If you can do this one, you have super impressive core strength, mental focus, and strong wrists given your whole body is balancing on one of them! (Yogi: Dylan Werner) Sirsa Padasana - Head To Foot Pose This pose is one of the most intense backbends out there. There is a lot going on: balance, intense mental focus, and the obvious—a combination of muscular strength in the back and deep flexibility of the spine. Pungu Mayurasana - Wounded Peacock This pose is essentially Peacock – but using only one arm. Peacock strengthens the wrists, shoulders and arms and helps to improve digestion due to the pressure applied by the arms. The one armed version truly tests mental focus, and in the name of digestive balance should be practiced on both sides! (Yogi: Hannah Franco) Gandha Bherundasana - Formidable Face Pose One the most pretzel-esque of all the asanas, and at first glance it looks more contortionist than yoga! The final expression is an intense stretch across the front of the body and as well as a full on flexion of the spine. End result—you can now scratch your nose with your toes. (Yogi: Kino MacGregor) Sayanasana - Scorpion Pose Variation Care to stand on your elbows and pull your feet up or towards your head? Boom! Sayanasana (pronounced "Shyanasana"). Not just for shy yoga dudes. (Yogi: Dylan Werner) Kala Bhairavasana - Destroyer Of The Universe Pose While this pose looks impressive, it is apparently not as difficult as some of the others on this list. Still, placing one leg behind the head requires very open and flexible hips, and doing it with the body off the floor whilst balancing on one side requires tenacity, mental focus and athleticism (though the translation is a little unsettling, can we please change the name to Protector of the Universe?!). (Yogi: Kino MacGregor) Taraksvasana - Handstand Scorpion Taraka = a demon who was slain by Kartikeya, the god of war, Sva = internal power. Handstand Scorpion has two variations, both feet resting the top of the head or one leg raised straight up. While regular Scorpion is practiced on the forearms, this pose cranks up the challenge by coming up on to the hands. It helps strengthen the abdominals, shoulders, and back muscles, improve balance, and going by the name, helps to increase internal power. (Yogi: Kino MacGregor) Yoganidrasana - Yoga Sleep Pose In this deep forward fold you are quite literally folding yourself in to a knot. It is essentially Sleeping Turtle (Supta Kurmasana) flipped on to the back, and it is said to promote a deep feeling of calm. As the name suggests, some yogis reportedly sleep in this position—though for the masses, I’m thinking Shavasana is a better option for a good snooze. (Yogi: Kino MacGregor) Double Buddhasana - Di Mario’s Knot Named after a contortionist called Di Mario, this pose is almost impossible to get into by yourself. But wait, perhaps we'll let Kino MacGregor explain... just watch the video. (Yogi: Kino MacGregor) Shavasana - Corpse Pose This is considered amongst many traditions to be the most important posture; yet how many of us do it right? In Shavasana, the body is completely still and the mind is relaxed, the latter being a challenge for those of us who are eager to move to something more physically difficult. Do yourself a massive favor and practice this posture over and over until you get it right, aiming for total stillness inside and out, so you can relax and rejuvenate on every level. (Yogi: Carol F. on YogaTrail) Which yoga poses do you find extremely challenging?A group of lawyers who formed a company called Blackbird to file patent lawsuits against tech and retail firms may have chosen the wrong target. On Thursday, that target—the Internet security company Cloudflare—responded to Blackbird’s legal action with a scorched earth campaign to take down Blackbird and shred its patents. In a blog post titled “Standing Up to a Dangerous New Breed of Patent Troll,” Cloudflare declared Blackbird’s business model to be destructive and unethical, and announced it would hand out $50,000 to anyone who would help invalidate Blackbird’s patents. “There’s no social value here. There’s no support for a maligned inventor. There’s no competing business or product. There’s no validation of an incentive structure that supports innovation. This is a shakedown where a patent troll, Blackbird Tech, creates as much nuisance as it can so its attorney-principals can try to grab some cash. Cloudflare does not intend to play along,” said the blog post. The target of Cloudflare’s wrath, Blackbird, popped up last year after several attorneys quit their jobs at big law firms to try their hand at “patent trolling“—a colloquial term for the practice of forming a company that exists solely to file patent lawsuits. The approach is effective because the troll’s targets usually conclude it is cheaper to pay the troll to go away instead of paying millions of dollars in a court fight. Trolls also have an upper hand because, unlike a regular business, they do not have assets that are vulnerable to a counter-claim in a lawsuit. So far, Blackbird has filed at least 107 lawsuits—targeting familiar names like Amazon (amzn), Reebok, and Jet.com—but also lesser known firms that sell clothes, fitness equipment, and lighting. Many of the patents Blackbird is asserting are at least 15 years old, including one related to shipping CDs in the mail, which is the basis for a complaint against Netflix (nflx) and its new service for offline downloads. Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter. While patent trolling has been around for years—and is a particular bug bear of the tech industry—Cloudflare says Blackbird’s model of trolling involves a new and unethical twist. Specifically, the company says Blackbird’s lawyer-executives are violating their professional obligations by buying the claims of potential clients and engaging in questionable fee-splitting arrangements. Here is how Cloudflare, which says it is filing complaints with the state bars of Massachusetts and Illinois, explains it: Blackbird’s “new model” seems to be only that its operations set out to distort the traditional Attorney-Client relationship. Blackbird’s website makes a direct pitch of its legal services to recruit clients with potential claims and then, instead of taking them on as a client, purchases their claims and provides additional consideration that likely gives the client an ongoing interest in the resulting litigation. In doing so, Blackbird is flouting its ethical obligations meant to protect clients and distorting the judicial process by obfuscating and limiting potential couterclaims against the real party in interest. In a phone conversation with Fortune, Blackbird CEO Wendy Verlander said the company is not a law firm and that it doesn’t use contingency fee arrangements for the patents it buys, but conceded “it’s a similar arrangement.” Verlander also defended the firm’s business model, claiming it provides a cost efficient way for smaller inventors to assert their rights against big companies with deep pockets. Critics, including Cloudflare, are skeptical of such claims and say patent trolling is nothing more than a way for lawyers to line their pockets, while shaking down firms that are actually engaged in innovation. While tech companies have long complained about patent trolling, the ferocious response to Blackbird by Cloudflare is unprecedented. The company’s long blog post denounces Verlander and her partners in unusually stark language, while the bounty program could pose an existential threat to Blackbird. Under the terms of the bounty program, Cloudflare will award a total of $20,000 to those who can provide so-called “prior art” to show the patent Blackbird is using to sue Cloudflare—which dates from 1998 and is titled “Providing an internet third party data channel”—is invalid. Prior art can be anything from a journal article to a web page to a slideshow, and can invalidate a patent if it shows the invention is not new or is obvious. Meanwhile, Cloudflare is setting aside another $30,000 to pay for prior art that can invalidate any of Blackbird’s other patents, which it has listed on a dedicated website. “We’re not going to reach a settlement that would pay tens of thousands of dollars to Blackbird to avoid millions in legal fees. That would only allow patent trolls to keep playing their game and preying upon other innovative companies that share our interest in making the Internet work better, especially newer and more vulnerable companies,” said the company. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is expected to weigh in any day on a closely-watched case that could curb the power of patent trolls.There is nothing like a weekly chart to give the broader view of price dynamics. Fact is, General Motors (NYSE:GM, TSX: GMM), Ford (NYSE: F) and Toyota (TM), along with the rest of the auto industry, are selling at lower levels due to the rise in oil. In the case of GM stock, the weekly chart still shows GM stock trading above the official IPO price of 33, but below the IPO day open of 35. Technically speaking, this is significant. The next level of support is indeed the 33 level of which was tested right after IPO day at 33.06. For the record, General Motors stock, even after it reported 178,896 total sales in January, a 23-percent increase from a year ago for the company’s four brands, remained stoic for the past few weeks without any major bump to the upside. Regarding stock price dynamics, it’s not unusual for traders to buy on rumor and sell on the news, as it appeared to do. That report, however, produced no grand price moves. That has now changed as auto analysts and traders digest world conditions. Phil LeBeau of CNBC, however, reported that the auto industry is in far better shape this time around. Fact is, all the companies are selling hybrids and small cars, unlike the last time we had spike in oil prices. Chart Analysis The weekly chart shown shows price support between at 33.00 and resistance at 39.48. While GM stock appears under pressure by all the news of Egypt and Libya, rises in commodity prices, especially oil and gasoline, can have an immediate effect on sales. It will likely take general market momentum to help GM stock overcome this week’s down bar trend, and it will require higher than average volume. Bullish forward-looking statements will try to help, but that 33 level may be in jeopardy if the crisis gets any worse. The threshold for extreme financial pain the last time around for American drivers was around $4 per gallon gasoline. Due to inflation that may now be $4.25. And from the time I snapped this chart picture, GM stock sold lower, below 34.30. Disclosure: Frank Sherosky, creator of the chart and author of "Awaken Your Speculator Mind" does not hold any stock or option positions in this equity at this time. ----------------------- About the Author: After 39 years in the auto industry as a design engineer, Frank Sherosky now day trades, writes articles, books and ebooks via authorfrank.com, but may be contacted here by email: [email protected] ______________________________ Additional Reading: Air hybrid technology key to 2016 and 2025 truck fuel economy NGVAmerica expects growth of natural gas in vehicles to continue in 2011 Dual fuel upgrades on the rise for heavy trucks Will NHTSA and EPA proposed rules usher America into the age of natural gas? GE demonstrates dual battery system as optimal for heavy vehicles Marchionne announces EPA hydraulic hybrid technology for next mini-vanEinstein field equations, the capstone on the general theory of relativity and the highlight of Albert Einstein’s scientific career. 1 1. M. Janssen, J. Renn, How Einstein Found His Field Equations, Springer (forthcoming), based on J. Renn, ed., The Genesis of General Relativity, vols. 1–4, Springer (2007). An analysis of Einstein’s path to his field equations written for a general audience will appear as J. Renn, On the Shoulders of Giants and Dwarfs: Einstein’s Unfinished Revolution, Princeton U. Press (forthcoming). equations, which relate spacetime curvature to the energy and momentum of matter, made their first appearance in a four-page paper submitted on 25 November 1915 to the Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin and reprinted in TheCollected Papers of Albert Einstein (CPAE), 2 et al., eds., The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, Princeton U. Press (1987– ). Hereafter we use the notation CPAE X; Y, with X the volume number and Y the document number. The Einstein Papers Project at Caltech has made all volumes freely available at 2. All Einstein documents mentioned in this article can be found in J. Stachel, eds., The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein,(1987– ). Hereafter we use the notationX; Y, with X the volume number and Y the document number. The Einstein Papers Project at Caltech has made all volumes freely available at http://www.einstein.caltech.edu. The Albert Einstein Archives at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has likewise made most of its holdings freely available at http://www.alberteinstein.info 1 equations? He later insisted that the gravitational equations “could only be found by a purely formal principle (general covariance).” 3 3. A. Einstein to L. de Broglie, 8 February 1954, quoted and discussed in J. van Dongen, Einstein’s Unification, Cambridge U. Press (2010), p. 2. unified field theory during the second half of his career. As a description of how he found the field equations of general relativity, they are highly misleading. This month marks the centenary of thethe capstone on the general theory of relativity and the highlight of Albert Einstein’s scientific career.Thewhich relate spacetime curvature to the energy and momentum of matter, made their first appearance in a four-page paper submitted on 25 November 1915 to the Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin and reprinted in),volume 6, document 21. How did Einstein, shown in figure, arrive at thoseHe later insisted that the gravitational“couldbe found by a purely formal principle (general covariance).”Such statements mainly served to justify his strategy in the search for aduring the second half of his career. As a description of how he found the fieldof general relativity, they are highly misleading. CPAE 6; 21, 22, 24, 25). In the first paper, Einstein replaced the field equations that he had published in 1913 with equations that retain their form under a much broader class of coordinate transformations (see figure 2 equations to equations that are generally covariant—that is, retain their form under arbitrary coordinate transformations. In the fourth, he achieved the same end by changing the field equations of the first paper in a different and more convincing way, as shown in figure 3 equations of the second paper but unaffected by the modification of the fourth, he accounted for the 43 seconds of arc per century missing in the Newtonian account of the perihelion motion of Mercury. The 25 November paper was the last in a series of short communications submitted to the Berlin Academy on four consecutive Thursdays that month (6; 21, 22, 24, 25). In the first paper, Einstein replaced the fieldthat he had published in 1913 withthat retain their form under a much broader class of coordinate transformations (see figure). In the second, a highly speculative hypothesis he adopted about the nature of matter allowed him to change thosetothat are generally covariant—that is, retain their form under arbitrary coordinate transformations. In the fourth, he achieved the same end by changing the fieldof the first paper in a different and
Among Disabled Community! Gladiator writer David Franzoni, along with producer Stephen Joel brown, are making a movie about the 13th-century poet Jalaluddin al-Rumi and have said they want to challenge the stereotypical depiction of Muslims in western films by showing the life of the great Sufi poet. The film will follow the life of Rumi as he encounters a mystic by the name of Shams of Tabriz who had an indelible affect on the artist. After Shams’ mysterious disappearance, Jalaluddin went on to write a lot of the love poems for which he’s so widely recognized today. While this sounds like a great story, the BIG problem is that Franzoni has said that they want Leo to play Rumi and RDJ to play Shams! Though they admitted it was too early to start casting, David revealed: “This is the level of casting that we’re talking about.” Related: Tilda Swinton Responds To Doctor Strange Whitewashing Controversy! The producer also said: “It’s a very exciting project ├óΓé¼ΓÇ£ and obviously challenging. There are a lot of reasons we’re making a product like this right now. I think it’s a world that needs to be spoken to; Rumi is hugely popular in the United States. I think it gives him a face and a story.” The filmmaker went on to gush about Rumi’s work and why his poerty is so relatable, saying: “I think it’s obvious why people love his poetry. There’s a line about Lawrence of Arabia when they ask him why he likes the desert, and he says ├óΓé¼╦£because it’s clean’. There’s something profoundly ├óΓé¼╦£gettable’ about Rumi. You get it. And not only do you get it but it involves you.” We’re not opposed to the idea of the movie at all, but didn’t David and Stephen get the memo after the whole #OscarsSoWhite controversy?! Let’s hope Leo and RDJ at least see the problem with playing those parts… What do you think about the filmmakers’ dream casting choices? [Image via Kento Nara/Future Image/WENN.]DECATUR, Tenn. — Police said an injured central Tennessee man has killed his uncle in a shootout over a prized fighting rooster. District Attorney Russell Johnson’s office said in a news release Thursday that the body of 52-year-old Timothy D. Johnson was found outside a Decatur mobile home early Wednesday morning. The dead man’s nephew, 27-year-old Larry E. Johnson Jr., was also shot. He is being treated in an intensive care unit. Larry Johnson told investigators his uncle had confronted him, accusing him of stealing the gamecock. The nephew says Timothy Johnson drew a gun, and as the two fought for the weapon, the gun went off, striking the younger man in the chest. Larry Johnson said he fired back with his own gun, killing his uncle. Officials haven’t determined whether Larry Johnson will be charged.Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window) How’s this for a kick in the head: It’s getting to the point where more MLS men are being summoned for the Canadian national team than for the United States. Tis true. Just look at the latest Canadian gathering, as announced Friday by manager Stephen Hart ahead of his side’s friendly next week against Trinidad and Tobago in Florida. Included are D.C. United defender Dejan Jakovic, Houston defender Andrew Hainault, Toronto FC defender Doneil Henry, FC Dallas midfielder Julian de Guzman, Vancouver midfielder Russell Teibert, Toronto midfielder Terry Dunfield, Real Salt Lake midfielder Will Johnson and two Montreal midfielders, Evan James and Patrice Bernier. That’s nine. Now consider for a moment how Major League Soccer players have been gradually disappearing from the U.S. national team scene. (We’re not talking about the January camp now, which is something different, perennially MLS dominated and leaning toward the younger side.) In 2011, in Bob Bradley’s last year in charge, camps began coming and going with sparse representation. We’ve seen more of the same under Jurgen Klinsmann, a reflection of more MLS talent making the jump overseas sooner in their careers. It’s quite possible that come Sunday, when Klinsmann announces his roster for next week’s friendly at decidedly unfriendly Estadio Azteca, only three or four MLS men will be part of the plan. John Godfrey, writing for the New York Times Goal blog, reckons that five MLS types will land on the roster. If Klinsmann calls Brad Guzan rather than Nick Rimando (quite possible, I think) it won’t be that high. (I’ll have more thoughts on the U.S. roster tomorrow.)About This Game Four Unique Heroes : The Hunter, the Witch, the Priest and the Engineer each offer unique gameplay experiences with distinctive weapons, skills and powers to unlock. : The Hunter, the Witch, the Priest and the Engineer each offer unique gameplay experiences with distinctive weapons, skills and powers to unlock. Play as a Team or Alone in the Dark : Play with all four characters in co-operative multiplayer mode, build smaller teams for greater challenge, or face the darkness alone. : Play with all four characters in co-operative multiplayer mode, build smaller teams for greater challenge, or face the darkness alone. Diverse Environments : Four campaigns with multiple levels take players through the blasted landscape of Lorwich, and deep below to unearth the mysteries of this forsaken township. : Four campaigns with multiple levels take players through the blasted landscape of Lorwich, and deep below to unearth the mysteries of this forsaken township. Eldritch Horror : Inspired by the writing of H.P. Lovecraft, beings from beyond madness, including Roof Walkers, Shapes and Spawns will haunt your nightmares. : Inspired by the writing of H.P. Lovecraft, beings from beyond madness, including Roof Walkers, Shapes and Spawns will haunt your nightmares. Dynamic Environments : Interact with dynamic environmental puzzles to change the structure of the map and advance your quest. : Interact with dynamic environmental puzzles to change the structure of the map and advance your quest. Harness the Power of Illumination: Light up maps to create safe zones, and damage your foes. A darkness has fallen over the town of Lorwich. Monstrous hordes emerge from beyond the realm of nightmares to sow chaos on the land. As one of four heroes, you must battle the minions of the old ones with the force of arms, and the power of illumination.Inspired by the writing of H.P. Lovecraft, Atari’s Alone in the Dark series is recognized as the “Father of the Survival Horror Genre”. Alone in the Dark: Illumination explores this dark legacy in a terrifying action-horror experience.Battle through dynamic environments filled with bloodthirsty beasts. Build your party as you rescue your companions including the Witch, Engineer and Priest, each with a unique set of special abilities and weapons.Danger lurks in every shadow. While your friends may help, at the end of the night you are always Alone in the Dark.LG has been pimping a prototype of an 18" OLED display that is flexible enough to roll into a tube that's a mere 3cm across. The screen has a resolution of 1200 x 810 pixels and uses a new type of polyamide film on the back to deliver substantially more flexibility and a thinner design than its predecessors. LG Display is thinking bigger now. It's announced that it's been able to create an 18-inch OLED panel that has enough give and flexibility to roll into a tube that's a mere 3cm across. The prototype currently has a resolution of 1,200 x 810, while it's a new polyamide film on the back of the panel (instead of the typical plastic) which offers the panel substantially more flexibility -- and it's also even thinner. Alongside the flexible demo, LG's also crafted a transparent OLED panel which has triple the transmittance of existing see-through LCD displays -- that means the picture looks much better and less hazy. According to LG Display's SVP and Head of R&D, In-Byung Kang, he's confident that "by 2017, we will successfully develop an Ultra HD flexible and transparent OLED panel of more than 60 inches." Crank up that resolution and bring on the roll-up TVs.(J Pat Carter/AP) “If my name’s in the lineup, I’m going to play,” Desmond said. “If he wants me, that’s what I’m up for. Whenever my name is in the lineup, I’ll be ready to play. Baseball is baseball. I’d rather be out there helping my team than anywhere else.” Desmond has been on the disabled list since July 22 with a strained left oblique. He went through full workouts Monday and today, and Tuesday he took early batting practice. The Nationals expected Desmond to miss roughly five weeks, but he has healed enough that the Nationals feel comfortable taking him off the disabled list. “I feel great,” Desmond said. “I don’t think they’d be bringing me back if I didn’t feel good, and I wouldn’t be coming back if I didn’t feel good. I’m just ready to get back in games.” Desmond and the Nationals do not plan for a rehab assignment. With Danny Espinosa and Steve Lombardozzi playing well up the middle, the Nationals could perhaps afford to wait. But Johnson wanted Desmond back as soon as possible, and Desmond rejected the idea that his timing would be off. “Timing changes every day,” Desmond said. “You could be 25 for 40, and the next day you come in and you start an 0-for-12, and it’s a timing problem. It’s not just about timing. It’s about pitches and the way you see them. It can change every at-bat.” When Desmond returns, the Nationals will have as close to their projected lineup as they have all season. Wilson Ramos is done for the year with the ACL tear he suffered in May. Otherwise, the Nationals will have eight of the nine everyday players they counted on when they gathered in Viera back in February. “It’s going to be fun,” Johnson said. “We haven’t all been together, and we’re still missing Willy Ramos. But getting Desi back will be great.” Desmond, named to the all-star team, is batting.286/.322/.503 this season while playing high-level shortstop. Even without Desmond, arguably their most valuable player this season, the Nationals have gone 18-6 since the Desmond landed on the disabled list. “You’ve got to tip your hat to Lombardozzi and Espinosa, for the job they’ve done,” Johnson said. “They’ve been outstanding.” With Desmond in the lineup, Johnson plans to bat Desmond sixth behind Adam LaRoche and Michael Morse with Jayson Werth batting leadoff. Werth has been leading off occasionally since he returned, and he has told Johnson he feels comfortable in the role. Johnson has not tipped his hand as to which player will be removed from the 25-man roster to make room for Desmond. It may be Lombardozzi, a somewhat raw deal for a valuable contributor all season long. But Lombardozzi has options, and with Desmond and Cesar Izturis in the fold they would be overloaded with infielders and outfielders. Lombardozzi would only need to be in the minors for 13 games before rosters expand. It would be a blow for the Nationals to lose a versatile switch-hitter, and a bigger blow for a rookie who has done everything he’s been asked and done it well. Again, this is only speculation, but it makes sense if the Nationals want to keep their entire team together and not lose any players in the DFA process. More from The Washington Post Davey understands the fuss over Strasburg A refresher on Strasburg’s innings limit Boswell: Stubborn conviction defines Nats More views on the Strasburg shutdown Nationals’ TV ratings up 67 percentThe following piece was produced by HuffPost's OffTheBus. Congressman Ron Paul and 20/20 host John Stossel have more than a few things in common. Specifically, they both think a lot of libertarian thoughts, and unlike a lot of libertarians, they've both learned to communicate these thoughts so effectively that they have earned the respect of their peers. Paul, in his tenth Congressional term, is known as "Dr. No" for his refusal to vote for bills that cater to special interests, raise taxes, or violate his literal interpretation of the Constitution. Stossel, the Emmy-winning consumer reporter who discovered free-market theory via Reason magazine, has been permitted to air provocative specials such as "Stupid in America," which criticized the government's monopoly in education. So what happens when the champion of freedom and free markets from the U.S. Congress sits down for a chat with his counterpart from the mainstream media? That's when we learn that freedom is simply too hot for TV, or at least, too hot for ABC. That's right, they are only airing this interview on the internet, in pieces. And the justification is a laugh, at best. Stossel explained, presumably writing with a gun to his head, in the first article posted Dec. 7: Despite relatively low poll numbers, Paul has had a big influence on the presidential campaign. That's in part because he's raised a ton of money, and in part because of the passionate following he has on the Web. It's one reason we're posting my interview with Paul only on the Internet, where the debate about Paul is very active. In fact, he's the most Googled presidential candidate. I'm pretty sure I heard a wink in there somewhere... This really provides a nice illustration of how the controlled media operates, because it really isn't all about the ratings. This interview, in which Paul articulates his controversial views on drugs, prostitution, gay marriage, health care, foreign policy, and the proper role of government in society, would have received terrific ratings. What's more, it would have served the public interest by giving viewers a clearer view of this once-unknown candidate's proposals. And whether his ideas are good or bad, shouldn't they at least be understood prior to dismissal? When a long-ignored philosophy begins gaining currency in in the marketplace of ideas, it's the role of free media to explore those ideas, explain them, and evaluate them on their merits. Unfortunately, the authors of the First Amendment did not anticipate the media conglomerates of today and the control they would exert over discourse. They also failed to anticipate that millions of federal dollars a year would someday be spent on propagandistic advertising in major media, and (for example) they did not anticipate that the federal government would strong-arm the television industry into including politicized drug messages in their shows (as in the CSI episode where the well-liked Dr. Robbins makes some absurd statements against medical marijuana). But for whatever reason, the polls clearly show that citizens are fed up with government in general, and it's easy to see why Paul gets his support from disaffected voters from across the political and apolitical spectra. The one thing most have in common is that they looked to the internet for answers. Everybody knows that Paul's popularity is strongly linked to the Internet, but why is that the case? Could it be that for the first time since before William Randolph Hearst, who used his newspaper empire to whip America into a frenzy over marijuana, a free medium has emerged in which ideas can compete on a much more level playing field? And could at least some of those ideas be winning? If ABC claims to be operating in the public interest, on what grounds can it reasonably suppress this unusually thought-provoking interview? ABC has been accused of dishonestly downplaying Paul's candidacy before. For example, this YouTube video shows quite an assemblage of Ron Paul supporters holding signs and chanting outside the August 6 GOP debate in Iowa. The video is followed by screen captures of the two still photos ABC included in their section "Photos: Iowa GOP Debate Recap." One shows a close-up of a few Romney supporters holding signs and cheering, suggesting passion and strength of support for the candidate. The other shows a lone Ron Paul supporter smiling and holding an umbrella, suggesting he is all alone and probably a nut. But this time it's obvious and conclusive. ABC does not want its viewers to learn about Ron Paul. What the hell are they afraid of, a Ron Paul presidency?One thing that became very clear, especially after Gorbachev came to power and confounded the predictions of both liberals and conservatives, was that even though nobody predicted the direction that Gorbachev was taking the Soviet Union, virtually everybody after the fact had a compelling explanation for it. We seemed to be working in what one psychologist called an "outcome irrelevant learning situation." People drew whatever lessons they wanted from history. There is quite a bit of skepticism about political punditry, but there's also a huge appetite for it. I was struck 30 years ago and I'm struck now by how little interest there is in holding political pundits who wield great influence accountable for predictions they make on important matters of public policy. The presidential election of 2012, of course, brought about the Nate Silver controversy and a lot of people, mostly Democrats, took great satisfaction out of Silver being more accurate than leading Republican pundits. It's undeniably true that he was more accurate. He was using more rigorous techniques in analyzing and aggregating data than his competitors and debunkers were. But it’s not something uniquely closed-minded about conservatives that caused them to dislike Silver. When you go back to presidential elections that Republicans won, it's easy to find commentaries in which liberals disputed the polls and complained the polls were biased. That was true even in a blow-out political election like 1972, the McGovern-Nixon election. There were some liberals who had convinced themselves that the polls were profoundly inaccurate. It's easy for partisans to believe what they want to believe and political pundits are often more in the business of bolstering the prejudices of their audience than they are in trying to generate accurate predictions of the future. Thirty years ago we started running some very simple forecasting tournaments and they gradually expanded. We were interested in answering a very simple question, and that is what, if anything, distinguishes political analysts who are more accurate from those who are less accurate on various categories of issues? We looked hard for correlates of accuracy. We were also interested in the prior question of whether political analysts can do appreciably better than chance. We found two things. One, it's very hard for political analysts to do appreciably better than chance when you move beyond about one year. Second, political analysts think they know a lot more about the future than they actually do. When they say they're 80 or 90 percent confident they're often right only 60 or 70 percent of the time. There was systematic overconfidence. Moreover, political analysts were disinclined to change their minds when they get it wrong. When they made strong predictions that something was going to happen and it didn’t, they were inclined to argue something along the lines of, "Well, I predicted that the Soviet Union would continue and it would have if the coup plotters against Gorbachev had been more organized," or "I predicted the Canada would disintegrate or Nigeria would disintegrate and it's still, but it's just a matter of time before it disappears," or "I predicted that the Dow would be down 36,000 by the year 2000 and it's going to get there eventually, but it will just take a bit longer." So, we found three basic things: many pundits were hardpressed to do better than chance, were overconfident, and were reluctant to change their minds in response to new evidence. That combination doesn't exactly make for a flattering portrait of the punditocracy. We did a book in 2005 and it's been quite widely discussed. Perhaps the most important consequence of publishing the book is that it encouraged some people within the US intelligence community to start thinking seriously about the challenge of creating accuracy metrics and for monitoring how accurate analysts are–which has led to the major project that we're involved in now, sponsored by the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activities (IARPA). It extends from 2011 to 2015, and involves thousands of forecasters making predictions on hundreds of questions over time and tracking in accuracy. Exercises like this are really important for a democracy. The Nate Silver episode illustrates in a small way what I hope will happen over and over again over the next several decades, which is, there are ways of benchmarking the accuracy of pundits. If pundits feel that their accuracy is benchmarked they will be more careful about what they say, they'll be more thoughtful about what they say, and it will elevate the quality of public debate. One of the reactions to my work on expert political judgment was that it was politically naïve; I was assuming that political analysts were in the business of making accurate predictions, whereas they're really in a different line of business altogether. They're in the business of flattering the prejudices of their base audience and they're in the business of entertaining their base audience and accuracy is a side constraint. They don't want to be caught in making an overt mistake so they generally are pretty skillful in avoiding being caught by using vague verbiage to disguise their predictions. They don't say there's a.7 likelihood of a terrorist attack within this span of time. They don't say there's a 1.0 likelihood of recession by the third quarter of 2013. They don't make predictions like that. What they say is if we go ahead with the administration's proposed tax increase there could be a devastating recession in the next six months. "There could be." The word "could" is notoriously ambiguous. When you ask research subjects what "could" means it depends enormously on the context. "We could be struck by an asteroid in the next 25 seconds," which people might interpret as something like a.0000001 probability, or "this really could happen," which people might interpret as a.6 or.7 probability. It depends a lot on the context. Pundits have been able to insulate themselves from accountability for accuracy by relying on vague verbiage. They can often be wrong, but never in error. There is an interesting case study to be done on the reactions of the punditocracy to Silver. Those who are most upfront in debunking him, holding him in contempt, ridiculing him, and offering contradictory predictions were put in a genuinely awkward situation because they were so flatly disconfirmed. They had violated one of the core rules of their own craft, which is to insulate themselves in vague verbiage–to say, "Well, it's possible that Obama would win." They should have cushioned themselves in various ways with rhetoric. How do people react when they're actually confronted with error? You get a huge range of reactions. Some people just don't have any problem saying, "I was wrong. I need to rethink this or that assumption." Generally, people don't like to rethink really basic assumptions. They prefer to say, "Well, I was wrong about how good Romney's get out to vote effort was." They prefer to tinker with the margins of their belief system (e.g., "I fundamentally misread US domestic politics, my core area of expertise"). A surprising fraction of people are reluctant to acknowledge there was anything wrong with what they were saying. One argument you sometimes hear, and we heard this in the abovementioned episode, but I also heard versions of it after the Cold War. "I was wrong, but I made the right mistake." Dick Morris, the Republican pollster and analyst conceded that he was wrong, but it was the right mistake to make because he was acting, essentially, as a cheerleader for a particular side and it would have been far worse to have underestimated Romney than to have overestimated him. If you have a theory how world politics works that can lead you to value avoiding one error more than the complementary error. You might say, "Well, it was really important to bail out this country because if we hadn't it would have led to financial contagion. There was a risk of losing our money in the bailout, but the risk was offset because I thought the risk of contagion was substantial." If you have a contagion theory of finance that theory will justify putting bailout money at risk. If you have a theory that the enemy is only going to grow bolder if you don't act really strongly against it then you're going to say, "Well, the worst mistake would have been to appease them so we hit them really hard. And even though that led to an expansion of the conflict it would have been far worse if we'd gone down the other path." It's very, very hard to pin them down and that's why these types of level playing field forecasting tournaments can play a vital role in improving the quality of public debate. There are various interesting scientific objections that have been raised to these level playing field forecasting exercises. One line of objection would be grounded more in Nassim Taleb's school of thought, the Black Swan view of history: Where we are in history today is the product of forces that not only no one foresaw, but no one could have foreseen. The epoch transforming events like World War One, nuclear bombs and nuclear missiles to deliver them, and the invention of the Internet–the geopolitical and technological transformational events in history no one foresaw, no one could have foreseen. In this view, history is best understood in tems of a punctuated equilibrium model. There are periods of calm and predictability punctuated by violent exogenous shocks that transform things–sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse–and these discontinuities are radically unpredictable. What are we doing? Well, in this view, we may be lulling people into a kind of false complacency by giving them the idea that you can improve your foresight to an ascertainable degree within ascertainable time parameters and types of tasks. That's going to induce a false complacency and will cause us to be blindsided all the more violently by the next black swan because we think we have a good probabilistic handle on an erratically unpredictable world–which is an interesting objection and something we have to be on the lookout for. There is, of course, no evidence to support that claim. I would argue that making people more appropriately humble about their ability to predict a short term future is probably, on balance, going to make them more appropriately humble about their ability to predict the long term future, but that certainly is a line of argument that's been raised about the tournament. Another interesting variant of that argument is that it's possible to learn in certain types of tasks, but not in other types of tasks. It's possible to learn, for example, how to be a better poker player. Nate Silver could learn to be a really good poker player. Hedge fund managers tend to be really good poker players, probably because it's good preparation for their job. Well, what does it mean to be a good poker player? You learn to be a good poker player because you get repeated clear feedback and you have a well-defined sampling universe from which the cards are being drawn. You can actually learn to make reasonable probability estimates about the likelihood of various types of hands materializing in poker. Is world politics like a poker game? This is what, in a sense, we are exploring in the IARPA forecasting tournament. You can make a good case that history is different and it poses unique challenges. This is an empirical question of whether people can learn to become better at these types of tasks. We now have a significant amount of evidence on this, and the evidence is that people can learn to become better. It's a slow process. It requires a lot of hard work, but some of our forecasters have really risen to the challenge in a remarkable way and are generating forecasts that are far more accurate than I would have ever supposed possible from past research in this area. Silver's situation is more like poker than geopolitics. He has access to polls that are being drawn from representative samples. The polls have well defined statistical properties. There's a well-defined sampling universe, so he is closer to the poker domain when he is predicting electoral outcomes in advanced democracies with well established polling procedures, well-established sampling methodologies, relatively uncorrupted polling processes. That's more like poker and less like trying to predict the outcome of a civil war in Sub-Saharan Africa or trying to predict H5N1 is going to spread in a certain way or many of the types of events that loom large in geopolitical or technological forecasting. There has long been disagreement among social scientists about how scientific social science can be, and the skeptics have argued that social phenomena are more cloudlike. They don't have Newtonian clocklike regularity. That cloud versus clock distinction has loomed large in those kinds of debates. If world politics were truly clocklike and deterministic then it should in principle be possible for an observer who is armed with the correct theory and correct knowledge of the antecedent conditions to predict with extremely high accuracy what's going to happen next. If world politics is more cloudlike–little wisps of clouds blowing around in the air in quasi random ways–no matter how theoretically prepared the observer is, the observer is not going to be able to predict very well. Let's say the clocklike view posits that the optimal forecasting frontier is very close to 1.0, an R squared very close to 1.0. By contrast, the cloudlike view would posit that the optimal forecasting frontier is not going to be appreciably greater than chance or you're not going to be able to do much better than a dart-throwing chimpanzee. One of the things that we discovered in the earlier work was that forecasters who suspected that politics was more cloudlike were actually more accurate in predicting longer-term futures than forecasters who believed that it was more clocklike. Forecasters who were more modest about what could be accomplished predictably were actually generating more accurate predictions than forecasters who were more confident about what could be achieved. We called these theoretically confident forecasters "hedgehogs." We called these more modest, self-critical forecasters "foxes," drawing on Isaiah Berlin's famous essay, "The Hedgehog and the Fox." Let me say something about how dangerous it is to draw strong inferences about accuracy from isolated episodes. Imagine, for example, that Silver had been wrong and that Romney had become President. And let's say his prediction had been a 0.8 probability two weeks prior to the election that made Romney President. You can imagine what would have happened to his credibility. It would have cratered. People would have concluded that, yes, his Republican detractors were right, that he was essentially an Obama hack, and he wasn't a real scientist. That's, of course, nonsense. When you say there's a.8 probability there's 20 percent chance that something else could happen. And it should reduce your confidence somewhat in him, but you shouldn't abandon him totally. There's a disciplined Bayesian belief adjustment process that's appropriate in response to mis-calibrated forecasts. What we see instead is overreactions. Silver would either be a fool if he'd gotten it wrong or he's a god if he gets it right. He's neither a fool nor a god. He's a thoughtful data analyst who knows how to work carefully through lots of detailed data and aggregate them in sophisticated ways and get a bit of a predictive edge over many, but not all of his competitors. Because there are other aggregators out there who are doing as well or maybe even a little bit better, but their methodologies are quite strikingly similar and they're relying on a variant of the wisdom of the crowd, which is aggregation. They're pooling a lot of diverse bits of information and they're trying to give more weight to those bits of information that have a good historical track record of having been accurate. It's a weighted averaging kind of process essentially and that's a good strategy. I don't have a dog in this theoretical fight. There's one school of thought that puts a lot of emphasis on the advantages of blink, on the advantages of going with your gut. There's another school of thought that puts a lot of emphasis on the value of system two overrides, self-critical cognition–giving things over a second thought. For me it is really a straightforward empirical question of what are the conditions under which each style of thinking works better or worse? In our work on expert political judgment we have generally had a hard time finding support for the usefulness of fast and frugal simple heuristics. It's generally the case that forecasters who are more thoughtful and self-critical do a better job of attaching accurate probability estimates to possible futures. I'm sure there are situations when going with a blink may well be a good idea and I'm sure there are situations when we don't have time to think. When you think there might be a tiger in the jungle you might want to move very fast before you fully process the information. That's all well known and discussed elsewhere. For us, we're finding more evidence for the value of thoughtful system two overrides, to use Danny Kahneman's terminology. Let's go back to this fundamental question of what are we capable of learning from history and are we capable of learning anything from history that we weren't already ideologically predisposed to learn? As I mentioned before, history is not a good teacher and we see what a capricious teacher history is in the reactions to Nate Silver in the 2012 election forecasting. He's either a genius or he's an idiot and we need to have much more nuanced, well-calibrated reactions to episodes of this sort. The intelligence community is responsible, of course, for providing the US Government with timely advice about events around the world and they frequently get politically clobbered virtually whenever they make mistakes. There are two types of mistakes you can make, essentially. You can make a false positive prediction or you can make a false negative prediction. What would a false positive prediction look like? Well, the most famous recent false positive prediction is probably the false positive on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, which led to a trillion-plus dollar war. What about famous false negative predictions? Well, a lot of people would call 9/11 a serious false negative. The intelligence community oscillates back and forth in response to these sharp political critiques that are informed by hindsight and one of the things that we know from elementary behaviorism as well as from work in organizational learning is that rats, people and organizations do respond to rewards and punishments. If an organization has been recently clobbered for making a false positive prediction, that organization is going to make major efforts to make sure it doesn't make another false positive. They're going to be so sure that they might make a lot more false negatives in order to avoid that. "We're going to make sure we're not going to make a false positive even if that means we're going to underestimate the Iranian nuclear program." Or "We're going to be really sure we don't make a false negative even if that means we have false alarms of terrorism for the next 25 years." The question becomes, is it possible to set up a system for learning from history that's not simply programmed to avoid the most recent mistake in a very simple, mechanistic fashion? Is it possible to set up a system for learning from history that actually learns in our sophisticated way that manages to bring down both false positive and false negatives to some degree? That's a big question mark. Nobody has really systematically addressed that question until IARPA, the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activities, sponsored this particular project, which is very, very ambitious in scale. It's an attempt to address the question of whether you can push political forecasting closer to what philosophers might call an optimal forecasting frontier. That an optimal forecasting frontier is a frontier along which you just can't get any better. You can't get false positives down anymore without having more false negatives. You can't get false negatives down anymore without having more false positives. That's just the optimal state of prediction unless you subscribe to an extremely clocklike view of the political economic, technological universe. If you subscribe to that you might believe the optimal forecasting frontier is 1.0 and that godlike omniscience is possible. You never have to tolerate any false positives or false negatives. There are very few people on the planet, I suspect, who believe that to be true of our world. But you don't have to go all the way to the cloudlike extreme and say that we are all just radically unpredictable. Most of us are somewhere in between clocklike and cloudlike, but we don't know for sure where we are in that distribution and IARPA is helping us to figure out where we are. It's fascinating to me that there is a steady public appetite for books that highlight the feasibility of prediction like Nate Silver and there's a deep public appetite for books like Nassim Taleb's The Black Swan, which highlight the apparent unpredictability of our universe. The truth is somewhere in between and IARPA style tournaments are a method of figuring out roughly where we are in that conceptual space at the moment, with the caveat that things can always change suddenly. I recall Daniel Kahneman having said on a number of occasions that when he's talking to people in large organizations, private or public sector, he challenges the seriousness of their commitment to improving judgment and choice. The challenge takes the following form–would you be willing to devote one percent of your annual budget to efforts to improve judgment and choice? And to the best of my knowledge, I don't think he's had any takers yet. One of the things I've discovered in my work on assessing the accuracy of probability judgment is that there is much more eagerness in participating in these exercises among people who are younger and lower in status in organizations than there is among people who are older and higher in status in organizations. This doesn't require great psychological insight to understand this. You have a lot more to lose if you're senior and well established and your judgment is revealed to be far less well calibrated than those of people who are far junior to you. Level playing field forecasting exercises are radically meritocratic. They put everybody on the same playing field. Tom Friedman no longer has an advantage over an unknown columnist, or that matter, an unknown graduate student. If Tom Friedman's subjective probability estimate for how things are going in the Middle East are less accurate than those of the graduate student at Berkeley, the forecasting tournament just cranks through the numbers and that's what you discover. These are potentially radically status-destabilizing interventions. They have the potential to destabilize status relationships within government agencies. They have the potential to destabilize the status within the private sector. The primary claim that people higher in status organizations have to holding their positions is cognitive in nature. They know better. They know things that the people below them don't know. And in so far as forecasting exercises are probative and give us insight into who knows what about what, they are, again, status destabilizing. From a sociological point of view, it's a minor miracle that this forecasting tournament is even occurring. Government agencies are not supposed to sponsor exercises that have the potential to embarrass them. It would be embarrassing if it turns out that thousands of amateurs working on relatively small budgets are able to outperform professionals within a
the last couple issues, including this one, taking The Beast pretty lightly – planning its death with a skip in their step. That turns out to be a huge mistake, as The Beast has already figured out that he only has a 2% failure rate in getting out of this situation he’s in. Continued below This tells us a few things about The Beast. He’s cold and analytical – we already knew this. But he still shows human tendencies, even if they’re incredibly guarded and come from a place that he probably doesn’t even recognize. Perhaps I’m reading into this part too deeply, but he’s given the statistic of a 2% probability of death. These are staggeringly good odds that anyone would take in any sort of scenario. 98% success might as well be a statistical certainty. Yet, he can’t help but say to himself: “I died roughly 3,000 times.” The actual bulk number of deaths only depends on the number of times the simulation was run. The fact that it was 3,000 is very small relative to the far greater number of times he must have survived that scenario. Someone who knows basic stats knows that the percentage is really what matters in a probability scenario. It is very human to feel the weight of the number of deaths in a scenario where the bulk of them (98%) were survivals. But aside from that, he’s incredibly pragmatic. He sees Conquest as weak. Despite ages and ages of battles waged in the world, “Conquest” metaphysically present at every one, The Beast only sees the ones that Conquest has kept alive. No doubt he sees this as a weakness (ironic – considering he ends up leaving them alive), along with the other “motherly” weaknesses he notes. Another reference to the usefulness (or weakness and perceived lack of usefulness, of needing a parent). Beyond being merely physically and mentally powerful, he’s also got the advent of technology on his side – tapping into the Union grid and launching some nukes from their base (much to Antonia LeVay’s delicious dismay). By now, Hickman has presented him as an imposing figure in nearly every facet, able to act as a more than worthy foe for the 4 horsemen, and an agent of chaos in a burgeoning war. All in the guise of a precocious – aw hell, downright adorable – kid. His trusty Balloon suggests the name “Babylon”, which carries more biblical implications with it than Led Zeppelin songs contain “Lord of the Rings” references. Thankfully for this column and my fading ability to write coherently, Balloon pretty much straight up explains “what” it means to be called Babylon. Babylon was not literally someone’s name, but take what the balloon thing says literally as far as an explanation goes. It’s worth noting that Balloon’s story ties into the issue’s greater theme. “Babylon” was said to be an orphan of sorts, with no known origin. The same was said of the world in Xhing’s quote. In fact, in some interpretations, “Babylon” actually means “the world”, so Xhing and Balloon are talking about the very same thing. For The Beast, “the world” has awfully big shoes for him to fill. And if the end of the issue is any indication, like Babylon, The Beast intends to build a world to his liking – letting nothing stand in his way. But as Xhing’s poem said “look how high she rose before the fall.” Another interesting twist could be in reference to the “Whore of Babylon” – the biblical “mother of prostitutes and abominations of the Earth.” Is The Beast the “Whore of Babylon” – an abomination whose rise will be soon met by a fall? Previous Issues: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14Every weekday morning, Megan McCormack locks up her bicycle outside Baltimore's Pennsylvania Station, then boards a MARC train to Washington, where, she said, she inevitably has to wait on a Red Line metro to get to work. The 27-year-old Govans woman would prefer to pedal the 2.5 miles from Union Station to her job at a philanthropy consulting firm near Dupont Circle, but she can't take her bike on the weekday MARC trains. To better serve passengers like McCormack who ride bikes, the Maryland Transit Administration will spend $196,000 over the next year to add bicycle racks to its 22 daily commuter trains. The goal is to have at least one car equipped with bike racks on each train by spring 2018, officials said. "I would definitely think I'd use it," McCormack said. "The Red Line can be very hit or miss.... Being able to cut out the expense of the metro and being able to bike the last little bit would take out the guesswork." Because MARC currently only allows fold-up bicycles, which are generally more expensive, on weekday commuter trains, few of its estimated 39,000 daily riders bring bikes with them, said MTA Administrator Paul Comfort. MARC began allowing bikes on its weekend Penn Line trains in 2014 by replacing seats on one side of a car with a long rows of racks, but those cars aren't practical for weekday use because the racks take up too much valuable seat space. Instead, MTA will outfit 15 train cars with a more out-of-the-way solution: a pair of vertical bike racks plus storage space at the end of a car, replacing three seats in the corner. "This improves the lives of people who want that service," Comfort said, "without impacting those that don't." To pay for it, MTA will use a $96,000 Maryland Department of Transportation grant and $100,000 of its own funds. "It's all part of our plan to upgrade everything we're doing," he added. "The MTA is, in a lot of ways, stuck in the 1980s. We looked across the country and said, 'What's a 21st century transportation system look like?'" The cars will be marked on the outside, so bicycle-toting riders can find them. Each car can accommodate two bicycles. Conductors will monitor the number of bicycles on the racks, and as demand increases, officials will add bike rack cars on each train, MARC director Erich Kolig said. "We're going to start small: one per train," he said. "We'll see how it goes from there." The MTA doesn't track how many passengers ride their bikes to MARC stations and lock them up before boarding the train. The current weekend cars, with their full rows of bike racks, average about five bikes at any given time, Kolig said. Liz Cornish, executive director of Bikemore, said in a statement the Baltimore bicycle advocacy group was thrilled MARC was allowing bicycles on weekday service, which will increase bike commuting trips and take cars off the road. In a May letter supporting the MTA's grant application, Cornish called the addition of bike racks to MARC commuter trains "an important step in the state recognizing the value of bicycles as a first- and last-mile solution. "Investing in these solutions can be the decision point between someone opting to take public transit or not," she continued. The service also will allow bicyclists to take MARC trains over the Susquehanna and Patuxent rivers, making Maryland more accessible overall, she wrote. The bike racks don't remove much passenger capacity from the commuter trains. In recent years, MARC added 54 bi-level train cars to its fleet, increasing the average six-car train's seating capacity to 900 passengers, Kolig said. While each bike car will lose three seats, the bi-level cars have increased seating overall by 20 percent. The bike rack area also comes with the added benefit of extra storage space, Kolig said. That's a constant request, he said, especially from BWI Marshall Airport-bound passengers with large rolling suitcases. MARC is striving for a more service-oriented mentality, Kolig said: "You're not riding our trains. We're providing your trains." Amtrak passengers traveling through Baltimore on Northeast Regional trains with baggage service — trains 65, 66 and 67 — may check their bicycles, which are hung in a separate baggage car for a $20 bicycle fee. Amtrak's high-speed Acela train does not offer bicycle service. "We have introduced bike service to various trains throughout the country," said Amtrak spokeswoman Kimberly Woods. "We look forward to measuring the success of this service with an eye to expansion to additional routes." Kara Rosenstrauch and Claire Fultz, social workers who commute on the MARC train to Washington from Baltimore, like the idea of bike racks on the daily trains. "It would be really good for [Washington] in general," said Rosenstrauch, 27, of Columbia. "Instead of Ubering or taking a cab, you can promote healthy behavior and get to where you need to go." Plus, she said, "it saves on gas." "We need all the savings we can get," said Fultz, 32, of Towson. Lance Price, 48, a professor who takes the MARC between Baltimore and his job at George Washington University, said he's seen passengers with folding bikes struggle to find somewhere to put them after boarding the train. "It's got to be annoying for them, getting in and out of the station," he said. Though he lives in Baltimore's Mount Vernon neighborhood, Price keeps a bike in Washington for when he gets off the train. He said both Baltimore and Washington should keep pushing for better bicycling accommodations, such as the cities' respective bike-share programs and the protected bike lane on Maryland Avenue. "The more we can encourage biking the better," Price said. [email protected] twitter.com/cmcampbell6Image via Flickr user Einar Jørgen Haraldseid Clarification from Paul Armentano, Deputy Director of NORML (June 18, 3:00 p.m.): "You claimed that NORML issues press releases opining blanket opposition to breath testing for THC, which is something we have never done and mischaracterizes our longstanding opposition to proposed per se cannabis DUI legislation. Further, the specific article attributed to me in High Times acknowledged limitations inherent to breath detection technology as a proposed means to determine whether or not a driver had recently used cannabis or was under its influence. These critiques are legitimate concerns and are/were applicable to the type of technology discussed in the papers cited but may or may not be applicable to Cannabix (which, obviously, was not the focus of my HT.com article)." Yesterday, Kayla Ruble of VICE News reported on the rapid progress of weed-breathalyzer technology. It seems that as enforcement of the prohibition on marijuana slowly grinds to a halt, cops have to turn from hassling people just for having weed to hassling people because they used it before they got behind the wheel. The thing is, though, this is as it should be. If stoners know what’s good for them, they need to push for an accurate and sane field pot test to be implemented in all jurisdictions. The test that’s making news this week, the Cannabix Breathalyzer, was invented by retired Canadian Mounty Kal Malhi, who complained to his local paper, The Province, that “young people have no fear of driving after smoking.” Noticing the lack of a practical solution to the problem, he developed his device at home in Vancouver. It’s similar in appearance and operation to an alcohol breathalyzer. In fact, it’s too similar. It should be green or something, but cops are notorious for having no design sense. Image via Flickr user Komunews But ugly or not, it offers a major benefit for stoners: It detects stoned drivers, not just drivers who have smoked weed lately. The Cannabix is only supposed to bust you if you've smoked in the past two hours. Current field test kits for marijuana are garbage. They aren’t accurate, giving false negatives and finding more positive results in new smokers than those with a high tolerance, according to the New York Times. Cops often turn to more sensitive tests for cannabinoids in urine, blood, and saliva. “The [new] device will determine THC levels, as opposed to cannabinoids, which can stay in the system for 72 hours,” Rav Mlait, the CEO of West Point Resources, which will license the product in North America, told VICE News. “That’s the problem with saliva testing.” Getting a DUI conviction when you haven’t smoked in three days is a drag to say the least. And as for the danger of stoned drivers, Eduardo Romano, of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, told Times reporter Maggie Koerth-Baker that while that marijuana contributes to the risk of getting in a crash, “its contribution is not as important as was expected.” Stoned drivers retain mental capacities drunk drivers lack, like short-term memory and problem solving. Stoned drivers also underestimate their driving skill rather than overestimate it. Still, weed appears to cause roughly a twofold increase in your risk of a crash. You’re a danger, but not nearly as much of a danger as a drunk driver. So what’s a responsible stoner to do about the looming threat of an accurate field test for stoned driving? Go with it. Make that tiny sacrifice and stop being stoned while driving, and at the same time push for the field test to be refined even further. I seriously doubt stoner culture will go this way. Writers like Paul Armentano and Mike Adams of High Times often rail against the threat of a breathalyzer. They understand the issue, and they’ve made some good points, but their argument most often comes down to the blood level vs. actual impairment distinction. If the claims Kal Malhi is making about the Cannabix are true, it gives them much less room to argue against the test. Law enforcement’s newfound interest in field weed tests is going to get thousands of stoned drivers busted soon, particularly if laws are put in place to make THC tests compulsory. At the moment, drivers can simply not consent to a weed test in some places, like Los Angeles, but that may not be the case much longer. Although it remains to be seen if it’s all it’s cracked up to be, the Cannabix breathalyzer seems more fair than existing tests. Stoners should push for thorough testing of its capabilities. They should also press for laws that take into account the difference in danger between drunk and stoned driving. Screencap from the NORML site NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, could take the lead. Currently, when breathalyzers are brought up, NORML issues a press release detailing what seems to be blanket opposition, citing the same 72-hour problem as High Times, and dragging out shop-worn graphs showing that increased marijuana use in recent years hasn’t resulted in a greater number of auto fatalities, which is beside the point. They apparently don’t sense what it’s going to look like when MADD takes an interest in the issue and starts waving signs at them with pictures of dead children. Alternatively, they could get out in front of the issue. Rather than campaigning against any and all breathalyzers, which is bound to look like they’re just running from accountability, they could push for the Cannabix, or some even-more-accurate descendant thereof. Rather than insist that they all drive better stoned, they could push for studies to prove that the impairment is relatively slight. Those would be moves that would bolster public opinion. There’s another interest group out there that that fights tooth-and-nail against any new regulation, and responds to criticism by becoming paranoid and defensive: the NRA. As stoners’ political power increases, they should do everything they can to be nothing like them. Follow Mike Pearl on Twitter.Geithner and Summers have now announced their plan to raid the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and Federal Reserve (Fed) to subsidize investors to buy toxic assets from the banks at inflated prices. If carried out, the result will be a massive transfer of wealth -- of perhaps hundreds of billions of dollars -- to bank shareholders from the taxpayers (who will absorb losses at the FDIC and Fed). Soaring bank share prices on the morning of the announcement, and in the week of leaks and hints that preceded it, are an indication of the mass bailout at work. There are much fairer and more effective ways to accomplish the goal of cleaning the bank balance sheets. A major part of the plan works as follows. One or more giant investment funds will be created to buy up toxic assets from the commercial banks. The investment funds will have the following balance sheet. For every $1 of toxic assets that they buy from the banks, the FDIC will lend up to 85.7 cents (six-sevenths of $1), and the Treasury and private investors will each put in 7.15 cents in equity to cover the remaining balance. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) loans will be non-recourse, meaning that if the toxic assets purchased by private investors fall in value below the amount of the FDIC loans, the investment funds will default on the loans, and the FDIC will end up holding the toxic assets. To understand the essence of the giveaway to bank shareholders, it's useful to use a numerical illustration. Consider a portfolio of toxic assets with a face value of $1 trillion. Assume that these assets have a 20 percent chance of paying out their full face value ($1 trillion) and an 80 percent chance of paying out only $200 billion. The market value of these assets is given by their expected payout, which is 20 percent of $1 trillion plus 80 percent of $200 billion, which sums to $360 billion. The assets therefore currently trade at 36 percent of face value. Investment funds will bid for these assets. It might seem at first that the investment funds would bid $360 billion for these toxic assets, but this is not correct. The investors will bid substantially more than $360 billion because of the massive subsidy implicit in the FDIC loan. The FDIC is giving a "heads you win, tails the taxpayer loses" offer to the private investors. Specifically, the FDIC is lending money at a low interest rate and on a non-recourse basis even though the FDIC is likely to experience a massive default on its loans to the investment funds. The FDIC subsidy shows up as a bid price for the toxic assets that is far above $360 billion. In essence, the FDIC is transferring hundreds of billions of dollars of taxpayer wealth to the banks. With a little arithmetic, we can calculate the size of that transfer. In this scenario, the private investors (who manage the investment fund) will actually be willing to bid $636 billion for the $360 billion of real market value of the toxic assets, in effect transferring excess $276 billion from the FDIC (taxpayers) to the bank shareholders! Here's why. Under the rule of the Geithner-Summers Plan, the investors and the TARP each put in 7.15 percent of the purchase price of $636 billion, equal to $45 billion. The FDIC will loan $546 billion. (All numbers are rounded). If the toxic assets actually pay out the full $1 trillion, there will be a profit of $454 billion, equal to $1 trillion payout minus the repayment of the FDIC loan of $546 billion. The private investors and the TARP will each get half of the profit, or $227 billion. Since this outcome occurs only 20 percent of the time, the expected profits to the private investors are 20 percent of $227 billion, or $45 billion, exactly what they invested. Similarly, the TARP's expected profits are also equal to the TARP investment of $45 billion. Thus, both the TARP and the private investors break even. As competitive bidders, they have bid the maximum price that allows them to break even. The bank shareholders, however, come out $276 billion ahead of the game, while the FDIC bears $276 billion in expected losses! This transfer occurs because the investment fund defaults on the FDIC loan when the toxic assets in fact pay only $200 billion, an outcome that occurs 80 percent of the time. When that happens, the investment fund is "underwater" (holding more in FDIC debt than in payouts on the toxic assets). The investment fund then defaults on its debt to the FDIC. The FDIC gets $200 billion instead of repayment of $546 billion, for a net loss of $346 billion. Since this outcome occurs 80 percent of the time, the expected loss to the taxpayers is 80 percent of $346 billion, or $276 billion. This is exactly equal to the overpayment to the banks in the first place. Soaring bank stock prices during the last week, and then again on the day of the announcement, demonstrate the bailout in action. From March 9 to March 20, the KBW bank index rose by 33 percent, while the overall Dow Industrials rose by only 11 percent, indicating how the rumors were especially good for the banks. This morning, bank shares across the board soared in value. Citibank has tripled in value since its low in early March. The value of the bailout dwarfs the AIG and Merrill bonuses, but since the bailout is much less obvious than the bonuses, the public's reactions have been muted, at least at the start. The plan should not go forward on such unfair terms. Under the law, Congress should apply the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990, which requires budget appropriations to cover expected losses on government loans programs, which would presumably include the expected losses on FDIC and Treasury loans under the Geithner-Summers Plan. With proper credit accounting, the entire operation in our little illustration would require a budget appropriation of $276 billion, equal to the expected losses of the FDIC and Treasury. If the Administration goes to Congress for such an appropriation it will be shot out of the water. The public will not accept overpaying for the toxic assets at taxpayers' expense. Thus, it is very likely that the Administration will attempt to avoid Congressional oversight of the plan, and to count on confusion and the evident "good news" of soaring stock market prices to justify their actions. The Geithner-Summers plans for the FDIC are not the only off-budget transfers to bank shareholders taking place. Other parts of the plan support subsidized loans from the Treasury and, even more, from the Fed. The Fed is already buying up hundreds of billions of dollars of toxic assets with little if any oversight or offsetting appropriations. Since the Federal Reserve profits and losses eventually show up on the budget, the Fed's purchases of toxic assets also should fall under the Federal Credit Reform Act and should be explicitly budgeted. There are countless preferable and more transparent courses of action. The toxic assets could be sold at market prices, not inflated prices, making the bank shareholders bear the costs of the losses of the toxic assets. If the banks then need more capital, the government could invest directly into bank shares. This would bail out the banking system without bailing out the bank shareholders. The process would be much fairer, less costly, and more transparent to the taxpayer.Skepticism for Beginners Ed Pizzi Blocked Unblock Follow Following Feb 9, 2015 Skepticism is a discipline that aims to help one think clearly in the context of our imperfect minds. Skepticism holds that we have cognitive biases that compromise our ability to interpret reality accurately—the same biases that we recognize in others. To think clearly in the context of our biases, we must learn not to place too much trust in our opinions and intuition, since they may be distorted. In the context of an amateur study of science, there are several biases that we’ll have to consider: Cherrypicking —People have a tendency to focus on studies, articles and opinions that support their views, and dismiss those that disagree with them. In many cases, evidence will appear to be conflicting, and the tendency is to weigh those that align with our opinions more heavily. —People have a tendency to focus on studies, articles and opinions that support their views, and dismiss those that disagree with them. In many cases, evidence will appear to be conflicting, and the tendency is to weigh those that align with our opinions more heavily. Focusing on outliers —Anomalous results tend to be overrepresented in the discussion of controversial topics, since they create a more interesting story. This is especially true in the popular press. —Anomalous results tend to be overrepresented in the discussion of controversial topics, since they create a more interesting story. This is especially true in the popular press. Lack of expertise—In general, we will be exploring topics outside of our areas of expertise. We’ll have to be cautious, since we will have a limited ability to evaluate the strength of studies. Given all of this, I’ll suggest some strategies for navigating this minefield in a cautious, responsible way. Give great weight to expert consensus —The best resources we have for refereeing scientific disputes on controversial topics are scientific consensus organizations. These groups are established to forge expert consensus opinions on a given topic. Examples include the UN Environment Programme, UN Food and Agriculture Organization, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, Institute of Medicine, as well as government organizations. It is possible to disagree with scientific consensus in a responsible way, but it must be done very carefully, especially as an amateur. Differing from expert consensus on more than a few topics usually indicates a bias. —The best resources we have for refereeing scientific disputes on controversial topics are scientific consensus organizations. These groups are established to forge expert consensus opinions on a given topic. Examples include the UN Environment Programme, UN Food and Agriculture Organization, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, Institute of Medicine, as well as government organizations. It is possible to disagree with scientific consensus in a responsible way, but it must be done very carefully, especially as an amateur. Differing from expert consensus on more than a few topics usually indicates a bias. Avoid drawing conclusions from primary sources —Primary sources (scientific studies) are exciting and interesting to read. However we lack the context to critically assess studies outside of our area of expertise. Meta-analyses and reviews attempt to control for weaknesses of individual studies, however they provide a lot of room for framing a hypothesis or deceptive uses of statistics or reasoning. It is much better to let the science shake out in an expert community, and wait for consensus bodies to weigh in. —Primary sources (scientific studies) are exciting and interesting to read. However we lack the context to critically assess studies outside of our area of expertise. Meta-analyses and reviews attempt to control for weaknesses of individual studies, however they provide a lot of room for framing a hypothesis or deceptive uses of statistics or reasoning. It is much better to let the science shake out in an expert community, and wait for consensus bodies to weigh in. Avoid the popular press entirely —The popular press is usually approaching science from an amateur perspective, and distortions are rampant. The popular media focuses disproportionately on outlier theories, and fail to characterize expert consensus. Approach any new topic as if you’d never heard about it before. —The popular press is usually approaching science from an amateur perspective, and distortions are rampant. The popular media focuses disproportionately on outlier theories, and fail to characterize expert consensus. Approach any new topic as if you’d never heard about it before. Attempt to research dispassionately —We should all have things that we are passionate about. This should not dictate what evidence we are able to consider. A useful metric is to consider that a claim that you have yet to investigate could be either true or false. Imagine that that you researched exhaustively and found that it is true. How would you respond? Which of your opinions might you have to revise or question? Then do the same, imagining that the claim is false. Usually one will be much easier to accept; this tells you something about your personal bias. However the exercise of considering both is a useful way to keep from being too attached to an outcome. You’ll find that most claims don’t threaten your core beliefs, and in either case you’d adapt and be fine. —We should all have things that we are passionate about. This should not dictate what evidence we are able to consider. A useful metric is to consider that a claim that you have yet to investigate could be either true or false. Imagine that that you researched exhaustively and found that it is true. How would you respond? Which of your opinions might you have to revise or question? Then do the same, imagining that the claim is false. Usually one will be much easier to accept; this tells you something about your personal bias. However the exercise of considering both is a useful way to keep from being too attached to an outcome. You’ll find that most claims don’t threaten your core beliefs, and in either case you’d adapt and be fine. Look for warning signs—When approaching an apparent controversy, take note of signs of cognitive distortion and bias. Warning signs include: paranoid ideology and conspiracy theories, disparaging mainstream science, shallow populism (eg. talking disparragingly about big pharma, the government, shills, or corporations), researchers without appropriate expertise (eg. computer scientists publishing papers on epidemiology), and journals without adequate peer review (eg. Med Hypotheses). What isn’t Skepticism? There are some popular misconceptions about skepticism that I’d like to address briefly. Skepticism does not mean a default position of disbelief. This can lead to a conspiratorial mindset, where the motives of scientists, governments, and expert panels are called into question. Rather, it means applying a degree of scrutiny commensurate with the probability of the claim. If a claim has widespread support within a discipline, it is usually appropriate to accept that claim. Similarly, skepticism does not mean believing only what can personally confirm. This sounds rigorous, but is extremely limiting. You only have the resources to become an expert in one, or perhaps a handful of fields. The most reasonable default approach is to contribute to building consensus in your own field, and weighing the opinion of expert consensus heavily in other fields. Skepticism does not (necessarily) have anything to do with religion. The issue of atheism is important to many skeptics. Others feel that arguing about religion is not a productive use of time. You can be a skeptic even if you think that arguments about religion are tedious. Skepticism is about asking questions rather than having answers. Sometimes skeptic communities organize around a single issue. A mythology emerges where the skeptic community has the Truth, and everyone who differs are assumedly cavemen. However earnest the inquiry that lead us to these conclusions, this is no longer skepticism, and can develop into a petty dogma. Skepticism is about acknowledging our own limitations, and working with them to the best of our ability. We can’t do this if we adopt a position of arrogance. Skepticism and Privilege Skeptic communities are often disproportionately white and male, and often have a difficult time confronting issues of privilege. This has made me quite reluctant to identify with this community, and deserves some discussion. I’ve witnessed people who identify as skeptics dismissing accounts of racism and sexism, claiming that they are too evidence-oriented to accept these accounts uncritically. Sometimes these claims are so basic, they would not merit a citation in almost any context (eg. many more women than men experience sexual assault), and yet doubt can persist in the face of overwhelming evidence. There are a few ways that skepticism can contribute to this. Some may believe that responding with doubt is always more skeptical than accepting plausible claims. Others may believe that skepticism requires doubting anything that they cannot verify first-hand, preventing white males from accepting sexism or racism that they do not experience. These are examples of bias that seem rather common in skeptic communities. Applying unreasonable doubt to consensus claims is an expression of bias, as is applying a higher degree of scrutiny to members of a particular community. Skepticism asks us to compensate for our own cognitive biases, and to assume that we share the same cognitive biases that we observe in others. Racism and sexism are very common cognitive biases. Another common bias is the “just-world hypothesis”, a term used to describe the tendency to dismiss accounts of injustice in order to preserve a sense of fairness and personal safety. The reality is that coming to terms with injustice is difficult, and can be frightening. We should treat consensus from other communities with similar respect as we treat consensus from expert communities. We can defer to data when it is available, but we must not dismiss consensus claims. My peace with the skeptical community is an uneasy one, but for the moment I’m trying the reform-from-within approach. And that’s that The theory of skepticism is really quite simple. Applying it is more challenging.Ten tips on becoming Fearless Have you ever played a brilliant piece of music, taken a perfect golf swing, or given an inspiring speech -- when no one else was around? If your performance seems to suffer when you're in front of an audience, you're not alone. Nerves can get the better of just about anyone, said Jeff Nelsen, associate professor in the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and hornist with international performance group Canadian Brass. Helping people transcend their fears is Nelsen's specialty. He teaches seminars on "Fearlessness," which he describes as "a mental state of complete faith in the moment at hand and any task ahead." Feeling fearful detracts from your performance, he said, by causing you to focus on yourself rather than your mission. Photo by: Chris Meyer Jeff Nelsen, associate professor in the IU Jacobs School of Music and hornist with Canadian Brass, gives suggestions for achieving fearlessness. Print-Quality Photo "The only time fear is a constructive thing is when it gets me into the practice room," Nelsen said. "I'm a pig farmer from Alberta, Canada. If I stop to think about whether I'm good enough to be onstage, I'll be paralyzed." Instead, he said you need to literally lose yourself in the moment -- forget about who you are and focus on what you want to achieve. But in order to make that happen, you first need to build the habits that will serve you when it comes time to share your talents. In celebration of a new year and new possibilities, we offer 10 tips from Nelsen on becoming fearless. Whether you perform on stage, on a playing field, or in a boardroom, you can use these methods to replace your nerves with a confident and optimistic outlook. For more information about his techniques, visit http://www.jeffnelsen.com. Raise your standards. Most people have one set of standards for how they perform when they are practicing, and a much higher set for the "big day." Nelsen said these double standards are harmful because it takes so much mental energy to switch from your everyday mindset to your higher performance standards. A more effective approach is to have the same high standards every time you practice your craft, he said. "You want to maximize your habits so you don't have to use your intellect to remember what to do," he said. Meticulously executing every action requires dedication, but it pays off when you can relax during your performance and trust the habits you have established, he said. "It's exhausting, but worthwhile." Simulate the entire performance experience -- 50 times. Once you know how to complete each element of your performance, put it all together and go through it again and again. For a golfer, for example, this would mean not just swinging at the ball, but walking up, assessing the situation, assuming your stance, swinging and following through. For a musician preparing for an audition, it would mean walking onstage, taking a moment to prepare in silence, raising the instrument, and then performing. "Repeat the entire process a minimum of 50 times before any performance," Nelsen said. "Your level of nerves will be inversely proportional to your amount of preparation." "Flawlessness" is not the primary goal. It's important to minimize mistakes, but an error-free performance is not the ultimate test of your abilities, Nelsen said. "In my opinion, only a computer is flawless. What makes a performer good is that he or she is human, and brings to the art something more than what is written on the page. Otherwise computers would be doing all the recordings," he said. The best performances are memorable not because they are perfect but because they are extraordinary. He tells the story of a performer trying out for the Montreal Symphony who, despite missing more notes than anyone else, won the audition. "The director told me that he made so much music that they couldn't not hire him," he said. Focus on what you want to convey, over and above the technical qualities of your performance, and trust your preparation to keep your errors to a minimum. Don't compete. "When you compete, you lower your standards," Nelsen said. "Was Mozart competing? Was Einstein competing?" You also run the risk of misjudging the playing field, he said. "If you show up knowing Billy's the best, and you showed up ready to do better than him, then what if Sally shows up and Sally blows Billy out of the water?" Aiming for the best possible performance you can imagine is a far superior goal, he said. Jeff Nelsen teaches seminars on "Fearlessness," which he describes as "a mental state of complete faith in the moment at hand and any task ahead." Print-Quality Photo Believe the audience is rooting for you. When it comes time to perform, "Don't choose the mental trap of thinking they're waiting for you to mess up," Nelsen said. "Instead, choose to believe the audience wants you to do well. Whether they really do or not, thinking they are a supportive group of listeners can constructively affect your performance." Think of what to do, not what to avoid. Telling yourself not to do something only focuses your attention on the very thing you want to avoid. "It's like saying don't think of an elephant -- you immediately think of an elephant," Nelsen said. Replace any negative injunctions with positive mental instructions. Instead of telling yourself not to look down, think about looking up. Rather than concentrating on not dragging your feet when you run, think of picking up your knees. "Nature abhors a vacuum. You have to replace your 'don't's with powerful 'do's," he said. Sell the story, not yourself. Rather than aiming to showcase your talents, allow your enthusiasm to infect the audience. You may want the audience to love you, but instead, Nelsen said, "make them an audience that loves what you love." This requires a constant effort to stay focused on what you are doing, not how you are being perceived. "It's about now. Now. Now. Stay in the present moment every second," Nelsen said. Think of something you did right. After a performance, take a moment to note the things you did well, he said. "Don't start out by thinking about all the things you did wrong. You have to have a low tolerance for destructive thinking," he said. Once you have listed several things you liked about your performance
Master will sometimes run their fingernail down the blade to detect any imperfections invisible to the eye. The next step in the test involves cutting a much softer target: hair. To demonstrate that the edge of the blade didn’t dull while chopping wood, the apprentice has to shave some hair off his or her own arm. (You can shave something else, but they probably prefer you to keep it clean.) According to the official testing guidelines, “Enough hair must be shaved to demonstrate that the edge remains keen and shaving sharp.” The final step in the test is the most stressful—literally. During the final phase of testing, the tester will place the tip of the blade in a vise, and bend it to a 90 degree angle, sometimes using a pipe for leverage. This tests the strength of the metal and the apprentice’s ability to heat treat it, giving the blade a harder edge and springier back. If the stress on the blade causes it to chip, shatter, or snap, the apprentice fails. A slight bit of cracking is allowed, but this is a slim margin for error. No matter the outcome, the knife is ruined. It may seem a bit tragic to destroy a knife immediately after proving its superior quality, but as Dean says, “If a guy’s going to really get serious about it and wants to make sure he passes, he’s gonna have to destroy some before he gets to a master smith’s shop.” If the apprentice does pass the performance tests, he or she must then brave the judgement of a select jury of peers that only convenes twice a year, at either the Blade Show in Atlanta, Georgia, or the International Custom Cutlery Expo in Kansas City, Missouri. During these panels, each apprentice must bring five carbon steel blades to be judged. Here a jury of ABS master smiths judges the five blades on exacting criteria like design, blade construction, guard construction, balance, and proportions. These blades can be much fancier, since they aren’t going to be destroyed. If the panel deems the offerings to be of sufficient make and quality, the apprentice is finally named journeyman, and given a “JS” stamp for future blades. Now on to master. The path from journeyman to master is essentially the same as the path from apprentice to journeyman, but you’ll also have to train apprentices under you. As a journeyman, you must put another 2-3 years of experience under your belt before applying to test for your master rank. When you do, you must then once again seek out a master to perform the test. To become a master, the performance tests are the same, but the blade must be different. During the master performance test, a journeyman needs to make a Damascus steel blade that has been folded at least 300 times. Dean tests this with his master’s eye: “I could sit down under a microscope and count out those layers, but I can look at it and pretty much tell.” The other difference is that the blade must have a “hidden tang.” The tang is the portion of the blade hidden beneath the handle. For a full tang, the handle material is flush with the edges of the tang, the flat edge of which is usually exposed, sandwiched between the pieces of the grip. The more challenging hidden tang is fully surrounded by the handle. These differences aside, the blade must still cut rope, wood, and hair before being bent into oblivion. A folding bowie knife by Harvey Dean that he says was one of the most challenging blades he ever created. (Image: Harvey Dean/Used with Permission) Once again, the journeyman must then take five blades in front of a jury of masters, at least one of which must be made of Damascus steel. This time, one of those blades has to be a Damascus steel quillion dagger. Quillion daggers are a medieval European style of knife that has a crossguard across the hilt. They are usually of elaborate make, marking the sign of a true master. “It’s one of the harder knives to build. Probably every [technique] you’re ever going to use in any kind of knife is going to be in that,” Dean says. “Ever since the jurying [portion of the certification] has been done, it’s required a quillion dagger. It’s got a lot of different stuff that you normally wouldn’t use if you made hunting knives, or bowie knives, or pocket knives.” If the quillion dagger and the other juried blades pass muster, the journeyman is named a master smith, and given an “MS” stamp to mark future blades as the work of a master. Even though the number of official bladesmiths is small, the designation is not going away. Dean says that many of the people who seek to become master bladesmiths come from all walks of life. Some are looking for professional title, while others just consider bladesmithing a hobby. Most people aren’t making massive swords or fantasy blades, but drop point skinning knives, folding pocket knives, and, increasingly, culinary blades are popular constructions. Dean says that the ABS now has around 1,300 registered members, hailing from 23 different countries. As one of the only bladesmithing organizations left in the world that gives out official ratings, they are seeing an increasingly international membership, to the point that Dean says they are even considering changing the name of the organization to be more inclusive. The title of master bladesmith is not impossible to achieve, but you’d better be on point.There's a chance UFC women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey could join the ranks of mixed martial arts fighters who dabble in Metamoris. But there are a couple hitches. For one, Rousey has a busy schedule. For another, the sport jiu-jitsu promoters would have to pay up. "I'd be happy to do a Metamoris if they paid me as much as they paid me for a UFC fight," Rousey told reporters at UFC Fight Night 51 in Brasilia, Brazil. I don't really have that much time." Earlier this year, Rousey offended sensibilities in the jiu-jitsu community by speculating on how she would fare on the ground with elite grapplers, comments which eventually got twisted into a showdown between judo and jiu-jitsu. "I wasn't saying judo vs. jiu-jitsu," Rousey said. "I was saying more like, me personally, because I know in generally a jiu-jitsu person is better on the ground.... all these girls are so offended by me thinking that I'm the best in the world and I can beat them. No one is asking why shouldn't I be offended for them having the same exact opinion." World jiu-jitsu champion Bia Mesquita issued a challenge to Rousey in the aftermath of the controversy, but Rousey says she has other things on her plate. "Right now, it's so much to keep up with the acting career, and the MMA career going," Rousey said. "And everyone keeps going, are you going to do WWE? Are you going to do Metamoris? Are you going to to four fights this year? Are you going to be an astronaut? I'm like, hold on. I can't make time to run for President right now, I can only do so many things at one time." Still, Rousey wouldn't rule out joining the like of Shinya Aoki, Brendan Schaub, Josh Barnett, and Chael Sonnen in Metamoris when the time is right. "I would happy to do Metamoris," Rousey said. "I think it would be a really really cool idea when I'm done fighting, too, because that's one of those sports that are kinder on the joints that you can do for a long time."Friday December 24, 2004 Intermediate + The US dollar fell to a new-time low of $1.3486 against the euro earlier amid new concerns about the strength of the US economy. The greenback has weakened continuously since September due to concerns over trade, low levels of consumer spending, an increasingly mammoth budget deficit, and the prospect of more federal cash being pumped into Iraq. This is also of prime concern in Euroland where strong euro is hurting their exports. French finance minister said there could be world “economic catastrophe” unless measures are taken to stem the rising euro. However, European Central Bank President, controller of the 12-nation currency will not yet take action and intervene in the currency market to halt the dollar’s slide. The dollar has lost 63 percent against the euro since October 2000, when it was just 82 cents. Analysts believe the Euro will continue to grow stronger. Adrian Hughes of HSBC said, “I can see it finishing the year around $1.35 and we can see that it's going to be a steady track upward for the euro/dollar in 2005, finishing the year around $1.40.” POSSIBLE WARM UPS / COOL DOWNS 1. CHAT: Talk in pairs or groups about the dollar / the euro / your country’s currency / international money markets / US economy / your country’s economy / … To make things more dynamic, try telling your students they only have one minute (or 2) on each chat topic before changing topics / partners. Change topic / partner frequently to energize the class. 2. DOLLAR BRAINSTORM: Brainstorm any words students associate with the dollar and write them on the board. In pairs students have to put them into categories (of their own choosing), swap partners and then explain their categories. Ask each other questions about the words. 3. MY ECONOMY: Talk about the economy of your country and how important Euroland and America are. 4. 2-MINUTE DEBATES: Students face each other in pairs and engage in the following (for-fun) 2-minute debates. Students A are assigned the first argument, students B the second. Rotate pairs to ensure a lively pace and noise level is kept: There will be world economic catastrophe if the dollar slides further. vs. It’s no problem. The US economy will pick up next year. vs The US economy will slide further. The Euro will overtake the dollar as the most important currency in the world. vs The dollar will always be the international benchmark. The dollar’s slide is just a hiccough. vs. The dollar’s slide is a sign Euroland is becoming the strongest trading bloc. The dollar will never recover against the euro. vs. of course it will. An American withdrawal from Iraq would strengthen the dollar. vs. No. The war on terror would become worse and cause economic chaos. The American and Euroland banks should intervene and shore up the dollar. Vs. Let free market forces do their thing. PRE-READING IDEAS 1. WORD SEARCH: Students look in their dictionaries / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … of the words ‘dollar’, and ‘euro’. 2. HEADLINE: Put the article headline on the board for students to talk about / predict / speculate. Pairs / groups formulate and present their own guesses as to the contents of the report. 3. TRUE / FALSE: Students look at the headline and predict whether they believe the following statements are true or false: (a) The outlook for the US economy is bright. T / F (b) The greenback has weakened continuously since September. T / F (c) America has an increasingly mammoth budget deficit. T / F (d) There could be world “economic catastrophe”. T / F (e) The euro is a 14-nation currency. T / F (f) The dollar has lost 63 percent against the euro since October 2000 T / F (g) The controller of the Central European bank wants to intervene in the currency markets. T / F (h) The dollar will probably finish 2005 around $1.40. T / F 4. PHRASE MATCH: Students match the following phrases based on the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible): (a) The US dollar new concerns (b) all-time of consumer spending (c) amid deficit (d) low levels are taken (e) budget fell (f) measures the dollar’s slide (g) stem against the euro (h) halt low (i) The dollar has lost 63% upward (j) steady track the rising euro WHILE READING ACTIVITIES 1. GAP-FILL: Put the missing words under each paragraph into the gaps. Dollar hits all-time low against Euro The US dollar __________ to a new all-time low of $1.3486 against the euro earlier amid new concerns about the __________ of the US economy. The greenback has weakened continuously since September due to __________ over trade, low levels of consumer spending, an increasingly __________ budget deficit, and the prospect of more federal cash being pumped into Iraq. This is also of prime concern in Euroland where strong euro is __________ their exports. French finance minister said there could be world “economic catastrophe” unless measures are taken to __________ the rising euro. However, European Central Bank President, controller of the 12-nation currency will not yet take action and __________ in the currency market to halt the dollar’s slide. The dollar has lost 63 percent against the euro since October 2000, when it was just 82 cents. Analysts believe the Euro will continue to grow stronger. Adrian Hughes of HSBC said, “I can see it finishing the year around $1.35 and we can see that it's going to be a steady __________ upward for the euro/dollar in 2005, finishing the year around $1.40.” strength track fell concerns intervene mammoth stem hurting 2. TRUE/FALSE: Students check their answers to the T/F exercise. 3. PHRASE MATCH: Students check their answers to the phrase match exercise. 4. QUESTIONS: Students make notes for questions they would like to ask the class about the article. 5. VOCABULARY: Students circle any words they do not understand. In groups pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find the meanings. POST READING IDEAS 1. GAP-FILL: Check the answers to the gap-fill exercise. 2. QUESTIONS: Students ask the discussion questions they thought of above to their partner / group / class. Pool the questions for all students to share. 3. VOCABULARY: As a class, go over the vocabulary students circled above. 4. STUDENT-GENERATED DOLLAR SURVEY: Pairs/Groups write down 3 questions based on the article. Conduct their surveys alone. Report back to partners to compare answers. Report to other groups / the whole class. Back in pairs students discuss their findings. 5. DOLLAR DISCUSSION: Students ask each other the following questions based on the article: (a) Are you interested in the plight of the dollar? (b) What do you think should be done right now? (c) Is the dollar’s slide a concern for you or your country? (d) Will the Euro replace the dollar as the world’s benchmark currency? (e) Will the USA remain the world’s leading economy? (f) Will China ever replace the USA as the number one economy in the world? (g) Should American and European central banks intervene to strengthen the dollar and halt its slide? (h) Would an American withdrawal from Iraq help the US budget deficit and so ease pressures on the dollar? (i) Have you ever invested in the dollar or other currencies? (j) Teacher’s additional questions HOMEWORK 1. VOCAB EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or the Google search field to build up more associations / collocations of each word. 2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find more information on Homo floresiensis. Share your findings with your class next lesson. 3. DOLLAR/EURO INFO: Create a poster tracking the changing exchange rates between the dollar and euro, including reasons for particular slides. 4. LETTER TO GEORGE: Write a letter to US President George W. Bush telling him what should be done about the sliding dollar. ANSWERS TRUE / FALSE: (a) The outlook for the US economy is bright. F (b) The greenback has weakened continuously since September. T (c) America has an increasingly mammoth budget deficit. T (d) There could be world “economic catastrophe”. T (e) The euro is a 14-nation currency. F (f) The dollar has lost 63 percent against the euro since October 2000 T (g) The controller of the Central European bank wants to intervene in the currency markets. F (h) The dollar will probably finish 2005 around $1.40. T PHRASE MATCH: (a) The US dollar fell (b) all-time low (c) amid new concerns (d) low levels of consumer spending (e) budget deficit (f) measures are taken (g) stem the rising euro (h) halt the dollar’s slide (i) The dollar has lost 63% against the euro (j) steady track upwardThe 2013 Skyrunner World Series comes to an end in Italy this coming weekend at the Limone Extreme amidst the stunning backdrop of Lake Garda. It has been an incredible year, three disciplines; VK, SKY and ULTRA have been raced throughout the world over a total of fifteen races (five in each discipline). The ULTRA championship was decided in Vail, Colorado where Kilian Jornet and Emelie Forsberg were crowned Skyrunner Ultra World Champions. This coming weekend, world champions will be announced in the VK and SKY disciplines. The Limone Extreme course was designed by Skyrunning legend, Fabio Meraldi. As one would expect, it is a true Skyrunning race with steep, sharp vertical over technical terrain. For example, the VK has 1,100m gain in 3km, climbing from the shores of Lake Garda, the race is extremely unique as it takes place as light fades and the course becomes illuminated by torches. The SKY course by contrast is very similar to the course in Canazei. At 23.5km it is a short race, however, in contrast to the Dolomites race it does have less vertical ascent. Starting at Lake level runners will tackle 2002m of vertical ascent over a looped course. At the summit, stunning views of the surrounding area and lake are offered, however, participants will have no time to enjoy the view; a long and technical descent to the lake awaits. Often open and exposed, this course requires 100% concentration. Skyrunning legend, Marco De Gasperi set the men’s record of 2:13:34 in 2012 and Deborah Cardone holds the ladies best in a time of 3:02:08. THE SKY RACE MEN’S RACE Kilian Jornet (Salomon) irrespective of his performance at Limone will be crowned World Champion. His three victories in previous races means he is unbeatable. It once again proves Kilian’s ability as a runner but also his ability over multiple distances. One thing is for sure though, he likes to win and he likes to race. The Limone Extreme course will suit his skill levels and it will also fulfill his desires to be at one with the mountain. Without doubt he is an outright favourite for the win. With the absence of Marco De Gasperi due to injury, Kilian will have his hands full with Luis Alberto Hernando (adidas). Kilian and Luis have had an incredible season pushing each other to new levels and better performances as they both attempted to win the ULTRA and SKY series. Luis currently second overall on the SKY series will be looking to consolidate that position and coming from a recent win at Cavalls del Vent he will be looking to maybe topple Kilian and finish the series by topping the podium ahead of the Catalan. Following Luis at Cavalls del Vent, Tofol Castanyer (Salomon) will join the party on Lake Garda. Tofol has had a very mixed season. Plagued with injury and bad luck, the latter half of his season has seen a return to form. The Limone course suits his natural abilities. not racing 08/10/13 Alex Nichols (inov-8) has the skill level and speed to move up from 4th overall on the SKY series and move ahead of Jokin Lizeaga Mitxelena (EMF). The two are separated by just 32-points. It will require a top performance by Alex. In the past, Alex has often commented that his descending has let him down, however, just recently he flew down the descent at Pikes Peak proving that he has been working on this! Unfortunately, Nicola Golinelli (Arc’teryx) who is currently 5th on the ranking will not perform due to injury; this leaves the door open for Erik Dagsson Haugsness (inov-8) to chase his teammate, Alex. Whatever the outcome, UK brand inov-8 will be extremely happy to have two runners in or around the top five in the first season competing in the Skyrunner World Series. One name to watch and look out for in the Limone race is Zaid Ait Malek. This quiet Moroccan has had an incredible season consistently making the podium, often behind Luis Alberto Hernando, however he is without doubt a star for the future. He raced earlier in 2013 at Zegama-Aizkorri and placed an excellent 4th but he has progressed and matured in the following months. Finally, David Schneider is making a first time appearance for inov-8 at Limone Extreme and it shows how as a brand, inov-8 are looking to the future. They are already committed to a 2014 season and they are laying the foundation now. David is an accomplished runner and comes from a strong orienteering background. He attracted the attention of inov-8 with an 11th overall at the highly respected Sierre-Zinal race earlier this year. Limone will be a great initiation into Sky racing and the technicality it brings. Other names to watch: Dai Matsumoto, Ryan Bak, Florian Reichert, Eric Diaz Martin, Didier Zago Fulvio Dapit, and Nicola Golinelli. LADIES RACE It is very much a Salomon showdown for Limone with Emelie Forsberg, Stevie Kremer and Silvia Serafini going head-to-head not only for the final race win but the overall title. In real terms, the outright world title will be decided between Emelie Forsberg and Stevie Kremer. These two pocket rockets have had an incredible season and excitement is most certainly building as we anticipate who will come out on top in Italy. Separated by just ten points, 288 to 278, Stevie and Emelie will have a battle royal ahead. I for one can’t wait to see how this one unfolds. Emelie has been Miss Consistent in 2013 showing a skill and ability level beyond her years. Stevie Kremer has been equally impressive. Stevie produced maybe one of the performances of the year with an incredible win and course record at Mont Blanc Marathon. Stevie’s biggest issue may very well be out of her control, she can actually make the long trip from Colorado just two days before the race. Silvia Serafini has blossomed into an incredibly consistent and dominant runner. She gives herself quite a punishing schedule, regularly racing and regularly winning at all disciplines. Currently 3rd in the SKY ranking with 226 points she would need a podium finish and Emelie and Stevie not to finish or finish outside of the points to move up the classification. Irrespective of overall positions, Silvia, racing in Italy will be looking to push as hard as possible and hopefully win the race outright. injured 08/10/13 Oihana Kortazar returns to SKY racing after a quiet 2013 and has all the ability and talent to push her Salomon teammates all the way and don’t be surprised if she is on the podium at the finish. *not racing 08/10/13 Anna Lupton (inov-8) currently placed 6th overall will be looking for a strong and consistent performance to consolidate her 2013 season. The podium may just be out of reach but keep an eye on her. Finally I am going to tip a hat to Brit, Tracy Dean. This will be her first ever Skyrunning race. Tracy is a strong fell runner and has recently represented GB at the world trail championships. I don’t think we will see her up at the front end but it will be interesting to see how she performs. Other names to watch: Maud Gobert and Tessa Hill. THE VERTICAL KILOMETER A race within a race! Our attention splits for the Limone VK, for once, Kilian Jornet and Emelie Forsberg are not in contention for the overall World title. However, they will both most certainly be looking for outright victory in the Limone race. Emelie and Kilian have not placed an emphasis on the VK circuit this year and therefore have not accumulated enough points to qualify, however, when they have raced the VK distance they have performed consistently well. Kilian won in Canazei and placed 2nd at Mont Blanc, Emelie by contrast was 4th at Mont Blanc and 2nd at Canazei; both will be up at the front in Limone. The men’s race is a who’s who of VK racing with the top seven in the rankings performing. Marco Facchinelli is currently leading with 236-points followed by Ferran Teixido Marti Ventosa 2nd with 216-points. In 3rd Joan Freixa Marcelo, 180-points and then the real interest starts, Urban Zemmer, 2012 champion and current VK world record holder is chomping at the bit with 168-points. Interestingly, Marco Facchinelli will need to finish in the top three if he wants to keep the world title, however, should Urban Zemmer win and Facchinelli drop to 4th, the title could be Zemmer’s. It is going to be an interesting race. Other names to watch: Oscar Casal Mir 5th, Xavier Teixido Marti Ventosa 6th, Marco Moletto 7th. And in addition, Erik Dagsson Haugsness (inov-8) will compete in the VK in addition the SKY race. Vanessa Ortega Trancon currently leads the VK series with 236-points closely followed by Alba Xandri Suets on 228-ponts and the 2012 VK champion, Laura Orgue is 3rd with 188-points. Brit Tessa Hill is 4th with 156-points and it is all to play for. The addition of Emelie Forsberg and Antonella Confortola will add an interesting element to this race as they are both more than capable of taking the 1st and 2nd places, if this happens, 3rd place and the points awarded will be very important in deciding who will be the 2013 Skyrunner VK World Champion. An exciting weekend of racing is about to unfold; the VK takes place on Friday and the SKY race Sunday. LINKS Follow the action as it unfolds on twitter @talkultra on Facebook HERE and via this website. Skyrunning HERE Limone Extreme HEREAround the Verse: Thanksgiving Burndown Written Thursday 23rd of November 2017 at 04:30pm by StormyWinters, Sunjammer and Nehkara As per usual, anything said during the show is subject to change by CIG and may not always be accurate at the time of posting. Also any mistakes you see that I may have missed, please let me know so I can correct them. Enjoy the show! TL;DR (Too Long; Didn't Read) Review of physical shops, focus on missions and getting Item 2.0 ships set up from tech design standpoint and felt to be feature complete except one minor bug Working on Item 2.0 HUD and combat indicators for those ships Review of commodities felt to be feature complete and turning focus to stability and performance Review of shop locations with directors, went well with a few bugs to be fixed but ready to release Going through each commodity to set each profit margin range, so there isn’t just one lucrative tradeable commodity Miles Eckhart in QA’s hands for testing Ships out to Evocati for testing now Headlights working now as well as ship bed logout functionality with persistence in that location First pass of Item 2.0 items balance Created a new light group so players can control their ships headlights/spotlights Lead engineers have been working on performance related issues to improve the traversal experience Working on the quantum travel VFX: switched from a state based system to a velocity driven system Implemented dynamic nav points so inner nav points around a planet are created dynamically when it's targeted Closed a lot of control and stability issues relating to grav lev vehicles and ensured they played nice with the atmospheric flight fixes Fixed an issue where the streaming system stopped updating by switching from absolute server time to frame delta time Working on displaying radar and scanning gameplay to provide information, control and feedback via the UI Starmap is PTU-ready. 1 fix will go in after PTU is launched to be done before 3.0 Live. Mission Manager has been PTU-ready for 2-3 weeks. A few more fixes will go in between PTU and 3.0 Live. Successful evocati tests with 60 players in a server. Successful internal tests with 128 players in a server. Most of the crashes and disconnects have been fixed. The remaining ones are rare and very difficult to reproduce - more players will help track these down. A lot of optimization work has been done - for instance limiting which ships were being updated at any given time to ships in your vicinity or mission-critical ships. IFCS updates are large and taxing. Ripped out net serialize from two of the last three systems that used this old CryEngine tech. Replaced with CIG’s serialized variables. Last system is being worked on and then net serialize can be discarded entirely. Performance is much better recently with essentially all areas having at least a steady 30 FPS. Most areas higher, into the 40s and 50s. 179 issues last Friday, now on initial PTU push. Full Transcript Intro With Chris Roberts (CEO, Director of Star Citizen and Squadron 42), Sandi Gardiner (VP of Marketing). Timestamped Link. Sandi Gardiner (SG): Hello and welcome to another episode of Around the ‘Verse, our weekly look at Star Citizen’s ongoing development. I am Sandi Gardiner. Chris Roberts (CR): And I’m Chris Roberts. SG: Today is a holiday in the US so our teams in Los Angeles and Austin are enjoying some much-deserved time off. CR: Yes, they definitely are. SG: Because of this, we don’t have a feature for today’s episode - but we do have some exciting news. CR: Yes we do, that’s right, as I’m sure you’ve heard - Alpha 3.0 has gone to a wider PTU, so we’ve gone beyond evocateh… avocoti… SG: Evocati. CR: Evocati, as you would say… SG: Avacados! CR: So, let’s see what went into getting the build ready for this expanded group of testers in this week’s burndown. SG: Burndown! Burndown With Jake Ross (Producer), Eric Kieron Davis (Senior Producer), Todd Papy (Design Director), Mark Abent (Gameplay Programmer), Kirk Tome (Lead Technical Designer), Calix Reneau (Tech Designer), Matt Intrieri (Technical Artist), Erin Roberts (Studio Director), Chad McKinney (Gameplay Engineer), Ashram Kain (Producer), Leo Vansteenkiste (Junior Gameplay Programmer), Pete Mackay (Senior Designer), Hugo Silva (Senior UI Programmer), Steven Brennon (Production Assistant), Michael Dillon (Gameplay Engineer), Steven Tuberfield (Senior Technical Designer), Michal Kozlowski (Senior 3D Vehicle Artist), David Colson (Junior Gameplay Engineer), Muhammad Ahmad (Graphics Programmer), Mark White (Production Assistant), Wayne Owen (Lead QA Tester). Timestamped Link. Eric Kieron Davis (EKD): Welcome back to Burndown, our weekly show dedicated to reviewing the process of the release of Star Citizen Alpha 3.0. In the past week we’ve made tremendous progress towards the release of PTU as we focused on the categories: shopping, missions, ships and vehicles, traversal, mobiGlas and overall performance and stability. So let’s check in with the team to see how each progressed. Todd Papy (TP): This week we did a review of the physical shops which from my standpoint they were feature complete. Then we’ve been focusing on missions and getting the Item 2.0 ships completely set up from tech design standpoint we feel we’re feature complete on that except for one minor bug. Then from there we’re still working on the Item 2.0 HUD and combat indicators for those ships and getting that to feel right. Then we’re doing a review of commodities today and I believe that’s feature complete and that will get turned to green and from there we will continue to basically focus on stability and performance. One of the things we knocked out this week was a Raycast issue that was causing memory crashes and overall performance issues so ideally the Evocati seen a gain in performance based off of that but that’s been plaguing us for a little while so getting that thing knocked out was good. From there it’s just been general stability and performance issues we’ve been focusing on and then everything the team’s been working on has really been going towards those tier 0’s that we’ve called out. Shopping/Cargo Jake Ross (JR): So this past week we had a review of the shop locations in 3.0 with Chris, Todd Papy and all the other directors. We went through each shop, we experienced the shopping flow and experienced… got to see the shopkeepers in action and it went really, really well. There's a few bugs we’re still working through to get fixed but overall the shop locations are in really good shape and ready to release in 3.0. So we’re in bug fixing and polish mode now and there’s plenty of stuff still to do, lots of bugs to fix up but we’re ready to release these things live to you guys so we’re really, really excited about that Pete Mackay (PM): Been going through commodity by commodity and setting the profit margin range. Each commodity has its own profit margin wage which scales roughly with it’s base value but it’s not a linear relationship. So that’s taken some time to go through and just making sure that there’s never any one commodity that is always the best thing to trade, cause that’s what we don’t want to see. We don’t want players to get to a point where there’s just one trade route that’s the most lucrative and that’s it, so a lot of my work the last day or two has been just making sure that we’re in a good spot there. Missions JR: So this past week we got Miles Eckhart, one of the mission givers on 3.0 into QA’s hands, so he’s being run through his paces. QA is kind of taking him through his flow, identifying issues and calling out blockers. Those tech blockers are being looked at by our developers and getting resolved at a good pace and we’re turning attention… we have turned attention to Ruto as well and getting him all situated. Pretty soon we’ll be able to get him into QA’s hands as well so the mission givers are coming along pretty nicely. Ships/Vehicles JR: On the ship set up side, we’ve finally got the ships to a point where we’ve gotten them out to the Evocati and we’re ready for them really to bang on them and test them in their fullest capacity. On the setup tasks this past week we’re were able to knock out the headlights, getting all the headlights set up so they actually work so when you’re going onto the dark side of the moon and you want to explore… headlights will actually turn on now, we’re toying and tweaking with distance and brightness but for the most part they’re all set up now. We also got the beds in all the ships set up with the saved game logout functionality so when you get into the bed, you can actually log out of the beds now and persist in that location. So we’re really excited about that functionality and that will be online in the live environment here pretty soon as well. We have a big spreadsheet full of the different ships and all the different set up features we need to get implemented and at the start of this endeavour they were all red, all red cells meaning they haven’t been done yet. For the most part we got them all the green now, so we got a nice pretty green spreadsheet, lots of things been accomplished this past week and we’re ready for lots of testing to be done on those ships. Steven Turberfield (ST): So one of the things we’re looking to implement with 3.0 is persistence spawning. So one of the things that tech design are doing at the moment are going through all the beds ingame in the ships and adding interaction points to those so that the player when they get into the bed they can basically save their progress and that will log them out as sleeping in the bed basically. So what we’ve been doing at the moment is adding interaction points to every single one, setting them up in data and basically saying when the player interacts with this specific point we’re telling them this where they’re logging and out and that’s where they will remain until they log back in again. Kirk Tome (KT): For the 3.0 ship Burndown, we’ve been making a lot of progress fixing bugs on ships particularly the Caterpillar, Glaive, Scythe, 300 series, the Mustangs, the Aurorae, and the Constellations including fixing those bugs and implementing new features such as the new bed interaction feature which allows you to save and exit interaction on them. We’ve also implemented the new light feature which allows us to have controllable lights which gives us the ability to turn on headlights in the ships so you can see to the dark areas of the planets. We’re currently in the midst of doing the first pass on Item 2.0 items balance so that we can do things like actually control the power plants and shield generators and the weapons and make meaningful choices when we’re flying the ships and sliding those dials on the entities we just fine tuned and getting the features that you can control on those entities working. Max Hung (MH): So we have this ticket that says the ESP is broken. ESP is what helps you stay on your
283-5323. Brian Nearing contributed to this story.Investigative journalist Joseph Radkin is sent to Oregon to look into a bitter dispute between the logging industry and environmentalists. When a famed ecologist is killed, coupled with the disappearance of a lumber boss' daughter, Radkin finds himself caught up in a dangerous story that goes far beyond clear-cutting the ancient redwoods. FIRST PUBLISHED BY GOLLANCZ IN 1990, PAPER CUTS RECEIVED OUTSTANDING REVIEWS IN THE BRITISH PRESS "This is nothing is what it seems territory with a few extra twists, mayhem and a cruel message. Formidable!" -The Sunday Times "A truly gripping thriller that packs a message!" - Popular Fictions "Difficult to put down!" - Scotland on Sunday BOB BIDERMAN is a novelist, editor and social historian. His novels, mysteries and social histories have been widely published by Gollancz, Hachette, Pluto, Walker, Chivers Atlantic, Contemporary Literature Series and Black Apollo Press. His articles have appeared in the Guardian, Independent, Visions of the City and Café Magazine. PREVIEW PAPER CUTS >>> Purchase Kindle eBook >>>SALT LAKE CITY – As the U.S. Southwest grew warmer from 18,700 to 10,000 years ago, juniper trees vanished from what is now the Mojave Desert, robbing packrats of their favorite food. Now, University of Utah biologists have narrowed the hunt for detoxification genes that let the rodents eat toxic creosote bushes that replaced juniper. "It was either eat it or move out," says biology Professor Denise Dearing, senior author of the study, published online Tuesday, April 7 in the journal Molecular Ecology. During the study, eight packrats – also known as woodrats – were captured from each of two western regions: the Mojave Desert and the cooler Great Basin. Rats from both areas were fed rabbit chow mixed either with creosote or juniper. The scientists then scanned the rodents' genetic blueprints to look for active genes known as "biotransformation genes" because they produce liver enzymes to detoxify the poisons in creosote and the less-toxic juniper. "We found 24 genes in woodrats from the Mojave Desert that could be key in allowing them to consume leaves from creosote bushes," she says. "The leaves are coated with a toxic resin that can comprise up to 24 percent of the dry weight of the plant." Dearing says she conducted the study because "we don't really understand how wild animals process their diets, and how herbivores can feed on really toxic diets. If we can understand it, we may be able to understand how they will deal with climate change." For example, "the toxins in creosote could respond to increases in [atmospheric] carbon dioxide," which causes global warming, she adds. "The plants may make more toxins under elevated CO2 conditions because these toxins are built from carbon atoms." Dearing says once the actual creosote-detoxification genes are pinpointed among the 24 candidates identified by the new study, those genes someday might be used to modify cattle, sheep or other grazing animals so they could eat creosote. A packrat, also known as a woodrat, from the Great Basin of Utah is surrounded by mildly toxic juniper leaves that make up much of its diet. When climate warming eliminated juniper trees from what is now the Mojave Desert between 18,700 and 10,000 years ago, packrats there had to eat much more toxic creosote bushes, which replaced juniper. A University of Utah study has scanned the genetic blueprint of packrats from the Great Basin and the Mojave, and has narrowed to 24 candidate genes the search for genes that produce enzymes allowing Mojave packrats to eat poisonous creosote resin. (Photo Credit: Denise Dearing, University of Utah) "The Mojave is huge, and there aren't many things that eat creosote," she says. Dearing conducted the study with Jael Malenke, a postdoctoral fellow in biology at the University of Utah, and Elodie Magnanou, who held the same position until March 2008 and now is at Pierre and Marie Curie University in France. The study was funded by the National Science Foundation. 'A Tale of Two Poisons' Human plant consumption is healthy, thanks to agriculture, which breeds toxins out of plants we eat, Dearing says. People also adapted genetically – like the woodrats – to certain changes in their diets. There are extra genes for starch-digesting enzymes in people with high-starch diets (potatoes, rice, grains), such as Japanese and Europeans. "Eating for [non-human] herbivores is really dangerous," Dearing says. "Most plants make toxins to prevent from being eaten." She says little is known about how plant-eating vertebrate animals disarm plant defenses. Until the advent of genetic techniques to scan an animal's genome, or genetic blueprint, "we could only look at one, two or three enzymes at a time. Much more work has been done on insects because they are pests and eat a lot of the plants we eat." Wood creosote is a resin that comes from creosote bushes or high-temperature treatment of certain other woods, and once was used in laxatives, cough medicine and disinfectants. It is different than the more commonly known coal tar creosote, which is made of petrochemicals and is the world's most widely used wood preservative, applied to power poles, railroad ties and bridge timbers. Packrats in Utah's Great Basin built and live in this "midden" beneath a juniper tree, their major if slightly toxic food source. Pollen preserved in ancient middens showed packrats -- also called woodrats -- throughout the US Southwest once ate juniper leaves, but as the climate warmed between 18,700 and 10,000 years ago, packrats in what is now the Mojave Desert were forced to eat invading creosote bushes, which are much more toxic than juniper. University of Utah researchers are zeroing in on the detoxification genes that allow modern Mojave woodrats to eat creosote. (Photo Credit: Denise Dearing, University of Utah) Even with detoxification genes, creosote bush is so toxic the packrats can eat only so much. When they eat it exclusively, in winter, they actually lose weight. They gain weight in the spring when they also eat annual plants and grasses, yucca and other plants. Juniper also is toxic, but not as much as creosote bush. Before creosote invaded the Southwest from South America, woodrats ate juniper throughout what is now the Great Basin of Utah and Nevada and the Mojave Desert of southwestern Utah, southern Nevada and inland southeastern California. But things were changing as the last Ice Age waned. "As the glaciers were receding, creosote bush was invading," says Dearing. "The Southwestern deserts were being formed as the land was becoming hotter and drier, and creosote bush replaced juniper trees in those areas." Woodrats also are known as packrats because they build yard-wide, 2-foot-tall "middens" using twigs, branches, pottery shards and other debris. The middens are typically above ground – under juniper trees in the Great Basin and yucca in the Mojave. Because ancient middens are preserved, scientists have analyzed their contents, which included juniper pollen, showing packrats throughout the Southwest ate juniper before the climate warmed. Creosote pollen shows the bushes had spread through the Mojave by 10,000 years ago. "I see this as a tale of two poisons or a tale of two diets – two populations of the same species that feed on very different staple foods: creosote and juniper," says Dearing. "It's like suddenly having your food coated with a different poison than you are used to. It's interesting to see the response of these animals to a natural climate change event where they were forced to change their diet and adapt to a new type of toxin." Dearing says that as creosote invaded, some woodrats already had genes to let them eat creosote or there was a mutation in existing detoxification genes that allowed creosote consumption. Over time, Mojave woodrats with those genes were more likely to survive on creosote, while those in the Great Basin stuck to juniper. Searching for Detoxification Genes In the new study, Dearing and colleagues used microarrays designed to scan laboratory rat genes – a glass slide containing tiny fragments of some 40,000 genes. The fragments bind to their counterparts in a sample of genetic material – in this study, an extract from woodrat liver. The microarrays, with pieces of 40,000 lab rat genes, included 224 biotransformation or detoxification genes already identified in lab rats. Dearing decided to try lab rat microarrays on closely related packrats. "We never have been able to survey this number of detoxification genes at once," Dearing says. "Prior to the advent of these microarrays, there haven't been techniques where we could look at detox genes comprehensively." The microarray analysis shows which genes in the woodrats have been "expressed" or activated to produce enzymes that make toxins in creosote and juniper water soluble and thus easily excreted by the rodents. The researchers collected eight packrats from each of two areas using live animal traps baited with peanut butter and oats. Mojave woodrats came from Lytle Ranch, a Nature Conservancy preserve in southwest Utah. Great Basin woodrats came from the White Rocks area of Tooele County, west of Salt Lake City. Eight woodrats from each region were fed diets in which rabbit chow was treated either with creosote resin or with finely ground juniper leaves. Then the microarrays were used to determine which genes had been activated on each diet in each group of packrats. -- "When both populations were fed juniper, we found fewer differences between the two populations in gene expression and also in their ability to eat juniper," Dearing says. "That says the Mojave woodrats haven't completely lost their ability to detoxify juniper yet." Both groups of packrats also lost weight, showing that they can only eat so much of even the more mildly toxic juniper, but must eat other available plants. -- "Then we fed both groups creosote, and that allowed us to identify these 24 detoxification genes" that were activated more in the Mojave woodrats than in their Great Basin relatives, Dearing says. Because of those genes, the Mojave packrats ate more creosote than the Great Basin packrats, and they also were able to maintain their weight eating creosote, while the Great Basin rodents lost weight. With the 24 candidate genes, "we now have to check every one of these genes to see which are important in detoxification of creosote," says Dearing. Source: University of Utah Creosote bushes like those shown here replaced juniper trees in what now is the Mojave Desert as climate warmed between 18,700 and 10,000 years ago. Woodrats in the Mojave had to switch from a juniper diet to a more toxic creosote diet. A study led by University of Utah biologist Denise Dearing has narrowed the hunt for detoxification genes that let the packrats eat creosote. (Photo Credit: Denise Dearing, University of Utah)Signup to receive a daily roundup of the top LGBT+ news stories from around the world In Winnipeg, the parents of a transgender girl have said their whole family are the target of transphobic bullying from a parent at her school. Izzy and Dale Burgos said that ever since eight-year-old daughter Isabella came out as transgender last month, a parent picking up her child has repeatedly targeted the family with transphobic actions and comments. Isabella returned to school as a girl to start grade thee in September. However, according to CBC News, the incidents started when the parent took issue with Isabella as she was heading to use the toilets. Isabella said: “This lady walked up to me and told me I couldn’t go to the girls’ washroom.” Ms Burgos said the woman overreacted. “This person I never met felt the need to yell at my daughter,” she said. “I can’t fathom yelling at a child, especially one that’s not yours.” Ms Burgos said the school spoke to the parent, but the bullying has only gotten worse since. “She comes back and does it to me and my older son and Isabella again,” she said. “And then two weeks later again to my son. I’m just frustrated.” Ms Burgos and her husband Dale say Joseph Teres School has co-operated with Isabella’s transition, but has failed to meet their full expectations. At first, the school allowed her to use the girls’ facilities, but now she has to use a gender-neutral bathroom. River East Transcona superintendent and CEO Kelly Barkman said: “We are aware of the situation and the principal and division are working with everybody to make sure that everyone is feeling safe.” Mr Burgos, however, has said he would like Rainbow Resource Centre – a non-profit group advocating for LGBT rights – to talk with the school division about the issue. “It’s not about preaching. It’s just about answering questions that people might have.” Isabella agreed. “Because a lot of people have been asking me questions and I just want the teachers to teach about transgender,” she said.One day last August, Paul Sharp woke in his room on the Borgsten Dolphin oil rig. He had been on the night shift, then slept for five or six hours, so it was getting on for midday. He showered, dressed, then, after lunch in the canteen, packed his bags and took them up to heli admin to be weighed. Sharp has been a scaffolder on the rigs for nearly 23 years, working two-week blocks of 12-hour shifts, often in brutal weather: horizontal snow, screaming wind, icicles as tall as a room and waves that lapped at 75ft-high platforms. He commutes from East Hull, where he was born and now lives with his wife and daughter in a neat, low house facing a church and a main road. The flight was running late, so Sharp went back downstairs to watch TV. When the call finally came, he returned to heli admin, a small room for a large and diverse bunch: the crew, plus 18 passengers, 17 men and one woman, working as safety officers, electricians, caterers, welders; old hands like Sharp, and those for whom the whole thing was still new, such as James Nugent, who had also just come off a night shift and was on only his second trip offshore. Nugent is a tall, well-built South African, weathered and emotionally open. After a career in the film industry and running a B&B, he became a rope access instructor, specialising in work at heights or in confined spaces. We talk in a restaurant perched on a point of land just outside Newquay in Cornwall, where he lives. Everyone climbed into neoprene immersion suits. The five days of mandatory safety training for anyone who goes offshore are conducted in a swimming pool kept at 26C; the North Sea is about 17C in the summer, 6 or 7C in the winter. Survival times at the latter temperature are one to three hours, hence the suits, which fasten with a heavy-duty zip and include feet, spray hood, strobe light, beacons and a rebreather, designed to buy precious minutes in a submersion. There is something comforting about the suit, but it also produces a distinctly unpleasant feeling of entrapment: rubber cuffs, designed to stop any water from entering the suit, fit tightly around your wrists and, harder to get used to, your neck. When the safety video began and the passengers saw that they would be in a Super Puma L2, more than one heart sank. Everybody in the room knew that since 2009 there had been four serious incidents involving Super Pumas in British waters: three ditchings and one crash – or, to be specific, as helicopter pilots would dearly like people to be, two controlled ditchings, one controlled flight into terrain and one crash, in April 2009, in which an AS 332-L2 fell out of clear skies off Crimond, between Fraserburgh and Peterhead, killing all 16 people on board. The last ditching, in 2012, led to all Super Puma EC225s being withdrawn from service over the North Sea. In fact, they had been cleared to fly again only the previous month; not all were yet back in service. The victims: Sarah Darnley and Duncan Munro. Photograph: AFP/Police Scotland Nugent looked around the small room. There was George Allison, safety supervisor, "pretty much the first guy I met". Allison had shoved a newsletter into his hand and said, "'I can't believe this is happening.' And I said, 'I don't know what you're talking about.' And he said, 'Read that.'" It was an account of a briefing on the Borgsten Dolphin a few days previously, on 8 August, in which Will Hanekom, deputy chief pilot of helicopter service company CHC, and managers from rig operators Total tried to prepare nervous workers for the return of the grounded EC225s. One worker had asked what would happen if any of them refused to board. "If you can't live with the risk, then you can't work offshore," came the blunt reply. "How else are we going to get there?" added a CHC pilot. "It is what we do. At some point we have to put our big boy pants on." "It was absolutely disgusting," says Sharp, who got to the platform two days later. "A lot of people felt kicked in the teeth." Nugent had come to know Allison relatively well in the two weeks he had been on the Borgsten. "Every night I told him what we were going to do [on that shift]. He signed my risk assessment." Though Allison was big and burly, Nugent found he had a soft side and a sense of fun. "[At quiet times] we sat in the locker room next to George's office and he'd play music, 60s and 70s psychedelic rock. There was a lot of banter. He'd put together a newsletter and five or six questions – general knowledge, like Trivial Pursuit. We'd try to work them out and he would have a look and laugh." The victims: George Allison and Gary McCrossan. Photograph: Press shots Then there was Sarah Darnley, the only woman on the flight (just 3% of the British offshore workforce is female). Nugent knew her quite well, too: they had started their shifts on the same day and quickly discovered they had a country in common. She was from Elgin, but had travelled in South Africa and liked to talk to him about it. She was in catering and dealt with laundry, and he met her when he brought in his bag. Or she'd bring him coffee and biscuits, and they would chat. Nugent caught Allison's eye. "I looked at George and he shook his head, and just went, 'I'm going home.' And I thought, he's 25 years down the line. If he's flying helicopters, I'm going home as well." Finally they heard the Super Puma coming into land. Suddenly heli admin was even more full of people, hustle and bustle, as passengers from Aberdeen, or from the nearby North Alwyn platform, disembarked. There was a great swapping of life jackets, and then they were walking out on to the helideck and into a sunny August afternoon. Business in the North Sea is booming. Although production is dropping steadily, it still provides 67% of the UK's oil and 53% of its gas, according to a report published by the Department of Energy & Climate Change last month. There are vast new ventures – in the West Shetlands, for instance, where BP is spending £4.5bn extending the Clair field – but the character of the main basin is also changing fast. Ageing rigs such as the Borgsten – a semi-submersible, built in 1975 and registered (because it is movable and thus counts as a ship) in Singapore – require expensive maintenance or complex programmes of skilled decommissioning. As the huge multinationals remove themselves from fields they have largely mined out, smaller companies are sprucing up worn-out installations and using them to extract every last drop – or pioneering new technologies to chase oil previously impossible to reach. Estimates of what is left in the North Sea vary between 12bn and – if you are Alex Salmond, desperate to persuade Scottish voters to choose oil-subsidised independence – 24bn barrels of oil equivalent. Ten years ago, there were 78 companies operating here; now there are 131. The British oil industry employs 440,000 people; in 2012, 25,760 of them spent more than 100 nights offshore. And they all have to get to work by helicopter, flying over one of the most hostile terrains in the world. The four variants of Super Pumas, along with Sikorsky S61s and S92s, are the "heavies" of the helicopter world: big and sturdy, they are used for search-and-rescue missions and in the army, as well as at oil industry locations all over the world. The pilots I speak to affirm their faith in them, especially the EC225s – the latest generation of Super Pumas. "It's like driving a Porsche after getting into an old Mini," says Mike Buckley, a spokesman for the British Airline Pilots Association (Balpa). Buckley started flying helicopters in the army before putting in more than 26 years, and counting, over the North Sea. Oil & Gas UK describes the EC225 as "arguably the most examined helicopter in modern history". "Logically I know they're a pretty safe monster," says oil worker Jonathan Garcia, who was in a CHC-operated Super Puma EC225 when it executed a controlled landing between Shetland and Orkney in October 2012. "Illogically, I hate anything to do with Eurocopter [now Airbus Helicopters] – 95% of the time I'm convinced I'm going to die." The helicopter Garcia was in dropped 3,000ft in less than a minute, but "I don't think the pilots would have put a ripple in bed linen," he says, speaking on the phone from Middlesbrough, with his lawyer listening in. He was impressed by their sang-froid. "The water came up to our ankles, our knees, our waists. One of the pilots pops off the starboard door and comes round to have a chat. 'Anybody got any questions?' As if he was on a Sunday walk with his dog, not bobbing around in the North Atlantic. One of the guys put his hand up. 'Any chance we can get out?'" Landing on water is not the crisis it's been made out to be, argues CHC pilot Will Hanekom. "For us, landing on the water is a safe solution." Sitting in the cockpit of an EC225 in CHC's hangar, I begin to see why their pilots wax so lyrical about them: pilot and copilot sit, essentially, in a bowl of glass – glass over them, glass to the side, glass below. Flying, it must feel (bar the extreme noise) as though they are sitting in the sky. "I still get a buzz when I get into the cockpit," Buckley says. "The smell of the aviation fuel when you fire up the engines. The feeling when you take off into low cloud, then push through and hit clear air, or watch the sun rise, the oilfields laid out below – it's a majestic sight." Rig scaffolder Paul Sharp is unmoved: "They're just taxis to us, really. A flying taxi." The passengers do have a rather different point of view. The Super Pumas are cramped. It isn't possible to stand upright, and the seats are strikingly narrow. They are also configured so that passengers face each other; it is not uncommon for their legs to be interlocked. When these L-variants first went into service, Buckley notes, "people got on, lit a cigarette, leaned back and read a paper". There were no bulky survival suits or mandatory life jackets, which alone add 3.17kg to a person's weight. And people are bigger now. It thus becomes rather important where, exactly, you sit. "I was quite fortunate," says Sam Bull, 24, a field analyst based in London. He was coming from the North Alwyn and, along with three others, was already on the chopper when the passengers from the Borgsten Dolphin started filing on. "If it's your first time offshore or on to a platform, you get a green armband and they don't let you sit next to the emergency exits. But they forgot to give me a green armband, so I sat right by it." Nugent was last on. He turned right, shuffling all the way to the back: "Then one of the baggage handlers said, 'No, don't sit there.'" He worked his way back to the middle and took a seat on the aisle, next to Allison. "And the large chap that George was, I had only half an arse cheek on the seat. I remember thinking, 'Well, this is going to be an uncomfortable two hours.'" He did his belt up extra tight, so it was holding him in the chair. The doors slammed shut and everyone reached for their ear defenders. The pilots announced a 15-minute refuelling stop at Sumburgh airport on Shetland. "Ideal," Sharp thought. "Enough time to stretch my legs and have a quick cup of tea." The rotors roared and finally the Super Puma lifted itself up. It dipped slightly at the front, as though bowing at the waist to those left behind, then rose up and out, over the sea. Nugent watched the orange bulk of the Borgsten receding below them, then sat back and looked around. Up on the right-hand side of the interior, he noticed a screw loose and a panel beginning to come away. He took off his ear defenders, just to check what he already sensed. It was really very loud, much louder than any previous choppers he'd been on. He ran his eye over the windows, "because you just do. You go, 'There's my exit. If that exit's blocked, where do I go? OK, I've got George next to me, so I've got to fight for my second exit.'" He noticed there was a tab on the window. "I never had that in my survival training." He tried to doze off, but couldn't, so he scanned the cabin, noticed someone reading Nuts and indicated – nobody could hear anyone else talk – that he wanted a look. As he began to flick through the pages, he was overtaken by tiredness. Soon he was asleep. Sharp and Bull fell asleep, too. RNLI crew members attend the crash. Photograph: EPA/RNLI When Nugent woke, the sun had gone and they were flying through cloud. He tried to figure out where they were, but wasn't sure until the pilot announced they were 10 minutes from Sumburgh and to prepare for landing. This woke Sharp. He sat up and tightened his belt. Bull woke, too. "It looked as though we were at 30,000ft rather than 2,500." Nugent shut his eyes, wanting to sleep for that extra 10 minutes; 10 stretched to 15, to 20, but they were still above cloud level. Nugent woke again. "Jesus," he thought, "I must have had more than 10 minutes." They all looked at each other. And then Sharp heard "a whoosh, and a crack like someone cracking a bone. And the chopper turned on its side, in the air." Nugent heard the bang, too: "An almighty bang, metal on metal, above our heads. It was loud. And I was just, 'What the…?' And then there was this twisting of the fuselage, left to right, very rapid, very violent, very sudden, and I thought, oh no, there's something wrong. I looked at the others and there was shock and horror on their faces. I thought, no, we can't be crashing. You don't want to believe it." Bull says he didn't hear anything break, but he felt a "shudder and banking from side to side. A shudder in the airframe itself, and the engine straining. It happened so quickly – it seemed as if [the helicopter] was working, but just falling. There was no lift. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared, but also I didn't believe it. It was incredibly surreal." Nugent has no idea why, but he started to count: one one thousand, two one thousand. "And when I got to four, I could see this gap of mist or cloud and there was the ocean, and I remember thinking, we're so close to the ocean – why are we so close to the ocean?" The light was dim below the clouds, Bull remembers, and it was hard to see faces. "It was quite misty," Sharp says. "The swell was breaking white, and there were white horses." They hit the water. The rotor blades shattered, Bull says, and the windows at the back popped out. He remembers water streaming through them like fountains. It was, according to the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), 18.17 local time. "The helicopter filled with water, instantly," Sharp says, then it inverted. "The door buckled on the left-hand side and none of us had a chance to pull our rebreathers out, get our hoods on, nothing like that. And as the water came up to here" – he indicates his chin – "and I took my last breath, I could see people floating around. As soon as my head was covered with water, I looked down and pulled the tab on the window and it just came to bits in my hand. So I hit it with my elbow a couple of times. Nothing." His entire body relives the motions as he describes them. "And then I punched it – I think I punched it three times – and all of a sudden it went pop and away it went." Nugent grabbed desperately for his rebreather, but he was clawing at the wrong side. "I remember the water washing over my face and I told myself, 'Take your last breath' and then the impact of the chopper I think knocked me out. There's a definite gap there. All that came over me was, don't worry, you're going to see Indi [his two-year-old] again. And I thought, well, OK, if I'm going to see Indi again, do your worst. And I kind of relaxed into it – but I was aware we were turning upside down and I was hung in my harness. Then, maybe 45 seconds, a minute, later, I heard that same voice again: 'James, it's time to get out now.' And I was like, oh, OK. I don't remember undoing my buckle, but I felt myself floating and I reached over, grabbed the window and pulled myself through it." "As I hit the surface, the first thing I did was push myself away from the aircraft," Sharp says. "Then I went for the tab on my jacket and pulled it, and nothing happened. I tore the Velcro away, grabbed hold of the straw, started blowing it up and it went bouff! by itself, which was a bit of a shock." Then he looked around: "I saw this guy beside me. I grabbed him to get him away from the chopper. His eyes were massive, his pupils were black and he had sick coming out of his mouth – I just knew he was dead." He heard someone shouting, "Me back! Me back! I think I broke me back!" Sharp grabbed hold of him: "You're alive," he said. "Let's get away!" They were surrounded by aviation fuel, and Sharp kept being sick. His movement was also oddly constricted – a piece of rotor blade had torn a hole in his suit. When he pushed the blade away, his suit began to fill with freezing water. When Nugent broke the surface, he saw land not far away. His first thought was, that's fine! And then, close upon it, 30 seconds more and we'd have hit it. And he began to shiver in earnest. He climbed up on to the fuselage and looked around him. There was gear everywhere, rope, pieces of helicopter, "guys in the water, and I was screaming at them, 'Raft up! Raft up!' There were other guys holding on to the fuselage and I was saying, 'Climb on to the fuselage!'" – where Bull joined him – but then he realised that wasn't a good idea at all, because the aluminium underside of the helicopter had ripped jaggedly open. So he yelled, "Stay in the water! Hold on!" They tried to deploy the life raft, but only about 10% of it emerged and "we had to fight and push and tug it out of its casing. Obviously it's not been designed to be deployed when the chopper's upside down. I looked at Gary [McCrossan], who was as white as a sheet – that white-grey colour – and I recognised he was going into a heart attack. I pulled him into the life raft. Then I grabbed one of the younger chaps and said, 'Listen, sort him out.'" He helped five or six more men climb in. When he finally looked up, Nugent saw there were still people in the water, drifting away, so he made for the second lifeboat, where he found the copilot. "But [the lifeboat] is just a big inner tube, there's no way you can steer it. And I was like, 'This is useless. What do we do now? Did you mayday?'" The copilot said no, there was no chance; but they were so close to landing, they would have fallen off the radar and triggered a rescue. It was a long half-hour before they heard the familiar thud-thud-thud of rotor blades and another Super Puma appeared. It lowered a winch man and secured McCrossan first. But as it began to lift him into the air, one end of a cord from the life raft caught in the winch and the other end round the foot of a man in the raft, throwing him out. Quickly he was dragged back in, but the raft was now attached, precariously, to the helicopter. Bull scrambled to cut them free. "I doubt I was the only survivor to fear another Super Puma falling from the sky that day," he wrote later. "Finally, one by one, all the survivors were winched to safety. Meanwhile, at 18.33, Jim Nicholson, a retired English teacher who has volunteered with the RNLI at Aith on Shetland since 1970, got a call from the coastguard. He alerted his crew; by 18.40 they had launched. They began by searching north-west of the crash site but, finding nothing, returned to the wreck, now drifting towards the rocks. Eventually the fuselage broke open and two bodies emerged. It was after 8pm and getting dark. The crew knew there should be one more body in the helicopter, so they drew it out into the bay and held it there all night, rocking quietly, until another lifeboat relieved them in the morning. Sarah Darnley's body was retrieved by divers the next day. When it comes to such disasters, veteran North Sea pilots start making analogies to Swiss cheese. There are so many checks and balances keeping the helicopters flying that normally they "catch things going through", Buckley says. "Obviously in the last five years there have been a series of holes lining up, and we need to know why." Jim McAuslan, general secretary of Balpa, is even blunter: "We believe something is wrong in the North Sea." The question is, what? ‘The helicopter filled with water, instantly’: survivors (from left) Paul Sharp, Sam Bull and James Nugent. Photograph: Gary Calton; Martin Godwin; Phil Bunt/cornwall-photos.com, all for the Guardian The passengers I spoke to have doubts about whether pilot error was involved, but mechanical failure was ruled out quite early, and the Helicopter Safety Steering Group cleared the Super Pumas for flight after just one week's suspension. The debris has been taken to Farnborough to be examined by the AAIB. Meanwhile, the helicopter operators and oil companies have a further, serious, problem: confidence in their helicopters is extremely low. A recent poll by Unite found that 53% of its members are not confident about their safety. Airbus Helicopters president and CEO, Guillaume Faury, asked last September about the previous month's crash, said, "The Super Pumas' overall safety record is excellent. One reason there are so many in the North Sea oil and gas business is their safety." But he also admitted: "We have reputation and image damage in the UK that we must face." Ask survivors what the problem is and the answer is immediate; they seem surprised I even ask. "Money." Sharp rubs thumb and forefinger together. "Money," says Nugent. Balpa has said it is particularly concerned by "cut-throat" competition between helicopter operators bidding for oil firm contracts. Buckley notes that in the 1990s the oil companies brought in an initiative called Crine. "It stood for Cost Reduction In the New Era and was the basis for oil companies cutting back on routine maintenance, and other cost-saving measures. It doesn't formally exist now, but the ethos is still very prevalent." Suggest there might be pressures on maintenance, however, and the unions say there cannot be – everything is controlled from Europe; leave a lightbulb in a day too long and you might lose your job. Oil & Gas UK retorts that Balpa has yet to produce evidence, and that in January helicopter operators told the transport select committee there was no commercial pressure – but "there is competition and safety is not jeopardised". Certainly there is an ostentatious fetishisation of safety: in the land-based CHC offices, I must hold the handrail going up steps and even on the level, which feels ridiculous. Sheriff Principal Derek Pyle, who conducted the inquiry into the 2009 crash off Fraserburgh, concluded this month that "everyone in [Bond Offshore Helicopters
also have a chance to immerse themselves in the all-new Zombies mode, called “Shadows of Evil,” which features a 1940’s film-noir inspired adventure that takes the signature Black Ops Zombies gameplay to a new level. In addition, Activision has stated that all eSports features and the weapon paint shop will not be available on last gen. Fans should note that other features built to leverage the next generation hardware like the new Weapon Paint Shop and the new suite of eSports tools will only be available on Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Because of these feature differences, Activision will sell the last-gen versions for a retail price of $49.99, and it will include a download code for Call of Duty: Black Ops 1. The PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 will be available for a suggested retail price of $49.99 and include a bonus download for the original Call of Duty: Black Ops (bonus download availability may vary by region), the game that launched this series. With all of these differences, the last-gen versions of the game has a different box art. The box art states that in order to play Black Ops 3 on last-gen, an internet connection is required. SOURCE: Activision, edited at the time by Said and Fouad Moughrabi. Below, Said and Al-Azm's correspondence following that submission. Al-Azm and Said's relationship would disintegrate following this exchange. In 1988, Al-Azm would publish an attack on Said and other Palestinian intellectuals entitled , edited at the time by Said and Fouad Moughrabi. Below, Said and Al-Azm's correspondence following that submission. Al-Azm and Said's relationship would disintegrate following this exchange. In 1988, Al-Azm would publish an attack on Said and other Palestinian intellectuals entitled November 10 My dear Sadek: Many thanks for sending us your long analysis of Orientalism: it’s very carefully worked out, I think, and—in your special terms—it makes a cogent and often impressive document. However, Foad and I think it is much too long for us to print as is. Two options present themselves therefore: one, you cut it by about 15 pages (a lot of them can be eliminated because of repetition and verbal padding); two, we cut it, or rather, the copy-editor cuts and we send it to you for approval. Let us know immediately, so we can proceed with plans to publish it. In any event, pending your reply we will suggest the cuts, so that if you opt for number 2 (above), we will have a text ready for you without delay. As you know I’ve received many reviews, and have decided for the most part not to reply to any of them. In the case of your essay I’m going to do something I haven’t done: I shall reply to you. Let me be honest with you to as a friend, who as you know admires you and loves you. In your recent writing I’ve detected an unfortunate narrowness and dogmatism which has weakened your work: this is the case with your reading of my book. I find some of your points are very well-taken, and well-presented. The defense of Marx and the points about my “advice” to American investors I think are crude and shallow, and I will be demonstrating the emptiness of some of your rhetoric. I don’t think you’ve ever tangled with a polemicist of my sort: your attacks against the straw-men you catch with silly statements have gone unchallenged. I propose to teach you a lesson in how to argue and how to make points, not out of anything more than the desire to make didactic sense. The worst thing about your writing is how really badly you read : in the end, you see, when we read and write, we are dealing with words, and your way with words is both too literal and not literal enough, and you can’t have it both ways. When you quote, you misquote and when you construe, you mis-construe, yet both activities are done with “accuracy” and “correctness” as their pretext. As an instance, take your allegation that my notion of Orientalism is unilinear: you simply don’t read what I everywhere say, that Orientalism is a word which has many meanings, and one must be sensitive to those meanings. If there is one thing it isn’t as a concept (except, that is, to the insensitive and lazy reader) it is unilinear, but I shall also be showing you that. I think in the end the real difference between you and me, is that you are a dogmatist and a literalist who really has never gone past the Marxism of the Second International; I am a skeptic and in many ways an anarchist who doesn’t believe as you do, in laws, or systems, or any of the other claptrap that inhibits your thought and constricts your writing. For you Marx is what Khomeini is to his followers: you are in fact a Khomeini of the Left which is one thing my heroes, Gramsci and Lukacs, could never have been. I must say, finally, that I found your insinuations about putative relations with US imperialism beneath you, and not worthy of you. I can only put them down to having lived for so long in the sewers of the Beirut press, which is where you spend too much of your time. For a scholar and thinker like yourself, to suggest such things is of course to lay yourself open to many worse imputations, for example, to being ( literally ) a willing, silent servant of the Syrian regime, which currently employs you and demands your silence, a prince which—as I have told you at least once you have regrettably accepted to pay. But I would never say that about you in print; that is the difference between us. I will say it to you privately as I am saying it here, and that is the end of it. I shall refer to this matter in the reply only it is part of the self-castrating syndrome I find in your work, the syndrome of someone who has a lot to say and who has many contributions to make, but who undercuts and destroys himself in his writing. This is what I think you have done; you have sacrificed your potential effect to sensation and scandal, both of which have made you in the end much less effective than you could have been. The question I shall try to answer then, is why does Sadek willingly hurt himself and his cause, why does he cripple his potency in the very same breath that he proclaims it? This is a very a useful intellectual question to ask. I hope you take my points in the spirit in which I mean them. But it will be good for the Journal to have use debating each other politely in its pages: so think about any cuts you may wish to make. In any case I won’t have time to get to you piece and a response until after January 1. I’m buried in many duties and papers right now: nevertheless I eagerly look forward to replying to you in detail. Mariam sends love to Fawz and to you — as do I. Yours, Edward ** Damascus, Dec. 2, 1980 Dear Edward, Thank you very much for your letter of Nov. 10, 1980. I knew that my article will upset, but I did not anticipate such a violent outburst on your part, especially the attack on my person. I really think that the vehemence of your reaction is way out of proportion to the “crimes” I seem to have committed in criticizing some aspects of your book. As you know I have been through many bitter debates and controversies before and I have succeeded in maintaining a reasonably detached attitude all through. Therefore, I bypass your abusive accusations, and take in stride the point by point comparison you draw between the qualities and virtues of yourself and those of my humble person, all leading, predictably enough, to the inevitable conclusion of your superiority. I think such stuff should be left to others to speak about and debate (if at all), for we do not do ourselves much of a service indulging in such comparisons and self-serving evaluations. Apropos, I would like to mention that the “straw-men” I have engaged are neither irritable professors nor composed intellectuals, but persons, establishments, and governments armed to the teeth and positively dangerous. Steeped in the traditions of “Oriental Despotism”, they are known to be highly inclined to settle differences of opinion with critics and polemicists by resort to bullets, explosives, arson, repression and assassination. I regret that you insist on misunderstanding the last few pages of part I of my article. It seems to me that there is an obvious difference between saying the X has relations (of one sort or another) with US imperialism and saying that X holds opinions and expresses views that play (or could play) into the hands of US imperialism, and that this ought to be brought to X’s attention and openly debated with him. The task becomes even more significant and urgent if X is widely known for his anti-imperialism. The pages in question point out to you that American imperialism will find pleasing: (a) your judging the Arab-Us satellite relationship as not lamentable; and (b) your insistence that American policy in the ME is the way it is because Orientalist fictions still dominate the minds of the policy-makers and of the experts who instruct policy. Prima facie, it seems to me that such positions can not be squared with a genuine anti-imperialist stance. I would like to see you argue the opposite in lieu of getting so angry with me. Similarly, if you wish to defend the Orient against Western Orientalism and imperialism then you can no constantly adhere to (a) and (b), or tell the American bosses to purge their imperialist heads of Orientalist fancies and abstractions. For, in my view, these policymakers and their experts are hardboiled bosses who have few illusions about anything and who know precisely what they are doing and for what objectives. I may be wrong. But, then, I would like to see you argue that the opposite position is consistently tenable along with a real anti-imperialist commitment, instead of calling me names. I take it we are the sort of people who hold strong views on life’s important matters and burning issues, we defend our persuasions forcefully and criticize others passionately, but this no pretext for anyone of us to exhibit self-righteous attitudes, assume holier-than-thou postures and issue claims to superior abilities in teaching exemplary lessons to others. Whether Marx’s views on India resulted from the usurpation of his mind by Orientalist jargon and dictionary definitions or from his overall theory of historical change; whether there is unilinear conception of Orientalism in your book or not, are all meaningful questions which can be rationally debated and clarified without either calling on the help of self-castration syndromes and theories, or resorting to other forms of character assassination. Concerning the publication of my essay in ASA I have two points to make: (a) considering that my article deals directly with your work and considering that you reacted so vehemently to its contents (to the point of breaking your solemn vows not to reply to critics), I would have thought you would refrain completely from making any kind of editorial decisions, suggestions etc. concerning this piece. (b) I insist on the publication of my essay intact and as is, whatever its faults may be. This is final and not subject to further discussion. In case ASQ find my request unreasonable (or impossible to meet for one reason or another), I will appreciate having the ribbon copy returned to my Beirut address as quickly as possible. We wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy New Year. Sincerely yours, Sadik ** December 10, 1980 Dear Sadik: Now who’s over-reacting? I said nothing in my letter about your person except your subservience to the regime, and I withdrew it immediately; my letter indicating or implying my superiority over you; what utter trash. Those are forms I don’t use, but what I did say—and there once again you misread—was that as a polemicist or answers to your attacks I am superior, in polemics at least, to your customary antagonists. You confirm that by saying opponents have generally been Oriental despots who use the sword. That was exactly my point, which of course you missed. As for your other point, about advice or playing into the hands of imperialism. If you read the two passages in question, you’ll see, 1) that what I say about US policy being built on Orientalist fictions is a statement of fact, that implies neither that I am giving advice on what the Orient is, not that I would like them to change. Quite the contrary, I say what must be said as a description of what obtains, and—if you read on—I also say that there is, and can, be no different policy given the institutions, the system, and so forth. 2) The second passage—about the satellite relationship—I said that in itself a satellite relationship—note, excluding economic relationships (since all the theorists of imperialism you cite, Frank, Jalee, Amin, etc all deal with the economic form of the satellite or dependency)— is not per se bad. What I mean is that it is unthinkable that in a complex cultural world that all cultures would be equal, and all equally independent and original: can we say that the satellite relationship between Rome and Greece was bad, because of the fact of satellite ship, or that between Germany and Austro-Hungary, in cultural terms? No. Some relationships of this sort are because of the form of the relationship—for example, as in the one between the Arab world and the West, because the relationship goes in one direction, is essentially reproduction, is hopelessly uneven. That was my point. I should think that your argument about Marx I won’t bother to deal with here, since they involve more complicated things, and are interesting for other reasons. Anyway, I supposed that my letter would rankle a bit, and I’m sorry about that. Thanks for calling me an irritable professor: what should I call you, a dispassionate and olympian critic of everyone else’s mistakes? Ok—you’re a dispassionate and olympian critic of everyone else’s mistakes. You do me a real dishonor by suggesting that because I am personally involved I shouldn’t suggest changes and revisions in your piece. The fact is that I am far more scrupulous and fair than that: I wish, for once that you would see that. Before I wrote you I had checked with my co-editors, Fuad and Ibrahim Abu-Lughod: in fact when Fuad got your piece he did so well before I did, he told me that it was far too long; I refused to read it until he and Ibrahim made their criticisms. Ibrahim thought your article should be cut to five, yes five, pages. So what I was saying was not a personal comment, but a collective editorial one. I thought your response was pretty dumb and high-toned, since cuts are frequent in even the best of journals, and why should you think somehow that your every word is sacred and beyond criticism? A funny position to take for someone who takes positions such as yours. However, we are having a meeting this weekend. I will take the position that your piece should be published in full, with every last word as it is. If I am overruled you will get it back. If not, not—and I’ll publish a response right alongside it. Is that to your liking? I suppose that the rancor between us will dissipate with time. I still think that you did not do what you did in your piece with the best faith (the best intellectual faith that is) as you seem to think, or that you read as carefully and as intelligently as you might have. I regret anything I said to you that may have seemed merely reactive (as opposed to accurate, as many of the things I said were) and abusive, but I don’t regret telling you how I felt about the species of criticism which you now write, and which you now seen to direct more or less at anyone who swims up before your vision. There would seem to me to be some virtue in making distinctions, in understanding that when I write a book of the sort I did that I am writing in a particular situation and for more than one audience, and so forth, none of which you seemed to have considered enough in your essay. I am prepared to concede that Orientalism is not really a very good book, but I do insist that it contains, with few exceptions, excellent readings and interpretations. My main complaint then with you is that you don’t read well, or that you write better than you read. I hope you see what I mean. No hard feelings, although perhaps some bruised ones. In the end that may not be so bad. I shall be in Beirut the weekend of Jan 9-11 at my mother’s. Could we meet briefly then, if you have the time? With all our regards to the four of you— Yours—Avoiding The Fall reads like the story of the Emperor’s New Clothes. China’s economy has had thirty years of lightning fast growth and looks like it has room for another thirty years, but the author, economist Michael Pettis, is shouting that China’s economy isn’t healthy at all. His approach is well reasoned and approachable for non experts such as myself which makes his opinion incredibly alluring, but this is also it’s greatest downfall. Pettis writes throughout the story with an air of certainty – his argument isn’t wrong and no one can possibly argue against it – and so ignores counter points and alternative arguments as fundamentally off base. His well crafted web of facts and arguments could be fragile but he doesn’t seem overly concerned about it. This isn’t an argument against his book per se, but it does make he hesitant to believe it. The book’s argument is simple: China has a raft of policies depressing its consumption rate and elevating the investment rate; this has caused poor investments to an extent which is no longer manageable; therefore the Chinese economy will be forced into a correction most likely highlighted by an extended period of stagnant growth. China’s growth is investment driven rather than consumption driven. The facts are striking. The household consumption rate is a way to measure local expenditure in an economy relative to investment and government spending. Values typically are high: As a percentage of GDP the US is 68.0%, the Germany is 55.9%, Japan is 61.1%, India is 60.4%, etc. In China it is 34.1% of GDP, an unheard of value in large economies. Through a raft of policies the government is forcing them to saving their money in banks at an artificially high rate. The gross national savings rate is relatively low throughout the world, the US is at 17%, Germany is 26%, Japan is 22%, India is 30%. China is again the opposite at 51%. The banks are spending this money on investments, and have been doing so for the last thirty years, however not all investments are worth the cost. Three decades of fast growth has built a huge reservoir of debt that can no longer be paid down or rolled over. When the debt becomes unmanageable something has to change. A China which can no longer rely on ever greater investment as the primary engine of growth will look very different. Alternative growth strategies are primarily consumption based, which is fine, but the transition has proven difficult for other countries in this situation. Brazil and Japan were both described as economic miracles with expectations sky high, but in each case they sputtered out. Brazil in the 1970’s and Japan in the 1990’s showed that when investments stopped performing and debt levels got beyond control the result was a crash in investment and a slow adjustment of consumption to make up for it. This led to ten plus years of flat growth which neither country has truly recovered from. This transition is unavoidable according to Pettis, but in the conclusion he attempts to show alternative paths forward which can ease the adjustment. In great detail he describes six methods China is using or considering using, however in the final analysis Pettis shows that all of them are either impractical, unlikely to have enough of an effect, or lack the political or social will to be implemented. Pettis ironically has quite an optimistic tone about the whole thing, but I suspect this could be due to his living and working in China and needing to keep the CCP happy. Avoiding The Fall is one of the most interesting books I’ve ready about current events in China and while only time will tell if he is right, Pettis has certainly laid out a convincing argument that screams to be paid attention to.Looking for news you can trust? Subscribe to our free newsletters. Chris Mooney describes some recent research that involved volunteers reading an article about nanotechnology and then talking about it online. What effect did rude, trollish comments have? The researchers were trying to find out what effect exposure to such rudeness had on public perceptions of nanotech risks. They found that it wasn’t a good one. Rather, it polarized the audience: Those who already thought nanorisks were low tended to become more sure of themselves when exposed to name-calling, while those who thought nanorisks are high were more likely to move in their own favored direction. In other words, it appeared that pushing people’s emotional buttons, through derogatory comments, made them double down on their preexisting beliefs. Chris ties this into the modern media environment, and implies that an explosion of online rudeness may be partly responsible for increasing political polarization. I suppose that makes sense. Certainly the research results themselves are entirely unsurprising: as the old saying goes, you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. I think everyone understands at a gut level that insulting people is likely to make them dig in, while treating them nicely has at least a modest chance of changing their minds. That being the case, why do so many of us spend so much time insulting people who disagree with us? Probably because most of us aren’t really trying to change their minds. Rather, we’re demonstrating our tribal loyalties and having fun in the process. Welcome to the blogosphere.All of the additional electricity-generating capacity added by the U.S. last month came from renewable energy sources, according to a report from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Solar, biomass, wind, geothermal, and hydropower projects provided 394 megawatts — 100 percent — of all new electricity generation that went on line in November. No new capacity was added from fossil fuels or nuclear power, FERC reported. Renewable energy sources also provided 99 percent of all new electricity-generating capacity in October. Although natural gas has been the biggest player in added capacity so far this year (52 percent), solar also made gains. It alone has made up roughly 21 percent of new power capacity so far in 2013, two-thirds more than its year-to-date total in 2012. Renewable sources now account for 15.9 percent of total U.S. generating capacity, which is more than nuclear (9.2 percent) and oil (4.05 percent) combined.Taipei, Taiwan — After months of simmering tensions between Taiwan’s ruling Kuomintang (KMT) and the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) backed by members of civil society, the debate over the Cross-Strait Services Trade Agreement (CSSTA) has finally reached a breaking point. During the past week, demonstrators – whom media outlets continue to misleadingly refer to only as “students” – successfully occupied the Legislative Yuan and Executive Yuan, managing to hold off police attempts to evict them from the former for almost a week. Yet amidst the commotion and calls to either renegotiate the agreement article by article or disband it in its entirety, three key issues have fallen by the wayside: the legality and implications of reneging on a bilateral agreement, the significance of international image and reputation for diplomatic relations, and most importantly, how to design feasible and effective ways to protect the most vulnerable members of Taiwanese society. When the KMT concluded negotiations with the mainland and signed the CSSTA last July, it marked the beginning of a series of orthodox democratic attempts to force the ruling party to take into consideration the concerns of opposition lawmakers, labor groups, and civil society. Lobbying, public hearings, and tame demonstrations, all standard fare in today’s representative democracies, had limited impact. Brawling between politicians in the legislature, a local tradition, was equally ineffective. In effect, the domesticated backlash has thus far allowed the government to appear democratic while simultaneously pushing a run-of-the-mill neoliberal agenda supported by conservative lawmakers, the mainland Chinese government, and powerful business interests on both sides of the strait. The move by the ruling party to sign the agreement without prior consultation was admittedly undemocratic – even by the weakest standards of what constitutes democratic policymaking behavior. Nevertheless, it was successful, and therein lies the crucial issue whose implications must be now be reckoned with. For months, demands for an article-by-article review of the agreement have been the central focus of opponents’ strategic roadmap. In theory, such a review would have major benefits in that the impacts of each article for specific sectors of society and the economy could be analyzed and the democratic process would be utilized. In practice, however, it is not a feasible option for three reasons. First, the agreement would remain indefinitely vulnerable to political impasse. Protracted negotiations would increase the potential for ultimate failure as well as the opportunity cost for legislators who have remained predominantly focused on promoting or opposing the agreement instead of on alternative political engagements. Second, renewed renegotiations with the mainland would be required. Proponents have long suggested that article-by-article discussion would legally force a return to negotiation with the mainland over the agreement, and only recently have opponents finally begun to come to terms with this reality. This realization should have come long ago. Had the agreement’s detractors accepted this earlier on, their energy could have been focused on more realistic and creative approaches to confronting the issue. Third, failure to implement the agreement may invite a confrontational reaction from Beijing and, perhaps needless to say, will not result in any further concessions in Taiwan’s favor. As with any bilateral agreement, it is the expectation of both parties that signing will be followed by political and logistical implementation. Not fulfilling this expectation will be seen as either ineptness or resistance on the part of the Taiwan government, which may provoke confrontation with the mainland. As historical evidence can attest, such a situation does not bode well for the future of cross-strait and regional relations. In short, the threadbare article-by-article renegotiation model forwarded by opponents is fruitless and poorly conceived, as it implies a return to negotiations with Beijing that are unlikely to be advantageous for any members of Taiwanese society. Yet the deleterious effects of failure to implement the CSSTA would not only be domestic or bilateral; the international implications would be equally grave. Taiwanese history over the past decades has represented an arduous struggle for diplomatic recognition. Indeed, it is the foundation upon which almost all of the island’s foreign policy depends. Reneging on a bilateral agreement, such as the CSSTA, would serve as a clear indication to the international community that the local government lacks the capacity to effectively engage in international relations. The logic runs like this: If Taipei cannot succeed in fulfilling an already signed trade agreement with its closest neighbor and most significant trading partner, the risks involved for other countries in deepening economic ties with Taiwan may outweigh the potential benefits. For better or worse, international image and reputation are key to diplomatic relations. Should Taiwanese lawmakers fail to push through the agreement at this late a stage in negotiations, they are shooting themselves in the foot. Yet the most potent criticism of the CSSTA is not that its proponents neglected to use the democratic process in its signing but the fact that the agreement may well have serious negative impacts on certain members and sectors of Taiwanese society. Given that the explicitly stated purpose of the agreement is to open the gates to cross-strait investment, opponents envision a flood of Chinese businesses entering the Taiwanese market and competing with Taiwanese local businesses. The fear of an economically powerful neighbor is a rational one. Latin American countries, for example, have long had to cope with the challenges of living under the shadow of U.S. economic and political influence. Though the analogy may seem far-fetched, the ongoing impasse in cross-strait relations is not altogether different. Today, in Taiwan, the fear and uncertainty over the CSSTA is palpable. None can predict with accuracy how exactly it will affect local industries. The most critical issue is ensuring that the most vulnerable sectors of the economy and members of society are not negatively impacted by the CSSTA. The first step is to accept the reality that the agreement has already been signed into law and may be pushed through the Legislative Yuan or handed off to the Executive Yuan for final approval. The second and most vital step will then be to design and implement a system of safeguard mechanisms to guarantee that select sectors and groups will be sheltered from the hypothetical storm of Chinese investment. There is good news and bad news. The good news is that implementing such safeguards is a real possibility both legally and logistically. Forward progress on the issue will rest heavily on Article 8 of the agreement, which stipulates that both parties can call for negotiations in the event of a service industry sector or population being negatively impacted. Blueprints for these safeguard mechanisms should take advantage of the wealth of issue- and industry-specific domestic and international expertise that is available to assess the policy impacts of the bilateral free trade agreement. The plans should provide quantifiable limits on acceptable CSSTA-inflicted impacts, clear guidelines on measurement of these impacts, and details on how the government will respond when impacts exceed stated limits. Moreover, they should also outline a plan for periodic reassessment of the safeguard mechanisms to ensure that they can adapt to changing economic and political trends. The other good news is that guaranteeing the continued wellbeing of Taiwanese society is an issue that can be agreed upon. At least in principle, KMT and DPP lawmakers, business and labor groups, and activists of all stripes express interest in the island’s economic and social development, and many are committed to investing significant time and effort into the issue. The bad news is that it will require a concerted effort amongst these diverse interests. Whether or not the capacity to do so in contemporary two-party democracies has all but vanished is difficult to say. Given that it is in the best interest of all parties involved to overcome this obstacle, the possibility is there, and now is the time to take advantage of it. How the debacle will play out in the coming days and weeks is anybody’s guess. Yet the realization that there are opportunities for basic agreement on the creation of safeguard mechanisms may bring some focus and rationality to the seemingly intractable dispute. This should come as a breath of relief for all those so deeply invested in its outcome. Jonathan Spangler is a doctoral student with the International Doctoral Program in Asia-Pacific Studies (IDAS) at National Chengchi University in Taipei, Taiwan. He is also a member of the South China Sea Research Team at the Center for Security Studies (CSS), based at the Institute of International Relations (IIR), and a research assistant at Academia Sinica. The views expressed in the analysis do not necessarily reflect those of the institutions with which he is affiliated.(Last Updated On: January 22, 2019) Introduction In my previous post, I introduced the NONSTRICT_READ_WRITE second-level cache concurrency mechanism. In this article, I am going to continue this topic with the READ_WRITE strategy. Write-through caching NONSTRICT_READ_WRITE is a read-through caching strategy and updates end-up invalidating cache entries. As simple as this strategy may be, the performance drops with the increase of write operations. A write-through cache strategy is better choice for write-intensive applications, since cache entries can be updated rather than being discarded. Because the database is the system of record and database operations are wrapped inside physical transactions the cache can either be updated synchronously (like it’s the case of the TRANSACTIONAL cache concurrency strategy) or asynchronously (right after the database transaction is committed). The READ_WRITE strategy is an asynchronous cache concurrency mechanism and to prevent data integrity issues (e.g. stale cache entries), it uses a locking mechanism that provides unit-of-work isolation guarantees. Inserting data Because persisted entities are uniquely identified (each entity being assigned to a distinct database row), the newly created entities get cached right after the database transaction is committed: @Override public boolean afterInsert( Object key, Object value, Object version) throws CacheException { region().writeLock( key ); try { final Lockable item = (Lockable) region().get( key ); if ( item == null ) { region().put( key, new Item( value, version, region().nextTimestamp() ) ); return true; } else { return false; } } finally { region().writeUnlock( key ); } } For an entity to be cached upon insertion, it must use a SEQUENCE generator, the cache being populated by the EntityInsertAction: @Override public void doAfterTransactionCompletion(boolean success, SessionImplementor session) throws HibernateException { final EntityPersister persister = getPersister(); if ( success && isCachePutEnabled( persister, getSession() ) ) { final CacheKey ck = getSession().generateCacheKey( getId(), persister.getIdentifierType(), persister.getRootEntityName() ); final boolean put = cacheAfterInsert( persister, ck ); } } postCommitInsert( success ); } The IDENTITY generator doesn’t play well with the transactional write-behind first-level cache design, so the associated EntityIdentityInsertAction doesn’t cache newly inserted entries (at least until HHH-7964 is fixed). Theoretically, between the database transaction commit and the second-level cache insert, one concurrent transaction might load the newly created entity, therefore triggering a cache insert. Although possible, the cache synchronization lag is very short and if a concurrent transaction is interleaved, it only makes the other transaction hit the database instead of loading the entity from the cache. Updating data While inserting entities is a rather simple operation, for updates, we need to synchronize both the database and the cache entry. The READ_WRITE concurrency strategy employs a locking mechanism to ensure data integrity: The Hibernate Transaction commit procedure triggers a Session flush The EntityUpdateAction replaces the current cache entry with a Lock object The update method is used for synchronous cache updates so it doesn’t do anything when using an asynchronous cache concurrency strategy, like READ_WRITE After the database transaction is committed, the after-transaction-completion callbacks are called The EntityUpdateAction calls the afterUpdate method of the EntityRegionAccessStrategy The ReadWriteEhcacheEntityRegionAccessStrategy replaces the Lock entry with an actual Item, encapsulating the entity dissembled state Deleting data Deleting entities is similar to the update process, as we can see from the following sequence diagram: The Hibernate Transaction commit procedure triggers a Session flush The EntityDeleteAction replaces the current cache entry with a Lock object The remove method call doesn’t do anything, since READ_WRITE is an asynchronous cache concurrency strategy After the database transaction is committed, the after-transaction-completion callbacks are called The EntityDeleteAction calls the unlockItem method of the EntityRegionAccessStrategy The ReadWriteEhcacheEntityRegionAccessStrategy replaces the Lock entry with another Lock object whose timeout period is increased After an entity is deleted, its associated second-level cache entry will be replaced by a Lock object, that’s making any subsequent request to read from the database instead of using the cache entry. Locking constructs Both the Item and the Lock classes inherit from the Lockable type and each of these two has a specific policy for allowing a cache entry to be read or written. The READ_WRITE Lock object The Lock class defines the following methods: @Override public boolean isReadable(long txTimestamp) { return false; } @Override public boolean isWriteable(long txTimestamp, Object newVersion, Comparator versionComparator) { if ( txTimestamp > timeout ) { // if timedout then allow write return true; } if ( multiplicity > 0 ) { // if still locked then disallow write return false; } return version == null? txTimestamp > unlockTimestamp : versionComparator.compare( version, newVersion ) < 0; } A Lock object doesn’t allow reading the cache entry, so any subsequent request must go to the database If the current Session creation timestamp is greater than the Lock timeout threshold, the cache entry is allowed to be written If at least one Session has managed to lock this entry, any write operation is forbidden A Lock entry allows writing if the incoming entity state has incremented its version or the current Session creation timestamp is greater than the current entry unlocking timestamp The READ_WRITE Item object The Item class defines the following read/write access policy: @Override public boolean isReadable(long txTimestamp) { return txTimestamp > timestamp; } @Override public boolean isWriteable(long txTimestamp, Object newVersion, Comparator versionComparator) { return version!= null && versionComparator.compare( version, newVersion ) < 0; } An Item is readable only from a Session that’s been started after the cache entry creation time A Item entry allows writing only if the incoming entity state has incremented its version Cache entry concurrency control These concurrency control mechanism are invoked when saving and reading the underlying cache entries. The cache entry is read when the ReadWriteEhcacheEntityRegionAccessStrategy get method is called: public final Object get(Object key, long txTimestamp) throws CacheException { readLockIfNeeded( key ); try { final Lockable item = (Lockable) region().get( key ); final boolean readable = item!= null && item.isReadable( txTimestamp ); if ( readable ) { return item.getValue(); } else { return null; } } finally { readUnlockIfNeeded( key ); } } The cache entry is written by the ReadWriteEhcacheEntityRegionAccessStrategy putFromLoad method: public final boolean putFromLoad( Object key, Object value, long txTimestamp, Object version, boolean minimalPutOverride) throws CacheException { region().writeLock( key ); try { final Lockable item = (Lockable) region().get( key ); final boolean writeable = item == null \|\| item.isWriteable( txTimestamp, version, versionComparator ); if ( writeable ) { region().put( key, new Item( value, version, region().nextTimestamp() ) ); return true; } else { return false; } } finally { region().writeUnlock( key ); } } Timing out If the database operation fails, the current cache entry holds a Lock object and it cannot rollback to its previous Item state. For this reason, the Lock must timeout to allow the cache entry to be replaced by an actual Item object. The EhcacheDataRegion defines the following timeout property: private static final String CACHE_LOCK_TIMEOUT_PROPERTY = "net.sf.ehcache.hibernate.cache_lock_timeout"; private static final int DEFAULT_CACHE_LOCK_TIMEOUT = 60000; Unless we override the net.sf.ehcache.hibernate.cache_lock_timeout property, the default timeout is 60 seconds: final String timeout = properties.getProperty( CACHE_LOCK_TIMEOUT_PROPERTY, Integer.toString( DEFAULT_CACHE_LOCK_TIMEOUT ) ); The following test will emulate a failing database transaction,
hold you, and we’ll be together. Won’t that be lovely, Mama? You always took care of me even when I was stupid and bad, and now I’ll take care of you and won’t ever, ever, ever let you go. Won’t that be great? But we won’t have Sulyik. He died, Mama. When I started the treasure, the metal box in Dr. Olga’s room growled, and Sulyik ran out of a closet barking. Then the air stretched and broke, and out came all the bad little fast things. They flowed together and became the hungry smoke and came flying buzz buzz buzz, like many black bees. I stopped the treasure but it was too late. The hungry smoke buzzed and wrapped around Sulyik, and he barked and barked, and then the hungry smoke ate his head and I couldn’t do anything. I thought maybe it’s okay because there are other Sulyiks in other Moscows but it didn’t feel okay. It didn’t feel okay at all, Mama. Then the smoke barked like Sulyik, loud and sad. It barked lots while it ate all the aunts and uncles, and Dr. Olga too. Dr. Olga screamed very long and I thought maybe she wanted another Giness record but she stopped and the smoke ate her head too. After that the smoke gave up barking and whispered things, real soft like Dr. Olga. “Take, take, take from us! Steal from us! No, boy, no. No, no, no!” It ate my head last, because I was on the table and couldn’t run. When I heard it coming—”Boy! Boy! Boy!”—I ran to the castle but the castle got dark so I came back. I got real scared and I twisted the treasure very much and the metal box roared, and I ripped open the air between the castle and Moscow, and I came through all the way, all of me everywhere. I tried using my body again but it didn’t work. The hungry smoke ate my head after all. It didn’t even hurt because I was everywhere at once. Don’t worry about me, Mama. It’s okay. Sorry about Moscow. I couldn’t help all the aunts and uncles and boys and girls and grandmas and grandpas. Sorry about the blood and the screaming. It makes me want to cry but I don’t have any tears. I don’t think crying would help anyway. I couldn’t protect everyone but at least I protected you. The smoke won’t get into the apartment, don’t you worry, Mama. I think it’s real angry cause we tried to steal from its Moscow, and it gets smarter when it eats heads like when I read books, but you’ve got me and I’m smart too, and I’m everywhere. I have to catch the hungry smoke now. I hope I can use Dr. Olga’s metal treasure-box and stretch the air, and send it all home. Then I’ll come for you. You just hold on. Zhenya * Mama, I caught much hungry smoke and sent it home. I promised we wouldn’t steal from other Moscows again but it just yelled, “Slide the curve! Blast the boy! Twisted metric!” It sounded like Uncles and Aunts and Grandpas and Grandmas and little kids too, happy and sad and angry and calm. I think maybe eating all those heads wasn’t so good for it. I think maybe it got confused. I’m home, Mama. I sit next to you right now, here on the couch. Do you feel my fingers on your back? See the curtains move? It’s me, Mama. Smile, Mama. Please, why won’t you smile? Once I catch the last of the smoke, we’ll be together for good. We can even go to Paris like you always wanted. I don’t think the smoke got to Paris. But before that, can you help me? Look outside the door. I left Sulyik there. His fur is sticky and his head is gone. Can you wash him Mama? Can you bury him in the garden under the linden tree? When everyone died I thought I was sad but I wasn’t sure. There are many Moscows and this is only one Moscow, so why is it important anyway? But then I remembered Sulyik. There was only one Sulyik who mattered, in the end. That means there will always be only one Sulyik. I will remember him, all of I, for sure. Sulyik taught me that. Even being qantumikal I can still know things for sure. Zhenya (your son, all of I, for sure)Microsoft continues to add new games to the Xbox One's backwards compatibility program. Major Nelson has announced that four titles are coming to the library today, including Bloodforge, Mars: War Logs, Gripshift, and Go! Go! Break Steady. Bloodforge is now playable on Xbox One In other news about Xbox One backwards compatibility, Microsoft said this week that the response to this feature has been "overwhelming." To date, users have spent more than 100 million combined hours playing backwards-compatible games on Xbox One. Today's new additions bring the total number of titles in the backwards compatibility program to 213. Microsoft also teased that "many more" are coming in the future. We can only hope that Red Dead Redemption, which became playable on Xbox One due to an "error" earlier this year, is officially released into the program at some point. You can see all of the titles in the Xbox One backwards compatibility lineup here. What games would you like to see added in the future? Let us know in the comments below.The Cleveland Browns will have an unusual final 53-man roster. It appears the team will keep at least seven receivers; coach Mike Pettine said it could be eight. That’s a very high number. I’m predicting the team keeps only two quarterbacks as well — but that is based on Johnny Manziel being healthy. The Browns had 12 draft picks. Not all of them will make the team. Here's a predicted 53-man roster coming out of the preseason and heading into Saturday's roster moves.: QUARTERBACK (2) Josh McCown Johnny Manziel This assumes Manziel’s elbow is OK. If so, he’s the backup and the Browns roll the dice with two quarterbacks. If not, the Browns have to figure a way to keep a third. Do not discount the possibility that they bring in a different No. 3 after cuts, especially if Matt McGloin is cut by the Raiders. RUNNING BACK (3) Terrance West Isaiah Crowell Duke Johnson The coaching staff loves Shaun Draughn, but the Browns can make it work with these three backs. FULLBACK (1) Malcolm Johnson. There are high hopes for this sixth-round pick. It's a projection due to the time Johnson missed with a shoulder injury. TIGHT END (3) Gary Barnidge Jim Dray E.J. Bibbs Bibbs did too much right not to keep him. He’s a tight end who might be able to do something with the ball after the catch. Rob Housler just didn’t do enough to earn a spot. WIDE RECEIVER (7) Dwayne Bowe Brian Hartline Andrew Hawkins Taylor Gabriel Travis Benjamin Marlon Moore Terrelle Pryor Vince Mayle is not included because he didn’t earn it. This is one negative on Ray Farmer’s drafting — in two of the best receiver drafts in a long time, he wound up with a slow guy who had trouble catching the ball. Pryor’s spot is based on a projection. If it went off what he did in preseason, he’d be cut. But the team sees potential in him, and playmaking, so they give him a chance. As for Bowe and not Josh Lenz, Bowe is guaranteed $9 million. That demands production from him. He stays. OFFENSIVE LINE (8) Joe Thomas Joel Bitonio Alex Mack John Greco Mitchell Schwartz Cameron Erving Andrew McDonald Vinston Painter Coaches were impressed with the quiet professionalism and attitude of McDonald. Painter’s versatility gives him a spot. The starting five are solidly locked in. DEFENSIVE LINE (8) Randy Starks Danny Shelton Desmond Bryant John Hughes Xavier Cooper Billy Winn Jamie Meder Armonty Bryant Obviously I was wrong in assuming before camp opened that Phil Taylor would have a spot but Winn would not. Good for Winn for proving me wrong. Dylan Wynn did a lot right, but there’s a numbers game here and he just misses. Bryant’s versatility and playmaking ability earn him the final spot, though it’s at line and not linebacker. OUTSIDE LINEBACKER (4) Paul Kruger Scott Solomon Barkevious Mingo Nate Orchard Mingo’s fast recovery from knee surgery helps solidify the depth at this spot. Solomon had a strong third preseason game. INSIDE LINEBACKER (3) Karlos Dansby Craig Robertson Chris Kirksey Not much debate needed here. These are all quality players. Rookie Hayes Pullard heads to the practice squad. One caveat: The Browns' backup offensive line hardly distinguished itself all preseason. If the team decides to keep seven instead of eight, a spot opens up here for Tank Carder. CORNERBACK (6) Joe Haden Tramon Williams K'Waun Williams Justin Gilbert Pierre Desir Charles Gaines The Browns won’t give up on Gilbert this early. But they need to see him contribute more. K’Waun Williams is a quality player, but he also seems injury-prone. That must be a concern. Gaines improved every day of camp and preseason. SAFETY (5) Tashaun Gipson Donte Whitner Johnson Bademosi Ibraheim Campbell Jordan Poyer Campbell was very impressive. He has a future if he continues to grow. Bademosi makes it for his special-teams ability. SPECIALIST (3) Travis Coons Andy Lee Charley Hughlett Coons won the preseason competition with Carey Spear to be the place-kicker, but the Browns will take a long look at any veterans released in final cuts. Lee will be one of the team’s most important weapons as the punter.SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Let’s end the talk that the Carolina Panthers should pursue former Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne. At least for now. Despite losing No. 1 wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin to a season-ending knee injury on Wednesday, the Panthers appear content with the nine receivers currently on their roster. They aren’t looking at Wayne, who wasn’t re-signed after 14 seasons in Indianapolis. “No," coach Ron Rivera said on Thursday, when asked if the Panthers were shopping for a receiver. “We feel real good about who we have right now. We really do. We’ll see. Former Colts star Reggie Wayne is available, but he might not be the best fit for the Panthers at receiver. AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi “We’ve got plenty of time. We’ve just got to be patient with them. Wayne is intriguing. His 1,070 career catches for 14,345 yards and 82 touchdowns are more than the combined total of Carolina’s remaining receivers. Devin Funchess, Corey Brown, Ted Ginn Jr., Jerricho Cotchery, Jarrett Boykin, Mike Brown, Damiere Byrd and Paul Browning have a combined 826 career catches for 11,325 yards and 59 touchdowns. Wayne also is 36, set to turn 37. He no longer has his biggest asset, speed. The Panthers have plenty of speed in Ginn and Brown. The Panthers also have a veteran leader in Cotchery, 33. They don’t need Wayne. They need one of their current players to step up, with Funchess being the most likely candidate to replace Benjamin because of his size (6-foot-4, 228 pounds) and speed. “We drafted Devin for a reason. You want to have a big, quality receiver, and Devin gives us that still,’’ Rivera said. “We’ve got to find answers for that, whether it’s a player stepping up or it’s by committee. But we’ve got to find the solution, and we will because we’ve got plenty of time right now.’’In fact, Lenin was far from dead. He used the months in Finland to lay new, ambitious plans. By mid-September, he felt bold enough to slip back into Russia and take up the fight again, this time preparing his lieutenants for a Bolshevik seizure of power. The operation took place on Nov. 7, and that same day the streets of Petrograd were littered with leaflets announcing the triumph of Lenin’s new Soviet regime. But questions about finance have a way of haunting history’s great men. Lenin relied on secrecy; the Germans let him down. At the end of 1917, Germany’s foreign minister, Richard von Kühlmann, gloated about his country’s role in November’s Bolshevik coup. Berlin, he said, had long schemed to subvert Russia. The challenge had been to find a person who could do the job. The Germans had backed a range of hopefuls, from Finnish nationalists to Central Asian jihadists. “It was not until the Bolsheviks had received from us a steady flow of funds through various channels,” Kuhlmann explained in a frank memorandum, “that they were in a position to build up their main organ, Pravda, to conduct energetic propaganda and to extend the originally narrow basis of their party.” Lenin’s bank records were scrupulous enough. He protested that he had snubbed every agent the Germans sent him. He insisted (rightly) that his party had triumphed by giving voice and shape to real passions and despairs. Still, cash had been essential. In the summer of 1917, the British estimated that it would cost them 2 million pounds a month to match Lenin’s propaganda effort. The high price had to take account of Bolshevism’s genuine appeal, but even Lenin knew that newspapers and posters did not print and distribute themselves. That’s where the condoms and lead pencils come in. Lenin could not risk accepting direct bribes, but it was easy for Berlin to supply his agents with commodities and then forget to send the bill. Goods were exported to Denmark (which was legal), the packaging was changed (illegal), and then they were resold to countries where imports from Germany were banned. Part of the profit found its way into the Bolsheviks’ coffers via businesses in Stockholm. A key part here was played by Yakov Fürstenberg, the manager of a Scandinavian-based import-export company whose directors, Alexander Helphand and Georg Sklarz, were known agents of Germany. Though Lenin publicly disdained Helphand, Fürstenberg was one of his closest contacts, his north European fixer. “Lenin’s entry into Russia successful,” the German spy chief in Stockholm reported to his masters in April 1917. “He is working exactly as we would wish.” But it was Lenin who would win the high-stakes gamble in the end. The kaiser and his ministers were swept away, but Lenin’s empire went from strength to strength. As he had put it years before: “Sometimes a scoundrel is useful to our party precisely because he is a scoundrel.”Ivan Ivanovich has the kind of face that holds a smile whether or not he’s happy. His frame is slightly hunched, his cheeks red, his hands ice cold and coarse. His coat is at least two sizes too large, and his boots look too heavy. Despite the smile the 82-year-old is angry. “Boar, go home, you ****!” he shouts, bringing a long stick down hard on the boar he has domesticated after finding it injured in the wild. It squeals. In its haste for food the beast bolted out of the yard, sparking a chase. Ivanovich may be elderly, but he can still swing a stick with venom – and, mysteriously, given where he has lived all his life, he appears to be a picture of health. Ivanovich and his wife, Marya, live in the Chernobyl exclusion zone, in a corner of an abandoned village called Opachychi. Visitors must pass through two armed checkpoints, the first of which involves a passport check, and then a locked gate, opened only on request by another armed guard. Ivanovich grows corn and potatoes, and in early winter he spends his days cracking open chestnuts, harvesting corn and cutting timber. The biggest challenge facing Ivanovich right now, he says, is figuring what to do with a television his son brought him, because there is no electricity in his home. Ivanovich is part of a community of about 200 samosely, or illegal settlers, who have defied time and science to eke out a life in this isolated and ever-dangerous restricted zone, a wilderness the size of Luxembourg. When the area around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant was emptied, following the meltdown on April 26th, 1986, several hundred people, mostly villagers worrying for their livestock and crops, crept back to their homesteads in the months and years that followed. Since then they have lived outside Ukrainian society in a place where the natural world has slowly taken back control. A 15-minute drive farther into the zone, the returnees, many of whom are widowed women, congregate around a grocery and canteen that sells flagons of cheap local beer, disposable razor blades and dried pork and fish. Outside, packs of friendly dogs crowd around, hoping for the corner of a discarded chocolate bar. One settler who lives by himself is able to pick up his government pension every two weeks from Chernobyl town centre. Sarcophagus The nuclear disaster was the worst of its kind in history, releasing 400 times the amount of radiation released in the bombing of Hiroshima, at the end of the second World War. The bodies of the workers charged with sealing the reactor in the hours and days after the 1986 explosion melted from the inside out. The disaster continues to have consequences for more than four million people in Ukraine, Belarus and western Russia. Many settlers have died from cancers and tumours. Driving closer to reactor number four, trees part to reveal the remains of the model city of Pripyat. It was built in the 1970s not for locals but to accommodate the Soviet Union’s finest minds and their families, tasked to work at the nuclear power plant. Designed by some of the best architects at a state university in St Petersburg, Pripyat was meant to represent a utopian vision of what communism could be, work and social life perfectly balanced and intertwined. During the city’s brief lifetime only one crime was recorded, for the reason that no one ever wanted for anything. When the authorities ordered its evacuation, 36 hours after the blast, 50,000 people – almost the population of Waterford city – were bussed out of Pripyat. They expected to return after three days. Now it looks and feels as if it might be the last intact sliver of Soviet life, distilled in a spring day 31 years ago as residents prepared for International Workers’ Day. Despite the bucolic nature of life for the samosely, day-to-day living is far from easy. Many who at the time of the disaster were already in their 50s failed to get used to life in the towns in which the government resettled them. A social stigma of being an “exposed person”, a community apart, also developed, and many yearned for their quiet village homes. A problem since then, however, has been that, because there are no schools inside the zone, their children have been forced to leave to get an education – and few have returned. Curfew “Some wolves killed four dogs in the village two years ago. I last heard them howling in the woods a few weeks ago,” he says, pointing over his right shoulder. “It was at night, and it was frightening. I recently found bones out there.” Winter is the safest time to visit, as snow helps to keep the radiation in the soil, according to our guide, but one of the most dangerous things to touch is the ubiquitous moss; left to its own devices over decades, it now covers buildings, signposts and abandoned cars. “On the asphalt roads we are okay, but step off it and you put yourself at risk,” she says. “Nature is ruthless.” Guides are checked for radiation poisoning at least four times a year. As we drive past a section of road in the so-called Red Forest from where the stadium-like sarcophagus is visible in the distance, someone’s Geiger counter starts to beep. Then another, and another. Within 10 seconds the bus is filled with the sound. The counters soon quieten down, but with the entire region predicted to remain dangerous for 3,000 years there’s not much in the way of nervous laughter going around. For those worst affected by the disaster, their skin began to burn and the white-blood-cell count in their bones fell rapidly, increasing their risk of infection. Those not affected by the initial blast of radioactive dust would have experienced a latent period of up to a month. Many thought they had escaped. They soon realised otherwise. Although his son lives in a nearby city, Ivanovich says that, at 82, he may need around-the-clock care at any time; living where he does, the logistics of getting him out in an emergency would be fraught with difficulty. But perhaps the most troubling fallout of the catastrophe for the people of Chernobyl is that their children and grandchildren are elsewhere. Before the accident Opachychi was home to more than 600 people, plus cats, dogs, chickens and ducks. As elderly settlers have died in the years since then there has been no one to replenish the communities. There are now barely more than half as many settlers as there were 10 years ago. A way of life in one of the world’s most unusual environments may soon disappear. Out of breath from being given the runaround by his boar, Ivanovich, blue eyes ablaze, rests his hands on his stick. The pig is finally back in its pen. “I must eat him,” he says, watching it gulp down its food. “I’m old now. And there’s nothing else I can do with him.”You wouldn’t want to get on James Edward Avery’s bad side. The self-described “gay, progressive Razorback,” who lives on Mason Mill Road in the shadow of Emory University, has raised the ire of his neighbors with a display of accusatory signs targeting everyone from former Vice President Dick Cheney to “Hitlery” Clinton to the retired couple who once lived across the street. The handwritten polemics are surrounded by inflatable decorations — mostly blow-ups associated with Halloween and Christmas. But there’s also a black cross with stuffed reindeer hanging from its flanks. Avery, 50, describes himself as the community Lorax, named after the irascible Dr. Seuss character But neighbors say they’ve had enough. “People are afraid to walk past his property,” wrote Bobby Rasulina in a complaint sent to DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis. “His balloons are causing financial harm to property owners trying to sell or rent homes in the neighborhood.” DeKalb’s Code Compliance Division spokesman Burke Brennan said the department has received numerous complaints about Avery. “People have reached a point of frustration,” Brennan said. Code enforcement representatives met with Avery on Oct. 12 regarding violations, which include nailing signs to trees and displaying signage that exceed 6 square feet. Avery, who had relented after running afoul of the code compliance division in the past, said this time he wants his day in court. “I want to stand in front of a judge because I have freedom of speech,” said Avery, who’s due in court Nov. 27. Even if he’s found guilty of the violations, there’s not much, beyond issuing fines, the county can do. “In the grand scheme of legal offenses, a signage violation isn’t even a misdemeanor,” Brennan said. And Avery, who accuses the county of selectively enforcing codes, said he’s eager to fight. Meanwhile, his neighbors are desperate for relief. “We as a neighborhood need your assistance in protecting our property values, integrity of our personal beliefs and safety of the families in the neighborhood,” Rasulina said in his letter urging Ellis to intervene.RITUAL circumcision is an abomination. But the bizarre practice of sucking the blood from a genitally mutilated infant after the foreskin is removed is even more horrific – even deadly. According to a report yesterday in the New York Times, prosecutors are investigating the death of a newborn boy who died in last September after contracting herpes after he was subjected to: Ritual circumcision with oral suction. Brooklyn district attorney, Charles J Hynes, confirmed that the investigation was continuing, but declined to comment further. The cause of death of the 2-week-old boy, who died at Maimonides Hospital in Brooklyn on September 28, was Type 1 herpes. The ritual of oral suction — or in Hebrew, metzitzah b’peh — is practiced almost exclusively in ultra-Orthodox communities and, to a lesser degree, in Orthodox Jewish communities, despite efforts by the city to curtail it and educate communities about its health risks. The procedure occurs during the circumcision ritual of the bris, as the practitioner, or mohel, removes the foreskin of the penis and then sucks the blood from the wound to clean it. In 2003 and 2004, the city reported three cases of Type 1 herpes that were linked to circumcision, involving a boy on Staten Island and twin boys in Brooklyn, one of whom died. The procedures were done by one mohel, Rabbi Yitzchok Fischer, who was later prohibited from performing the ritual in New York City. According to the NYT report, the authorities have not determined the identity of the mohel in the most recent case, but since the death they have been trying to work with the Hasidic community. In 2004, after the death of the twin, the Brooklyn district attorney tried to open an investigation but received little cooperation within the community, according to a person with knowledge of the case who spoke on the condition of anonymity because it was not brought to trial. Roughly two-thirds of newborn boys in the city’s Orthodox communities are circumcised with metzitzah b’peh, said Rabbi David Zwiebel, the executive vice president of Agudath Israel of America, who said he was using a calculation based on religious school enrolment figures. He said that the mohels in the Hasidic community were cognisant of hygiene and that there were things they could do to reduce the risk of herpes without ending the practice. The rabbi said: In 2005, Mayor Michael R Bloomberg assembled rabbis throughout the city to try to persuade them to move away from metzitzah b’peh. But they said that the practice was safe and that there was no definitive evidence that it caused herpes. Rabbi David Niederman of the United Jewish Organization in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, said at the time: The Orthodox Jewish community will continue the practice that has been practiced for over 5,000 years. We do not change. And we will not change. But in the Bronx on Tuesday, the mayor talked about the medical examiner’s findings in the most recent death, which was also investigated by the health department. There is probably nobody in public life who fights harder for the separation of church and state than I do, but I just wanted to remind everybody: religious liberty does not simply extend to injuring others or putting children at risk. And we will continue working with the community and others to prevent more baby boys from suffering these tragic fates. Hat tip: Remigius and IvanFor other people with the same name, see Arthur Fletcher (disambiguation) Arthur Allen Fletcher (December 22, 1924 – July 12, 2005) was an American government official, widely referred to as the "father of affirmative action" as he was largely responsible for the Revised Philadelphia Plan. Life and career [ edit ] Arthur Fletcher, a Republican, graduated from Washburn University and obtained a degree from distance learning school La Salle Extension University.[1] Fletcher moved with his wife, Bernyce, and two youngest children to Pasco, Washington, where he took a job with the Hanford Atomic Energy Project. He also organized a community self-help program in predominantly black East Pasco and landed a seat on the Pasco City Council. In 1968, Fletcher ran for Lieutenant Governor of Washington State and narrowly lost to the incumbent, John Cherberg. Fletcher was the first African American in Washington as well as the West to contest a statewide electoral office.[2] During the campaign, his driver and bodyguard was Ted Bundy, the serial killer who was active in Republican Party politics in the late 1960s through the early 1970s.[3] Fletcher's close race for Lieutenant Governor got the attention of newly elected President Richard Nixon, who gave Fletcher a job in the incoming administration as Assistant Secretary of Labor. An African American, he served in the Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and George H. W. Bush administrations.[4] In 1978, Fletcher ran for mayor of Washington, D.C., but was defeated by the popular Democrat Marion Barry.[5] In 1995, he briefly pursued a bid for the Republican presidential nomination.[6] Numbers of his fellow Republicans were often at odds with the affirmative action policies which Fletcher initiated[7] and supported as the chairman from 1990 to 1993 of the United States Commission on Civil Rights. As head of the United Negro College Fund, Fletcher was rumored to have coined the famous slogan, "A mind is a terrible thing to waste."[8] In point of fact, however, the motto was created by Forest Long, of the advertising agency Young & Rubicam, in partnership with the Ad Council.[9] Fletcher was a United States Army veteran during World War II and upon his death in 2005 was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.[10]Posted by JumpyPants As the avalanche of McNutjob's lies continues to take down the mountain of his reputation, he and his team are now lying about truly insane shit. The latest, in an eerie echo of the "Gore invented the internet" lie the GOP played like a fiddle in 2000: that McCain is responsible for the invention of the BLACKBERRY! Asked what work John McCain did as Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee that helped him understand the financial markets, the candidate's top economic adviser wielded visual evidence: his BlackBerry. "He did this," Douglas Holtz-Eakin told reporters this morning, holding up his BlackBerry. "Telecommunications of the United States is a premier innovation in the past 15 years, comes right through the Commerce committee so you're looking at the miracle John McCain helped create and that's what he did." As Reed Hundt at TPM points out, BlackBerries are made in Canada, by a Canadian company, Research In Motion, that has absolutely nothing to do with telecom laws in John McNutjob's America: "John McCain is so out of touch that his economics adviser thinks he deserves credit for creating a Canadian company." Out of touch? Full of shit? Senile? One thing is clear: UNFIT.CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois education officials say the elimination of some requirements for teacher licenses has streamlined the licensing process and hasn't sacrificed the state's high standards. The Chicago Tribune reports the changes to the licensing laws began in 2011. Some allow aspiring teachers to bypass certain coursework and exams. Some administrators said those changes have helped fill jobs in areas with teacher shortages. But advocates for tough licensing standards said eliminating coursework and testing requirements may not guarantee educators have the credentials needed to work in public schools. "What's interesting is that when there is a shortage in, say, nursing, no one thinks of taking away a requirement," said Phillip Rogers, executive director of the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification. "For some reason it is always fair game to make adjustments in the licensing and certification of teachers." The Illinois State Board of Education reports there were more than 1,000 open positions statewide for the 2017-2018 academic year, though that's less than 1 percent of total teaching positions. In some past years, data has shown more than 2,000 unfilled positions. "There have definitely been a number of changes in the last few years," said Nicole Wills, a lobbyist for the Illinois Education Association. "Sometimes I think we just need to have a moratorium so that we can actually see what we've been implementing and what we're doing well." ___ Information from: Chicago Tribune, http://www.chicagotribune.comJean Donaldson woke up on the night of Jan. 22 and noticed that her right arm felt weak. “I assumed I had had a stroke,” she said. Donaldson had suffered bleeding in the brain. She was admitted to the emergency room at Eagle Ridge Hospital in Port Moody. The former clinical neuropsychologist still has a hard time believing what happened next. “I was moved from the emergency room proper on a gurney to the lobby and there were four other gurneys there with screens around them. I was there for a total of 36 hours,” Donaldson said. “There were no call buttons. I remember getting some medication – that was the only water I was given. I just sort of lay there. After 30 hours, I managed to get off the gurney and into my scooter and rustled a toothbrush and a washcloth and used the public washroom to brush my teeth and wash my face.” She says she spent 36 hours in the hospital lobby, next to the gift shop. In a cruel irony, Donaldson’s bed was set up beneath a plaque honouring her for the donations she had made to the hospital. “I was lying under plaques that list people’s lifetime contributions to Eagle Ridge Hospital – and I was lying right under my name,” Donaldson said. Donaldson’s story was discussed during question period in the legislature on Wednesday. “Why does this government believe that it’s OK for vulnerable seniors to languish in the lobby, outside a hospital gift shop, while waiting for a bed?” NDP MLA Selina Robinson asked. “It is, in fact, the case that wintertime is busy. We know that. The members opposite would seem to think that they, had they had the opportunity, would build capacity to 150 per cent to accommodate the busiest days of the year and leave hospitals half-empty the rest of the year – good stewardship of taxpayers’ money,” Health Minister Terry Lake said. Since Donaldson’s incident five weeks ago, more hospital beds have opened up to deal with overflow from the ER, according to Fraser Health. Donaldson said her story is part of a much bigger problem. “I’m angry at the provincial government. I’m angry that there isn’t funding for hospitals.” “I’m not on Christy Clark’s radar,” she said. “I don’t think she cares about people like me. I’m not sure she cares about this situation.” – With files from Rumina DayaNo More! No! Not tonight! This son of bitch, all night he, "Check. Check. Check." This son of a bitch, He trap me! …He beat me... Straight up... Pay him... Pay that man his money. – Teddy KGB, Rounders (1998) Off the strip in Vegas and away from the tweeting Offshore bookmakers, many American sports bettors still utilize a ‘local.” Simply put, a Cash and Carry agent is someone who fronts gambling accounts with baked in lines of credit. Usually validated through personal references, it isn’t too hard to know a guy, who knows a guy, regardless of where you live. There are many benefits to keeping your action within your own neighborhood. Dealing exclusively in cash is always convenient, as is the increased betting limits many locals guys will offer. These ‘locals’ don’t solicit. You will never catch them online posting “sharp” action or line movement. You find them, they don’t find you, that’s how their client base grows. The face to face nature of paying on Tuesday and collecting Thursday essentially spawns a relationship, whether we like it or not. The brutal truth is, “they” already know everything about us, win lose or draw. Personally, I don’t care if my guy knows my yearly income or home address, just as long as he doesn’t think I’m a square, we’re cool. In the gambling industry you are defined more by your wins and losses rather than on the merits of how life savvy you are. Only in the world of sports betting can a guy with a nice house, solid job and loving family be labeled a square and a loser. American society is stuck on the image of a gambler being a lone wolf, confided in smoking rooms, with nothing to do Monday morning. While that might be true for a certain demographic, I challenge you to walk around your cities metropolitan area Monday afternoon, around lunchtime. It will not be hard to eavesdrop on a few guys in suits talking about their weekend wages. If you don’t hear, “I lost 15 grand on the Packers yesterday,” outside of some law office or financial center, you’re not listening hard enough. The point is, your high powered lawyer, or shady accountant who bills you at two grand an hour, is probably one of the biggest squares your local has, and they fucking hate it. Being wildly successful in other avenues of life but failing at this one speaks more too how hard this business is, rather than how unsophisticated your lawyer, accountant or sales rep’s are. Landing a local guy to book your action is a lot like securing a new job. You are with your firm for as long as you or they desire, the relationship only stops if either of you are unhappy with one another. Granted your local won’t have an HR hotline for you to complain about mistreatment, but some do offer “customer service” numbers, although I can’t speak to their compassion or confidentiality agreements. Just like at your day job, nobody wants to be bagged “the fuck up.” You’d be surprised how deep some people get with their local Cash and Carry agents. Finding a reliable guy and in return getting reliable gamblers is surprisingly quite difficult. So when there’s a match, it tends to stick. It’s not that uncommon to hear stories of guys inviting the bookies to their weddings or hosting them for the holidays, many of us have an “Uncle Frank.” Losing hurts, but knowing that your “friends” know you lost hurts a little more. I think when you back out the anonymity of offshore, there is a true sense of embarrassment having to face your losses to people you know.
game.. what we’re doing in the Next EverQuest.. the experience is going to be very different, revolutionary kind of different, and we want to make sure it has it’s own place.. and the Next EverQuest is not supposed to be set it a particular time.. think of the star trek movie.. the recent star trek was a reimagining of the startrek universe. with the same core characters, that sort of thing.. that’s kind of what we have in mind, but something really radical, and it’s gonna be really awesome ) The simple answer is, we have a completely knew idea for the world of Norrath.. we have something.. it’s not something we can easily build into EQ1 or EQ2.. these are games that people play.. like EQ1, yes it’s changed, but it’s still the same core game.. and EQ2 is still the same core game.. what we’re doing in the Next EverQuest.. the experience is going to be very different, revolutionary kind of different, and we want to make sure it has it’s own place.. and the Next EverQuest is not supposed to be set it a particular time.. think of the star trek movie.. the recent star trek was a reimagining of the startrek universe. with the same core characters, that sort of thing.. that’s kind of what we have in mind, but something really radical, and it’s gonna be really awesome ( Jethal ) BTW.. Smed and I talked before the show.. and that’s pretty much all he can say about EverQuestNExt.. ) BTW.. Smed and I talked before the show.. and that’s pretty much all he can say about EverQuestNExt.. (Smed) Sorry.. (Jethal) Now we have a question from “Chuina” from Crushbone.. “Can we give crafters a better chance to compete with the Store Bought appearance gear.. as a jeweler I feel I should be able to show others my skill” ( Smed ) Our intent, with the store.. is to give variety, but not the best items in game.. the intent is to always make the crafters very relavant, expecially in EQ2.. we’ve put a lot of time into the crafting interface and into the tradeskills in general, and we want to make sure that they have some of the best stuff in game. I think the question is leaning toward saying “hey, we cant make as good of stuff” and what I would say is.. There’s probably always going to be in element of that feeling, but we always strive to put in awesome stuff for crafters to make them relevant in the game. ) Our intent, with the store.. is to give variety, but not the best items in game.. the intent is to always make the crafters very relavant, expecially in EQ2.. we’ve put a lot of time into the crafting interface and into the tradeskills in general, and we want to make sure that they have some of the best stuff in game. I think the question is leaning toward saying “hey, we cant make as good of stuff” and what I would say is.. There’s probably always going to be in element of that feeling, but we always strive to put in awesome stuff for crafters to make them relevant in the game. ( Elquin ) well, there was all that formal wear, when you build your faction up with the Coldains, I’ve got a lot from doing the Shawl Quest, it’s a bunch of formal ware and it’s really nice stuff ) well, there was all that formal wear, when you build your faction up with the Coldains, I’ve got a lot from doing the Shawl Quest, it’s a bunch of formal ware and it’s really nice stuff ( Jethal ) I think it looks great ) I think it looks great (Smed) our intent with the marketplace is to put variety that you dont see in game, but to make the in-game stuff cooler, just to make some of the marketplace stuff cool too, and people who want to chose that route can, but you dont have to. (Jethal) Tilaru of Antonia Bayle (EQ2) asks.. Why does Sony set up zones that require higher gear to overcome, than it drops as a reward? ( Smed ) My answer is.. we shouldn’t. I think in our last update in Gu60, we had some that were alittle bit too formittable for the gear, we fixed that as soon as we could.. but we dont feel that’s the situation any longer.. but it should. ) My answer is.. we shouldn’t. I think in our last update in Gu60, we had some that were alittle bit too formittable for the gear, we fixed that as soon as we could.. but we dont feel that’s the situation any longer.. but it should. ( Elquin ) I’m running into that problem now.. I know what she means.. I went and I did all the public quests, and I have the best public gear I could, but in order for me to continue on with some of the instances like the ascent, the pools, and stuff.. when they’re looking for people to join their group, they’re always asking what your Critical Mitigation is, and in order to increase my crit mit, I have to get yellow adornments for my gear, and I really dont want to spend my shards, but I dont want to use my shards on gear I’m just going to be throwing away as soon as I get my ry’gorr.. so I’m spending up enough so I can join groups so I can save up shards for the gear I really need. ) I’m running into that problem now.. I know what she means.. I went and I did all the public quests, and I have the best public gear I could, but in order for me to continue on with some of the instances like the ascent, the pools, and stuff.. when they’re looking for people to join their group, they’re always asking what your Critical Mitigation is, and in order to increase my crit mit, I have to get yellow adornments for my gear, and I really dont want to spend my shards, but I dont want to use my shards on gear I’m just going to be throwing away as soon as I get my ry’gorr.. so I’m spending up enough so I can join groups so I can save up shards for the gear I really need. ( Jethal ) then it comes back to the question about re-using adornments! ) then it comes back to the question about re-using adornments! ( Elquin ) well you really dont wanna reuse the shards I’m using.. if I was spending 10 shards a peice for the yellow adornments to get some of my crit mit up enough to be acceptable to groups going into these shard run instances, I mean.. ) well you really dont wanna reuse the shards I’m using.. if I was spending 10 shards a peice for the yellow adornments to get some of my crit mit up enough to be acceptable to groups going into these shard run instances, I mean.. ( Smed ) just to let everyone know.. we are in the middle of re-itemizing ALL items from 20-90, and we’re going to make the content in the game more valid for the loot chests, and thats something that’s gonna happen.. it’s fair to say that what you’re saying IS accurate and something we wanna to fix. ) just to let everyone know.. we are in the middle of re-itemizing ALL items from 20-90, and we’re going to make the content in the game more valid for the loot chests, and thats something that’s gonna happen.. it’s fair to say that what you’re saying IS accurate and something we wanna to fix. (Jethal) and there’s also going to be the re-tooling.. if you have sword that has Dex, but you want strength.. you’re going to be able to retool it soon (Jethal) Kaindah of Oasis (EQ2) asks.. What is your Favorite Class? ( Smed ) Swashbuckler.. ) Swashbuckler.. What development in EQ2 are you the most proud of? ( Smed ) In my opinion, the tutorial was about the best part, as far as getting new people into the game.. I know that’s not gonna be a popular answer, but the reason I’m proud of that, is because.. even though a lot of EQ1 players was “yah yah yeah, why do I have to go through this stupid thing” we were able to get a lot of new people into the game and really get them through content and understanding what an MMO is.. I feel really good about that. and the reason is.. let’s face it EQ1 was a very hard and arcane kind of thing to get into and we really wanted to go out of our way to get some polish in there. I’m also proud of the great job we did with the questing and voice over. Now, could we have done better? absolutely, I also like Battlegrounds and Tradeskill instances, that was very well done, but also lacked a lot of polish. ) In my opinion, the tutorial was about the best part, as far as getting new people into the game.. I know that’s not gonna be a popular answer, but the reason I’m proud of that, is because.. even though a lot of EQ1 players was “yah yah yeah, why do I have to go through this stupid thing” we were able to get a lot of new people into the game and really get them through content and understanding what an MMO is.. I feel really good about that. and the reason is.. let’s face it EQ1 was a very hard and arcane kind of thing to get into and we really wanted to go out of our way to get some polish in there. I’m also proud of the great job we did with the questing and voice over. Now, could we have done better? absolutely, I also like Battlegrounds and Tradeskill instances, that was very well done, but also lacked a lot of polish. Would you come help me in a tradeskill instance for my Ry’Gorr Armor book? ( Smed ) I dont think i’d be very much assistance, is the best way I can put that ) I dont think i’d be very much assistance, is the best way I can put that ( Jethal ) would you be more of a hindrance? ) would you be more of a hindrance? ( Smed ) that’s putting it mildly ) that’s putting it mildly ( Elquin ) are you saying you’re glad tradeskill machinery doesn’t kill people anymore? ) are you saying you’re glad tradeskill machinery doesn’t kill people anymore? (Smed) I think I’m saying that.. I’m good at killing things (Jethal) EQ2X.Freeport.Curel asks, “Do you have any suggestions for individuals that are interested in getting into the MMO Business and possibly be as great of a success as yourself?” ( Smed ) This is a good question because this is something I feel passionately about, I’m a big believer in working your way up.. I began my gaming life when I was 18 years old, programing video games, I was a programer, and I worked my ass off.. If you want to be in the Online Gaming business, I guarentee you, you can be in it, even if you have a monicom of talent, you just have to be willing to work your way up. what I would do is apply.. it’s easy to get a job as a CS Rep, or a Q/A Rep.. that is almost exclusively where we hire from.. I like the fact that at SOE we promote from within, and that works out well cause we get people who’ve been in the front lines and worked their way up and it works very well, so apply at our company, and that’s not me just saying “oh just apply”.. we’re really good about getting passionate people in our company.. and people who really want to eventually find a way in, by getting to know someone on the team, by emailing, then they let you know there’s a job opening.. and it’s just a great company to work for and a lot of fun ) This is a good question because this is something I feel passionately about, I’m a big believer in working your way up.. I began my gaming life when I was 18 years old, programing video games, I was a programer, and I worked my ass off.. If you want to be in the Online Gaming business, I guarentee you, you can be in it, even if you have a monicom of talent, you just have to be willing to work your way up. what I would do is apply.. it’s easy to get a job as a CS Rep, or a Q/A Rep.. that is almost exclusively where we hire from.. I like the fact that at SOE we promote from within, and that works out well cause we get people who’ve been in the front lines and worked their way up and it works very well, so apply at our company, and that’s not me just saying “oh just apply”.. we’re really good about getting passionate people in our company.. and people who really want to eventually find a way in, by getting to know someone on the team, by emailing, then they let you know there’s a job opening.. and it’s just a great company to work for and a lot of fun ( Jethal ) Brasse is a great example of that ) Brasse is a great example of that (Smed) Perfect example.. in fact, I personally was the one who wanted to get her in. People in our community frequently work for SOE. it’s the kind of job you have to Want to be in the business, and it’s an enormously fun and rewarding position to be in. making games. It’s not always what people expect.. they think they’re gonna coming as a tester and they say “oh I get to play games all day” not really.. you get to repeat the same bug 50 times in a row, figuring out what causes it.. but that’s how you pay your dues. I encourage them to go for it, anything is possible (Jethal) Andriella of Antonia Bayle (EQ2) asks.. When will Planetside2 Beta open? Also comments that she is very appreciative of the interaction we players get with the SOE Team ( Smed ) First off, thank you so much for being appreciative and we certainly do our best, I dont think the players realise that this is not just a part of our job, this isnt just our job, this is what we like about the jobs we have.. I thoroughy enjoy interacting with our players. I personally answer almost ever email that I get.. and.. I know the dev team feels the same way. We dont always get nice emails and more often than not, if a person can write a relatively decently worded explaination of something, even if it’s a problem, we will both answer it and do our best to fix it. Some times we get Flame Mails, I dont mind that as long as there’s not a lot of cuss words.. and that part can be tough some times. On Planetside Beta.. it’ll be up sooner than people think, but I cant give a date yet.. we’re hard at work on it right now ) First off, thank you so much for being appreciative and we certainly do our best, I dont think the players realise that this is not just a part of our job, this isnt just our job, this is what we like about the jobs we have.. I thoroughy enjoy interacting with our players. I personally answer almost ever email that I get.. and.. I know the dev team feels the same way. We dont always get nice emails and more often than not, if a person can write a relatively decently worded explaination of something, even if it’s a problem, we will both answer it and do our best to fix it. Some times we get Flame Mails, I dont mind that as long as there’s not a lot of cuss words.. and that part can be tough some times. On Planetside Beta.. it’ll be up sooner than people think, but I cant give a date yet.. we’re hard at work on it right now ( Jethal ) speaking toward the flames and stuff.. just so people know, I did recieve quite a few more questions that than we’re gonna cover, but some of them where damned right rude, and I’m not going there.. more than once, and I told you this offline.. I got “EverQuest2 sucks, and what are you gonna do about it?” ) speaking toward the flames and stuff.. just so people know, I did recieve quite a few more questions that than we’re gonna cover, but some of them where damned right rude, and I’m not going there.. more than once, and I told you this offline.. I got “EverQuest2 sucks, and what are you gonna do about it?” ( Smed ) I dont care, if someone thinks EQ2 sucks.. i’ll say “Great.. rather than asking what I’m gonna do to fix it.. tell me what you think we should do to fix it”. People out there who just wanna be negative and say “this game sucks, that thing sucks”.. tell us what you would do to fix it, tell me what you want, we’re giving you the game we think is great, and if players need more or need differnt things, we need to hear about it ) I dont care, if someone thinks EQ2 sucks.. i’ll say “Great.. rather than asking what I’m gonna do to fix it.. tell me what you think we should do to fix it”. People out there who just wanna be negative and say “this game sucks, that thing sucks”.. tell us what you would do to fix it, tell me what you want, we’re giving you the game we think is great, and if players need more or need differnt things, we need to hear about it ( Jethal ) and that’s one of the great things I love about your team, and that’s not me kissing your ass.. I dont kiss ass.. but, we bring up things on this show, cause we know your team listens on a regular basis.. and I dont go “Oh this is wrong, that’s wrong! what’s you gonna do about it” I always try to give constructive critisism, like “Ya know.. this isnt working out how I think it should.. this is how you can make it better..” ) and that’s one of the great things I love about your team, and that’s not me kissing your ass.. I dont kiss ass.. but, we bring up things on this show, cause we know your team listens on a regular basis.. and I dont go “Oh this is wrong, that’s wrong! what’s you gonna do about it” I always try to give constructive critisism, like “Ya know.. this isnt working out how I think it should.. this is how you can make it better..” (Smed) people would be surprised to know that most of the team actually plays the game, and there’s a list a mile long of things we’re working on and we got X number of people and X amount of time to get things done in, while we there are all these things wrong.. we also have to put in new content.. or one of the these things that is “wrong” is we’re not putting out content fast enough. So, it’s a very interesting thing that we have to manage, the player expectation vs what we know what gotta get done, and there’s always 10 million thing to get done. (Jethal) SeanGuy (unknown) asks.. Dear Smed, would you… Please consider bugbears or aviaks as playable races for EQ2? ( Smed ) Yes, we would consider it.. would it be any time soon? probably not.. it’s a lot of work and we have a lot of things on our plate ) Yes, we would consider it.. would it be any time soon? probably not.. it’s a lot of work and we have a lot of things on our plate Please consider mailing more than one item at a time? ( Smed ) this has been on the wishlist for a while now.. we avoid it because the mail system we have now needs upgrading and that needs to be done first. We’ve got a few other things in line ahead of that. The ability to send multiple items at a time would be cool ) this has been on the wishlist for a while now.. we avoid it because the mail system we have now needs upgrading and that needs to be done first. We’ve got a few other things in line ahead of that. The ability to send multiple items at a time would be cool Please consider tinkered hand grenades with knockback? ( Smed ) that’s a very fun idea, and we’ll put that on the list ) that’s a very fun idea, and we’ll put that on the list ( Jethal ) I was saying for a long time on the show that i’d love to see exploding arrows ) I was saying for a long time on the show that i’d love to see exploding arrows ( Smed ) god, that’s a staple in D&D ) god, that’s a staple in D&D ( Jethal ) and not long after I suggested it BOOM.. we have exploding arrows ) and not long after I suggested it BOOM.. we have exploding arrows (Smed) ya know, a lot of the people who make the game, play the game. we’re in this business cause we love it and it’s fun.. and yet, exploding arrows and hand-grenades are baddass, and these are things we want to get done and is fun when we get to do some of them ( Jethal ) before I continue with the questions, I need to ask you something on a professional level ) before I continue with the questions, I need to ask you something on a professional level ( Smed ) sure.. ) sure.. ( Jethal ) would you OFFICIALLY declare that Lera, on the Antonia Bayle Server, is indeed a Frostfell Elf ) would you OFFICIALLY declare that Lera, on the Antonia Bayle Server, is indeed a Frostfell Elf ( Smed ) Lera? oh wow.. ) Lera? oh wow.. ( Jethal ) you saw Lera at the fanfaire, the santa hat.. the frostfell backpack.. and always going on and on about frostfell.. she just said in the OGR channel “I am not a frostfell elf” I need you to officially declare that Lera is a Frostfell Elf ) you saw Lera at the fanfaire, the santa hat.. the frostfell backpack.. and always going on and on about frostfell.. she just said in the OGR channel “I am not a frostfell elf” I need you to officially declare that Lera is a Frostfell Elf ( Smed ) but, it sounds like she doesnt believe she is one ) but, it sounds like she doesnt believe she is one ( Elquin ) but, Domino believes she is.. ) but, Domino believes she is.. ( Smed ) oooo now you’re making this hard.. ) oooo now you’re making this hard.. ( Jethal ) The OGR Chat channel is going wild with “Do It! Dot It!” ) The OGR Chat channel is going wild with “Do It! Dot It!” ( Smed ) she’s officially a Frostfell elf ) she’s officially a Frostfell elf ( Jethal ) there we go! ) there we go! ( Smed ) final decision by the way ) final decision by the way ( Jethal ) ok, I want me and Elquin to be quiet and I want you to offically state “Lera, you are a Frostfell Elf” ) ok, I want me and to be quiet and I want you to offically state “Lera, you are a Frostfell Elf” (Smed) Lera.. You are Frostfell Elf.. Deal ( Jethal ) now I have it, I’m gonna put it as a hot key on my sound fx board.. lera has been offically declared a frostfell out ) now I have it, I’m gonna put it as a hot key on my sound fx board.. lera has been offically declared a frostfell out (Smed) there ya go (Jethal) Matia (unknown) says:I know your kids like Free Realms, but are they also looking forward to any of the newer titles that are upcoming, and if so, which ones? ( Smed ) my kids have the advantage have the advantage and the heavy disadvantage of living with me so they get to see a lot of stuff before every body else.. my son is looking forward to Planetside 2.. my daughters are looking forward to some cool stuff coming up in FreeRealms that we havent told anyone else about.. and, I have not even shown myown children EverQuestNext.. that’s how quiet we’re keeping it ) my kids have the advantage have the advantage and the heavy disadvantage of living with me so they get to see a lot of stuff before every body else.. my son is looking forward to Planetside 2.. my daughters are looking forward to some cool stuff coming up in FreeRealms that we havent told anyone else about.. and, I have not even shown myown children EverQuestNext.. that’s how quiet we’re keeping it ( Jethal ) wow ) wow ( Elquin ) wow ) wow ( Jethal ) not even your own kids? ) not even your own kids? ( Smed ) I have not shown it to my kids, it’s something that I’m keeping from them because my son a alittle to prolific, he actively plays EQ2.. though I trust him to keep his mouth shut, I’m making sure of it ) I have not shown it to my kids, it’s something that I’m keeping from them because my son a alittle to prolific, he actively plays EQ2.. though I trust him to keep his mouth shut, I’m making sure of it (Jethal) damn, I was gonna try to get them on the show next week! (Jethal) Mykei (unknown) asks..Will EQ1 see an offine bazzar like EQ2, where you dont have to be online 24/7 to sell something? (Smed) we’re doing some R&D on it.. and I cant promise it yet, but it’s on the list (Jethal) Jack (unknown) asks.. I’d like to know if SOE is going to continue the trend of free to play with premium memberships rather than subscription based on all their games in the future? Is the market really swaying that way enough to warrant that? ( Smed ) that is a very interesting question. the short answer is Yes, we’re going to continue free to play in the future, and could we move some current games that way? maybe.. there are no immediate plans.. we’re really talking about this stuff for our future games, but we have some other games like Vanguard, we’re exploring some stuff with. But, I beleive this trend is going very strongly in this direction.. and let me give some shout outs.. they’re not really direct competition, but, Legue of Legends.. the guys at Riot Games are really good at what they do, and they did a terrific job on Legue of Legends and they have a very interesting business model.. it’s kind of a different form of F2P.. if you dont want to pay for anything, you dont have to, you can play for free forever. I like that business model a lot. Now. it’s not an easy business model to adapt to something that requires a team size that we’ve got, and a complex MMO infastructure, it’s easier when you have one game.. this is a constant subject of discussion.. we are and people notice that we add more and more microtransaction, but I like to balance that with future games, looking closer at the subscription fees.. one size doesnt fit all and not every game will have one particular business model, and it is something we’re looking at. ) that is a very interesting question. the short answer is Yes, we’re going to continue free to play in the future, and could we move some current games that way? maybe.. there are no immediate plans.. we’re really talking about this stuff for our future games, but we have some other games like Vanguard, we’re exploring some stuff with. But, I beleive this trend is going very strongly in this direction.. and let me give some shout outs.. they’re not really direct competition, but, Legue of Legends.. the guys at Riot Games are really good at what they do, and they did a terrific job on Legue of Legends and they have a very interesting business model.. it’s kind of a different form of F2P.. if you dont want to pay for anything, you dont have to, you can play for free forever. I like that business model a lot. Now. it’s not an easy business model to adapt to something that requires a team size that we’ve got, and a complex MMO infastructure, it’s easier when you have one game.. this is a constant subject of discussion.. we are and people notice that we add more and more microtransaction, but I like to balance that with future games, looking closer at the subscription fees.. one size doesnt fit all and not every game will have one particular business model, and it is something we’re looking at. ( Elquin ) if people get the station pass. for what, $20 you can play ALL the SOE games ) if people get the station pass. for what, $20 you can play ALL the SOE games ( Smed ) actually, it’s $19.99 but if you pay for a full year, it’s $14.99 ) actually, it’s $19.99 but if you pay for a full year, it’s $14.99 ( Elquin ) if you break that down between all the SOE games, that’s incredible ) if you break that down between all the SOE games, that’s incredible ( Smed ) we think so too ) we think so too ( Jethal ) that’s an incredible deal ) that’s an incredible deal (Smed) our plan is to put that it other games as well. we’re looking at some non SOE games now too, and it’s a great bargin that we think is very cool. (Jethal) Cheddarella of Antonia Bayle (EQ2) Comments.. I’d like to see the Cherry Blossom Trees in the Plane of Knowledge (eq1) continue to bloom until the disaster in Japan is trully over and everyone has returned home. (Smed) I think that’s an excellent idea and I will talk to the team about that.. I go to Japan all the time, well every three months, until the disaster happened and that really hit home. Some of our friends and colleges in Tokyo have family effected.. a Sony factory got half filled up with flood waters.. it’s a tough thing, so anything we can do help is something we want to do. (Jethal) Butcherblock.Autotune asks, “Question about the PS2 EverQuest games- will we ever See an import/adaptation to be playable on the PS3?” ( Smed ) I cant say no.. but I cant say we’re actively working on it ) I cant say no.. but I cant say we’re actively working on it ( Jethal ) so.. maybe ) so.. maybe (Smed) i’d put that on the doubtful, but posible list (Jethal) We did touch alittle bit on the recent live event.. ( Smed ) Yeah, we blew that real bad.. Sorry, there’s nothing we can do but apologize.. we screwed that up ) Yeah, we blew that real bad.. Sorry, there’s nothing we can do but apologize.. we screwed that up ( Jethal ) I’ll say this.. Gninja was in game for hours and hours and hours ) I’ll say this.. Gninja was in game for hours and hours and hours ( Elquin ) six or seven hours on the weekend ) six or seven hours on the weekend ( Smed ) ya know, we have a great team. we made a mistake, and our goal is to not let that happen again, and we really apologize for that ) ya know, we have a great team. we made a mistake, and our goal is to not let that happen again, and we really apologize for that ( Elquin ) the main focus is.. it was something that everyone doing together on each server as a main goal and that was fantastic.. and gninja was in there afterward, and personally taking each person and manually updating them one at a time for six or seven hours, above and beyond the call of duty. ) the main focus is.. it was something that everyone doing together on each server as a main goal and that was fantastic.. and gninja was in there afterward, and personally taking each person and manually updating them one at a time for six or seven hours, above and beyond the call of duty. ( Jethal ) that was a fantastic responce as far as I’m concerned, instead of just taking it all down again and scraping it.. SOE tried very hard to fix the matter as fast as you could, and we appreciate that ) that was a fantastic responce as far as I’m concerned, instead of just taking it all down again and scraping it.. SOE tried very hard to fix the matter as fast as you could, and we appreciate that ( Elquin ) you guys always try to make this right in the end.. people just need to have alittle patients and have alittle faith ) you guys always try to make this right in the end.. people just need to have alittle patients and have alittle faith (Smed) I really appreciate that.. we had egg on our face from that one, it was embarrassing, yeah.. let’s just apologize, fix it on a go-forward basis and we want to do more live events, it’s fun to watch we know the players love it and we just need to make sure mistakes like that dont happen. (Jethal) Lazaretto, EQ2/Vanguard asks.. I’m a long time EverQuest and Vanguard player. Can you comment on your plan for Vanguard going forward? Does Vanguard have a future? ( Smed ) It does have a future, hopefully, a bright one.. and we expect to be doing updates for it, we’re in the middle of assigning personal to that and executing that.. and we’re going to make that plan clear to the Vanguard player base and our goal is to start pushing Vanguard much harder. We think it’s a great game, it’s complicated based on the people we have in the company, some who were key to that are now working on other things. and some of the people we lost, and I don’t mean in a lay-off.. I mean they’re just gone from the company. so, it’s alittle harder than it first seemed.. but we have our hands around it now and we’re actively working on it. ) It does have a future, hopefully, a bright one.. and we expect to be doing updates for it, we’re in the middle of assigning personal to that and executing that.. and we’re going to make that plan clear to the Vanguard player base and our goal is to start pushing Vanguard much harder. We think it’s a great game, it’s complicated based on the people we have in the company, some who were key to that are now working on other things. and some of the people we lost, and I don’t mean in a lay-off.. I mean they’re just gone from the company. so, it’s alittle harder than it first seemed.. but we have our hands around it now and we’re actively working on it. ( Jethal ) personally that’s something we where hearing a lot at fan faire, when they were saying good byes to SWG.. a lot of the scuttlebutt was “is vanguard next? ) personally that’s something we where hearing a lot at fan faire, when they were saying good byes to SWG.. a lot of the scuttlebutt was “is vanguard next? (Smed) it’s not..and yea know, it’s interesting.. Star Wars Galaxies.. it’s a different scenerio because the game is licensed.. and with EverQuest.. for example.. EQoA for the PS2.. most of your players have never even heard of it.. never had a sub base.. a bit of an experimental title. released around the same time they released the network adapter for the PS2.. so saying it was ahead of it’s time is being polite. that game is still up and running.. the only other game we ever turned off was the Matrix.. and that was not our title to begin with and it never really got off the ground.. we got it as part of a DC deal. Our core EQ titles and Vanguard, which is not ours, are not things we wanna turn off.. our intent is to run them as long as they’re viable. At some point, if you’re not updating the game.. you just keep the lights on and keep up wth CS.. but with Vangard, there’s a real posibility to bring new people into the game and we want to do that, we want to update the game and ad some new content and fix some things and we think people are going to be pleased. (Jethal) that brings me to this.. its a subject I bring up every year at fan faire and I get different answers from different people.. and that’s.. advertising ( Smed ) sure! ) sure! ( Jethal ) the last time I saw an EverQuest was when the plane of knowledge was released, I was watching Independance Day in a movie theater and I saw an EQ trailer. but that’s the last time ive seen any evequest advertising ) the last time I saw an EverQuest was when the plane of knowledge was released, I was watching Independance Day in a movie theater and I saw an EQ trailer. but that’s the last time ive seen any evequest advertising ( Smed ) oh, there’s advertising all over the place, there has been for a long time, you have to be in the right place at the right time to see it.. when are existing players are complaining about advertising it’s because they want to see more people come in to the game.. we have a very good ad program that we’re scheduling for later this year for EQ2, I think you’ll be pleased with it, and we want to bring a lot more players into the game ) oh, there’s advertising all over the place, there has
as outreach to communities and how we should be, you know, building those bridges. They have not said whether—well, yeah, we want you doing that, but we also want you doing this stuff that the NYPD does. I mean, the federal government, you know, spends hundreds of millions of dollars a year on the NYPD. A lot of this stuff was done in collaboration with, you know, senior CIA officers. The CIA has trained NYPD officers. They get federal money for these programs. They’re using federal computers for these documents. But, you know, ask Tom Perez from the Civil Rights Division what he thinks about this. I mean, you know, it was frustrating for us. I mean, he literally, you know, just doesn’t even answer the question. He just walks away. I mean, it’s hard to get an answer. I mean, a lot of people have—a lot of people who find this troubling have said, oh, you know, Pete King, congressman from New York, you know, he’s been so against it—you know, he’s come out so in favor of the NYPD. He’s saying what he believes, and you have to give—you have to give somebody credit for being willing to engage in this. These are hard conversations. You know, this is uncharted waters we’re in. And you have to give people credit for coming forward and saying, “This is what I believe. And if it’s not popular on either side, fine. This is what I believe.” I mean, what we’ve been trying to do from the very beginning is let people know what’s going on, so people can have a—so people can make informed decisions. And, you know, a lot of people, I think, are just, “We don’t even want to get involved in this. We don’t want to know. We don’t want to talk about it. We don’t want to have anything to do with it.” JUAN GONZALEZ: Matt, just quickly, even getting this document—the NYPD is notorious for resisting Freedom of Information requests. How difficult was it to get them to turn over this document? MATT APUZZO: Oh, they didn’t turn it over. I mean, you know, in the course of this reporting, we’ve received documents from a variety of sources, you know, who have done so, frankly, probably to some—with some risk to their careers, and lot of people inside the department. The majority of people who have been talking about this—you know, Ray Kelly has said repeatedly, this is disgruntled FBI guys. I mean, the FBI didn’t really even—didn’t even know about these programs. I mean, so we’ve been able—you know, we’ve been building these reports on dozens and dozens of interviews with people inside the Intelligence Division, you know, people with intimate knowledge of these programs, who’ve—you know, many of whom who say, “No, we’re not ashamed of this. This is the way you should be doing it,” and some of whom who say, “This is not what the police department should be doing.” And again, we’re just trying to get that discussion going. And frankly, I mean, here we are, six months after the first story came out, and we’re still talking about it. And, you know, we think it’s a topic worth talking about, and certainly a topic worth exploring. AMY GOODMAN: Matt Apuzzo, we have to break, but we’re going come back to this discussion. We’ll also be joined by a Harlem imam to talk about the effect of the release of the report on the surveillance on the Muslim community in New York. This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. We’re speaking with Matt Apuzzo, the AP reporter, among the team who has broken the story of a New York Police Department report saying they would be surveilling the Muslim community. This is Democracy Now! Back in a minute. [break] AMY GOODMAN: Matt Apuzzo is still with us, reporter for the Associated Press, co-author of the AP report called “Document Shows NYPD Eyed Shiites Based on Religion.” We are going to link to that at our website, democracynow.org. We’re also joined by Imam Talib Abdur-Rashid, spiritual leader at the Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood and a member of the Islamic Leadership Council of New York. Matt Apuzzo, I just wanted to go back to the issue of the CIA and the New York Police Department relationship. News recently, the CIA saying they did not approve this relationship, though a top official within the CIA, David Cohen, after September 11th, came to New York and worked high up in the—became one of the top officials in the New York Police Department. MATT APUZZO: Right. So, after 9/11, David Cohen, who was one of the top intelligence officers at the CIA, came to the NYPD as the head of intelligence, and one of the first things he did was in collaboration with George Tenet, who was the CIA director, arranged for another CIA officer, Larry Sanchez, to come to New York. Now, it is a very murky arrangement. So, George Tenet sent Larry Sanchez to New York as his personal representative. So he’s still on CIA payroll. He is still—you know, still has his CIA badge. He starts the morning at the CIA station, you know, reads all the intelligence, and then goes over to NYPD and shares it. And that is what, I think—you know, intelligence sharing is what is absolutely supposed to happen, and post-9/11, you know, that was the focus. But, I mean, what Larry also did was Larry was also the architect of a lot of these programs. I mean, you know, New York was trying to figure out how are we going to—how are we going to find these things? How to get the—you know, how are we going to these leads? How are we going to get these informants? You know, where are we going to put our undercovers? And Larry was able to bring a lot of the expertise. And a lot of the officers that we’ve interviewed, you know, said, Larry was invaluable in this, in helping us build these programs, reviewing our records. And now, that is what—that’s what we’ve sort of focused on, the CIA relationship. They also—CIA has also trained an NYPD detective at the Farm, which is the spy school in Virginia. And then, just most recently, there was another senior—one of the most senior CIA officers in the country went to New York on what the federal government called a “management sabbatical,” but what Ray Kelly said was “information sharing.” So, we don’t still really know what his job was there, but we do know it’s ending early, nine months into a one-year stint. And it sounds like, from what David Petraeus said before Congress yesterday, that that sort of relationship isn’t going to continue. They’re going to find some new way to collaborate and share information. But it doesn’t sound like they’re going to be sending anybody back. JUAN GONZALEZ: Well, I’d like to bring the imam into the conversation. Your reaction to this continued exposure of what the New York Police Department is doing in the Muslim community, not only in New York City, but up and down the East Coast? IMAM TALIB ABDUR-RASHID: Well, we’re not surprised at all. Those of us who are familiar with the history of the NYPD, we know that there has been a longstanding tension not just between the Muslim community, but between communities of peoples of color here in New York City. And we view these latest programs, the programs that are focused on Muslim New Yorkers, as being directly related to NYPD intelligence programs of the past, the Red Squads of the 1950s and '60s, you know, focused in on political activists, except now, instead of just focusing on the political community, they're focusing on our religious community. AMY GOODMAN: Have you experienced the surveillance at your mosque, at the Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood? And also, the fact that you’re the president of the Islamic Leadership group here in New York, what people are saying, other imams? IMAM TALIB ABDUR-RASHID: Yeah, other imams throughout the city, we are positive that they are on that list. We have lawyers in our community who have seen the list. And we know for a fact that there are mosques throughout the city that have been targeted under this program. JUAN GONZALEZ: Well, you know, one of the sentences in this report that the AP uncovered says, ”FBI officials have suspected that the Alavi Foundation is using its Islamic centers as a means of penetrating the Black Muslim community to recruit sympathizers,” the Alavi Foundation being an association that has connections with the Iranian government. IMAM TALIB ABDUR-RASHID: Yes. JUAN GONZALEZ: This effort to paint the black community as being infiltrated by foreign forces? IMAM TALIB ABDUR-RASHID: Well, of course, that’s an old theme going all the way back to the 1930s. You know, government still doesn’t get it, that the African-American community is capable of its own analysis of problems, capable of organizing itself as a community. When one looks at that document, under “Ancestries of Interest,” which was one the NYPD documents, African Americans are the only American-born or indigenous group on that list. MATT APUZZO: That’s right. IMAM TALIB ABDUR-RASHID: And the whole premise is a fallacy. The African Americans, we do not have any kind of history of terrorist activity in America, in spite of the circumstances under which we came here in the first place. AMY GOODMAN: Matt Apuzzo, you are nodding your head. Talk more about that. MATT APUZZO: Yeah, yeah. So, one of the documents that we were able to obtain along the way was their “Ancestries of Interest.” And the imam is absolutely right. I mean, it’s 28 countries—almost all of them are Muslim countries—and the only—and then American Black Muslim. You know, there clearly is a concern or a viewpoint that the NYPD about Muslim converts and about African-American Muslims. You know, one of the programs we uncovered along the way was the name change program. The NYPD, basically, they data mine everybody in New York who changes their name. And if you change your name, if, you know, I’m Matt Apuzzo, and I change my name, and I take the last name Mohammed, I’m going to get looked at. And if I am—if the imam changes his name to Matt Apuzzo, he’s going to get looked at, because the concern is, well, is he trying to go undercover? Is he going to try to go—you know, is he going to try to obscure his identity? And the feeling on that was that, you know, oh, well, if somebody is taking a Muslim name, maybe they’re becoming more religious, they’re becoming, you know, potentially more violent. And if they’re Americanizing their name, you know, just as generations of immigrants have done, if they’re Americanizing their name, well then maybe that Muslim is trying to avoid scrutiny and try to blend in. And so, you’d get a background check. You’d get put in a police database. And depending on who was doing the analysis and at what time in the program this was, you might get a visit from the NYPD just to ask you about why you were changing your name. IMAM TALIB ABDUR-RASHID: You know, listening to this, this helps me to understand that one of the bases for this current activity is actually the 2007 NYPD report on so-called homegrown radicalization. And back then, the Muslim American Civil Liberties Coalition challenged many of the premises that are in that report as to how they identify, you know, Muslims who were being, quote-unquote, “radicalized.” And they fought the coalition then, those of us in the Muslim community, who were you’re saying to them, “This is not right. This gives the wrong impression.” They smugly dismissed our criticisms now. Now we find out that they actually built programs based on these false premises in the first place. JUAN GONZALEZ: And Matt, I’d like to ask you just briefly—am I wrong, or have I been witnessing a increasing sort of division between the FBI and the New York Police Department? Several times, the New York Police Department has arrested so-called terrorist suspects, where the FBI has almost disdained them as real entrapment efforts, not real terrorism cases. Do you see a growing division between the FBI and the NYPD on these matters? MATT APUZZO: Well, there is a rift, but, I mean, I actually think it gets a little bit—I mean, the rift between the NYPD and FBI is kind of a oversimplified thing. I mean, there is a rift between the FBI and the NYPD’s Intelligence Division, but I actually think, you know, the most—this most recent case, the Pimentel case, I mean, you know, I think that that might be a case of just some bruised egos on both sides. If the NYPD wants to bring a case that the FBI doesn’t want to bring a case on, I mean, certainly the NYPD can bring a case. Now, the FBI, if they didn’t want the case to be brought, they didn’t bring it. I mean, if the FBI decides they want to—I mean, the NYPD decides they want to bring it, I mean, that in and of itself I don’t think is indicative of the rift. I mean, certainly there is a division between the Intel Division and the FBI in New York. But, you know, to the imam’s point, which is, I think, fascinating, about the idea of building these programs and how—and what is effective policing, I mean, the Department of Homeland Security—I mean, Janet Napolitano and, you know, Barack Obama have talked about this very issue, globally or nationally, about how we’re going to—about what are best practices for policing. And they’re very eager to talk about it, as long as you don’t talk about New York. I mean, we have asked for months to try to talk to them about the NYPD’s programs, which federal money finances, but, I mean, we can’t get the Homeland Security Department to say, “Yeah, we are—we’re for this. This is what we want. We want this done in every city,” or, “No, we’re actually against that. We don’t want it done in any city, or actually, we only want it done in New York.” It does seem weird, right? I mean if it’s good practice, if this is good law enforcement, it should be replicated and put everywhere. And if it’s not good law enforcement, then we certainly don’t want it done in the city that is the focus of—the biggest focus of international terrorism. AMY GOODMAN: Imam? IMAM TALIB ABDUR-RASHID: Yes. You know, Amy and Juan, just a few weeks ago, there was—you did a program here on Democracy Now! in which you were highlighting the continued militarization of the police force in New York City and other major cities. And this is another example. A few years ago, under Mayor David Dinkins, he implemented a policy and approach that was called “community policing.” And, of course, under the Giuliani administration, they moved away from community policing, and now here we are in the past decade under Mayor Bloomberg and Ray Kelly. Ray Kelly has moved the NYPD completely away from community policing. And they are in fact running the NYPD as—like it’s the private army of Mayor Bloomberg. AMY GOODMAN: You’re having a protest today, Imam Rashid, down at Foley Square here in New York City. IMAM TALIB ABDUR-RASHID: Yes. AMY GOODMAN: And you’re calling for the resignation of the Police Commissioner, Ray Kelly? IMAM TALIB ABDUR-RASHID: Absolutely, the Police Commissioner and his spokesman, Paul Browne. They have continuously misled and lied to New Yorkers, generally, and Muslim New Yorkers, in particular. They’ve been caught in their lies. And the taxpayers of New York are not paying them to lie to us about what they’re doing, so we’re calling for their resignation. AMY GOODMAN: We want to thank you very much for being with us. IMAM TALIB ABDUR-RASHID: Thank you. AMY GOODMAN: Matt Apuzzo in Washington, D.C., reporter for the Associated Press, co-author of the new AP report— MATT APUZZO: Thanks, Amy. AMY GOODMAN: —called “Document Shows NYPD Eyed Shiites Based on Religion.” And Imam Talib Abdur-Rashid of the Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood and president of the Islamic Leadership Council of New York. He’ll be at Foley Square today at 3:00 in New York City—that’s the courts area of New York—leading the protest.In the 1980s, the pornographic bookshop (bad) where we bought amyl nitrate was opposite the feminist bookshop (good), where we hung around skim-reading Spare Rib and Shulamith Firestone’s The Dialectic of Sex: The Case for Feminist Revolution (1970), to try to get dates with the clever feminists, who saw through us immediately. The feminist bookshop (good) had a camera set up in its window to covertly photograph male fans of pornography (bad) coming and going from the pornographic bookshop. If this seems a depressing state of affairs, look on the bright side. In 1986, a small provincial town could still support two independent bookshops! Our purchases complete, we would stand opposite the feminists’ camera position, waving our bottles of amyl nitrate around, so the feminists would know we only wanted to get high, and not degrade women by looking at pictures of them nude. How did they resist us? Ten years ago, I inherited a vintage Singer sewing machine from my mother. During my childhood, she became expert at hand-making perfect costumes of whatever character was my current favourite. When I was five, in 1973, her Hartley Hare from Pipkins costume was perfect, functioning alcoholic eyes and all; in 1977, my mother’s Captain Britain tabard was unique, the obscure Marvel superhero being resistant to official merchandising; and I doubt there were many boys lucky enough to attend their 10th birthday party in a one-piece zip-up costume of the Welsh experimental film-maker and poet Iain Sinclair. We made our feelings understood by pointing at the EU flag lapel badges and pretending to cry, over and over again. This summer, I had planned to take the children, Six and Nine, to the United States on a once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage to pay homage to the unmarked paupers’ graves of my favourite 47 significant pre-first world war blues harmonica players. It was to be a journey I am sure they would have looked back on with some fondness, or at least tolerance, in later life at least. But I imagined a difficult American situation, where a delightful pea-soup restaurant waitress, who has been nothing other than charming this last hour, asks us in parting what we think of good ole Donald Trump, kickin’ Muslamic ass. My daughter, Six, would doubtless say “Donald Trump is a smelly poo-poo head”. It is her habit to regurgitate wholesale the adult discourse she overhears around our dinner table, without necessarily understanding it. In the ensuing conversational difficulties, we would then be gunned down by aggrieved onlookers, and hung naked from poplar trees as a warning to any other visiting snowflakes considering casting doubt on the composition and cleanliness of the 45th US president’s head. So instead of being murdered in a roadside diner, we are going on a self-guided tour of major European cities, before the administrative gates that make our access to them so easy are finally lowered in 2019, in an elaborate star-studded ceremony featuring Elizabeth Hurley, Ian Botham, Public Image Ltd and a racist calypso from DJ Mike Read. Last year, when we visited France, I made sure the children always wore lapel badges, which I bought on the internet, of the EU flag. No one would be in any doubt of our political affiliations. Any awkwardness could be immediately abated by enthusiastic lapel-gesturing. At the French holiday camp, Six and Nine made friends with some Belgian children of similar ages, Zes and Negen. And though, being English, we were unable to speak any foreign languages, least of all Belgian, we made our feelings about the complex pros and cons in the argument for European political and economic unity understood to the Walloons by pointing at the badges and pretending to cry, over and over again. Of course, 12 months later, the situation is much worse, and the British, or more specifically the English, have gone from being regarded by the Europeans as the cool kids who gave the world the Beatles, James Bond, and football, to being a kind of embarrassing, weird family of angry and confused hooligans, whose garden is full of used nappies, old wet copies of Fiesta Readers’ Wives, and rusted tricycle frames. A man on a secondhand record stall in the street market of a Pyrenean village last summer pretended he was not going to sell me a first pressing of Catherine Ribeiro’s 1972 classic Paix, despite my EU badge, due to assumed political differences. “Ah, Brexit,” he said, “no seminal stream-of-consciousness Parisienne street-poet space rock for you, monsieur!” But the tension was palpable. We needed to raise our game. I realised I could use my mother’s sewing machine to clothe my very family itself, this summer, in unambiguously pro-European Union garments, exactly the sort of bespoke outfits we would need to ensure safe passage across the continent in these troubled times. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Illustration by David Foldvari. The McCall’s Patterns M5500 Children’s Knight, Prince and Samurai Costumes kit, which I found for $8.91 on the internet, had the basic shapes I needed for my pro-European Union suits. And while European Union patterned dressmaking material is not available in and of itself, European Union flags 15ft square are available for about £1.50 each online. These were the tools! By upscaling the size of the patterns I was also able to provide templates for my wife and I, and by the end of June I had cut and stitched four perfect medieval-style European Union two-pieces for us to wear as we make our way across divided Europe. For headgear, I copied our clearly pro-EU queen, and wove plastic yellow daisies in European Union star formations into the brims of four blue wickerwork hats. Four pairs of blue-and-yellow trainers set off our ensembles perfectly. In Germany, the still extant Wanderjahre tradition sees young people wander the country for a fixed period, dressed in stovepipe hats and bell-bottoms, singing for their sausage suppers in inns and bars. This, I realised, could be the model for our ritual journey, our pilgrimage of contrition. Six plays the French horn, Nine is a skilled oboist, and I own a theremin, while my wife can shriek. I have arranged a version of the song I Apologize by the 1980s Minneapolis hardcore punk band Hüsker Dü for our family quartet, and I plan to spend the summer performing it in our pro-European garb at a succession of significant European sites. And when their children, standing in the ruins of ravaged Britain, ask my children what they did to try and sabotage Brexit, they can answer, “We stood outside the Stasi Museum, and Notre-Dame, and the astronomical clock, clad in European Union costumes that our father stitched himself, and used our oboe and our horn to apologise.” Stewart Lee is touring his new show, Content Provider, throughout 2017Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings. June 2, 2016, 12:29 PM GMT / Updated June 2, 2016, 12:29 PM GMT By Herb Weisbaum The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed new rules on Thursday designed to end what it calls “payday debt traps” by requiring lenders to make sure a borrower can repay that loan before approving it. The new rules would cover a variety of small-dollar loans marketed to financially vulnerable consumers, such as payday loans, auto title loans (where the vehicle is used as collateral), high-cost installment and open-ended loans. CFPB director Richard Cordray acknowledged that people who live from paycheck to paycheck may need a loan to cover unexpected expenses or a drop in income, but he said the credit products marketed to these consumers should help them, not hurt them. “Too many borrowers seeking a short-term cash fix are saddled with loans they cannot afford and sink into long-term debt,” Cordray said in a statement. “It’s much like getting into a taxi just to ride across town and finding yourself stuck in a ruinously expensive cross-country journey. By putting in place mainstream, common-sense lending standards, our proposal would prevent lenders from succeeding by setting up borrowers to fail.” The CFPB’s long-awaited rulemaking comes after years of studying the marketplace for credit. As expected, the lenders that would be affected by the rules don’t like them. And some consumer groups aren’t entirely happy — they don’t think the CFPB went far enough. What the CFPB is proposing The CFPB wants lenders to determine upfront that a customer can afford to repay their loan without re-borrowing. The agency’s data shows that: Most people who take out a short-term payday or auto title loan roll them over when they come due or end up borrowing again within a short period of time. This turns that short-term loan into a costly long-term loan. One-in-five payday loan sequences end in default and one-in-five single-payment auto title loan borrowers have their vehicle seized by the lender for failure to repay. The proposed “full-payment test” would require lenders to determine whether the borrower can afford the full amount of each payment when it’s due and still meet basic living expenses and major financial obligations. What does full payment mean? For payday and auto title installment loans without a balloon payment, a person must be able to afford all of the payments when due. For short-term loans and installment loans with a balloon payment, they have to be able to afford the total loan, fees and finance charges without having to re-borrow within the next thirty days. The new rules would make it difficult for lenders to push distressed borrowers into refinancing the same debt, and also cap the number of short-term loans that can be made in quick succession. The proposal would allow lenders to offer some small-dollar loans with more flexible underwriting standards, if strict requirements are met. For example, there’s the “principal payoff option” on short-term loans of up to $500. The lender could offer certain borrowers up to two extensions on that loan, but only if the borrower pays off at least one-third of the principal with each extension. The CFPB also wants to prevent lenders from making repeated attempts to collect payment when the customer’s checking account has insufficient funds. This practice can result in a series of costly penalty fees. Under the proposal, lenders would be required to give their customers written notice before attempting to debit their account for any loan covered by the rules. After two straight unsuccessful attempts, the lender would be prohibited from debiting the account again unless it gets a new and specific authorization from the borrower. Reaction: Pro and con Dennis Shaul, CEO of the Community Financial Services Association of America, the trade group that represents payday lenders, said the proposed protections will hurt consumers and result in thousands of small lenders being forced out of business. “The CFPB's proposed rule presents a staggering blow to consumers as it will cut off access to credit for millions of Americans who use small-dollar loans to manage a budget shortfall or unexpected expense,” Shaul said in a statement. The CFSA also criticized the rules for not addressing the problem of illegal and unlicensed payday lenders. The American Financial Services Association, the national association for the consumer credit industry (including traditional installment lenders) also expressed disappointment. In a news release, AFSA said the CFPB proposal did not go far enough and would “harm consumers’ access to safe, responsible credit.” Consumer advocacy groups also had some criticisms. The National Consumer Law Center called the CFPB proposal “a strong start,” but said the rules need to be stronger. “The CFPB has proposed the common-sense rule that lenders should only make loans that borrowers have the ability to repay without re-borrowing,” said NCLC associate director Lauren Saunders. “However, the proposal has worrisome loopholes.” Nick Bourke, director of the Small-Dollar Loans Project at The Pew Charitable Trusts, said the ability to repay requirement does not make these loans safe. “Payday loans are harmful, and reform is urgently needed, but the CFPB’s proposal misses the mark,” Bourke told NBC News. “Installment loans at 400 percent APR are still harmful even with more underwriting. Strong CFPB rules are badly needed, but this proposal focuses on the process of originating loans rather than making sure those loans are safe and cost less.” Pew would like to see the CFPB limit loan payments to five percent of the borrower’s paycheck and set a “reasonable time period” for the term of that loan of no more than six months. The Pew Charitable Trusts has done several in-depth studies of the payday loan market. Here are some key findings from this research: Approximately 12-million Americans use payday loans each year. They spend an average of $520 in fees to repeatedly borrow $375 in credit. Payday loans are sold as two-week products for unexpected expenses, but seven in 10 borrowers use them for regular bills. The average borrower ends up in debt for half the year. Payday loans take up 36 percent of an average borrower's next paycheck, but most borrowers cannot afford more than five percent. This explains why most people have to re-borrow the loans in order to cover basic expenses. What do you think? The CFBP will be taking public comments on its proposed rules until Sept. 14, 2016. Herb Weisbaum is The ConsumerMan. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter or visit The ConsumerMan website.going after darwin Creationists have an unhealthy obsession with Darwin because they don't understand how science works. Creationists don’t like Charles Darwin. Never had. And modern times are no different as the Discovery Institute began its attack on evolutionary science through a mix of politics and pseudoscience. Energized by creationism’s sudden rise from the grave, its proponents renewed their attacks on the naturalist who penned On The Origin of the Species and began a paradigm shift in biology. They try to label him a eugenicist, pointing to a mutilated version of a questionable paragraph in Descent of Man and that a cousin of his started the movement. They assault his lack of knowledge of genetics, his woefully incomplete fossil collections. Some even go as far as to claim that he recanted on his deathbed. Which of course, isn’t true. Their attacks have one goal in mind. They want to show that evolution has to be wrong because the man behind it wasnt the benevolent visionary or the resourceful naturalist presented to the public today. To some extent, their complaints about how Darwin is presented in the scientific press have a valid point. He did indeed write some things which bear the trademark of Victorian arrogance and there are a lot of things he had to guess quite inexactly. Scientists and science writers are loath to concede that he was and is somewhat lionized because they feel accepting critiques of Darwin is to give the ID and creationist movement a needless concession and fuel for future ridicule. But this dog pile on Darwin misses the big picture and provides an insight into how creationists think. Like all good theories, evolution has outlived Darwin. He was a pivotal point, but when we discovered the structure of DNA and how to sequence it, when we started finding more fossils and began to piece all the evidence together, we found that at their core, Darwin’s conjectures were correct. The fact is that all life on Earth is built from the same genetic toolkits and shares vast swaths of DNA. We have more than 600 million years worth of evidence to see how these toolkits change with replication errors and environmental effects on DNA. We salute Darwin for directing us down the right path. But creationists think that evolution is a religious belief, just like theirs, and they use the “your-prophet-is-a-crackpot” propaganda tactic used to ridicule a competing belief. They’re sure that by making people doubt Darwin, it will somehow help them suppress the evil evolutionist religion and make people listen to their claims. It won’t negate the evidence or give their constant violations of the scientific method any sort of legitimacy. Attacking Darwin to dismantle evolution is the equivalent of disparaging Newton to negate our observations of gravitational effects in space.A Belgian court has overturned a ruling that would have forced Facebook to stop tracking non-users who had visited its pages, The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday. A Brussels appeals court found that the Belgian Privacy Commission, which brought a case against Facebook last year, does not have jurisdiction over the company’s Ireland-based European headquarters. As The Guardian reports, it also rejected a claim that the case was urgent and needed to be expedited. This reverses a decision made last year, when a court ordered Facebook to stop using cookies to keep tabs on the web browsing of people who were not logged into accounts or had otherwise opted out of tracking. The ruling was based on a report issued in early 2015, saying that Facebook placed what are known as datr cookies on the computer of any user who visited a Facebook page, then tracked every time those same users visited a page that included one of Facebook’s social plugins. Facebook has disputed the conclusions of that report, saying that the cookies are a way to distinguish spambots from actual users by checking browsing patterns. When the previous ruling was handed down, it announced that it would have to "treat any visit to Facebook from an unrecognized browser in Belgium as potentially malicious," barring anyone who was not logged in from visiting Facebook pages. "We are pleased with the court’s decision and look forward to bringing all our services back online for people in Belgium," a spokesperson said after the recent decision. The Belgian Privacy Commission, however, said it was "not happy" with the decision. "Today’s decision simply and purely means that Belgian citizens cannot obtain the protection of their private lives through the courts and tribunals when it concerns foreign actors," said a spokesperson.Bitcoin surged to a new high of $4,880 on Friday. It must have been cause for cheer among investors who bought bitcoin a year ago. Back then, the price of bitcoin was a more affordable $572 per token, according to CoinDesk — less than half the price of an ounce of gold. So, had an investor in theory decided to invest about $100 at that point, their stake would be worth about $850 today. Still, bitcoin has been a highly volatile currency, easily losing, or gaining, $200 over the course of a day. Even now, analysts such as those from investment banking giant Goldman Sachs expect the cryptocurrency to fall some time in the near future before rising once more. Bitcoin’s sudden rise has drawn comparisons to other investments that shot sky high— only to come plunging down—like tech stocks in the late 1990s and real estate in the early 2000s. That means while it’s fun to gawk at Bitcoin’s huge gains — much like gawking at PowerBall jackpots — experts say Main Street investors should stay far away. “It’s really, really not worth it for the ordinary consumer,” Matthew Elbeck, a professor of marketing at Troy University told MONEY earlier this year. Bitcoin’s advocates, however, say Bitcoin has much further to rise. Charlie Shrem, an entrepreneur and founder of the Bitcoin Foundation, recently said that he believes bitcoin is cheap at any point below $100,000. Correction: The original version of this story misstated the past and present value of Bitcoin. It closed at $572 per token on Sept. 1, 2016, according to CoinDesk, not $474 per token. It reached a record high of $4,880 per token on Sept. 1, 2017, not $4,980. The story also misstated how much a $100 purchase in Bitcoin one year ago would be worth now. It would be worth about $850, not $85,200.When Google announced plans in 2010 to build an ultra-fast network somewhere in the United States, Baltimore leaders pledged to expand the city's Internet bandwidth with or without the Internet giant. But Google passed the city by and, five years later, neither Comcast nor Verizon have offered such a network. You need to drive 45 minutes to find the nearest "gigabit city" — one where you can download a high-definition movie in a few seconds, at speeds dozens if not hundreds of times faster than many broadband Internet users are willing to pay for. "It was clear nobody else was going to do it for us," said Dr. Robert Wack, City Council president for Westminster, which lit up a fiber-optic network it has begun building for its residents and businesses this summer. As Westminster joins a growing number of communities investing in networks capable of carrying a gigabit of data each second, Baltimore appears eager to follow. Armed with the results of two recently completed studies, one of which cost the city $157,000, City Council members are calling for action. Candidates and community groups are making the issue political, as a means to improve education and create jobs in Baltimore. And a newly appointed city broadband czar is working to coordinate the discussion. But there's still no consensus on how Baltimore could become a gigabit city. It could try to cajole Verizon or another provider to invest in a citywide fiber network or build its own, as Westminster is doing and some City Council members recently suggested. Baltimore looks to spread its broadband offerings "It's very much a blank sheet of paper," said Jason Hardebeck, a veteran technology entrepreneur appointed as the city's broadband coordinator in August by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. "We just recognize that the status quo for broadband in the city is not acceptable." The fastest Internet service generally available to most Baltimore residents and businesses is about one-sixth the speed available in Westminster, but most people do
Puerto Rico and the US Virgin islands. Each satellite, about the size of an average car, not including solar panels, would weigh 850 pounds (386kg), the firm said. SpaceX rocket launches have been on hold since September following an accident that destroyed a $62m Falcon 9 booster and a $200m Israeli communication satellite. The firm hopes to resume flights next month.Dalbert opens Alex Sandro to Chelsea By Football Italia staff Brazilian reports claim Juventus are close to a deal for Nice left-back Dalbert, which would free up Alex Sandro for Chelsea. According to Globoesporte.com, the Old Lady are at a very advanced stage of negotiations with both the French club and the player’s entourage. Dalbert had already been heavily linked with Inter, but they were not prepared to meet the €15m asking price. That would not be an issue for Juve, but above all the arrival of one Brazilian left-back would mean the exit of another – Alex Sandro. “A substantial offer has arrived for Alex Sandro,” confirmed director general Beppe Marotta today. “We have no intention of selling anyone, but if a player decides to leave, as has happened in previous years, then at the end of the day he has to go, because we don’t keep anyone against their will. “But at the moment there are no such situations and I hope nobody will leave.” If the reports of advanced Dalbert talks are true, then Juventus are preparing the groundwork for a potential Alex Sandro exit, especially if the rumours of a €60m offer turn out to be accurate. The 23-year-old has a contract with OGC Nice until 2021 and has also attracted interest from the likes of Sporting CP and Inter.Pittsburgh Steelers vs. New England Patriots Results The following is a list of all regular season and postseason games played between the Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots. The two teams have met each other 32 times (including 5 postseason games), with the Pittsburgh Steelers winning 16 games and the New England Patriots winning 16 games. Series tied 16-16-0 Date Visitor Home Result Box Score 12/16/2018 12/16/18 New England Patriots NE 10 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 17 W Box 12/17/2017 12/17/17 New England Patriots NE 27 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 24 L Box AFC Championship Game 01/22/2017 01/22/17 Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 17 @ New England Patriots NE 36 L Box 10/23/2016 10/23/16 New England Patriots NE 27 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 16 L Box 09/10/2015 09/10/15 Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 21 @ New England Patriots NE 28 L Box 11/03/2013 11/03/13 Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 31 @ New England Patriots NE 55 L Box 10/30/2011 10/30/11 New England Patriots NE 17 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 25 W Box 11/14/2010 11/14/10 New England Patriots NE 39 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 26 L Box 11/30/2008 11/30/08 Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 33 @ New England Patriots NE 10 W Box 12/09/2007 12/09/07 Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 13 @ New England Patriots NE 34 L Box 09/25/2005 09/25/05 New England Patriots NE 23 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 20 L Box 2004 AFC Championship Game 01/23/2005 01/23/05 New England Patriots NE 41 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 27 L Box 10/31/2004 10/31/04 New England Patriots NE 20 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 34 W Box 09/09/2002 09/09/02 Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 14 @ New England Patriots NE 30 L Box 2001 AFC Championship Game 01/27/2002 01/27/02 New England Patriots NE 24 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 17 L Box 12/06/1998 12/06/98 New England Patriots NE 23 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 9 L Box 1997 AFC Divisional Playoff Game 01/03/1998 01/03/98 New England Patriots NE 6 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 7 W Box 12/13/1997 12/13/97 Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 24 @ New England Patriots NE 21 W/OT Box 1996 AFC Divisional Playoff Game 01/05/1997 01/05/97 Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 3 @ New England Patriots NE 28 L Box 12/16/1995 12/16/95 New England Patriots NE 27 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 41 W Box 12/05/1993 12/05/93 New England Patriots NE 14 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 17 W Box 09/15/1991 09/15/91 New England Patriots NE 6 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 20 W Box 12/09/1990 12/09/90 New England Patriots NE 3 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 24 W Box 12/17/1989 12/17/89 New England Patriots NE 10 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 28 W Box 10/19/1986 10/19/86 New England Patriots NE 34 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 0 L Box 09/25/1983 09/25/83 New England Patriots NE 28 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 23 L Box 12/26/1982 12/26/82 New England Patriots NE 14 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 37 W Box 09/27/1981 09/27/81 New England Patriots NE 21 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 27 W/OT Box 09/03/1979 09/03/79 Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 16 @ New England Patriots NE 13 W/OT Box 09/26/1976 09/26/76 New England Patriots NE 30 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 27 L 12/08/1974 12/08/74 Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 21 @ New England Patriots NE 17 W 10/22/1972 10/22/72 New England Patriots NE 3 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 33 W Date Visitor Home Result Box Score 12/16/2018 12/16/18 New England Patriots NE 10 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 17 W Box 12/17/2017 12/17/17 New England Patriots NE 27 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 24 L Box 01/22/2017 01/22/17 * Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 17 @ New England Patriots NE 36 L Box 10/23/2016 10/23/16 New England Patriots NE 27 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 16 L Box 09/10/2015 09/10/15 Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 21 @ New England Patriots NE 28 L Box 11/03/2013 11/03/13 Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 31 @ New England Patriots NE 55 L Box 10/30/2011 10/30/11 New England Patriots NE 17 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 25 W Box 11/14/2010 11/14/10 New England Patriots NE 39 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 26 L Box 11/30/2008 11/30/08 Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 33 @ New England Patriots NE 10 W Box 12/09/2007 12/09/07 Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 13 @ New England Patriots NE 34 L Box 09/25/2005 09/25/05 New England Patriots NE 23 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 20 L Box 01/23/2005 01/23/05 * New England Patriots NE 41 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 27 L Box 10/31/2004 10/31/04 New England Patriots NE 20 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 34 W Box 09/09/2002 09/09/02 Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 14 @ New England Patriots NE 30 L Box 01/27/2002 01/27/02 * New England Patriots NE 24 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 17 L Box 12/06/1998 12/06/98 New England Patriots NE 23 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 9 L Box 01/03/1998 01/03/98 † New England Patriots NE 6 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 7 W Box 12/13/1997 12/13/97 Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 24 @ New England Patriots NE 21 W/OT Box 01/05/1997 01/05/97 † Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 3 @ New England Patriots NE 28 L Box 12/16/1995 12/16/95 New England Patriots NE 27 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 41 W Box 12/05/1993 12/05/93 New England Patriots NE 14 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 17 W Box 09/15/1991 09/15/91 New England Patriots NE 6 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 20 W Box 12/09/1990 12/09/90 New England Patriots NE 3 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 24 W Box 12/17/1989 12/17/89 New England Patriots NE 10 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 28 W Box 10/19/1986 10/19/86 New England Patriots NE 34 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 0 L Box 09/25/1983 09/25/83 New England Patriots NE 28 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 23 L Box 12/26/1982 12/26/82 New England Patriots NE 14 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 37 W Box 09/27/1981 09/27/81 New England Patriots NE 21 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 27 W/OT Box 09/03/1979 09/03/79 Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 16 @ New England Patriots NE 13 W/OT Box 09/26/1976 09/26/76 New England Patriots NE 30 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 27 L 12/08/1974 12/08/74 Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 21 @ New England Patriots NE 17 W 10/22/1972 10/22/72 New England Patriots NE 3 @ Pittsburgh Steelers PIT 33 W * AFC Championship Game † AFC Divisional Playoff Game * AFC Championship Game† AFC Divisional Playoff GameTea Party protest sign compares health reform to Holocaust UPDATE: In a scene Roll Call described as “pandemonium,” police arrested a dozen Tea Party protesters outside House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office Thursday, in the midst of a Capitol Hill protest against the Democrats’ health care reform. The arrests took place outside Pelosi’s office for district business, not her main congressional office. Christina Bellantoni at TalkingPointsMemo reports that protesters heckled the police vans as they pulled away with the arrested protesters, who were charged with unlawful entry and disorderly conduct. Protesters shouted “Let them go!” and one woman reportedly said, “This is America, this is not the Soviet Union.” Bellantoni reported that rumors spread that the protesters were arrested for praying, or for tearing up pages of the proposed health care bill. “The speaker’s staff said those arrested were objecting to language in the health care overhaul that they said would allow federally subsidized abortions,” the Associated Press reported. CLIFF CLAVIN: HEALTH REFORM IS IMPORTED SOCIALISM Among the protesters at Thursday’s rally was John Ratzenberger, the actor who played Cliff Clavin on the sitcom Cheers. “These are Woodstock Democrats,” CNN quoted Ratzenberger as saying at the rally. “We have to remember where their philosophy comes from. It doesn’t come from America. It comes from overseas. It comes from socialism. And socialism is a philosophy of failure.” Matthew DeLong at the Washington Independent reported that Americans for Prosperity, a corporate-funded group that opposes the proposed health care reforms, arranged for 40 buses to ship people to the protests. ORIGINAL STORY FOLLOWS BELOW A “Tea Party” rally against health care reform on Capitol Hill Thursday featured a sign that compared health care reform efforts to the Nazi Holocaust. Numerous Republican congresspeople attended the event that was principally organized by Minnesota Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann, among them House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) and Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA), according to Eric Kleefeld at TalkingPointsMemo. “National Socialist Health Care: Dachau, Germany — 1945,” read a sign that ThinkProgress’ Lee Fang captured on camera. The image appears to show dead bodies from the Nazi holocaust piled one on top of another. Blogger Matthew Yglesias commented: “There are all kinds of nutty people in the world, but these kinds of things are the wages of a conservative leadership and media that’s consistently tried to drum up opposition to health care reform not by opposing things that are actually in the bill, but with demagogic opposition to completely fabricated provisions.” Progressive bloggers and watchdogs are linking the sign to conservative media voices who in the past have made comparisons between President Barack Obama’s health care reform agenda to “fascism” or Nazi Germany. “Fox News owns this sign,” trumpeted Matt Gertz at the media watchdog site MediaMatters. “If Republicans wonder why most Americans view them as part of the fringe extreme, they need not look beyond this event,” quipped Jed Lewison at DailyKos. MediaMatters has filed a series of reports suggesting that Fox News worked overtime to promote the protest. The group counted nine cases of Fox personalities “promoting” the protest since October 30. The group also noted that Fox News streamed the protest live on its Web site.Coming Soon The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance In this prequel to the fantasy classic, three young Gelfling inspire a rebellion against the cruel Emperor when they discover a horrifying secret. Tuca & Bertie Two bird women -- a carefree toucan and an anxious songbird -- live in the same apartment building and share their lives in this animated comedy. Antoine Griezmann: The Making of a Legend With heart and determination, Antoine Griezmann overcame his small stature to become one of the world’s top soccer players and a World Cup champion. Locke & Key After their father's gruesome murder, three siblings move into a house with magical keys that grant them powers. Adapted from the comics by Joe Hill. Leila In the forgotten margins of the segregated communities of a dystopian future, a woman searches for the daughter she lost upon her arrest years ago. Nowhere Man A strange encounter causes a man awaiting execution to experience alternate timelines, leading to his escape from prison to protect his family. Twelve Forever Twelve-year-old Reggie's desire to remain a child is so powerful that it opens up a fantasy world where she never has to grow up. Virgin River After seeing an ad for a midwife, a recently divorced big-city nurse moves to the redwood forests of California, where she meets an intriguing man.GMarshal Profile Blog Joined March 2010 United States 21994 Posts Last Edited: 2014-12-02 21:42:37 #1 Looking back at Blizzcon Its been almost a month since Blizzcon ended, but the event is still fresh in our minds. With a little more distance though, we can afford a more critical, analytic look at the event. A look at Blizzcon as what it was, both a tournament and an exhibition of the game as an Esport, for both newer and older players. We will also touch on the announcements that took place during Blizzcon, although we won't deeply analyze them, as over the last a month they have been perhaps the most popular topic of conversation. News Announcements If you followed Blizzcon, and read my I'll touch on the most important news first: Heroes of the Storm is going into closed Beta January 13th. For all the people complaining they can't enjoy the game, your plight will hopefully soon come to an end. They also announced that alpha waves have gotten much bigger in size, up to fifteen times as big, in preparation for beta. The takeaway, the game is becoming more accessible, so if you were waiting to get in to follow Heroes, now might be the time to start watching attentively. While not formally announced, it would make sense that with closed beta, they would start handing out keys to streamers and the like in order to bolster popularity. Second in importance, I think is the announcement of a ranked mode for players above level 30 and a team ranked mode for players at level 40. They also mentioned the addition of a hidden MMR as well as a public rank, with the MMR being persistent across seasons, but the rank being wiped each season. Anything that incorporates a draft and gives the opportunity for actually knowing your map before you pick your hero is a welcome addition, and having a ranked mode is an important element of keeping people playing any MOBA. It gives a sense of progression that isn't "played 1780 games". It also helps people get accustomed to how "real" or pro games will go. On the other hand, the lack of being able to ban out heroes during the draft is disappointing, even though the purported reason, to keep game length down seems pretty reasonable, it still feels like bans are a requisite part of drafts. Blizzard developers did say that they would assess and consider implementing it if they see a need though, so that bodes well for the future. Also highly relevant was the discussion of how they intend to implement a method to deal with leavers, people who leave games before they are done. Blizzard announced their intent to implement a time tested system of grouping players who leave games together in a "leaver queue", which players can earn their way out by virtue of not abandoning games. This is a good, solid addition to the game. If you followed Blizzcon, and read my Blog, feel free to skip this part, this is an overview for people who might have been more preoccupied with WCS or LotV announcements.I'll touch on the most important news first:. For all the people complaining they can't enjoy the game, your plight will hopefully soon come to an end. They also announced that alpha waves have gotten much bigger in size, up to fifteen times as big, in preparation for beta. The takeaway, the game is becoming more accessible, so if you were waiting to get in to follow Heroes, now might be the time to start watching attentively. While not formally announced, it would make sense that with closed beta, they would start handing out keys to streamers and the like in order to bolster popularity.Second in importance, I think is the announcement of a ranked mode for players above level 30 and a team ranked mode for players at level 40. They also mentioned the addition of a hidden MMR as well as a public rank, with the MMR being persistent across seasons, but the rank being wiped each season. Anything that incorporates a draft and gives the opportunity for actually knowing your map before you pick your hero is a welcome addition, and having a ranked mode is an important element of keeping people playing any MOBA. It gives a sense of progression that isn't "played 1780 games". It also helps people get accustomed to how "real" or pro games will go. On the other hand, the lack of being able to ban out heroes during the draft is disappointing, even though the purported reason, to keep game length down seems pretty reasonable, it still feels like bans are a requisite part of drafts. Blizzard developers did say that they would assess and consider implementing it if they see a need though, so that bodes well for the future.Also highly relevant was the discussion of how they intend to implement a method to deal with leavers, people who leave games before they are done. Blizzard announced their intent to implement a time tested system of grouping players who leave games together in a "leaver queue", which players can earn their way out by virtue of not abandoning games. This is a good, solid addition to the game. Finally, there were three new playable heroes at Blizzcon as well as a new playable map. Their stated goal by beta is, to have seven maps, and forty heroes available to play. The three new heroes were Jaina, a ranged assassin specializing in dealing massive damage but with mana and suitability issues. Thrall, a melee assassin with surprisingly strong survivability and insane chase potential, and Lost Vikings, a specialist whoes gimmick is that he is three individually controlled heroes. All three felt fairly strong, and Jaina in particular adds something to the game that it was lacking, a caster assassin, with sustained damage potential. The new map, Sky Temple, was a gorgeous Egyptian themed map, constructed around seizing key timed objectives defended by neutrals that strike at the enemy buildings. The map seemed really interesting, although possibly needing some tweaking. In the announced but not playable, a working but unfinished build of Sylvanas, who is a push focused specialist that is particularly good at bringing down buildings. They also showed images for three potential Diablo focused heroes, although without explicitly naming them as heroes, just showing the models. On maps, they showed Crypt of the Spider queen, a map that supposedly focuses around killing minions to collect gems which are then used to summon the Spider Queen. Images of a heaven vs hell Diablo map were shown, but no specifics were given. Tournament Overview As exciting as the announcements were, for many of us the true meat of Blizzcon are the tournaments, be it WCS, Hearthstone, or WoW Arena. For Heroes of the Storm at Blizzcon, there were two separate events, an "exhibition match" featuring well known personalities in a best of three, and a "pro-tournament" that looked to show play at high levels by gathering four strong teams sponsored by well known organizations. Neither of these featured prizes, other than glory, but the teams going into the tournament had a lot to prove. Like all tournaments, Blizzcon was not free of hiccups, there were good things, and bad things. The Good Production Value The tournament's production value was insanely high. Clearly displayed graphics illustrated what each player was playing. The stage illuminated when map objectives were fulfilled to let players know what was happening. There were medals, a closing ceremony. Everything a tournament needs to feel legitimate. The types of things smaller online cups can never hope to recreate. The reason we go to LANs. Blizzard showed that no expense was spared, and it gave players and spectators a taste of the future. The Staff I realize that some members of the community weren't super happy that Blizzcon didn't invite the best community casters, but contrary to what some of their detractors may have insisted, the casters: Cloaken and Trikslyr, did a pretty good job in explaining what was going on, and what different heroes did to people who may have never watched the game before. While they may not have been my first choice, it was clear that they were a good choice. As far as hosts go, there could have been no better choice than SchAmToo and Anna Prosser, they were truly a pleasure to have on stage. The Game Perhaps most importantly, the games played were good. Sure there were some games that ended quickly, but if anything the games served to disprove the view some spectators had coming in that once a team got ahead the game was over. It also showcased strong map movement, comebacks and generally solid play. The types of games we wish for. The types of games that are tournament worthy. Yes, even the questionable but exciting plays. The Players I'd do a disservice if I didn't mention the players. They not only delivered good games, but also provided banter, agreed to interviews, met fans, and generally gave an incredibly positive view of Heroes of the Storm players, they represented their organizations and themselves well, and for that they deserve praise. Its easy to overlook this behavior as "expected" but when a game is as young as heroes and on a stage as large as Blizzcon, this kind of attitude and behavior is critical to give a good image of the game. The Bad There are a few nitpicks that can be made of the tournament, but there are two huge faults that almost compromise the integrity of the tournament and that can never be allowed to happen again. I'm frankly surprised there hasn't been more of a controversy surrounding them, but they deserve to be mentioned, as any future tournament cannot be allowed to make these mistakes again. Banning two heroes, the day before the tournament Because Blizzard had balance concerns regarding Anub'arak and Azmodan, teams were notified the day before the tournament that these two heroes would not be available to be played. While it is both reasonable and acceptable for a tournament to make decisions because of balance concerns, especially regarding new content, players were practicing compositions featuring these two and trying to build compositions to counter them in the weeks leading up to the tournament. To suddenly pull out the rug under them like that compromises both previous practice and practical drafting experience. Both heroes were very relevant to the meta at the time, with Azmodan being a strong, if situational pick. If this decision was going to be made, players should have been notified well in advance of the tournament. One can only imagine how jarring it was for teams to be told that a large part of their preparation was suddenly invalidated. Drafting in advance of the games A fact that was not widely advertised, was the fact that all the drafts for the games were conducted in advance of the games proper. That is, as players walked into game one, they already knew the drafts for all remaining games. This is problematic in many respects. First of all, Blizzard never explicitly told the audience this, and crafted an illusion as if the draft were taking place live before each game. Being there, if I had not been told that predrafting had occurred, I would have been none the wiser. This is dishonest. Its taking a preconception the audience has "drafts take place before each game" and running with it, while doing something else. This is something that should have been explicitly mentioned and wasn't. This is unfair to the audience, and no good reason why the drafts were conducted well in advance of the games was given. It is also problematic in the ways it nullifies teams ability to adapt. Would EG have gotten outdrafted every game against C9 if they had a chance to experience how powerful Tychus was in their opponents hands before drafting Tassadar first again? Would TL have chosen Abathur on Haunted Mines if they knew how game 1 had turned out before making that selection? The ability to adapt drafts to the opponents play-style and previous games is one of the most interesting parts of any drafts. These predrafted lineups are a huge mistake, and the way they were presented to the audience felt almost intentionally duplicitous. From a competitive viewpoint, it made adapting and learning from game to game virtually impossible, instead of rewarding new strategies and adaptive play, it encouraged teams to stick to one "win or lose" strategy. In part this helps explain the 2-0 sweeps. This is a mistake that can never be repeated again. There are minor points that could be addressed, like the way the interface lacked an effective way to display talents or the minor disconnects that took place, but realistically, none of those come even close to being as absolutely instrumentally inimical to the integrity of the tournament as these. Let us learn from these mistakes so that they don't happen again. The Recap All that said, the meat of the tournament, the games, were absolutely worth watching. Strong players, exciting games, clutch holds, and unexpected turnarounds. Without further ado, lets talk about the games! Semifinal 1 Game 1 \| Game 2 The tournament kicked off with one of the stronger teams in the alpha EG facing off against the proverbial underdogs in Fnatic. EG came into the event with a lot of confidence, with their captain LzGaMeR stating that they were the team to beat in his pregame interview. On the flipside Fnatic’s captain Aceofspades, who usually plays for European powerhouse mYinsanity, could only say that his team had a chance to win and that they would try their best. The lack of confidence was understandable, as Fnatic had only played together as a team for seven days prior to the event. Many expected the series to be a one sided affair, but in fact it delivered some exciting games that were the perfect start to the event. Fnatic was able to jump out to early kill leads in both games, showing great individual skill and forcing mismatched teamfights. Time and time again Fnatic bullied EG across the map with superior numbers, and it seemed that predictions of a thrashing in favor of EG was not in the cards for this series. Throughout all of this early pressure EG remained calm, confident in their late game teamfighting and the ability of LzGaMeR’s Abathur to keep them even or ahead in experience with powerful splitpushing. Fnatic failed to properly cope with the splitpush, and as they took small advantages elsewhere on the map LzGaMeR was able to push all the way to Fnatic’s core. All that said, the meat of the tournament, the games, were absolutely worth watching. Strong players, exciting games, clutch holds, and unexpected turnarounds. Without further ado, lets talk about the games!The tournament kicked off with one of the stronger teams in the alpha EG facing off against the proverbial underdogs in Fnatic. EG came into the event with a lot of confidence, with their captain LzGaMeR stating that they were the team to beat in his pregame interview. On the flipside Fnatic’s captain Aceofspades, who usually plays for European powerhouse mYinsanity, could only say that his team had a chance to win and that they would try their best. The lack of confidence was understandable, as Fnatic had only played together as a team for seven days prior to the event. Many expected the series to be a one sided affair, but in fact it delivered some exciting games that were the perfect start to the event.Fnatic was able to jump out to early kill leads in both games, showing great individual skill and forcing mismatched teamfights. Time and time again Fnatic bullied EG across the map with superior numbers, and it seemed that predictions of a thrashing in favor of EG was not in the cards for this series. Throughout all of this early pressure EG remained calm, confident in their late game teamfighting and the ability of LzGaMeR’s Abathur to keep them even or ahead in experience with powerful splitpushing. Fnatic failed to properly cope with the splitpush, and as they took small advantages elsewhere on the map LzGaMeR was able to push all the way to Fnatic’s core. Evil Geniuses 2-0 Fnatic Series MVP: LzGaMeR – His play on Abathur was the reason EG was able to cope with Fnatic’s early aggression and come out the other side ahead in experience and structures. X-factor: Team Experience - Fnatic showed flashes of brilliance during both games, but in the end their map movement and teamfighting left a little bit to be desired. Despite being down early, Evil Geniuses played their strategy well and moved as one, punishing every late game mistake with practiced ease. Semifinal 2 Game 1 \| Game 2 (Cannot find VOD) (Cannot find VOD) While not as mismatched on paper as the previous series, TL was considered the favorite heading into their series against Cloud 9. Since their inception they had been performing extremely well in the few tournaments they participated in, generally only falling to Symbiote Gaming. By contrast, Cloud 9 was a bit of an enigma, flying under the radar with a few unknown players (in the Heroes scene) and almost no public information about their practice or strategies. We got our first glimpse of this matchup in a As the games went on Fnatic ran out of steam, and EG was able to capitalize on positioning errors and miscalculated teamfights from their opponents. From there it was a simple matter of pushing for the win as the death timers had grown too long for Fnatic to contest. This series featured almost no variation in the draft between games; the same ten heroes were played in the both games of the series with Rehgar, Nova, Uther, and Falstad changing hands between games 1 and 2. Both teams clearly felt confident in their picks and bans, but EG’s experience and coordination carried them through to victory.Series MVP: LzGaMeR – His play on Abathur was the reason EG was able to cope with Fnatic’s early aggression and come out the other side ahead in experience and structures.X-factor: Team Experience - Fnatic showed flashes of brilliance during both games, but in the end their map movement and teamfighting left a little bit to be desired. Despite being down early, Evil Geniuses played their strategy well and moved as one, punishing every late game mistake with practiced ease.While not as mismatched on paper as the previous series, TL was considered the favorite heading into their series against Cloud 9. Since their inception they had been performing extremely well in the few tournaments they participated in, generally only falling to Symbiote Gaming. By contrast, Cloud 9 was a bit of an enigma, flying under the radar with a few unknown players (in the Heroes scene) and almost no public information about their practice or strategies. We got our first glimpse of this matchup in a showmatch between TL and C9 a matter of weeks ago, with Liquid eking out a win 2-1. With both teams being relatively new and up-and-coming, this seemed to be the series to watch in the first round. To prevent themselves from instantly dying to a counterattack four of Liquid’s members were forced to select Resurgence of the Storm as their level 20 talent, and while this did save their chances in the short term, eventually they were bound to fall to the superior abilities of Cloud 9. Despite holding on for several more minutes, it seemed that Liquid had lost all the momentum they had built up throughout the game. The trend continued in game 2 as they got off to a slow start on Haunted Mines, a map that is among the most punishing of early mistakes. Cloud 9 played out their advantage exquisitely, closing out the game, and the series, in a mere 11 minutes. Cloud 9 2-0 Team Liquid Series MVP : Zuna – While Liquid dominated the majority of game 1, it was Zuna’s Abathur that kept them within striking distance. In game 2 his Illidan was a nightmare for TL’s backline to deal with as he used the heroes mobility to assault multiple targets. X-factor: Stage pressure – Cloud 9’s roster of former LCS and challenger League of Legends players showed their ability to tune out the crowd and shake off their early deficit to clutch out wins. Liquid, whose players have less on-stage playing experience overall, got ahead of themselves in game 1 and overestimated their lead in their rush to end the game. Grand Finals Game 1 \| Game 2 \| Game 3 The modern day titans of American Dota squared off on a new battlefield in the grand finals on Championship Saturday at Blizzcon. Prior to the event most would have given EG the edge in this matchup, but even though they took care of business in their semifinal Cloud 9 had exceeded expectation in their own victory, taking out a Liquid team that many had singled out as the pre-event favorites. As it turned out, the series would be an all out slug fest that would push both teams to their limits. Cloud 9 picked up right where they left off in game 1, playing almost an identical game to their second victory over Team Liquid. With excellent teamfighting in the mines and one really big golem C9 pushed to victory in thirteen minutes. While the first game wasn’t especially close, it didn’t necessarily foreshadow a one sided series since Haunted Mines is a map that can be won or lost in the first few minutes. EG set out to prove that point in game 2 on Dragonshire, keeping the kill count and experience neck and neck as neither team could quite find an opening in their opponent’s defenses. Gradually Cloud 9 wore EG with superior objective control and pushing. In the end, it was a five man backdoor from the bottom lane that was able to cut down EG’s core and propel Cloud 9 to a 2-0 lead in the bo5 series. Team Liquid came flying out of the gates, micro managing their heroes expertly to garner a massive kill and experience lead in game one on Garden of Terror. With TL hitting their level 20 power spike, Cloud 9 still a full level away from their own, and the core exposed from the bottom lane, Liquid rolled the dice rushing down the bottom lane and throwing everything they had into ending the game there and then. Cloud 9 instantly teleported back to base to mount a desperate defense. The race was on, and as the core’s health dropped, so too did the health bars of Liquid. As the dust cleared Cloud 9’s core still stood, twelve percent of its health remaining. All five members of TL had died in their attack, cutting their kill lead in half and bringing the levels back to even.To prevent themselves from instantly dying to a counterattack four of Liquid’s members were forced to select Resurgence of the Storm as their level 20 talent, and while this did save their chances in the short term, eventually they were bound to fall to the superior abilities of Cloud 9. Despite holding on for several more minutes, it seemed that Liquid had lost all the momentum they had built up throughout the game. The trend continued in game 2 as they got off to a slow start on Haunted Mines, a map that is among the most punishing of early mistakes. Cloud 9 played out their advantage exquisitely, closing out the game, and the series, in a mere 11 minutes.Series MVP : Zuna – While Liquid dominated the majority of game 1, it was Zuna’s Abathur that kept them within striking distance. In game 2 his Illidan was a nightmare for TL’s backline to deal with as he used the heroes mobility to assault multiple targets.X-factor: Stage pressure – Cloud 9’s roster of former LCS and challenger League of Legends players showed their ability to tune out the crowd and shake off their early deficit to clutch out wins. Liquid, whose players have less on-stage playing experience overall, got ahead of themselves in game 1 and overestimated their lead in their rush to end the game.The modern day titans of American Dota squared off on a new battlefield in the grand finals on Championship Saturday at Blizzcon.
Henry Kissinger, former President Ford, former White House chief of staff Alexander Haig, Senators John Tower and Richard Stone, Governor Bill Clements, former Cabinet member Casper Weinberger, and former Ambassador Anne Armstrong. Following the Republican convention in July 1980, nearly 300 advisers were asked by Mr. Reagan to serve on 23 task forces to prepare reports due before Inauguration Day on economic and domestic issues. During an October 30, 2000, panel discussion at AEI, former senior Reagan aide Richard V. Allen said: So Dave Brady asked us eight basic questions. And while we will eventually get around to responding in one way or another to all eight of those questions. The first question, obviously, is the most important, what are the major obstacles to a successful transition? And I think you can reduce it all to one principle obstacle, and that is time as has been mentioned here. Jack has mentioned it and Marty has mentioned it too. And in the grand sphere of the ideological tradition of the People's Republic of China which has, I think today the campaign of the three requires, I'm going to speak today about the two musts, the ten do's and the one don't. Of course, the first one is again, obvious, prepare early. I can remember a conversation with pre-candidate Ronald Reagan in 1979 on an airplane ride from Houston to Los Angeles after a fundraiser discussing -- he was writing his announcement speech and discussing personnel. At that point he already reminded me in that discussion that we had a team leader and that was Ed Meese who by November 1979 had long since started the process of the preparations of transition and deployed our former colleagues in the Nixon Administration and his friend Pen James to be looking into personnel aspects while the policy aspects were under development. So I think that from that standpoint that was probably the earliest practical application of the principle of being prepared that I know of. In Presidential Transitions, Burke wrote: Over the summer of 1980, the Reagan campaign was successful (unlike Carter four years earlier) in obtaining a favorable ruling from the Federal Elections Commission allowing it to raise private funds for the transition, as long as its operations were kept separate from the campaign. In September, the Presidential Transition Trust was formed and housed in the former headquarters of the Bush campaign in Alexandria, Virginia. President Jimmy Carter Jack Watson, former chief of staff to President Jimmy Carter, participated in a May 31, 2000, Heritage Foundation discussion about "Achieving a Successful Transition." A Heritage report based on that event stated that "Carter's transition process effectively began on May 11 of the election year [1976]": Jimmy Carter's transition process effectively began on May 11 of the election year, when senior campaign aide Jack Watson wrote a memo to Carter recommending that he establish a small, confidential group: It was a memorandum that basically said, "Mr. President, unlike so many of the Presidents who have come into the White House, certainly in this century, you have had no federal government experience, save that in the United States Navy. You don't have a Washington network. You are the governor" -- or former governor at that time -- "of a southern state. You've not been a national figure before you entered the presidential primaries in New Hampshire and Iowa caucuses. I think it would be a good idea quietly to pull together, separate from the campaign, a small group of people who would begin in the lowest-profile way possible, quietest most controlled way possible, to start gathering certain information and facts, putting that information and those facts, those recommendations together so that when and if you are elected President in November, you can commence the transition with something of a head start." Watson followed up with other memos outlining his thoughts. As soon as Carter received the nomination on June 10 [Carter officially accepted the nomination on July 15, 1976, at the Democratic National Convention], he instructed Watson to go ahead with his plan. By the time of the presidential election, Watson had a group working 14-hour days, seven days a week, essentially developing a checklist for Carter in the event he should win. Watson's final pre-election memo, sent to Carter on November 3, contained specific steps for the transition. In a September 2000 paper, Brookings Institution senior fellow emeritus Stephen Hess wrote: "During the summer [of 1976] Carter created a small transition office in Atlanta, headed by Jack Watson, that compiled 'a working list' of about 75 prospective candidates for high-level positions." From the July 24 edition of MSNBC Live: SHUSTER: Yeah, in fact, regarding this statement the McCain campaign issued, where it says, "John McCain has dedicated his life to serving, improving, and protecting America, Barack Obama spent an afternoon talking about it." It does seem that this gets -- this rubs right up against the idea that Americans don't necessarily like to look back at somebody's previous experience. For example with Bob Dole, they want to look forward. Is that a problem for John McCain? Julie? JULIE MASON (Houston Chronicle White House correspondent): Yeah, it sure is. I mean, Obama's talking about change, he's talking about dynamic change, and -- and McCain's sort of resting on the laurels of the past. That's not really the right message. But I think he had a good point about the victory lap. I mean, I think that's really going to resonate with people. SHUSTER: And if I can, the Obama campaign put out a note, or at least some confirmation today that in fact they have started to organize a transition team should Obama win. That does seem a little bit premature, right? WALSH: Yeah. Well, I mean, you know, historians and political scientists like this sort of thing -- that - they -- they don't like how sort of slipshod some transition processes are. But this is very early, and it plays into this notion that the Republicans are talking about, about Obama being too arrogant, that he -- sort of a sense of inevitability has set in there. And Americans don't like the idea that, you think, that -- that -- that a candidate thinks that he's got the thing won without really pushing at it and trying really hard, and so I think that that's a danger. Putting out this transition statement, I think, was not a smart thing to do. SHUSTER: Ken Walsh, chief White House correspondent for U.S. News and World Report; Julie Mason, White House correspondent for the Houston Chronicle. Again, thank you both. From the July 24 edition of Your World with Neil Cavuto: ASMAN: The McCain campaign criticizing Barack Obama today for a report he's already planning his presidential transition, issuing this statement. Quote, this is McCain speaking now: "Before they've even crossed the 50-yard line, the Obama campaign is already dancing in the end zone with a new White House transition team. The American people are more concerned with Barack Obama's poor judgment and readiness to lead than his inaugural ball." Now, if Obama is planning his transition right now, could this be seen as an arrogant move? Obama supporter Marc Lamont Hill is with us now. Marc, great to see you. Thanks for joining us. HILL: Always a pleasure. ASMAN: So let me put up a picture of one of my favorite newspapers, by the way, The New York Sun. Yesterday in the cover of The New York Sun, there was a picture of Barack Obama with a couple of other senators on his Mideast trip. And you see the other senators holding their -- their coats sort of awkwardly in their hand, but there is Obama with a coat behind his -- his back, his hand in his pocket. This is clearly the most comfortable presidential candidate I have ever seen. This guy is so comfortable in that role, but when does it become a swagger and something that turns voters off? HILL: Well, I think there are moments where you can overstep your bounds, to be sure. I think the moment where they had the presidential seal with his name on top of it. ASMAN: That would be one of those moments, yes, absolutely. HILL: That's over -- that's over -- that's over the top. But I don't think this is over the top. I think that planning your transition is a very smart thing to do. And if you listen to the Obama campaign, what they've said is, not only are we doing this but we encourage Senator McCain to do the exact same thing. ASMAN: Yeah, I know, you can say that, but how many other presidential candidates have actually done that this early in the campaign? HILL: Well, when you run based on change, you can make the argument that just because we haven't done it before, doesn't mean we shouldn't do it now. ASMAN: OK, but Mark, you -- you answered -- within that answer, you've answered my question. It's never been done before. Why now? HILL: No, I'm not -- I'm not. Dave, I'm not convinced that it's never been done before. I think because there's such a media -- there's been so much media attention based on -- ASMAN: Well, I can't think of an example and you can't think of an example. HILL: Well, well, I mean -- ASMAN: That's two out of two people. HILL: Well, no, no, but my point is I don't think this information always leaks. I think part of the point here is because there's an expectation that he is presumptuous and arrogant, it becomes more of a media story. Many candidates, in fact, I -- I would -- I would argue, do begin to think about transitions just like many people before they win a primary begin thinking about their running mate. It could be seen as presumptuous, but everybody does it. ASMAN: People think about it, but again, it's -- it's attitude. Again, part of the problem with Obama is experience. He doesn't have the experience a lot of people are worried about that and -- and background, but the experience issue is not helped if -- if he is seen to be swaggering. HILL: But it's -- but it's a tightrope. Because, you know, people say why is he going around the world giving speeches in Germany rather than being here with the American people. ASMAN: Well, he wanted to do it at the Brandenburg Gate, which only presidents do, for goodness's sakes! HILL: No, no, but -- but the very same people say that he doesn't have the foreign policy experience and that foreign leaders won't respect him. So -- ASMAN: Yeah, but speaking at the Brandenburg Gate is not going to give you foreign policy experience. HILL: No it's not. ASMAN: It gives him a fat head. HILL: I -- I would agree that's more of a photo op than it is a -- a legitimate campaign move. Again, I was critical of that move just like I was about the seal. But the decision to make a transition team, I disagree. ASMAN: OK. HILL: I think that is absolutely significant. I think -- I encourage John McCain ASMAN: Mark Lamont Hill. ASMAN: -- to do the same thing and he's not going to win. ASMAN: Always a pleasure to see you, Marc, thanks very much. America's Election Headquarters, now. * Media Matters did not examine the transition plans of George H.W. Bush, because, unlike the other presidents examined, he came from the outgoing administration.How Good is Master Jouster, Hearthstone Americas Qualifiers VoDs, Strength in Numbers Shacknews Interview Round-Up, Shop Sales, Rotation for Sept. 22, 2015 and Rexxar Price BlizzCon 2015 In-Game Goodies Round-Up September 22nd Hotfixes The hotfix list has been updated with lots of improvements to the WD Helltooth set lag, among other minor improvements. Read the patch notes below. Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums) Patch 2.3.0a deployed earlier today, which included a number of hotfixes: Bounties Fixed an issue where Pazuzu would not spawn in the Desolate Sands during the "Kill Pazuzu" bounty (9/22) Crafting The Blacksmith UI now properly displays the number of items that can be crafted when using the "Show All" filter (9/22) Kanai's Cube Haunt of Vaxo is now able to have his legendary power extracted (9/22) Items It is no longer possible to simultaneously benefit from more than one passive acquired by a Hellfire Amulet (9/22) Crafted Legendary off-hands now properly roll with increased damage when they are Ancient (9/22) Deadly Rebirth Now properly rolls with its Legendary affix at all item levels (9/22) Witch Doctor Wall of Death Rune - Fire Wall Made some optimization changes to improve game performance (9/22) Rune - Ring of Poison Made some optimization changes to improve game performance (9/22) Fetish Army Rune - Head Hunters Pets spawned by this rune no longer have player collision (9/22) Hellfire Amulet and Bans Along with the Hellfire Amulet exploit being completely fixed with today's patch, it seems like some players got a temporary suspension for trying out that exploit. Also, there were reports that notable players who were found to be using the Hellfire exploit in excess, and consistently botting too, were permanently banned, with leaderboards being cleansed of tainted placements. Read below. Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums) UPDATE - September 22 @ 3:07 p.m. PDT While this issue has now been resolved, we know a lot of players may be curious about what happened and how we responded. We'd like to take a moment to discuss a few of the details with you. Following the launch of Patch 2.3.0, players discovered an exploit that, through a series of very specific steps, allowed them to equip more than one additional passive using the Hellfire Amulet. This was not intended and, while in some cases could have potentially happened by accident, there were some who continued to repeat these steps in order to gain an unfair advantage over other players. As soon as we were able to verify the exploit and identify its underlying cause, we immediately began working on a fix for PC. This wound up being two separate deployments, as part of the issue required a patch to resolve. The original hotfix was deployed late evening on September 11, which made the following change to the game: Generate an error if too many passives are active on a character Added a check for and regular removal of surplus passives This fix technically still permitted the exploit to occur, but for an extremely limited period of time that was no longer practical or useful. A fix that fully prevents this exploit from occurring is included in Patch 2.3.0a, which deployed earlier today in all regions. From there, we looked at the complexity and impact of the exploit and elected to action accounts on a case-by-case basis. One of three situations applied: Accounts which were found to have used the exploit excessively were permanently banned. This includes users who actively promoted the use of this exploit. Accounts which were found to have used the exploit to a beneficial, but not excessive, degree were suspended with warning. Accounts which were likely utilizing this exploit by accident were effectively pardoned. Regardless of whether penalties were applied, accounts that were found to be utilizing more passive skills than intended had their progress removed from the leaderboards. We continue to see an overwhelming amount of support from the vast majority of players who value fair play above personal gain. We appreciate that so many of you brought this issue to our attention immediately through channels like [email protected], our online webform and ticket system. We heard your concerns on Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, and these forums too! On behalf of all of us here at Blizzard, from our development to support teams, thank you for taking the time to notify us, and we apologize for any inconvenience caused as a result. As noted in our original post, maintaining an enjoyable and fair gameplay experience is very important to us, and we’re going to continue to monitor the game as well as take steps to prevent exploits like this from happening again. Future Ghost Changes Tyvalir shared a future change to the Ghost type of enemy, coming in a future patch. Read the blue post below.Engulfed in a major scandal less than 10 days from his inauguration, President-elect Donald Trump could face even more disturbing allegations as reportedly more than one intelligence source was aware of the so-called Golden Shower Gate details, Raw Story reported Wednesday. In his first press conference in six months and first since winning the election in November, Trump denied reports from CNN and BuzzFeed News of an unverified 35-page dossier that included scandalous details of his supposed time visiting Russia in the past. The dossier, which contains errors and has not been proven true, alleges Trump paid prostitutes to urinate on each other. The dossier was reportedly prepared by a British intelligence officer at the behest Trump’s political opponents and the information it contained has circulated political and media circles for months. The Brit in question is now reportedly a private security consultant named Christopher Steele, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. But, Raw Story, citing a BBC Washington correspondent Paul Wood, reported the British officer is not the only source for the potentially damning information and that Russia could possess multiple sex tapes of Trump. “The rumors or the allegations or whatever you want to call them have been circulating for a number of months now,” Wood said in a BBC 4 radio broadcast Wednesday. “I saw the report, compiled by the former British intelligence officer, back in October. He is not, and this is the crucial thing, the only source for this.” Wood elaborated, saying at least one Eastern European intelligence service was “aware” of the material Russia may have on Trump and that includes both audio and video and of more than one alleged incident. “It’s very, very difficult, of course, to talk to U.S. intelligence people. They’re breaking the law if they talk to you,” the BBC correspondent pointed out. “But I did ask somebody with connections in the CIA to pass a message to them and I got a message back that there was allegedly more than one tape, not just video, but audio as well, on more than one date, in more than one place, in both Moscow and St. Petersburg.” Wood admitted intelligence officers can be wrong, but that the Central Intelligence Agency claimed the dossier is “credible.” “But it is viewed as credible by the CIA and that’s why it landed on President Obama’s desk last week, on the desk of the congressional leadership and was given to Mr. Trump as well. And even congressional Republicans are talking about investigations and Democrats, I know, are talking about impeachment.”FBI & DEA Warn That IPv6 May Be Too Damn Anonymous from the they-just-woke-up? dept FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Royal Canadian Mounted Police officials have told industry representatives that IPv6 traceability is necessary to identify people suspected of crimes. The FBI has even suggested that a new law may be necessary if the private sector doesn't do enough voluntarily. ARIN and the other regional registries maintain public Whois databases for IP addresses, meaning that if you type in 64.30.224.118, you can see that it's registered to CNET's publisher. ARIN tries to ensure that Internet providers keep their segments of the Whois database updated, and because it's been handing out IPv4 addresses blocks every few months, it currently enjoys enough leverage to insist on it. But for IPv6, ARIN will be handing out much larger Internet address blocks only every 10 to 15 years, meaning it loses much of its ability to convince Internet providers to keep their Whois entries up-to-date. That means it may take law enforcement agencies -- presumably armed with court orders -- longer to trace an IPv6 address such as 2001:4860:4860::8888 back to an Internet service provider's customer. IPv6 has been around for quite some time at this point, but as we get closer and closer to moving the internet over to the system, it appears that American and Canadian law enforcement has just noticed that it's not as easy to identify and track users, and they're frantically raising concerns.The issue has more to do with record-keeping than technology. As Declan McCullagh explains at the link above:Of course, some might see that as a feature, not a bug. Either way, I would imagine that most service providers will bend over backwards to make sure that law enforcement can, in fact, track people down if necessary. Too many service providers fold when the feds come knocking seeking information on people already. As long as this is presented as a way to protect children or stop terrorists or whatever the favorite of the day is, it seems likely that ISPs will get things in order themselves. Filed Under: anonymity, canada, dea, fbi, ipv6, rcmp, whoisSome fighters never want to go back and re-watch a loss, especially if it was a pivotal bout in your career. Why subject yourself to the agony? But that's not how Daniel Cormier sees it. Since losing his high-stakes UFC 182 light heavyweight title fight to Jon Jones, he's not just watched the fight, but done so obsessively. "I've watched it 100 times," Cormier said on Monday's edition of The MMA Hour. Why? Well, after his first career mixed martial arts defeat, the former Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix champion doesn't want to let the feeling subside. He wants the fire to keep burning in order to fuel his return to competition. "It has to burn," Cormier said. "It has to feel so bad. It has to punch you in the gut every time you watch it." Even then, though, Cormier can flip the mental switch from the personal to the cold objectivity required of an analyst. And what he sees, when he watches, was a fight that was highly competitive through three rounds, before Jones dug down and won the championship rounds. "Every time I watch it, I watch a very competitive fight, and I watch one guy stay the course, one guy get off course, and that guy was me," Cormier said. "I watch my facial expressions change, and I watch my demeanor change, and I watch me go into a mode I shouldn't have been fighting in. I should have continued to go forward, I should have continued to pressure him, and press him." When trying to figure out what went wrong, why he wasn't able to maintain the pace when Jones pushed forward, there's no one reason, but among the several one stands out in Cormier's mind: The fact that training partner Cain Velasquez's knee injury prevented him from being able to push DC in the gym in the lead-up to the fight. "It was a very big deal not having Cain," Cormier said. "Because Cain, you need those days where you're in the gym and, you know, you don't just have success, you get beat up. There are days Cain will just beat me up and I needed something like that that in preparation for Jones. So you saw the beginning of the fight, I was able to keep the sort of pace I wanted to keep for five rounds, but I didn't necessarily have anyone to push me in fourth or fifth rounds to do that, it was a big deal not having Velasquez for this fight, but at the end of the day Jon got the job done." Much was made in the bout's aftermath about Jones' action, from making an obscene gesture at the end of the fight to his attitude toward Cormier during his in-ring post-fight interview and in the post-fight press conference. DC, however, doesn't begrudge Jones for gloating. "I thought that was exactly what he should have done," he said. "Would I have done that? No. But that's exactly what he should have done as a warrior. Jon said a couple things that stuck with me. "I don't feel sorry for him, this is combat.' It's true. He shouldn't feel sorry for me. He won on that night. He got his hand raised. He had the right type of attitude." Cormier says the loss stings even worse than his Olympic experience, in which he placed fourth in 2004 and had weight-cutting issues in 2008. "In the Olympics, I did some things wrong," Cormier said. "Not dieting in the correct way, not always doing things right. This time I did. I thought all my ducks were in a row. I thought this time the stars were going to align for me and they didn't. So yeah, it was tough. I really did believe in my heart, I could get the job done. When it didn't, it was tough." Which is why Cormier can't and won't let go of the Jones fight. In it's own way, it's the only way he'll be able to push forward. "I'm not over it, it will never be over," Cormier said. "I'm not a sore loser or anything, but nothing changed. There's no relationship between Jon and I, there won't be a relationship between Jon and I, I just hope that we can cross paths and not actually go after each other."Art Deco Hotels – Release Your Inner Flapper Our edit of 10 of the best Art Deco Hotels includes iconic examples in London and Devon, New York and Miami, Cannes and Juan-les-Pins, Prague and Lisbon. French Art Deco may historically have led the way, but this great style is very much a worldwide phenomenon. Staying at any one of the world’s most famous Art Deco hotels is a thoroughly immersive way of experiencing this style at its best. You are elegantly enveloped by some of the finest examples of original Art Deco architecture, interiors and the full range of the decorative arts. As a complete style Art Deco has produced dynamic collaborations between architects, painters, sculptors, and designers often resulting in complete environments in this style. There are even complete Art Deco districts like Old Miami Beach, Florida, where there are 800 surviving Art Deco structures and quite a few Art Deco hotels. Having said that, many of our choices are however, elegant fusions of Art Deco and various classical and modern styles, both in their architecture and interior design. The degree to which the overall design can be said to be Art Deco is sometimes greater or lesser in our choice of hotels – particularly following recent refurbishments. But even where its influence is more subtle, the Art Deco spirit is always inescapable. The Art Deco hotels in our list are some of the world’s largest, tallest, most luxurious, most glamorous, and also most romantic. By dint of their deeply evocative complete design environments, many of these hotels have been the settings for film, dance and music and some have inspired literature. How often can you say that about other hotel styles? Claridge’s, London Claridge’s was redesigned in the latest Art Deco style in the 1920s becoming the favourite party venue for London’s bright young things. Art Deco pioneer Basil Lonides was commissioned to redesign the restaurant and several suites. His magnificent engraved glass screens still adorn the restaurant today. The hotel was to became a world-renowned showcase for top British designers by the end of the 1920s. Oswald Milne designed a new main entrance and a façade of Roman stone and jazz moderne mirrored foyer completed Claridge’s new look. The great success of the Art Deco redesign was to inspire a much larger project in the early 1930s. Milne added a contrasting cubic brick block as an extension to the east side of Claridge’s. A major restoration in 1996 by the New York-based designer Thierry Despont, was inspired by archive photographs from the 1930s. The result is an updated Art Deco style that is best witnessed in the Foyer area with its striking Dale Chihuly chandelier. David Collins was also invited to create the new Claridge’s Bar. Claridge’s website click on the page numbers below to navigate through the article Like what you've read? Click to become a member and get new articles straight to your inbox The latest and greatest trends, interviews, inspirations and more Find it all on the GDC interiors JournalTen more retired Long Island Rail Road workers have been charged with federal crimes, accused of falsely claiming to be disabled so they could obtain federal disability pensions in addition to their railroad pensions in what prosecutors have called a huge fraud scheme, the authorities announced on Wednesday. Nine of the workers were charged with mail fraud and conspiracy to commit health care fraud and mail fraud, while one was charged with mail fraud and aggravated identity theft, according to court papers. The arrests were carried out by F.B.I. agents and investigators from the office of the inspector general for the federal Railroad Retirement Board, which awarded the disability pensions. Most of those arrested were in the New York area, officials said, but some were taken into custody outside New York State. The new arrests bring to 32 the number of people charged in the scheme, which federal prosecutors in Manhattan said could have cost the Railroad Retirement Board more than $1 billion if all of the money had been disbursed. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Officials also announced on Wednesday what they said was the final extension to a voluntary disclosure program under which prosecutors would agree not to bring criminal charges or file civil lawsuits against any Long Island Rail Road retirees who admitted they had been awarded Railroad Retirement Board disability benefits by making false statements and who agreed to give up certain benefits.An international team of researchers, with the participation of IAC astronomers, has discovered that the chemical structure of Earth-like planets can be very different from the bulk composition of Earth. This may have a dramatic effect on the existence and formation of the biospheres and life on Earth-like planets. The study of the photospheric stellar abundances of the planet-host stars is the key to understanding how protoplanets form, as well as which protoplanetary clouds evolve planets and which do not. These studies, which have important implications for models of giant planet formation and evolution, also help us to investigate the internal and atmospheric structure and composition of extrasolar planets.. Theoretical studies suggest that C/O and Mg/Si, are the most important elemental ratios in determining the mineralogy of terrestrial planets, and they can give us information about the composition of these planets. The C/O ratio controls the distribution of Si among carbide and oxide species, while Mg/Si gives information on the silicate mineralogy. In 2010 Bond et al. (2010b) carried out the first numerical simulations of planet formation in which the chemical composition of the proto-planetary cloud was taken as an input parameter. Terrestrial planets were found to form in all the simulations with a wide variety of chemical compositions so these planets might be very different from Earth. Delgado Mena et al. (2010) have carried out the first detailed and uniform study of C, O, Mg and Si abundances for 61 stars with detected planets and 270 stars without detected planets from the homogeneous high-quality unbiased HARPS GTO sample. They found mineralogical ratios quite different from those in the Sun, showing that there is a wide variety of planetary systems which are unlike the Solar System. Many planetary-host stars present a Mg/Si value lower than 1, so their planets will have a high Si content to form species such as MgSiO3. This type of composition can have important implications for planetary processes like plate tectonics, atmospheric composition and volcanism. 'There could be billions of Earth-like planets in the Universe but a great majority of them may have a totally different internal and atmospheric structure. Building planets in chemically non-solar environments (which are very common in the Universe) may lead to the formation of strange worlds, very different from the Earth! The amount of radioactive and some refractory elements (especially Si) may have drastic implications for planetary processes such as plate tectonics and volcanic activity,' concludes Garik Israelian. The latest numerical simulations have shown that a wide range of extrasolar terrestrial planet bulk compositions are likely to exist. Planets simulated as forming around stars with Mg/Si ratios less than 1 are found to be Mg-depleted (compared to Earth), consisting of silicate species such as pyroxene and various types of feldspars. Planetary carbon abundances also vary in accordance with the host stars' C/O ratio. The predicted abundances are in keeping with observations of polluted white dwarfs (expected to have accreted their inner planets during their previous red giant stage). 'The observed variations in the key C/O and Mg/Si ratios for known planetary host stars implies that a wide variety of extrasolar terrestrial planet compositions are likely to exist, ranging from relatively "Earth-like" planets to those that are dominated by C, such as graphite and carbide phases (e.g. SiC, TiC),' Delgado Mena stresses. The results of Delgado Mena et al. (2010) were used in this study as they are the first to determine the abundance of all of the required elements in a completely internally consistent manner, using high quality spectra and an identical approach for all stars and elements, for a large sample of both host and non-host stars. The chemical and dynamical simulations were combined by assuming that each embryo retains the composition of its formation location and contributes the same composition to the simulated terrestrial planet. The innermost terrestrial planets (located within?0.5 AU from the host star) contain a significant amount of the refractory elements Al and Ca (?47% of the planetary mass). Planets forming beyond?0.5 AU from the host star contain steadily less Al and Ca with increasing distance. One planetary system, 55 Cnc, has a C/O ratio above 1 (C/O = 1.12). This system produced carbon-enriched "Earth-like" planets. All of the terrestrial planets considered in this work have compositions dominated by O, Fe, Mg and Si, most of these elements being delivered in the form of silicates or metals (in the case of iron). However, important differences between those planets forming in systems with C/O < 0.8 (HD17051, HD19994) and those with C/O > 0.8 (55Cnc) have been found. 'We are working hard to decrease abundance measurement errors and make the results of theoretical models and numerical simulations more reliable,' comments González Hernández, 'There is much work to be done'.Jeremy Corbyn is on course to win Labour's biggest share of the vote in a general election for more than a decade, according to a YouGov poll released on Monday (1 June). The survey of more than 1,800 people between 30–31 May put the Conservatives on 42% (-1) and Labour on 39% (+3). The figures, if replicated on 8 June, would see Corbyn beat Tony Blair's share of the vote in 2005, when more than 35% of the electorate backed Labour. The result would also see the Tories lose 15 seats to Labour, with Theresa May facing a hung parliament, forcing her to form a coalition government with smaller, rival parties. The research comes just a week before the general election and during a campaign which has seen the Conservative poll lead plummet from as high as 24 points. May faced a backlash over her so-called "dementia tax" plan. The policy would see elderly voters in England have to pay for their social care costs if they own assets worth more than £100,000. But despite the unpopularity of the proposal, May is more than 10 points ahead of Corbyn (43 versus 30) in personality ratings. Labour's vote share performance could be crucial to Corbyn's political future, with the left-winger refusing to say if he would quit if he loses the general election. Corbyn supporter, author and journalist Owen Jones told IBTimes UK that he should leave the top job if he fails to increase Labour's vote share or gain seats on 8 June. "If he doesn't make any progress in the election, then of course [he should go]," Jones said in May. He added: "The leadership has to show that it has a vision that can inspire people, not just people that have joined the Labour Party full of enthusiasm, but the people out there who have better things to do than talk about politics." May's political future would also be in doubt if she fails to secure a majority. The prime minister called the general election in a bid to strengthen her hand at the Brexit negotiating table, but the move could backfire.Karl Emil Schäfer (17 December 1891 – 5 June 1917) was a German pilot during World War I; he became one of the major German flying aces of the war, with 30 confirmed aerial victories. Early life and infantry service [ edit ] Schäfer was born in Krefeld and joined the Jäger Regiment zu Pferde Nr. 10 of the Prussian Army for his One-year volunteer military service. An engineering student who spoke fluent French and English, he was a fine draughtsman, and was studying in Paris when the war broke out, but managed to return to Germany and was assigned to the Reserve Jäger Bataillon 7 in Bückeburg. He won the Iron Cross 2nd class and was promoted to Vizefeldwebel during September 1914, before being badly wounded[2] and hospitalised for six months. After returning to the front line he was commissioned in May 1915. Flying service [ edit ] Requesting flying duties Schäfer trained as a pilot and served over the Eastern Front with Kampfgeschwader 2 from July 1916 onwards. He moved to the west and now flew with Kampfstaffel 11 of KG 2, where he gained his first victory. With just this single victory, he impudently telegraphed Manfred von Richthofen, who was assembling a "top gun" (kanone) squadron at Jasta 11, "Can you use me?" Richthofen replied, "You have already been requested." Schäfer was then posted to Jasta 11 on 21 February 1917. In intensive operations during Bloody April he became a flying ace, being credited with 21 victories and awarded the Pour le Mérite. While a member of Jasta 11, "Karlchen" (Charlie) became known as the squadron's prankster and recorded many vivid incidents in combat and at play.[citation needed] He flew an Albatros D.III with red and black markings. Somehow amidst all this he found time to pen his autobiography, Vom Jaeger zum Flieger ("From Soldier to Pilot"). Command and death in action [ edit ] Schäfer was then given command of Jasta 28 on 26 April, and after gaining further victories for a total of 30 claims Schäfer was
lowest possible height. Close all of the window drapes and curtains. The correct responses to this question are D, E and F These emergency interventions protect patients from flying glass and other debris that can occur with a cyclone. Again, if you only got two of these three responses, you will not get any credit for this question. It will be scored incorrect because you missed one of the correct responses. Now, let's try this multiple response question. Which of these are a role and responsibility of a registered nurse in terms of an internal disaster? Select all that apply. Participating in all internal emergency preparedness disaster drills Using autocratic and authoritarian leadership skills Establishing that urgent clients are the greatest triage priority Communicating with family members about the patient's status The correct responses to this question are A, B, C and D Again, if you only got three or less of these four responses, you would not get any credit for this question. Fill in the blanks questions are used for calculations, such as the one's that you do for medication dosages and intravenous fluid flow rates. For example: How many mLs are there in 10 ounces? Fill in the blank. The correct answer is 300 mLs. There are 30 mLs in one ounce so 30 x 10 = 300 Any answer other than 300 mLs is incorrect. You are using an intravenous set that has a drop factor of fifteen drops per mL. How many drops per minute will you administer when the doctor has ordered 100 mLs per hour? Fill in the blank. The correct response is 33 drops per minute. All answers other than 33 drops per minute is incorrect. Now, here is your last fill in the blank practice question. You have to administer 3,000 units of heparin subcutaneously and the label on the heparin bottle reads 4,000 units per mL. How many mLs will you administer? Fill in the blank: The correct answer is 0.75 ccs or mLs. The answer is calculated by dividing 3,000 units of heparin by 4,000 which is 0.75. Ordered response questions ask you to use the computer mouse and then drag and drop items on a list in correct sequential order. For example: Place the following phases of the Nursing Process in the correct sequential order: Planning Nursing diagnosis Evaluation Implementation Assessment For this question on the NCLEX-PN examination, you would drag and drop assessment to the top of the list because assessment is the first phase of the nursing process; you would then you would drag and drop the following other phases of the Nursing Process in this order: Assessment Nursing diagnosis Planning Implementation Evaluation Place these phases of the pharmacokinetic process in the correct sequential order: Distribution Absorption Excretion Metabolism For this question you would drag and drop absorption to the top of the list because this is the first phase of the pharmacokinetic process; you would then drag and drop the following in this sequential order: Absorption Metabolism Distribution Excretion Hot spots can include anatomical pictures which would require you to identify specific points in these pictures. Hot spot questions that could be included on your NCLEX-RN Examination may be asked to identify: The umbilical vein The umbilical artery The correct placement of an ostomy pouch Parts of the brain Areas where you would place your stethoscope to hear a specific heart sound ECG lead placement spots Areas of the body where you would palpate for various pulses The male and female reproductive internal and external organs Video questions on the NCLEX-PN Examination can include things like a patient scenario that you would view and then think about in order to answer a question. For example, a video may show you a nurse washing their hands. You may then be asked to identify the aspect of handwashing that the nurse did not do correctly. When you watch a video, pay very close attention to all details of what you see on the video. Audio questions will instruct you to put your ear phones on and listen to an audio segment. Breath and heart sounds as well as bowel sounds could be tested. Some of the sounds that you may hear with these audio clips (COMING SOON!) are normal and abnormal breath sounds such as: Vesicular breath sounds Crackles or fine rales Crackles or coarse rales Wheeze Rhonchi Bronchial breath sounds Pleural Rubs Bronchovesicular breath sounds You may also hear audio clips of heart sounds such as: A regular sinus beat An irregular heart rate A murmur Tachycardia Bradycardia S 1 S 2 S 3 S 4 Distribution of the Four NCLEX-RN Test Categories The NCLEX-RN Test Plan is organized into four major Client Needs categories. Two of the four categories are divided into subcategories as shown below: Safe and Effective Care Environment Management of Care - 17% to 23% Safety and Infection Control - 9% to 15% Health Promotion and Maintenance - 6% to 12% Psychosocial Integrity - 6% to 12% Physiological Integrity Basic Care and Comfort - 6% to 12% Pharmacological and Parenteral Therapies - 12% to 18% Reduction of Risk Potential - 9% to 15% Physiological Adaptation - 11% to 17% Category 1: Safe and Effective Care Environment The Safe and Effective Care Environment consists of the Management of Care and the Safety and Infection Control subcategories. Management of Care The registered nurse provides and directs nursing care that enhances the care delivery setting to protect the client and health care personnel. RN's must be able to: Integrate advance directives into client plan of care Assign and supervise care provided by others (e.g., LPN/LVN, assistive personnel, other RNs) Organize workload to manage time effectively Participate in providing cost effective care Initiate, evaluate, and update plan of care (e.g., care map, clinical pathway) Provide education to clients and staff about client rights and responsibilities Advocate for client rights and needs Collaborate with health care members in other disciplines when providing client care Manage conflict among clients and health care staff Maintain client confidentiality and privacy Provide and receive report on assigned clients (e.g., standardized hand off communication) Use approved abbreviations and standard terminology when documenting care Perform procedures necessary to safely admit, transfer or discharge a client Prioritize the delivery of client care Recognize ethical dilemmas and take appropriate action Practice in a manner consistent with a code of ethics for registered nurses Verify that the client comprehends and consents to care and procedures Receive and/or transcribe health care provider orders Utilize information resources to enhance the care provided to a client (e.g., evidenced-based research, information technology, policies and procedures) Recognize limitations of self/others and seek assistance Report client conditions as required by law (e.g., abuse/neglect, communicable disease, gunshot wound) Report unsafe practice of health care personnel and intervene as appropriate (e.g., substance abuse, improper care, staffing practices) Provide care within the legal scope of practice Participate in performance improvement/quality improvement process and Recognize the need for referrals and obtain necessary orders Related content includes, but is not limited to: Explore - Management of Care Practice Test Questions ALL of these content areas will be reviewed above for the Management of Care portion of this NCLEX-RN review in a similar manner to how this review will cover all of the other NCLEX-RN examination content areas as established by the National Council of the State Boards of Nursing. Safety and Infection Control The registered nurse protects clients and health care personnel from health and environmental hazards. They must be able to: Assess the client for allergies and intervene as needed (e.g., food, latex, environmental allergies) Protect client from injury (e.g., falls, electrical hazards) Ensure proper identification of client when providing care Verify appropriateness and/or accuracy of a treatment order Implement emergency response plans (e.g., internal/external disaster) Use ergonomic principles when providing care (e.g., assistive devices, proper lifting) Follow procedures for handling biohazardous materials Educate client on home safety issues Acknowledge and document practice error (e.g. incident report for medication error) Facilitate appropriate and safe use of equipment Participate in institution security plan (e.g., newborn nursery security, bomb threats) Apply principles of infection control (e.g., hand hygiene, surgical asepsis, isolation, sterile technique, universal/standard precautions) Educate client and staff regarding infection control measures Follow requirements for use of restraints and/or safety device (e.g., least restrictive restraints, timed client monitoring) Related content includes, but is not limited to: Explore - Safety & Infection Control Practice Test Questions Category 2: Health Promotion and Maintenance In this section, the registered nurse provides and directs nursing care of the client that incorporates knowledge of expected growth and development principles; prevention and/or early detection of health problems; and strategies to achieve optimal health. They must be able to: Provide care and education for the newborn less than 1 month old through the infant or toddler client through 2 years Provide care and education for the preschool, school age and adolescent client ages 3 through 17 years Provide care and education for the adult client ages 18 through 64 years Provide care and education for the adult client ages 65 through 85 years and over Provide prenatal care and education Provide care to client in labor Provide post-partum care and education Assess and teach clients about health risks based on family, population, and/or community characteristics Assess client's readiness to learn, learning preferences and barriers to learning Plan and/or participate in community health education Provide information about health promotion and maintenance recommendations (e.g., physician visits, immunizations) Perform targeted screening assessments (e.g., vision, hearing, nutrition) Provide information for prevention and treatment of high risk health behaviors (e.g., smoking cessation, safe sexual practices, drug education) Assess client ability to manage care in home environment and plan care accordingly (e.g. equipment, community resources) Perform comprehensive health assessment Related content includes, but is not limited to: Explore - Health Promotion & Maintenance Practice Test Questions Category 3: Psychosocial Integrity In the Psychosocial Integrity part of your examination, you will be expected to demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary to provide and direct nursing care that promotes and supports the emotional, mental and social well-being of the client experiencing stressful events, as well as clients with acute or chronic mental illness. The nurse is expected to be able to: Assess client for abuse or neglect and intervene as appropriate Incorporate behavioral management techniques when caring for a client (e.g., positive reinforcement, setting limits) Assess client for drug/alcohol dependencies, withdrawal, or toxicities and intervene as appropriate Assess client in coping with life changes and provide support Assess the potential for violence and use safety precautions (e.g., suicide, homicide, self-destructive behavior) Incorporate client cultural practice and beliefs when planning and providing care Provide end of life care and education to clients Assess family dynamics to determine plan of care (e.g., structure, bonding, communication, boundaries, coping mechanisms) Provide care and education for acute and chronic behavioral health issues (e.g., anxiety, depression, dementia, eating disorders) Assess psychosocial, spiritual and occupational factors affecting care, and plan interventions Provide care for a client experiencing visual, auditory or cognitive distortions (e.g., hallucinations) Recognize non-verbal cues to physical and/or psychological stressors Use therapeutic communication techniques to provide client support Provide a therapeutic environment for clients with emotional/behavioral issues The term mental health can have many definitions. For example, mental health can be defined as successful adjustments and coping with the stressors of everyday life in a manner that is acceptable to society and healthy for the client. On the other hand, mental illness can be defined as a lack of a person's adhering to society's norms and acting in a way that is not appropriate in terms of the client's behavior. Some of the factors that impact on the development of mental health include our inherited genetic makeup one's life circumstances, such as good physical health, economic security, social support networks and friends, and nurturing during the early years of life as well as those described below. Populations at Risk For Psychological Disorders Along the Life Span Older adults may be at risk for the lack of psychological integrity as the result of social isolation, grief/loss after the death of a spouse, friend, or another loved one, fear of declining physical and mental abilities, actual physical and mental declines, and reduced income, for example. Adolescents and young adults are often adversely affected with sexual identity issues, an eating disorder, peer pressure, illicit drug use and bullying. New parents often experience stressors relating to the transition from being a couple to being parents with great responsibilities, a possible loss of financial income, anxiety regarding the child's wellbeing, concerns that they are not adequate parents, coping with the baby's constant demands and needs, as well as some conflicts and ambivalence about accepting the pregnancy and the newborn. Gender Related Risk Factors Women are at risk for mental illness as the result of domestic violence, hormonal changes as occurs after pregnancy and menopause, internal, intrapersonal conflicts about the multiple and challenging roles they wish, or have, to fulfil, including that of a full time career person, homemaker, single parent, and the caregiver for the elderly parents. Males may be adversely affected with economic and income concerns, the loss of sexual functioning, and declining muscular strength and stamina. Risk Factors Secondary to Physical and Cognitive Illnesses and Disorders The physically and cognitively impaired are at risk for mental illness because they are often affected with a poor quality of life, an impaired self-image, social isolation, a decreasing lack of independence, societal stigma and the lack of meaningful relationships. Social Risk Factors The homeless, the indigent, and refugees have stressors such as financial uncertainty, poverty, poor social status, the loss of self-esteem and self-worth, and other stressors. Commonly occurring signs and symptoms of mental illness are not always as clear, unambiguous and objective as the signs and symptoms of a physiological disorder. Generally speaking, the signs and symptoms of mental disease can include social withdrawal, changes in personal habits like grooming and hygiene, abnormal changes in mood, changes in thought processes, and other behaviors. The American Psychiatric Association's (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) contains four major categories of mental illness. Each of these four major categories contains many mental health disorders. The APA's four major categories of mental health disorders are: Thought disorders : Thought disorders are characterized with disordered thoughts, feelings and behaviors. : Thought disorders are characterized with disordered thoughts, feelings and behaviors. Mood disorders : Mood disorders, also referred to as mood affective disorders, have an effect on the client's mood and affect. For example, the patient's mood can be happy, elated, somber, sad, depressed or flat and without any emotion whatsoever. : Mood disorders, also referred to as mood affective disorders, have an effect on the client's mood and affect. For example, the patient's mood can be happy, elated, somber, sad, depressed or flat and without any emotion whatsoever. Behavioral disorders : Behavioral disorders can manifest with hostility, aggression, self harm, harm to others and defiance. : Behavioral disorders can manifest with hostility, aggression, self harm, harm to others and defiance. Mixed disorders: Mixed disorders have defining characteristics, signs and symptoms of more than one of the above APA categories of mental health disorders. Mental health disorders can also be categorized and described as: Sexual disorders Gender identity disorders Cognitive disorders like delirium, dementia and Alzheimer's disease Poor impulse control disorders Substance abuse disorders such as alcohol and illicit drug abuse, dependency and addiction Anxiety disorders, such as obsessive disorders, phobias and panic disorders Sleep disorders Eating disorders like anorexia nervosa Mood disorders like depression and bipolar disease Schizophrenia including paranoid or catatonic-type schizophrenia Personality disorders like a dependent personality and an antisocial personality Related content includes, but is not limited to: Explore - Psychosocial Integrity Practice Test Questions Category 4: Physiological Integrity In the Physiological Integrity part of your examination, you will be expected to demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary promote physical health and wellness by providing care and comfort, reducing client risk potential and managing health alterations. The four subsections under Physiological Integrity are Basic Care and Comfort, Pharmacological Therapies, the Reduction of Risk Potential and Physiological Adaptation. Basic Care and Comfort In the Basic Care and Comfort questions, the nurse will be required to demonstrate that they can provide comfort and assistance in the performance of activities of daily living. The nurse must be competent to: Assist client to compensate for a physical or sensory impairment (e.g., assistive devices, positioning, compensatory techniques) Assess and manage client with an alteration in elimination (e.g., bowel, urinary) Perform irrigations (e.g., of bladder, ear, eye) Perform skin assessment and implement measures to maintain skin integrity and prevent skin breakdown (e.g., turning, repositioning, pressure-relieving support surfaces) Apply, maintain or remove orthopedic devices (e.g., traction, splints, braces, casts) Apply and maintain devices used to promote venous return (e.g., anti-embolic stockings, sequential compression devices) Implement measures to promote circulation (e.g., active or passive range of motion, positioning and mobilization) Assess client need for pain management Provide non-pharmacological comfort measures Manage the client's nutritional intake (e.g., adjust diet, monitor height and weight) Provide client nutrition through continuous or intermittent tube feedings Evaluate client intake and output and intervene as needed Assess and intervene in client performance of activities of daily living Perform post-mortem care Assess client need for sleep/rest and intervene as needed Related content includes but is not limited to: Explore - Basic Care & Comfort Practice Test Questions Pharmacological and Parenteral Therapies The registered nurse provides care related to the administration of medications and parenteral therapies. Registered nurses must be able to: Administer blood products and evaluate client response Access venous access devices, including tunneled, implanted and central lines Perform calculations needed for medication administration Evaluate client response to medication (e.g., therapeutic effects, side effects, adverse reactions) Educate client about medications Prepare and administer medications, using rights of medication administration Review pertinent data prior to medication administration (e.g., contraindications, lab results, allergies, potential interactions) Participate in medication reconciliation process Titrate dosage of medication based on assessment and ordered parameters (e.g., giving insulin according to blood glucose levels, titrating medication to maintain a specific blood pressure) Evaluate appropriateness and accuracy of medication order for client Monitor intravenous infusion and maintain site (e.g., central, PICC, epidural and venous access devices) Administer pharmacological measures for pain management Administer controlled substances within regulatory guidelines (e.g., witness, waste) Administer parenteral nutrition and evaluate client response (e.g., TPN) Some of the commonly used terms and terminology relating to pharmacological and parenteral treatments that you must be aware of and knowledgeable about include those briefly described below: Pharmacokinetics : Pharmacokinetics is the absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion of drugs. : Pharmacokinetics is the absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion of drugs. Pharmacodynamics : Pharmacodynamics refers to the actions of medications in the body. Drug concentrations, receptor and binding activities, antagonistic actions and agonist actions are pharmacodynamic principles. : Pharmacodynamics refers to the actions of medications in the body. Drug concentrations, receptor and binding activities, antagonistic actions and agonist actions are pharmacodynamic principles. Drug absorption : Drug absorption is the pharmacokinetic process with which the medication moves through body to the bloodstream. Because intravenous medications are delivered directly into the bloodstream, they are not absorbed. The rates of absorption for oral medications vary according to the acidity of the stomach's fluids, the presence of food, and other factors. : Drug absorption is the pharmacokinetic process with which the medication moves through body to the bloodstream. Because intravenous medications are delivered directly into the bloodstream, they are not absorbed. The rates of absorption for oral medications vary according to the acidity of the stomach's fluids, the presence of food, and other factors. Drug distribution : Drug distribution, the second phase of the pharmacokinetic process, is the movement of the medication through the bloodstream to its target. Fat soluble medications are attracted to fatty tissue targets. : Drug distribution, the second phase of the pharmacokinetic process, is the movement of the medication through the bloodstream to its target. Fat soluble medications are attracted to fatty tissue targets. Drug metabolism or biotransformation : Drug metabolism, also referred to as biotransformation, is the third phase of the pharmacokinetic process. Drug metabolism is defined as the detoxification and breaking down of drugs in the liver. : Drug metabolism, also referred to as biotransformation, is the third phase of the pharmacokinetic process. Drug metabolism is defined as the detoxification and breaking down of drugs in the liver. Excretion : Excretion, the final stage of pharmacokinetics, is defined as the elimination of active and inactive drug metabolites from the body. The vast majority of medications are excreted by the kidney and the urinary tract but some may be excreted via the respiratory and gastrointestinal tract. : Excretion, the final stage of pharmacokinetics, is defined as the elimination of active and inactive drug metabolites from the body. The vast majority of medications are excreted by the kidney and the urinary tract but some may be excreted via the respiratory and gastrointestinal tract. Indications for medications : The indications for medications are those diseases, disorders, illnesses and conditions that are appropriate uses for a particular medication. For example, the indications for the use of phenobarbital include the control of seizures, the prevention of seizures, to decrease anxiety and for the withdrawal from a barbiturate. The indications for medications are established by the United States Food and Drug Administration. When a medication is used for any other than these established and approved uses, this usage is referred to as an "off label use". : The indications for medications are those diseases, disorders, illnesses and conditions that are appropriate uses for a particular medication. For example, the indications for the use of phenobarbital include the control of seizures, the prevention of seizures, to decrease anxiety and for the withdrawal from a barbiturate. The indications for medications are established by the United States Food and Drug Administration. When a medication is used for any other than these established and approved uses, this usage is referred to as an "off label use". Contraindications of medications : Virtually all medications are not indicated for, and thus, contraindicated for certain clients, as based on one or more conditions. For example, medications classified as Categories C, D and X are contraindicated for women who are pregnant. Many drugs are contraindicated during pregnancy, during lactation, and when the client has a history of renal or hepatic disease, for example. : Virtually all medications are not indicated for, and thus, contraindicated for certain clients, as based on one or more conditions. For example, medications classified as Categories C, D and X are contraindicated for women who are pregnant. Many drugs are contraindicated during pregnancy, during lactation, and when the client has a history of renal or hepatic disease, for example. The cautious use of medications : Like contraindications, many medications have published precautions that indicate the cautious use of a medication as based on the status of the client; although the cautious use of a medication is often done, it is done when there are no suitable alternatives to it with the provision that the client will be closely monitored and assessed for any adverse effects. : Like contraindications, many medications have published precautions that indicate the cautious use of a medication as based on the status of the client; although the cautious use of a medication is often done, it is done when there are no suitable alternatives to it with the provision that the client will be closely monitored and assessed for any adverse effects. Therapeutic effects of a medication : A therapeutic effect is the desired effect of the specific medication. For example, the therapeutic and desired effects of anti-anxiety medications is to decrease the client's level of anxiety and the therapeutic effects of anti-hypertensive medications is to decrease the client's blood pressure. : A therapeutic effect is the desired effect of the specific medication. For example, the therapeutic and desired effects of anti-anxiety medications is to decrease the client's level of anxiety and the therapeutic effects of anti-hypertensive medications is to decrease the client's blood pressure. Side effects of a medication : A side effect of a medication is any effect(s) other than the therapeutic and intended effect(s) of a medication. Some side effects adversely affect a client, other side effects can be harmless to the client, and still more may be a desirable side effect that is therapeutic for the client. These kinds of side effects can include damage to the 8 th cranial nerve, minor oral dryness, and sleepiness after taking an antihistamine such as diphenhydramine which is taken by many people, particularly the elderly, to induce sleep rather than for its antihistamine actions. : A side effect of a medication is any effect(s) other than the therapeutic and intended effect(s) of a medication. Some side effects adversely affect a client, other side effects can be harmless to the client, and still more may be a desirable side effect that is therapeutic for the client. These kinds of side effects can include damage to the 8 cranial nerve, minor oral dryness, and sleepiness after taking an antihistamine such as diphenhydramine which is taken by many people, particularly the elderly, to induce sleep rather than for its antihistamine actions. Idiosyncratic effects of a medication : Idiosyncratic effects of a medication include those side effects that are rare, unusual and unexpected. These effects can include things like a client experiencing hyperactivity after having taken a sedating medication. These effects tend to be individual rather than common to a group or population of clients affected with a certain risk factor of disorder, for example. : Idiosyncratic effects of a medication include those side effects that are rare, unusual and unexpected. These effects can include things like a client experiencing hyperactivity after having taken a sedating medication. These effects tend to be individual rather than common to a group or population of clients affected with a certain risk factor of disorder, for example. Cumulative effects of a medication : The cumulative effects of a medication are those effects that result from the accumulation of a medication. Cumulative effects of medications can occur as the result of several impaired pharmacokinetic processes including the impaired biotransformation and excretion of drugs, as often occurs among elderly clients because of some of the normal changes of the aging process. At times, the cumulative effects of a medication can be a life threatening overdose of the medication; therefore, caution must be exercised when a client is at risk for the accumulation of a medication and its cumulative effects. : The cumulative effects of a medication are those effects that result from the accumulation of a medication. Cumulative effects of medications can occur as the result of several impaired pharmacokinetic processes including the impaired biotransformation and excretion of drugs, as often occurs among elderly clients because of some of the normal changes of the aging process. At times, the cumulative effects of a medication can be a life threatening overdose of the medication; therefore, caution must be exercised when a client is at risk for the accumulation of a medication and its cumulative effects. Adverse effects of a medication : The adverse effect of a medication is a highly serious and far more than troublesome than side effects of medications. For example, an anaphylactic response to an antibiotic is an adverse effect of that medication. Except under highly unusual circumstances, medications that lead to adverse effects are immediately discontinued. : The adverse effect of a medication is a highly serious and far more than troublesome than side effects of medications. For example, an anaphylactic response to an antibiotic is an adverse effect of that medication. Except under highly unusual circumstances, medications that lead to adverse effects are immediately discontinued. Drug interactions : Drug interactions occur when drugs and foods interact, when drugs and herbs or supplements interact, and when drugs and other drugs interact. Some of these drug interactions are synergistic and potentiating and others may be inhibiting. : Drug interactions occur when drugs and foods interact, when drugs and herbs or supplements interact, and when drugs and other drugs interact. Some of these drug interactions are synergistic and potentiating and others may be inhibiting. Potentiating effects of a medication : A potentiating effect of a medication is the synergistic, additive effect that occurs when drugs and foods interact, when drugs and herbs or supplements interact, and when drugs and other drugs interact. The former two interactions will make the medication more powerful in its effects; and the later will have an increased effect by one or more of the medications that are interacting. : A potentiating effect of a medication is the synergistic, additive effect that occurs when drugs and foods interact, when drugs and herbs or supplements interact, and when drugs and other drugs interact. The former two interactions will make the medication more powerful in its effects; and the later will have an increased effect by one or more of the medications that are interacting. Inhibiting effects of a medication : An inhibiting effect of a medication is a decreased effect that occurs when drugs and foods interact, when drugs and herbs or supplements interact, and when drugs and other drugs interact. The former two interactions will weaken the effects of the medication; and the later will have a decreased and inhibiting effect on one or more of the medications that are interacting. : An inhibiting effect of a medication is a decreased effect that occurs when drugs and foods interact, when drugs and herbs or supplements interact, and when drugs and other drugs interact. The former two interactions will weaken the effects of the medication; and the later will have a decreased and inhibiting effect on one or more of the medications that are interacting. Drug toxicity : Drug toxicity is defined as an over dosage of a medication that occurs when the dose that is administered exceeds the client's ability to metabolize and/or excrete the medication. : Drug toxicity is defined as an over dosage of a medication that occurs when the dose that is administered exceeds the client's ability to metabolize and/or excrete the medication. Drug allergy : A drug allergy is the result of an antigen- antibody immunologic response to a medication. All clients must be assessed for any drug sensitivities and allergies. : A drug allergy is the result of an antigen- antibody immunologic response to a medication. All clients must be assessed for any drug sensitivities and allergies. Drug tolerance : Drug tolerance occurs when a client has been receiving a particular medication, such as an opioid drug, for a prolonged period of time and, as a result of this prolonged administration, the client needs increasing doses of the medication to produce the therapeutic effect. : Drug tolerance occurs when a client has been receiving a particular medication, such as an opioid drug, for a prolonged period of time and, as a result of this prolonged administration, the client needs increasing doses of the medication to produce the therapeutic effect. The chemical name of a drug : The chemical name of a drug is the chemical composition of the drug. : The chemical name of a drug is the chemical composition of the drug. The trade or brand name of a drug : The trade or brand name of a drug is the manufacturer's name for the drug. Trade name drugs are more expensive than generic drugs. : The trade or brand name of a drug is the manufacturer's name for the drug. Trade name drugs are more expensive than generic drugs. The generic name of a drug: The generic name of a drug is the name of a drug that is given to it by the United States Adopted Names Council. This name remains the same over time. A generic medication can have a number of different trade names, but a trade name is the exclusive property of the drug manufacturer, therefore, there is no more than one trade name. For example, the generic name of metoprolol can have multiple trade names such as Metoprolol Succinate and Lopressor, both of which are capitalized unlike generic names. Related content includes but is not limited to: Explore - Pharmacological & Parenteral Therapies Practice Test Questions Reduction of Risk Potential The Reduction of Risk Potential questions will test the ability of the nurse to reduce the likelihood that clients will develop complications or health problems related to existing conditions, treatments or procedures. The nurse must be able to: Assess and respond to changes in client vital signs Perform diagnostic testing (e.g., electrocardiogram, oxygen saturation, glucose monitoring) Monitor the results of diagnostic testing and intervene as needed Obtain blood specimens peripherally or through central line Obtain specimens other than blood for diagnostic testing (e.g., wound, stool, urine) Insert, maintain and remove a gastric tube Insert, maintain and remove a urinary catheter Insert, maintain and remove a peripheral intravenous line Use precautions to prevent injury and/or complications associated with a procedure or diagnosis Evaluate responses to procedures and treatments Recognize trends and changes in client condition and intervene as needed Perform focused assessment Educate client about treatments and procedures Provide preoperative and postoperative education Provide preoperative care Provide intraoperative care Manage client during and following a procedure with moderate sedation Related content includes but is not limited to: Explore - Reduction of Risk Potential Practice Test Questions Physiological Adaptation The Physiological Adaptation questions will test the ability of the nurse to manage and provide care for clients with acute, chronic or life threatening physical health conditions. The nurse is expected to be able to: Assist with invasive procedures (e.g., central line, thoracentesis, bronchoscopy) Implement and monitor phototherapy Maintain optimal temperature of client (e.g., cooling and/or warming blanket) Monitor and care for clients on a ventilator Monitor and maintain devices and equipment used for drainage (e.g., surgical wound drains, chest tube suction, negative pressure wound therapy) Perform and manage care of client receiving peritoneal dialysis Perform suctioning (e.g. oral, nasopharyngeal, endotracheal, tracheal) Provide wound care or dressing change Provide ostomy care and education (e.g. tracheal, enteral) Provide pulmonary hygiene (e.g., chest physiotherapy, incentive spirometry) Provide postoperative care Manage the care of the client with a fluid and electrolyte imbalance Monitor and maintain arterial lines Manage the care of a client with a pacing device (e.g., pacemaker) Manage the care of a client on telemetry Manage the care of a client receiving hemodialysis Manage the care of a client with alteration in hemodynamics, tissue perfusion and hemostasis (e.g., cerebral, cardiac, peripheral) Educate client regarding an acute or chronic condition Manage the care of a client with impaired ventilation/oxygenation Evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment regimen for a client with an acute or chronic diagnosis Perform emergency care procedures (e.g., cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, respiratory support, automated external defibrillator) Identify pathophysiology related to an acute or chronic condition (e.g., signs and symptoms) Recognize signs and symptoms of complications and intervene appropriately when providing client care Related content includes, but is not limited to: Explore - Physiological Adaptation Practice Test Questions PLEASE NOTE: National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN®) is a registered trademark of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc. None of the trademark holders are affiliated with RegisteredNursing.org.Pictures ©2000 MAMIKON a VISUAL Approach to CALCULUS problems A talk by TOM M. APOSTOL Professor of Mathematics, Emeritus, and Director of Project MATHEMATICS! Delivered at the California Institute of Technology, 4 October 2000 (in Honor of his 50 yerars at Caltech) Introduction Calculus is a beautiful subject with a host of dazzling applications. As a teacher of calculus for more than fifty years and as an author of a couple of textbooks on the subject, I was stunned to learn that many classical problems in calculus can be easily solved by an innovative visual approach that makes no use of formulas. Here's a sample of four such (and more) problems: Problem 1. Find the area of a parabolic segment. Figure 1 shows a parabolic segment, the shaded region below the graph of the parabola y = x2 and above the interval from 0 to x. The area of the parabolic segment was first calculated by Archimedes more than 2000 years ago by a method that laid the foundations for integral calculus. Figure 1. A parabolic segment Problem 2. Find the area of the region under an exponential curve. Figure 2 shows the graph of the exponential function exp. We want the area of the shaded region below the graph to any point x. Figure 2. The region below an exponential curve Problem 3. Find the area of the region under one arch of a cycloid. A cycloid is the path traced out by a fixed point on the boundary of a circular disk that rolls along a horizontal line, and we want the area of the shaded region shown in Figure 3. This problem can also be done by calculus but it is more difficult than the first two. First, you have to find an equation for the cycloid, which is not exactly trivial. Then you have to integrate this to get the required area. Figure 3. The region under one arch of a cycloid Problem 4. Find the area of the region under a tractrix. When a child drags a toy along the floor with a string of constant length, the toy traces out a tractrix as the child walks along the x axis all the way to infinity. (Figure 4.) We want to find the area of the region between the tractrix and the x axis. To solve this by the standard calculus method, you have to find the equation of the tractrix. This, in itself, is rather challenging&emdash;it requires solving a differential equation. Once you have the equation of the tractrix you have to integrate it to get the area. It can be done, but the calculation is somewhat demanding. Figure 4. The region between a tractrix and the x axis. All four of these classical calculus problems and many more can also be solved by a new method that relies on geometric intuition and is easily understood by very young
High school career Edit College career Edit Freshman season (2012–2013) Edit As a freshman, Hanlan started all 33 games. He arrived with most of the players being either freshman or sophomores. During Hanlan's freshman season, he scored 15.4 points per game and led his team to the quarterfinals in the 2013 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament. Hanlan's first breakout game as a freshman was on November 21, 2012 vs. Auburn when he had 19 points and made the game-winning shot in a 50-49 victory for the Eagles. After that game, Hanlan was very consistent including having 17 vs. Miami, 22 vs. UNC, and 20 vs. Duke. However, he did miss a free throw vs. Miami (FL) that would have sent the game into overtime, and missed a shot that would have won the game vs. Duke. From mid-February until the end of the season, Hanlan scored 12+ points every game. His second breakout game was on February 19, 2013 vs. Maryland when he scored a career high 26 points in a 69-58 win for the Eagles. Hanlan then set an ACC Basketball Tournament freshman record for scoring with 41 points against Georgia Tech on March 14, 2013. The Eagles won 84-64. Hanlan went on to win ACC rookie of the year.[1] Stats Edit College Year GP MIN SPG BPG RPG APG PPG FG% FT% 3P% Boston College 2012–13 33 34.2 1.2 0.1 4.2 2.3 15.4.457.750.394 Professional career Edit National team career Edit Hanlan was a member of the Canadian U19 national team that competed in Latvia for the 2011 FIBA World Championships. He was also a member of the Canadian U17 national team that finished third in the 2010 FIBA World Championships in Germany. Hanlan led his team in scoring in the bronze medal game against Lithuania with 15 points, 4 assists and 5 rebounds.[1][9]. In August 2017, Hanlan was a member of the Canadian Senior Men's National Team that competed at the 2017 FIBA AmeriCup. Hanlan scored a team-high 10 points, along with three rebounds and three assists in a loss to the Virgin Islands.[10] Then in November 2017, Hanlan was a member of the Canadian Senior Men's National Team that competed at the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualifiers.For cannabis consumers who are accustomed to the black market's meager selection and iffy quality, Colorado's dispensaries are a revelation: dozens of strains, each with a distinctive bouquet, fresh enough that you can actually smell the difference. Denver-area budtenders, who say tourists account for half or more of their business, are used to amazed reactions, reminiscent of the scene in Moscow on the Hudson where Robin Williams, playing a Soviet defector, encounters an American supermarket for the first time. But once a visitor settles on a gram of Budderface or a quarter-ounce of Cinderella 99, he has a problem: Where can he smoke it? State and local restrictions have made answering that question a much bigger challenge than it needs to be. Amendment 64, which legalized marijuana for recreational use, prohibits consumption of cannabis on the premises of the state-licensed stores that sell it. Furthermore, those stores are not allowed to sell anything but marijuana products and related merchandise, so the only food and beverages they stock are cannabis-infused edibles. Colorado therefore does not have anything like Amsterdam's famous "coffee shops," where you can buy and consume marijuana along with soft drinks and snacks. Well, you might think, that would have been fun, but at least you can buy your pot at a dispensary and take it somewhere else to consume it. Not so fast. The Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act, which has been amended to cover marijuana as well as tobacco, bans smoking inside bars and restaurants. Outdoor areas of those businesses are exempt from the smoking ban, but that does not necessarily mean tourists can enjoy their newly purchased pot there. The section of Amendment 64 that eliminated penalties for marijuana use does not apply to "consumption that is conducted openly and publicly." Last year Denver—which is the epicenter of marijuana retailing, with more pot shops than the rest of the state combined—passed an ordinance that defines "openly and publicly" broadly enough to foil the plans of visitors who thought they could legally smoke pot on the patio of a bar or restaurant. Denver's ordinance defines openly as "occurring or existing in a manner that is unconcealed, undisguised, or obvious." It defines publicly as "occurring or existing in a public place" or "occurring or existing in any outdoor location where the consumption of marijuana is clearly observable from a public place." Finally, Denver defines public place to include not just city sidewalks and parks but any business open to the public, such as a bar or restaurant. Fine, you might say. Let's go back to the hotel. But that is also a problem. When I checked into the Warwick in downtown Denver last week, the registration form included the following notice: "The recent Colorado law permitting recreational marijuana use does not apply to this private business. City of Denver law prohibits marijuana consumption on hotel balconies." That first sentence asserts the hotel's right to ban marijuana consumption on its own property, a right that every property owner retains under Amendment 64. But the second sentence claims that consuming marijuana on a hotel balcony is illegal in Denver. Is that true? A hotel balcony is not a public place by Denver's definition, since it is open only to registered guests and the people they invite, not just anybody walking in off the street. You could argue that a hotel balcony is an "outdoor location where the consumption of marijuana is clearly observable from a public place." But that depends on various factors, including the time of day, the amount of pedestrian traffic on the street, the floor where the room is located, and the discretion of the marijuana consumer. If all that can be seen from the street is smoke, who is to say what sort of dried vegetable matter is being burned? And if you are smoking pot at 2 a.m. on the balcony of a 12th-floor room above a deserted street, your actions may not be "clearly observable" by anyone. The Warwick nevertheless reads Denver's ordinance as a blanket ban on balcony bud burning. In practice, the hotel may be more cannabis-friendly than its warning suggests. "It's hilarious," says Nick Brown, co-owner of Spiro Tours, which arranges marijuana-themed itineraries. "Cannabis is a 'don't ask, don't tell' type of thing. The Warwick is what every operator uses for their cannabis-friendly hotels because they have balconies. The balconies help us comply with the Clean Indoor Air Act." But does that mean the hotel does not really care what you are lighting up on the balcony? "In my conversations with the hotel, it's kind of vague," Brown says. "Cannabis is Denver, Colorado. People come and smoke pot here all the time. It happens. So I'm like, 'OK, am I allowed to have the tourists in there smoke pot without getting in trouble?' And she says the trouble would be a smoking fine just for filling up the room with smoke. But that applies if they smoke cigarettes in there too." Peter Johnson, founder and CEO of Colorado Green Tours, thinks it will be a while before hotels officially welcome cannabis consumers. "They've got an odd interpretation of the law," he says. "They have smoking policies. They make you sign [a form] saying it's illegal to consume cannabis, when technically it's not. You have to keep in mind that they're not Colorado-only businesses. Their rules are being written over in Prohibitionville; that's where there's a big disconnect. A lot of these hotels come across as very cannaphobic, and I think it's going to be a while before they have an 'a-ha' moment and say, 'Oh, they're really not bad people. They've been staying here all along anyway, so we might as well openly allow them to do what they're doing.'" Some Colorado-based businesses do explicitly offer cannabis-friendly lodging, and renting apartments is another option. If you happen to have friends in Colorado (or make some during your trip), consuming marijuana in their homes is clearly legal. According to Brown and Johnson, so is consuming marijuana in a private vehicle such as a limo, a van, or a bus (as long as you're not the driver). Tour companies therefore can let customers sample their dispensary purchases en route to the next destination. But if you want to legally consume marijuana in a social setting similar to a tavern or a cocktail party, rather than sneaking puffs here and there, the options are limited. The Colorado Symphony Orchestra (CSO) explored that territory when it announced a "Classically Cannabis" concert series last spring. The original plan was to let anyone who bought a $75 ticket bring his own marijuana and consume it on the enclosed patio ofSpace Gallery, a private event venue in Denver that the CSO rented especially for the concerts. But that was not sufficiently private for city officials. In a May 8 letter to CSO President Jerry Kern, Stacie Loucks, director of Denver's Department of Excise and Licenses, warned that "the event, as advertised, could violate both City and State law." Loucks noted that Amendment 64 allows penalties for "consumption that is conducted openly and publicly." She also cited a city ordinance saying "it shall be unlawful for any person to engage in any form of business or commerce involving the cultivation, processing, manufacturing, storage, sale, distribution or consumption of marijuana" unless he is licensed to do so. The implication was that the CSO, by letting concertgoers consume their own cannabis at Space Gallery, could be deemed to be running an unlicensed marijuana business. Loucks urged the CSO to cancel the concerts, saying the city would "exercise any and all options" to stop them from happening and warning that "failure to follow the law may result in civil and criminal penalties." Less than a week later, the CSO announced that it had reached a compromise with the city: Everyone who had bought a "Classically Cannabis" ticket would receive a refund, and the concerts would proceed as invitation-only fundraisers. That solution represented real progress, says Christian Sederberg, a Denver lawyer who helped run the Amendment 64 campaign and represented the CSO in discussions with the city. "Before they never would have let anyone have marijuana," Sederberg says. "They didn't change their opinion under pressure. They looked at the law more carefully and basically realized that there is a distinction to be drawn here. We had an event that was blessed, and we were like, 'OK, we can do this.' It's totally legitimate." Unadvertised, invitation-only events, of course, will not be much use to people visiting Colorado for a few days or a week. But Rob Corry, a Denver attorney and longtime cannabis activist, thinks the CSO compromise means the city should be OK with private, members-only clubs where people can consume their own marijuana. "The symphony has shown us the way," he says. "It probably took a wealthy, yuppie, white institution to break that barrier, but so be it. The rest of us are going to follow that model." One example is iBake, a pipe shop and cannabis club that has been operating in an unincorporated part of Adams County, just outside Denver, since February 2013. Littletree Oppy, iBake's co-owner, says the business qualifies as a tobacconist and is therefore exempt from the state's smoking ban. Smoking and hanging-out privileges are reserved for members who pay a $10 monthly fee. Oppy says iBake, which sells soft drinks and snacks as well as marijuana paraphernalia, has not had any trouble with local officials. By contrast, Maryjane's Social Club, a hangout for cannabis consumers in Denver, was raided and shut down on June 27. Surprisingly, Colorado Springs, a conservative city that has banned the sale of recreational marijuana within its borders, seems to be more tolerant of cannabis clubs than Denver, a more liberal city that is home to about 60 recreational pot stores. After several attempts at closing down Studio A64, a "cannabis social club" with the motto "inhale responsibly," the Colorado Springs City Council decided the operation was legal. Colorado Springs has at least one other cannabis club: the Speak Easy Vape Lounge.New head coach Ben McAdoo inherited a team with plenty of holes, and general manager Jerry Reese needs a big offseason to move off the hot seat. The defense is entirely in shambles with a few big name players hitting free agency, and the offense has a few holes as well. Luckily for the Giants, the team has a franchise quarterback, so the most important piece of the puzzle is already in place. However, the rest of the roster probably needs more than one year to fix. For the purposes of this article, I will focus on the players only. The 7 Biggest Problems for the New York Giants Heading into 2016 1. Defensive End The Giants generated little to no pass rush for most of the season and that can largely be attributed to the play of the defensive ends. Obviously, the Jason Pierre-Paul accident did not help the situation, but the problem is more than that. Jason Pierre-Paul is a free agent now and the Giants have a big decision to make. The other starting defensive end, Robert Ayers, had some moments and accumulated 9.5 sacks but he is also a free agent and turns 31 in September. Both starters are free agents and the depth at the position is poor, so this unit needs a major overhaul. Damontre Moore was supposed to step up this year, but he was cut during the season. Owa Odighizuwa is largely an unknown after not playing much during his rookie year. Kerry Wynn and George Selvie were mediocre depth players at best, and Selvie is a free agent anyway. This unit will have to be addressed in both free agency and the draft. 2. Linebacker This unit has questions at all three starting positions, but at least outside linebacker Devon Kennard looks like a long-term piece, as long as he stays healthy. The strongside linebacker position is very weak after him though. Middle linebacker Jon Beason is probably going to get cut this offseason because he can’t stay healthy. Jasper Brinkley and Uani’ Unga filled it decently at times, but neither are solutions at middle linebacker. J.T. Thomas showed flashes at weakside linebacker, but he also got injured and only played in 12 games. Jonathan Casillas was a solid backup at weakside linebacker, but certainly shouldn’t be relied upon as a starter. This unit probably should be addressed both in free agency and the draft, as an impact player is needed at middle linebacker and an insurance player for Devon Kennard at strongside linebacker is needed at least. 3. Offensive Line (Right Side) The left side of the offensive line is very strong, as left tackle Ereck Flowers, left guard Justin Pugh, and center Weston Richburg are all long-term pieces. However, the right side is pretty scary. It’s safe to say that John Jerry and Marshall Newhouse are the worst possible right guard – right tackle combination in the entire league. Both should be backups, at best. Bobby Hart, Will Beatty, and Geoff Schwartz are other internal options, and certainly better options than Jerry and Newhouse, but Hart is largely unproven, Beatty is coming off his second major injury and may be cut because of his large contract, and Schwartz might be cut because he can’t stay healthy. If the Giants spend a second-round draft pick on a right guard, the line would be very good and the offense might actually be able to run the ball. 4. Wide Receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is one of the best wide receivers in the league, but he desperately needs some help. Victor Cruz can’t be depended on after missing the entire season because of the major knee injury he suffered in 2014. Rueben Randle is a free agent and the Giants almost certainly won’t bring him back because of his lack of effort. Dwayne Harris is a decent receiver, but he can’t be the second option in the passing attack. He is a #3 wide receiver at best and probably better suited as the fourth wide receiver. Hakeem Nicks is washed up, and Myles White and Ben Edwards mostly just took up space because of injuries. Geremy Davis did not see much playing time as a rookie, but his development is important so he is one wild card to study closely in 2016. The Giants probably won’t be able to spend a high draft pick or acquire an expensive free agent to fill this hole because of the other problems, but cheaper options in free agency must be signed at least. 5. Free Safety Landon Collins is a solid player, but he was exposed at times in coverage because he had to play free safety. He is a strong safety by every definition and he will be a good one. However, the other safeties on the roster are horrible and something needs to be done this offseason. Free agency is probably the best option because the higher draft picks need to address other holes and the last thing the Giants need is another project late-round safety. 6. Cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is a good cornerback, but Prince Amukamara is a free agent and with his extensive injury history, he may not be re-signed. If he leaves in free agency, a high draft pick or an expensive free agent must be signed to replace him. Furthermore, the nickel corner position needs to be upgraded, even if Prince stays. Depth at the position is very poor. 7. Defensive Tackle Johnathan Hankins is a very good defensive tackle, and Jay Bromley might be a decent starter, but the depth is very poor even if Bromley pans out. Cullen Jenkins is about to be 35 and might retire. Barry Cofield is washed up and about to turn 32. Markus Kuhn is not good at all and the fact that he actually started a few games this year is embarrassing. When Hankins tore his pectoral muscle against the Buccaneers and missed the rest of the season, the interior defensive line couldn’t stop the run at all. Multiple players need to be brought in for depth at least. Main Photo:Detainees at Camp X-Ray, Guantanamo Bay (Wikimedia) Retired generals urge Obama to keep Gitmo promise In a letter to the president, 27 former military leaders call for renewed efforts to close the facility Twenty-seven retired military generals and admirals signed their names to a letter Tuesday, urging President Obama to follow through on his four-year-old promise to close the U.S. detention facility in Guantánamo. Last week the White House threatened to veto a new version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which in its current form could impose prisoner transfer restrictions that may compromise plans to close the facility. Last year, Obama threatened a veto over similar objections but backed down and signed the act into law. As such, retired top military brass are urging a redoubling of efforts to close the camp. The letter, organized by Human Rights First, noted: Advertisement: There remains a clear path to closing Guantanamo during the second term of your presidency. Detainees who have been unanimously cleared for transfer by the interagency taskforce, which included all the relevant security and intelligence agencies, should be transferred. Detainees who have allegedly committed crimes should face civilian trials in federal courts or an appropriate foreign jurisdiction. Although your administration continues to hold law of war detainees without charge or trial, under the laws of war they may be held only while hostilities are ongoing. We are approaching the end of the war in Afghanistan and the Secretary of Defense has said that the United States is “within reach of strategically defeating Al Qaeda.” Your administration should now turn its attention to what it will take to combat terrorism over the long term. Human Rights First has put forward an updated Blueprint on how to close Guantánamo in President Obama’s second-term.For the first time ever, scientists have mapped out the underground reservoirs of water throughout Africa and found that the northern part of the continent has the most groundwater stored. Contrary to the common notions, beneath Africa's vast desert landscapes there exists about 0.66 million km3 of groundwater, a hundred times more than can be found on the surface and twenty times more than in Africa's lakes. Researchers from the British Geological Survey (BGS) and University College-London mapped out the groundwater reservoirs, also known as aquifers, by cross-referencing a geological base map of the African continent with previously published maps of the African continent's aquifers, in addition to conducting studies of 283 African aquifers. The results were the first quantitative groundwater maps for Africa. As the climate became drier, transforming the Sahara into a desert, water was trapped underneath the surface in these aquifers more than 5,000 years ago. In Africa, more than 300 million people do not have access to safe drinking water. The discovery of these reservoirs offer hope for the continent, provided that the water resources are not exhausted by recurrent droughts. Much lower storage aquifers are present across much of sub-Saharan Africa. However, our work shows that with careful exploring and construction, there is sufficient groundwater under Africa to support low-yielding water supplies for drinking and community irrigation, Helen Bonsor, co-author of the BGS report, told the BBC. However, these underground acquifers have not been replenished for an estimated 5,000 years due to the lack of rain, meaning that the stored groundwater is of limited supply. This fact has raised debate over how to best extract the water for drinking purposes. Generally, groundwater is accessed by drilling boreholes, deep and narrow holes. However, caution must be exercised given the limited supply. Wide developments of boreholes could actually deplete the aquifers. It is not as simple as drilling big bore-holes and seeing rice fields spring up everywhere. In some places it could be economically and technically feasible to use groundwater to reduce crop loss, but I would question whether that is true everywhere. It will need detailed evaluation, Dr Stephen Foster, a London-based senior adviser for aid group Global Water Partnership told Reuters. In addition the yield of boreholes, as in how much water is delivered from pumping, might not be enough for large-scale irrigation. The uneven groundwater distribution is another cause for debate and potentially violent conflict between African countries as they become more desperate for water. The discovery of groundwater under the notoriously dry continent Africa could dramatically affect its population, but practical access and extraction of the water could further delay the thirst relief.CoreOS and Ticketmaster collaborate to bring AWS Application Load Balancer support to Kubernetes • By Josh Rosso Bringing AWS Application Load Balancer support to Kubernetes with Ticketmaster Teams running Kubernetes have long desired more than the "out of the box" cloud provider integration for load balancers. This is especially true on AWS, where provisioning a Classic Elastic Load Balancer (ELB) per service might not cut it (financially and functionally). Over the past few years, Kubernetes (k8s) has refined the ingress model as a powerful way to let your own k8s-aware load balancers join the party, most notably, nginx. With many ingress controllers, gaining layer 7 load balancing is a huge plus, as the ability to do routing based on metadata (hosts or paths) of a request allows us to reuse load balancer instances for many services. This makes AWS's Application Load Balancer (ALB) a perfect candidate to satisfy Kubernetes Ingress resources. ALBs provide the same easy provisioning and management you'd expect out of an ELB, along with configurable rules allowing for path and host-based routing. Combining ALBs with the native ingress resource provided in Kubernetes is a powerful new option for handling ingress. Ticketmaster and CoreOS partnered to create The ALB Ingress Controller. This controller reads ingress resources from your cluster and provisions the necessary AWS components to satisfy the ingress resources, as detailed here. This project was born out of Ticketmaster's tight relationship with CoreOS. The field engineering group at CoreOS (we're hiring!) is focused on making our customers successful with CoreOS products like Tectonic and helping determine where we can give back and influence the overall Kubernetes community. We feel strongly this is the way to be successful with a massive project like Kubernetes. And through this relationship, we're seeing Ticketmaster's thought leadership and passion for open source already benefiting the broader Kubernetes community. The project is usable today and we would love to have you involved. We’ve received great feedback from the community in the last few weeks on GitHub, and we're now focused on stabilization as we head to a 1.0 release. So, if you are using Kubernetes on AWS, join the community. Also, check out the blog post by Brandon Chavis, Solutions Architect at Amazon Web Services, for example use cases of the controller. Learn more with CoreOS and the Kubernetes community CoreOS works in the upstream Kubernetes community, delivers workshops and trainings to help newcomers learn about Kubernetes, and works alongside partners and customers to bring upstream Kubernetes and self-driving infrastructure to all. CoreOS Tectonic is available for companies interested in an enterprise Kubernetes solution, and you can try Tectonic for free up to 10 nodes. If you have any questions about this or any other aspect of Tectonic and Kubernetes on AWS, ask the team directly at CoreOS Fest and see our talk on day one! The Kubernetes and distributed systems conference takes place May 31 and June 1 in San Francisco - join us for two days of talks from the community on the latest developments in the open source container ecosystem. Register today!Mass Effect: Andromeda Teaser debuts on N7 Day When it was first announced, the upcoming Mass Effect: Andromeda was slated for a holiday 2016 release, but now it appears the return to the fan-favorite franchise has been delayed. A user on Neogaf (via IGN) was listening to EA CFO Blake Jorgensen give a talk at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom Conference where he revealed the game had been delayed until early 2017. “We’ve got a great year ahead… we’ve got our Battlefield first-person shooter game coming in the third quarter, and our third-party title that Respawn, our partner, built, it’s called TItanfall, it’s the second title that they brought into that brand. Both of those are first-person shooters and will be targeted around the fast, action-driven shooter market, as well as the strategy-driven market in that quarter… We have our Mirror’s Edge runner game this first quarter, and then we have Mass Effect, which is a sci-fi action game, in our fourth quarter. So big year ahead and we’re pretty excited.” Typically “fourth quarter” would confirm the game’s late 2016 release, however EA’s fiscal year extends into early 2017 meaning that Mass Effect: Andromeda could be released in the January to March window of that year. Are you disappointed in the game’s delay? Sound off in the comments and check out the game’s previously-releasesd teaser trailer below. Officially announced at last year’s E3, Mass Effect: Andromeda will take place far away from and long after the events of the original trilogy as players explore the Andromeda galaxy with an all-new lead character and team of adventurers to work with, learn from, fight alongside of, and fall in love with. Mass Effect: Andromeda is set to debut on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One upon release.The Ohio Auditor of State's Office issued a new warning to local government employees Wednesday to be extra vigilant about the information they share online and the networks they use. It comes days after various Ohio government sites were hacked with pro-ISIS messages. "There is no safe wifi," said Nicole Beckwith, an investigator with the auditor's office. "Use a virtual private network (VPN), don't go to your banking sites or your secure sites." RELATED: Hackers break into Lorain Co. business security camera, screaming insults through camera speakers Among the dangers Beckwith shared with North Olmsted employees included devices called wifi pineapples. "This is super dangerous," she said. Pineapples allow anyone to create their own wifi network for others to join. The operator can then watch in real-time as users surf the internet and even steal personal information. Beckwith demonstrated to News 5 how the device, which costs as little as $50 and can easily be purchased online, works. "This will listen and capture all of your traffic," she added. Beckwith set up a pineapple wifi network at a Starbucks in North Olmsted using the exact name of the establishment's legitimate wifi network. Within minutes, three people connected to the pineapple. What's even more disturbing is that cell phones, if not set to manual wifi connection mode, will automatically connect to a pineapple if in range. "So you don't essentially have to do anything for this device to capture your data," Beckwith said. When News 5 Reporter Kristin Volk connected her phone to the pineapple, the images on her phone showed up on Beckwith's laptop. Beckwith said that although pineapples are not new, they are gaining popularity as hacking becomes trendier. They were originally created for IT professionals to test the vulnerability of their networks.Renderings released Thursday make it a lot easier to imagine a future where you’d no longer rather drive to Burbank or Long Beach to take advantage of their sweet little airports than fly out of LAX. Key to that future is unsnarling Los Angeles International Airport’s traffic mess with new transportation options, the most of exciting of which is an "automated people mover"—a driverless, self-propelled electric train that will ferry travelers among terminals and to future light rail transit stations and to a new hub for rental car agencies. The plan is inching closer to fruition with the release Thursday of an environmental impact report, a mandated review that details the proposed changes and their impacts. The report has renderings that show how the airport would look with the people mover, plus other additions, including pedestrian bridges, structures for passenger pick-up and drop-off, landscaping, and revamped terminal facades. It also explains the design inspiration for all of the new structures. They will "respect" the "distinctive traits of California Modern," i.e. "strong connections to the outdoors;" the use of glass to "provide transparency;" "clean, horizontal lines;" and "'floating'" or cantilevered forms." Without further ado, the renderings: Watch: The historic TWA Flight Center at JFK AirportPresident Trump's top aide Kellyanne Conway reportedly cited the "Bowling Green massacre" days before she "misspoke" of the non-existent incident in an interview on MSNBC. In an interview with Cosmopolitan on Jan. 29, Conway pointed to the "Bowling Green massacre," a terrorist attack that never actually occurred, to defend the president's order barring refugees and people from seven predominately Muslim countries from entering the U.S. During the interview, Conway said former President Barack Obama Barack Hussein ObamaWith low birth rate, America needs future migrants 4 ways Hillary looms over the 2020 race Obama goes viral after sporting black bomber jacket with '44' on sleeve at basketball game MORE had called for a temporary "ban on Iraqi refugees" following the "Bowling Green Massacre." "Why did he do that? He did that for exactly the same reasons," Conway told Cosmopolitan. ADVERTISEMENT "He did that because two Iraqi nationals came to this country, joined ISIS, traveled back to the Middle East to get trained and refine their terrorism skills and come back here and were the masterminds behind the Bowling Green massacre of taking innocent soldiers' lives away." Conway faced backlash after referencing the "the Bowling Green massacre" during an interview last week with MSNBC's "Hardball." "President Obama had a six-month ban on the Iraqi refugee program after two Iraqis came here to this country, were radicalized, and they were the masterminds behind the Bowling Green massacre," Conway said during the MSNBC interview. "Most people don't know that because it didn't get covered." Conway later corrected herself in a tweet following the interview, which included a link to a 2013 ABC News report that referenced two terrorists from al Qaeda in Iraq who had been living in Bowling Green, Ky. The report said the State Department halted Iraqi refugee requests for six months in 2011 as a result of the case. Over the weekend, Conway sought to defend herself, saying she "misspoke one word." She called some of those who criticized her for the misstatement "haters."Science and education professionals are increasingly alarmed about the impact Donald Trump’s cabinet picks — many of them evangelical Christians — could have on science standards in public schools. Candidate Trump repeatedly pledged to end the existing Common Core curricula standards for math and English. Critics worry that could open the door to rethinking science standards, and lead to the teaching of creationism and Intelligent Design, pseudo-scientific notions about Earth’s origins with little or no support from scientists. Vice president-elect Mike Pence and Dr. Ben Carson, Trump’s pick to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development, are both known creationists. Writing in Scientific American, Devin Powell quotes science education advocates, warning that “the legitimization of such nonscientific views at the highest levels of government could trickle down to local policies.” He writes that battles, over how evolution and climate change should be taught, are already being fought in states such as Louisiana and Texas, where there are bills in the state legislatures that would let teachers treat the subjects as controversial. “Nearly all of this legislation has emerged in states that were won by Trump,” he wrote. Also of concern, critics say, is the appointment of Betsy DeVos to head the Department of Education. DeVos is a champion of school vouchers, a program to send public money to religious or private schools. She and her husband, Dick DeVos, have framed their support for vouchers in terms of “advance(ing) God’s kingdom.” As a candidate for governor of Indiana, Dick DeVos supported the teaching of Intelligent Design. There is also concern over presidential support for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics — STEM — curricula. Quincy Brown, program director for STEM Education Research at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, cited President Barack Obama’s 2011 initiative to train 100,000 new STEM teachers. “These kinds of initiatives motivate the educational community,” Brown told Scientific American. “If messages like that are not coming from the top, I wonder whether there will be a shift in priorities.” Via Religion News Service."Since there's 8 million people in this city, if you're not getting laid you're a fucking asshole." Take it from Joe: He hasn't let being homeless keep him from going to the bone zone with three to four different women each week. Do his daybreak Four Lokos (2) give off some sort of Red 40 drenched pheromones? "It's not like I forgot how to get pussy just because I became fucking homeless," he intones right before we watch him accost a woman on the street, complimenting her shorts and insisting he give him her name. Her shorts? No way, that would never work on any—wait what? NO. NONONONONONO ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS? Let's watch in disbelief as he sidles up to his next conquest, who is seated on a park bench minding her own damn business. Before we know it, they're forehead to forehead, and then she's spiriting him away to her apartment. But all of this is fine. If we randomly polled a handful of NYC women on whether sleeping on the street is an automatic dealbreaker, a surprising number would ask some follow up questions or at least give it some thought before dismissing the idea outright. Still, it goes without saying that every aspect of the video is almost flawlessly abhorrent, from the the shot of him dousing himself in Axe Body Spray in a Duane Reade to the Elite Daily interviewer, whose slack-jawed Bobby Briggs mien is maybe the only thing more obnoxious than the time Joe referred to himself as a "Cardboard All-Star." You got to hand it Joe, though. He may be stunningly guileless, but he certainly doesn't put on airs. "I just want the worst vodka possible," he explains to a clerk at a liquor store. "I'm mixing it with Gatorade so it doesn't really matter." Toward the end, Joe begins to wax philosophic. "Life's all about karma, he says. "I figure I do the right thing, and the universe reciprocates." Still, when Bobby asks Joe what he would tell the youth of America, Joe is quick to dispel the idea that his boozy Lothario lifestyle should be aspired to. "Never become like me," he says. "Ever."Washington (CNN) The House Intelligence Committee's first open hearing on Russia exposed a partisan rift between the committee's Republicans and Democrats that threatens to only grow bigger as they dig deeper into the possible ties between President Donald Trump's campaign and Russian operatives. Through the lead-up to Monday's hearing, House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes and the panel's top Democrat, Rep. Adam Schiff, coordinated closely -- holding news conferences together, sending joint requests for information from the Justice Department and even agreeing on the first batch of witnesses to call. But Monday's marathon questioning of FBI Director James Comey and National Security Agency Director Mike Rogers split almost evenly between Democrats pressing for more information on the Trump campaign's ties to Russia and Republicans seeking details on who leaked details of the FBI's investigation to the press. And the rift could only widen in the coming weeks as both parties negotiate their next batch of witnesses, which could include former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and other aides at the center of the FBI's investigation. House Democrats on the Intelligence Committee cautioned their Republican colleagues Tuesday against getting in the way of calling people like Flynn and Manafort to testify. "There are some enduring lessons of history -- which is eight or nine times out of 10, it is the cover-up that will get you. So don't be engaged in any effort here that seeks to sequester the truth, because that will ultimately be more damaging than whatever it is we may find out," said Rep. Denny Heck, a Washington Democrat on the committee. "The cover-up will always kill you, so resisting is not healthy in any way." And Rep. Jackie Speier, a veteran Democrat on the panel, said that she is prepared to try and force Flynn and Manafort to come before the committee. "If they need to be subpoenaed they will be subpoenaed -- I feel that strongly about it," Speier said. "And if this committee is worth its salt at all, it has to
comment and will update this report when we learn more. Updated at 3:45 p.m. PT with Twitter comment.Post Whitelist Announcement TN Lee Blocked Unblock Follow Following Aug 23, 2017 Unlisted Our whitelist collection ended yesterday at 2pm (GMT+8/UTC 6am). In total, we have received approximately 50,000 entries and we are working hard to consolidate the lists from different channels. Thank you, everyone, for your support for KyberNetwork. Many of you have approached us to ask about whitelist confirmation email. To that, we would like to inform everyone that no confirmation email will be sent out. 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We will release separate posts to address Registration and KYC check topics later this week. [Warning Message] We will NEVER send you any Emails, Direct Messages or Reminders in regards to sale details, neither will we request public contributions before the token sale date on September 15.The Trump administration on Wednesday tightened travel and commercial ties to Cuba, part of its effort to roll back former President Barack Obama Barack Hussein ObamaWith low birth rate, America needs future migrants 4 ways Hillary looms over the 2020 race Obama goes viral after sporting black bomber jacket with '44' on sleeve at basketball game MORE’s historic opening with Havana. The new rules come nearly five months after President Trump announced he would reverse Obama-era policies that loosened the decades-long trade embargo against the communist island, an attempt to fulfill a promise he made during the 2016 campaign. The changes, which take effect Thursday, restrict Americans’ ability to travel to Cuba and prevent business deals with certain entities controlled by the Cuban government and military. But the core of Obama’s policies will remain intact. ADVERTISEMENT Under new Treasury Department rules, individual “people-to-people” trips — which have enabled American travelers to visit Cuba for educational purposes on their own as opposed to with a tour group — will be eliminated. Such trips will no longer be approved by the U.S. government unless travelers booked a flight or hotel accommodations before Trump’s June 16 announcement. Educational group trips must be arranged through a licensed organization that is “subject to U.S. jurisdiction,” and travelers must be accompanied by a person who represents the organization and is also subject to U.S. jurisdiction. Obama, as part of his Cuba policy, opened up travel by allowing Americans to visit the country under 12 different categories. Tourism to the island is still strictly prohibited, but Trump administration officials have said that people have been skirting the ban by abusing the people-to-people category and designing their own trips, instead of going with a tour group. That's why the White House announced in June it would eliminate that travel category and step up enforcement of current laws. Cubans were deeply concerned about the shift toward group travel, because that model that is far more difficult for small restaurants and private homes to accommodate than individual travelers. But Trump's new rules will allow travelers to stay in private bed-and-breakfasts, like those listed on Airbnb, if they are visiting the island to support the Cuban people. Currently, the "Support for the Cuban People" travel category includes humanitarian purposes and human rights assistance. The new regulations will now allow “renting a room in a private Cuban residence (casa particular), eating at privately owned Cuban restaurants (paladares), and shopping at privately owned stores run by self-employed Cubans (cuentapropistas)” to count toward supporting the Cuban people. However, a traveler must engage in additional Support for the Cuban People activities in order to meet the requirements of a full-time schedule, other than just staying in private homes and eating in private restaurants, according to a summary sheet. Cuba is Airbnb’s fasting growing market, with at least 22,000 rooms now listed on the travel-booking site. About 35 percent of Cuba’s Airbnb guests are American. “Airbnb has been active in trying to make certain that it can claw back some of what it sees as a problem,” said John Kavulich, president of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council. “Their biggest problem is the shift from individual to group travel.” Sen. Marco Rubio Marco Antonio RubioHillicon Valley: Senators urge Trump to bar Huawei products from electric grid \| Ex-security officials condemn Trump emergency declaration \| New malicious cyber tool found \| Facebook faces questions on treatment of moderators Key senators say administration should ban Huawei tech in US electric grid Trump unleashing digital juggernaut ahead of 2020 MORE (R-Fla.), a Cuba hard-liner who helped shape Trump’s policy, assured travelers in June that they would still be able to visit the island if it’s in support of the Cuban people and if they stay in an Airbnb. “Individual Americans can travel to #Cuba under Support for the Cuban people category but must use privately owned lodging like AirBnB,” Rubio wrote on Twitter. Financial restrictions on Cuba Trump’s new Cuba policy also prohibits financial transactions that benefit the Cuban military business arm, known as the Grupo de Administración Empresarial (GAESA). The move is designed to restrict the flow of money to the oppressive elements of Raúl Castro's government. The military-controlled conglomerate is involved in nearly all sectors of the economy, but tourism is its crown jewel. GAESA’s tourism affiliate, Gaviota, operates an estimated 40 percent of all the island’s hotel rooms, in addition to controlling a number of restaurants, shops, tour groups, car rentals and taxis. The Commerce and Treasury departments were tasked with identifying all the Cuban military-linked entities that will now be off-limits to Americans under the new regulations, with a few exceptions. The list includes 180 entities and sub-entities, including hotels, stores, tourist agencies, rum companies, beverage manufacturers and marinas. But the new restrictions do not apply to deals that have already been inked. That's why Four Points by Sheraton Havana, which is operated by GAESA and became the first U.S. hotel to come to Cuba in more than 50 years, is not on the list of prohibited entities. An Obama-era rule allowing Americans to bring back an unlimited amount of rum and cigars is also remaining intact. The changes come at a time of heightened tensions between Washington and Havana over what the U.S. government has described as “sonic attacks” against its diplomats in Cuba. The Cuban government has said it did not carry out any attacks against American representatives, but the Trump administration has said that Havana is ultimately responsible for ensuring diplomats’ safety. The unexplained incidents have prompted the U.S. to withdraw the majority of its embassy staff from Havana and eject most Cuban diplomats from their embassy in Washington.THREAT REMOVAL System Healer – Description And Removal OFFER SCAN YOUR PC with SpyHunter Scan Your System for Malicious Files Note! Your computer might be affected by System Healer and other threats. System Healer may be persistent on your system. They tend to re-appear if not fully deleted. A malware removal tool like SpyHunter will help you to remove malicious programs, saving you the time and the struggle of tracking down numerous malicious files. SpyHunter’s scanner is free but the paid version is needed to remove the malware threats. Read SpyHunter’s EULA and Privacy Policy Threats such asmay be persistent on your system. They tend to re-appear if. A malware removal tool likewill help you to remove malicious programs, saving youof tracking down numerous malicious files. Berta Bilbao Berta is a dedicated malware researcher, dreaming for a more secure cyber space. Her fascination with IT security began a few years ago when a malware locked her out of her own computer. More Posts Name System Healer Type Rogue Antivirus Software Short Description The program may look like a regular clean-up tool but it may also exaggerate with detection. Symptoms The user may experience a lot of pop-ups that advertise the purchasing of a full version. Distribution Method Bundling. Website redirect. Redirect by clicking on an online ad. Detection tool Download Malware Removal Tool, to See If Your System Has Been Affected By System Healer System Healer is a suspicious cleaning and optimizing program that is believed to exhibit exaggerated system error detections to make users upgrade for ‘full’ or ‘licensed’ version by paying. It involves annoying pop-ups on the desktop of the affected computer, and it also takes a lot of unnecessary processing power to run. Security investigators have concluded that this program is unwanted on your computer, and it is strongly advisable not to pay 47.88$ for the licensed version package of the software. System Healer – How Did I Install It? You may have clicked on an ad, saying something similar to ‘Is your PC slow?’ or something not related and this may have led you to their download page on their site. But you may have also been redirected by an adware PUP on your computer. Some browser hijackers have the tendency to cause redirects during browsing. However, the most effective way that these programs use to distribute is a method, called bundling. As seen from the picture below, some software providing sites include third-party apps like System Healer that flood your computer with pop-ups but may be entirely useless. This is done for profit and is a quite effective marketing strategy since most users tend to fast-click through the install steps of their setups. More About System Healer System Healer is designed to look like the most modern registry cleaners and optimizers. However, don’t be fooled because the program does not clean anything from your computer. In fact, we have cleaned all the issues from the computer with one of the best authentic computer optimizers and cleaners. After which, we scanned our PC with System Healer. Here are the results: Then we tried to fix the issue it redirected us to a payment web page to purchase the full version of the software. When left with no action, system healer displayed intrusive pop-ups in the corners and the center of the screen, prompting us to remove issues and purchase a full version. It also presented a pop-up when we tried to close it. Either way, it is a better decision not to pay for System Healer’s full package (around 40$), for several different reasons: It may annoy with exaggerated pop-ups. You should not share you financial information online with unfamiliar parties. You can download free applications that will provide you with the same service without paying a dime. More to it than that, we have scanned our computer with an advanced anti-malware program that also detects potentially unwanted software on the machine. It detected System Healer as a PUP(Potentially Unwanted Program) and discovered a lot of registry values connected with it in the Windows Registry Editor. How To Remove System Healer and Protect Yourself From PUPs? If you want to avoid unneeded programs like System Healer from your PC, make sure you take extreme care when you install new software on your PC. An excellent tool to help you is EULAlyzer. It will locate any specific keywords, such as ‘third-party applications included’ and others. If you wish to remove this program, make sure you follow the step-by-step instructions, provided below. They will help you uninstall the program and delete any registry values or objects that are left over after manual removal. To remove such objects automatically, you should also download an advanced anti-malware program. It should also have an active shield that will detect any potential hazards to your PC even if you miss them by yourself. Step 1: Remove/Uninstall System Healer in Windows Here is a method in few easy steps to remove that program. No matter if you are using Windows 8, 7, Vista or XP, those steps will get the job done. Dragging the program or its folder to the recycle bin can be a very bad decision. If you do that, bits and pieces of the program get left behind, and that can lead to unstable work of your PC, mistakes with the file type associations and other unpleasant activities. The proper way to get a program off your computer is to Uninstall it. To do that: Hold the Windows Logo Button and “R” on your keyboard. A Pop-up window will appear (fig.1). In the field type in “appwiz.cpl” and press ENTER (fig.2). This will open a window with all the programs installed on the PC. Select the program that you want to remove, and press “Uninstall” (fig.3). Follow the instructions above and you will successfully uninstall System Healer. Step 2: Remove System Healer automatically by downloading an advanced anti-malware program. To clean your computer you should download an updated anti-malware program on a safe PC and then install it on the affected computer in offline mode. After that you should boot into safe mode and scan your computer to remove all System Healer associated objects. NOTE! Substantial notification about the System Healer threat: Manual removal of System Healer requires interference with system files and registries. Thus, it can cause damage to your PC. Even if your computer skills are not at a professional level, don’t worry. You can do the removal yourself just in 5 minutes, using a Substantial notification about thethreat: Manual removal ofrequires interference with system files and registries. Thus, it can cause damage to your PC. Even if your computer skills are not at a professional level, don’t worry. You can do the removal yourself just in 5 minutes, using a malware removal tool.NDP Leader Gary Burrill used a campaign stop at a Halifax nursing home to announce $60 million for long-term care for seniors that would fund about 500 new beds and help eliminate bottlenecks that delay care for older people. Burrill said the bottleneck results in overcrowding in some hospitals where patients are staying because they're awaiting long-term care placement. He criticized the McNeil Liberals for not opening any new long-term care beds during their time in government. "The result is that in 14 out of the 18 counties of our province, wait times for long-term care placement now are exceeding 200 days," said Burrill. He said the Liberals' "obsession" with balancing the province's budget meant it didn't spend enough money on long-term care. "We're saying that the care for a population in long-term care is a higher priority than balancing the books of our province every year," Burrill said. Burrill said his party would restore $8 million in cuts to nursing homes. He also said the NDP would freeze pharmacare premiums and would advocate for a national pharmacare program.Lessons in Disaster There’s an unofficial book club in the White House these days, George Stephanopoulos reported late last month, and the manuscript in question could not be more pertinent. As the Obama administration rethinks its strategy in Afghanistan, officials are turning to Gordon M. Goldstein’s Lessons in Disaster — an account of analogous moments of decision in the Vietnam War. And though most historical comparisons are approximations at best, the resemblance between those crucial Vietnam inflection points and today are uncanny: Casualties are rising, public opposition is growing, the host government’s legitimacy and effectiveness is in doubt, and the U.S. commander in the field is calling for more troops to stave off defeat. Surely, if Obama has a Vietnam moment, it will come in Afghanistan. And that’s precisely what Goldstein’s White House readers might be trying to avoid. Below follows an excerpt of one lesson they might learn, which Goldstein calls "Never Deploy Military Means in Pursuit of Indeterminate Ends": In the spring of 1995, McGeorge Bundy asked me to collaborate with him on a retrospective analysis of the American presidency and the Vietnam War during his tenure as national security advisor to presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. We envisioned the book to be both a memoir of Bundy’s experience with Kennedy and Johnson as well as a reconstruction of the pivotal presidential decisions about American strategy in Vietnam between 1961 and 1965. But the project was fatefully interrupted. Bundy died of a heart attack a year and half into our collaboration. A front-page obituary in the New York Times called Bundy "the very personification of what the journalist David Halberstam … labeled ‘The Best and the Brightest’: the well-born, confident intellectuals who led the nation into the quagmire of Vietnam." Although the McGeorge Bundy who reigned as a legend of the establishment was reputed to be brisk, quick, calculating, and overconfident, the retrospective Bundy of 30 years later — the one with whom I spoke so many times — was in many ways the opposite: patient, reflective, curious, and humble. In fact, on the question of Vietnam Bundy appeared tentative and unsure — maybe on some level even mystified. Although he never said so explicitly, he seemed to be as perplexed by the disaster of Vietnam as any of the historians who studied the decisions in which he had been a central participant. Three decades after his own role in the war ended — he left the White House in 1966 to head the Ford Foundation — he was still asking himself questions about its lessons. "What can we say is the most surprising?" Bundy wondered in a fragment he composed on February 3, 1996, as he and his wife Mary returned from a holiday in the Caribbean. His answer: "The endurance of the enemy." It was a dynamic of the war that fascinated him. Bundy marveled at the leadership of the insurgency, its political strength inside South Vietnam, the stamina of the armed forces of the Vietnamese communists, and the social cohesion that bound these variables together into an equation that allowed a small power, among the poorest countries in the world, to triumph over the United States. When I began working with him on our book project, Bundy was still struggling to understand how the Johnson administration had committed itself to a strategy that would devolve into a contest of endurance Americans were destined to lose. Beginning in 1965 the United States deployed considerable and escalating numbers of ground combat forces in a protracted effort to grind down the enemy — depleting its numbers, breaking its will, and compelling its surrender or negotiated settlement on terms favorable to the United States. That strategy was, of course, a great failure. And Bundy later asked himself, "Do we discuss whether we are in fact well-equipped to conduct a war of attrition? I don’t think that question is ever presented to Lyndon Johnson in the whole of the year in which that strategy is adopted." *** It was June 14, 1965, and Johnson reached out to former President Eisenhower for his counsel on the Vietnam War. A decision was looming over whether to expand the U.S. troop commitment to the conflict. Eisenhower advised not only supporting South Vietnamese forces in action but also urged direct offensive action by American troops. "We have got to win," he said. Meanwhile, the debate among Johnson’s advisors was growing. "In raising our commitment from 50,000 to 100,000 or more men and deploying most of the increment in combat roles we are beginning a new war — the United States directly against the Viet Cong," Under Secretary of State George Ball warned President Johnson. "Perhaps the large-scale introduction of American forces with their concentrated fire power will force Hanoi and the Viet Cong to the decision we are seeking. On the other hand," he presciently cautioned, "we may not be able to fight the war successfully enough — even with 500,000 Americans in South Vietnam — to achieve this purpose." Ball confronted President Johnson with lessons from recent history. "The French fought a war in Viet-Nam, and were finally defeated — after seven years of bloody struggle and when they still had 250,000 combat-hardened veterans in the field, supported by an army of 205,000 Vietnamese." Ball’s dissent was aggressively countered by the administration’s hawks. Secretary of State Dean Rusk and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara strenuously argued that if South Vietnam fell, Thailand would be lost, too. Rusk envisioned a wave of falling dominoes — even India would collapse under the control of the Chinese communists. The top U.S. commander in Vietnam, Gen. William Westmoreland, delivered a bleak report from the front. "The struggle has become a war of attrition," he declared on June 24. "Short of decision to introduce nuclear weapons against sources and channels of enemy power, I see no likelihood of achieving a quick, favorable end to the war. … I am becoming more convinced every day that U.S. forces in appropriate numbers must be deployed to permit the Vietnamese with our help to carry the war to the enemy." The next day, guerrilla fighters launched one of their most spectacular terrorist acts yet, exploding a bomb in the My Canh floating restaurant and killing 44. Against this backdrop of gathering anxiety, McNamara circulated a draft memorandum that would set the terms of debate over further escalation. He formally joined the Joint Chiefs in urging the president to approve General Westmoreland’s proposed expansion to a 44-battalion force in South Vietnam — 34 U.S. maneuver battalions and 10 third-country maneuver battalions totaling approximately 175,000 men. A major escalation of U.S. forces, he argued, would force the insurgents "to accept a situation in the war in the South which offers them no prospect of an early victory and no grounds for hope they can simply outlast the US." Gen. Earle Wheeler, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, asked General Westmoreland directly if the escalation would be sufficient to break the insurgency. The "direct answer to your basic question is ‘no,’ " he replied, admitting that the 44 battalions would not "provide reasonable assurance of attaining the objective." Thus on the eve of the largest and most fateful expansion of the U.S. ground force commitment to Vietnam, the architect of that troop surge told the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff that it simply would not be sufficient to achieve the stated American goal of persuading the insurgency that its victory was impossible. The stage was set for what should have been the seminal debate of the Vietnam War. Ball seized on the inherent uncertainty surrounding the 44-battalion deployment and its implicit strategic assumptions. McNamara had thrown his support behind an enormous expansion of the American commitment. And General Westmoreland, the principal advocate of the 44-battalion strategy, clearly conceded that the new American combat commitment could not assure the achievement of its stated objective. Where was Bundy positioned at this juncture? Frustrated by a deteriorating relationship with President Johnson, he was on the precipice of resigning as national security advisor. Ironically, the national security adviser’s differences with Johnson had little to do with the substance of Vietnam policy. For Bundy, icon of the establishment and the administration’s fiercest debater, silence in response to criticism of the White House policy in Vietnam and Southeast Asia was untenable. The critics of the war, Bundy recalled, "were feeling deliberately cut off from and rejected by an administration with whom they were trying to communicate in good faith." So although he knew that Johnson would be infuriated, Bundy agreed to appear on a one-hour primetime television debate to be broadcast without commercial interruption by CBS News on the evening of June 21. "I informed him after the decision had been made and told him I just couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t do it," Bundy explained in a 1969 oral history. What Bundy never said but should have retrospectively acknowledged was that his decision to go around Johnson’s back to appear on the CBS Vietnam debate was tantamount to submitting his letter of resignation. When he read in the press that Bundy had agreed to the CBS debate, Johnson was enraged. LBJ told his aide, Bill Moyers, that he should inform Bundy that the president would be "pleased — mighty pleased," to accept his resignation. Moyers did not act on the president’s instruction. Johnson’s resistance to explaining and defending the administration’s policy exasperated Bundy. If the new offensive were not "more quickly decisive than we had any clear reason to expect," Bundy said, there would be disturbing consequences when the public "looked back and asked themselves if they had been led openly into this war or somehow bamboozled into it." Bundy acknowledged that every president, including giants like Lincoln and Roosevelt, sought to communicate in a way that achieved the greatest political impact. Yet Johnson aspired for more. The president had "this really quite funny internal belief " that he could reshape facts to serve his interests. Johnson believed that "if he could get it stated his way in the papers it would be that way." Although the national security advisor had reached the breaking point in his relationship with President Johnson, neither man could afford a public dustup, particularly as a major escalation decision loomed. Just six days after appearing on CBS, Bundy was back advising the president. "The commitment" to Saigon, Bundy explained on June 27, "is primarily political and any decision to enlarge or reduce it will be political. My own further view is that if and when we wish to shift our course and cut our losses in Vietnam we should do so because of a finding that the Vietnamese themselves are not meeting their obligations to themselves or to us." Bundy’s support for the war was balanced with nuanced skepticism. On the one hand, he dismissed critics who believed the United States was now emulating the disastrous course France followed in Vietnam. Still, on June 30, Bundy confided his concerns about the Westmoreland plan to Secretary of Defense McNamara. Bundy challenged the assumption that conventional combat forces would be effective in containing the insurgency. "I see no reason to suppose that the Viet Cong will accommodate us by fighting the kind of war we desire." Moving to "a 200 thousand-man level" of support, Bundy warned, was "a slippery slope toward total US responsibility and corresponding fecklessness on the Vietnamese side." The impact of Bundy’s critique, however, was largely vitiated by the fact that it was directed toward McNamara rather than the president or the broader team of advisors responsible for strategy in Vietnam. So as the two stark choices confronting Lyndon Johnson in Vietnam crystallized — the 44-battalion plan advocated by Westmoreland and McNamara or the withdrawal option espoused by Ball — a third course was proposed. It was the so-called middle way envisioned by Bill Bundy, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs and McGeorge’s brother, who proposed a force level of 18 battalions and 85,000 men. "In essence," he explained, "this is a program to hold on for the next two months, and to test the military effectiveness of US combat forces and the reaction of the Vietnamese Army and people to the increasing US role." Anticipating Johnson’s response to the three options, McGeorge Bundy wrote to the president, advising him to choose between the two levels of escalation, rejecting Ball’s suggested pullout. Bundy had a reputation for skillfully aborting dissent when he deemed it necessary, and he was a practiced expert at maneuvering for advantage among competing bureaucracies. Bundy had, for example, previously undermined the secretary of state. "He is not a manager," Bundy advised the president about Rusk in early 1965. "He has never been a good judge of men. His instincts are cautious and negative. … the Secretary has little sense of effective operation." Johnson, meanwhile, continued to reach out to key constituencies, probing where the balance of opinion could be found. Just minutes before meeting with his senior Vietnam advisors on July 2, the president consulted Eisenhower. "Do you really think we can beat the Vietcong?" Johnson asked. Eisenhower advised Johnson to proceed with a troop buildup as soon as possible. "We are not going to be run out of a free country we helped to establish," Eisenhower declared. By July 14, with a decision yet to be made, McNamara departed for South Vietnam. His mission, Bundy retrospectively concluded, was to negotiate a deal with the U.S. military commander in Saigon on the minimum size of the forthcoming escalation. Johnson’s overarching priority was to achieve agreement, absent a fractious debate, on a course of action that would sustain South Vietnam from collapse but not disrupt his legislative agenda in Congress. Political stagecraft — creating the appearance of deliberation when a decision had already been made — was the presumptive purpose of a White House meeting Johnson convened on the morning of July 21. Addressing the administration’s war council, McNamara concluded that the United States had only three strategic options, two of which would leave the United States in a deplorable geopolitical position. President Johnson could choose to "cut our losses and withdraw under the best conditions that can be arranged — almost certainly conditions humiliating the United States and very damaging to our future effectiveness on the world scene." Alternatively, Johnson could hold steady at roughly the current level of 75,000 troops, but that would leave the United States terminally weakened and "almost certainly would confront us later with a choice between withdrawal and an emergency expansion of forces, perhaps too late to do any good." The only viable choice, McNamara argued, was a substantial expansion of offensive U.S. military pressure against the Vietcong and Hanoi — supplemented by vigorous diplomacy. Such an approach, he predicted, "would stave off defeat in the short run and offer a good chance of producing a favorable settlement in the longer run," although it would also render "any later decision to withdraw even more difficult and even more costly than would be the case today." McNamara was vague, however, in delineating the causal logic of his proposed strategy, positing the escalation not as the military means to a military objective but simply as an end in itself. Preliminary discussion among the president’s advisors seemed to anticipate that McNamara’s recommendation would be accepted. President Johnson, eager to project a ruminative state of mind, arrived after 40 minutes of discussion and unleashed a wave of questions ranging from the existential to the logistical. Then he asked, "Is anyone of the opinion we should not do what the memo says?" This was Ball’s cue to register his dissent. "I can foresee a perilous voyage," he said, "very dangerous — great apprehensions that we can win under these circumstances. But let me be clear, if the decision is to go ahead, I’m committed." Rusk regretted the failure to act earlier. "We should have probably committed ourselves heavier in 1961," he said. Henry Cabot Lodge, who would return as the U.S. ambassador to South Vietnam at the end of the summer, bemoaned the dysfunctional nature of the regime. "There is no tradition of a national government in Saigon," he said. "I don’t think we ought to take this government seriously." When discussion resumed that afternoon, Ball was given the floor to present his challenge to the Pentagon escalation plan. "We can’t win," he contended. "The most we can hope for is a messy conclusion." Continuing to prop up the Saigon regime, he also warned, was tantamount to "giving cobalt treatment to a terminal cancer case." Ball proposed that the United States devise a political strategy to stimulate a withdrawal of its military forces from South Vietnam. "The worst blow," Ball replied, "would be that the mightiest power in the world is unable to defeat guerrillas." Bundy refused to engage Ball’s counterargument, once more invoking the credibility imperative. "The world, the country, and the Vietnamese would have alarming reactions if we got out," he said. Achieving victory was apparently less important than the perception of pursuing it. "There will be time to decide our policy won’t work after we have given it a good try," Bundy insisted. "We won’t get out," Ball retorted. "We’ll double our bet and get lost in the rice paddies." Reviewing Ball’s prediction three decades later, Bundy conceded: "He’s right." What struck Bundy most in looking back on the discussion of July 21, 1965, he told me, was a quality of unreality to the deliberations, because Johnson had already communicated his approval of Westmoreland’s 44-battalion strategy to McNamara on July 17. The essential decision had already been sealed. Johnson "wants to be seen having careful discussions," said Bundy. One of the consistent themes of Bundy’s Vietnam counsel as national security advisor was his support for deploying military means in pursuit of indeterminate and primarily political ends. Bundy wanted a military commitment that evinced U.S. credibility even if it did not hold real promise of winning the war. The adoption of attrition as the de facto U.S. military strategy was determined, in part, by the absence of other viable options. And by that metric, U.S. forces did in fact succeed in imposing severe losses on the insurgency. The United States presumed that a crossover point would be reached, when the accumulated pain of war would compel the insurgents to relent. But in practice this coercion strategy simply created an endurance contest. In that competition it was not the will of the Vietnamese communists that was broken. For each year of combat from 1965 to 1973, Bundy observed, the United States inflicted far greater casualties on the enemy than it absorbed. Yet despite this dramatic disparity, it was the United States that withdrew its forces "home without victory." As Bundy starkly confessed, "We had followed a losing strategy — one that led us not to success but to the acceptance of failure. Attrition is a brutal measuring stick," he affirmed. "Its use is not advertised and its authorship not eagerly claimed." How far would Bundy have gone in holding himself accountable for the lack of rigor that characterized the evaluation of military strategy? Bundy was often bluntly critical of himself, and he was equally critical of Johnson for authorizing a muddled military mission. He proclaimed his "deep conviction" that in the pursuit of a flawed strategy in Vietnam, "the decisive errors were those made or approved by the president as commander-in-chief." When in 1995 he finally decided to address the unresolved questions of the Vietnam War, Bundy registered a starkly different point of view from his years in power. He called Vietnam "a war we should not have fought" and conceded that "on the overall issue — are you for the war or against it, in 1965 and after, the doves were right." Bundy would therefore try to explain "the ways in which the executive branch continuously got that great choice wrong — not because it wanted the long, hard war it got, but because it would repeatedly reject the hard alternative of ‘losing to the Reds.’" Bundy in retrospect had embraced a quality he had lacked when in high office three decades earlier. He had finally learned humility.About “THat Part” “THat Part” is a braggadocious song influenced by Californian culture. The phrase “That part” is used as an affirmation of a boast. ScHoolboy Q makes multiple references to his McLaren 12C in the first verse before referring to his drug dealing past later on in the song. Kanye West joins Q for their first collaboration, referencing the famous O.J. Simpson murder trial and Kobe Bryant’s final NBA game. Q and Ye announced the song through slightly vague tweets, alluding to a meme line from Kendrick Lamar’s “Untitled 2”: https://twitter.com/ScHoolBoyQ/status/730782527833530369 The official music video was released June 2, 2016. The conclusion of the video displays the phone number 1-800-351-1132, possibly alluding to “getting Top on the phone.”. The second single for Q’s new album, Blank Face, slated for release on July 8th 2016.We were secretly hoping she'd break out into song, don a habit and revisit "I Will Follow Him" from Sister Act, but when Whoopi Goldberg stopped by the Watch What Happens Live Clubhouse, she didn't teach Andy Cohen how to hit the high notes—she taught him how to get high instead. For WWHL's Teach Me Your Talent! segment, the View host and comedienne opted to roll "tobacco" and went to work on some oregano and rolling papers. [video_clip_url:http://player.theplatform.com/p/PHSl-B/yT7k3t_YLXoZ/embed/select/of35nZyY2JNH] Here's a step-by-step from Whoopie for rolling the perfect "tobacco" joint: Take your fingers and the rolling papers; make a little "canal"; put the tobacco (or oregano) in there "nicely." "Just take your time. You ain't in a rush!" Then, pinch the sides of the paper together length-wise once the insides are evenly distributed, roll, and lick. Let it dry and smoke away! (Or don't, if it's oregano, because nobody wants to inhale a spice.) This might be one of our favorite—and most educational!—Teach Me Your Talent! segment yet. How do you feel about Whoopie's joint-rolling technique? Leave your own tips in the comments. Related Stories •Downton Abbey Is Coming to WWHL •Whoopi's a Farter? That's How She Got Her Name •Sherri Shepherd Dishes on the Hosts of The ViewANAHEIM – The producers of electronic-dance raves that have raised concern and criticism in the past are staging a giant New Year’s party – on Saturday and Sunday – at the Anaheim Convention Center. The dance party has raised safety concerns about overcrowding and potential drug use, but local officials say they are satisfied with safety preparations for the event. The 21-and-over bash, “White Wonderland,” is expected to draw up to 14,500 people each night. It will feature a large dance stage and a massive display of light-and-music theatrics, “creating an all-encompassing winter wonderland experience,” according to event organizers. The event’s website – whitewonderland.com – invites attendees to “fall down the rabbit hole with us once again and experience Wonderland in its most pure and sparkling form.” Insomniac, the company that is producing the event, also produced the June 2010 “Electric Daisy Carnival” – a giant rave at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum that ignited a firestorm of criticism and media attention after a 15-year-old girl died during the event. The parents of that 15-year-old, Sasha Rodriguez, have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Insomniac saying the company was negligent in supervision of the event. Rodriguez overdosed on the illegal drug
Chico Marx are among the famous names who performed there. Coming to the Tivoli... Houdini! Sold by Rickards in 1912, it was renamed the Tivoli shortly after and continued to present live entertainment right through until the 1960s. Converted in that decade to a cinema, the fate of many of Melbourne's old theatres, the building was destroyed by fire in 1967. The 'Tivoli Arcade' stands on the site today: THE QUEEN VICTORIA BUILDINGS Swanston Street, Between Bourke and Collins Streets Built in 1888, the Queen Victoria Buildings ran the length of the block on Swanston Street, opposite the town hall. A rare local example of French Second Empire architecture, the elaborate facade and roof of the building was further ornamented by a number of statues, including a sizable one of the monarch it was named after. The building was used for high end retail shops and featured a glass topped arcade, The Queens Walk, that ran between Bourke and Collins: Queens Walk in 1957. In the 1960's, the Melbourne City Council began to consider the construction of a large public park in the city centre. Across a decade or more, it gradually acquired parts of the Queen Victoria - and other adjacent - buildings for this purpose. Demolition commenced in the late 1960's and took several years (The Regent Hotel was also acquired and scheduled to be knocked down as part of the same project, but was saved by a union ban). The new open space was dubbed 'City Square': Windswept and largely ignored, part of it was sold for development in the 1990s and the Westin Hotel was built on this section. The remainder of the park was redesigned and remains for public use: MELBOURNE/QUEEN VICTORIA HOSPITAL 172 - 254 Lonsdale Street Built in 1911 of bluestone, with stylish towers and iron railings, the Melbourne was almost too elegant to be a hospital. It's graceful facade was further complemented by a lush garden (visible above) that ran around two sides of the grounds. Initially home to the principal hospital for the city, in 1946 it was reconstituted as a specialised institution for women and children (and was solely staffed by women for a time), and renamed the Queen Victoria. The hospital closed in 1987 and the site was then used for a variety of unlikely purposes, including a mini golf course and a craft market. In 1992 the site was purchased by a development group and three of the four hospital buildings demolished. The bulk of the property was then turned into a mixed commerical premises, the QV Building: The site today The one remaining hospital building was refurbished and returned to its previous use, once again offering care to women and children, in 1994. Present day. CAFE AUSTRALIA 264 - 270 Collins Street One of Australia's most famous architects, Walter Burley Griffin, designed the sumptuous Cafe Australia, a remodeling of an existing cafe on Collins Street. Opening in 1916, the cafe bore all of Griffin's trademarks; an elaborate facade and entryway, delicate concrete ornamentation and highly stylised interiors. Cafe Australia was only shortlived, however. It closed and demolished in 1938 and was replaced by the similarly named Hotel Australia, which borrowed much from Griffin's design, but lacked the overall panache of the previous establishment. This building was then reworked into the current occupant of the site, 'Australia on Collins', an up market retail space. Founded in 1835, Melbourne is a young city. Despite this, a great deal of Melbourne's heritage has already been lost. Consider Melbourne's buildings, and the fact that there are now only three in the CBD that pre-date 1850.1850 is a significant year for Melbourne.This was the last full year before the gold rush took hold. In 1851, gold was discovered in Clunes, north of Ballarat, and the state was never the same.A flood of people and money poured into Victoria, into Melbourne, the high tide of which was enough to wash most of the original city away. Melbourne would be rebuilt in grand style with high hopes and deep pockets. And some of the new buildings were among the biggest, and grandest, in the world at the time.Sadly, many of these remarkable old buildings have been lost to us. Some due to shifts in taste, some due to financial considerations, and some for no obvious reason at all.What follows is a brief tribute to Melbourne's lost buildings...When built in 1880, this office block was Melbourne's tallest at ten stories. In 1897 it, and most of the block of Finders Street that it stood on, was destroyed in a fire, one of the worst the city has seen. Only the facade was left, although the building was considered such an icon that it was rebuilt. In 1967 it was finally demolished outright. Present day, this stands in its spot:Of all of Melbourne's vanished buildings, this one is probably the most spectacular. Built in 1890, for more than 50 years this was used as a commercial market for fish and other fresh produce. In the lead up to the Olympic games in 1956 it was decided to demolish a number of Melbourne's older buildings in order to'modernise' the look of the city. Sadly, incredibly, this was one of the buildings to go, although the demolition was not completed until 1959. It was replaced - sadly! incredibly! - with a carpark... the block now also shared by a nondescript office building:Built in 1888 to coincide with the Melbourne Centennial Exhibition (marking 100 years of Australian settlement), this was once one of the largest and most opulent hotels in the world. The first two floors housed impressive dining, reading, smoking and billiard rooms, with the remaining 5 stories given over to luxurious guest rooms. The interior was so impressive that the building became a tourist attraction in its own right:As an added historical footnote, the hotel was also conceived as a 'Coffee Palace' as part of the 19th century temperance movement. No alcoholic beverages were served at the hotel when it was built, which was something of a fad at the time, as public drunkenness was perceived as a serious problem. This wonderful piece of architecture and history was demolished in 1973, the site sold for redevelopment. Pleas to have it saved as a heritage building were ignored by the Government of the time (there was no heritage protection legislation as we know it today). It was such a popular local landmark that thousands of people turned out to watch it go. This dreary brown box was built in its place:Built in 1867 to accommodate the visit of the Duke of Edinburgh, the Menzies was another of Melbourne's most impressive luxury hotels. Among the famous guests who stayed there; Sarah Bernhardt, Alexander Graham Bell, Mark Twain (who helped stoke the hotel boilers as part of his fitness regime), Herbert Hoover and General Douglas Macarthur. In 1969 it was demolished to make way for, the admittedly pretty stylish, BHP Plaza:Built in 1891 for the John Sanderson company, this block length building showed exactly how important the agricultural industry was in fledgling Australia. Demolished in 1969 to make way for the AMP Building, which is itself currently under redevelopment:Built in 1860, and substantially remodeled between 1910 and 1914, Scott's hotel enjoyed a reputation for supplying some of Melbourne's finest food and wine. Dame Nellie Melba and English cricket legend W.G.Grace were two among many notable people who stayed at the Scott, which was also a favourite haunt for local racing identities. Sold to the Royal Insurance Co in 1961, when it was Melbourne's oldest continuously operating hotel, the building was demolished to make way for another in a series of drab office blocks (to the right of this picture):Built in 1856 when the twenty year old city was still finding its feet (note the muddy track that is Queen St in the above photo), this Greek temple themed design was the product of a competition held by the bank among Melbourne's architects. Unfortunately, the bank itself would go out of business in 1884, and this building was demolished shortly afterwards. The same spot today:A great example of Melbourne's art deco heritage, the tower was added to this already existent building in 1929, making it the city's tallest for 30 years. Taken over by the firm 'Legal and General' in the 1950s, it was demolished in 1969 when they wanted a more up to date, and considerably less stylish, headquarters:The 'Equitable Company' set themselves the ambition of constructing 'the grandest building in the southern hemisphere' for their Melbourne headquarters. Which, with a five year construction and £500 000 price tag, this wonderful building may well have been. Taken over by Colonial Mutual in 1923, it would serve as their grand offices for thirty years. But high maintenance costs and outdated fixtures made the company want rid of it by the 50's. A bland office block stands in its place today, with the logo 'CML' emblazoned across its street level pillars, to remind people of what once was:The world's third tallest building, at 12 storeys, when it was constructed in 1889, this building dominated Melbourne's skyline for decades. At one time visible from anywhere in the city, the Australia Building was also the first tall building to employ mechanical lifts (powered hydraulically by high pressure water pumped from the Yarra). In 1980 its distinctive red facade and ornate roof was demolished to make way for this:Established in 1847, the Eastern Market was embryonic Melbourne's principal fresh produce market for thirty years, before being superseded by the Queen Victoria Markets in the 1870's. The Eastern market survived for nearly another 100 years, however, operating as a flower market and tourist attraction. The markets were demolished in 1962 to make way for the uniquely stylised 'Southern Cross Hotel':The 'Southern Cross' was undoubtedly one of Melbourne's most striking buildings, although it attracted as much vitriol as admiration. Famous guests of the hotel included; The Beatles, Marlene Dietrich and Judy Garland. Frank Sinatra stayed there during his infamous 1974 tour of Australia, when he created a storm by referring to local female journalists as 'hookers.' And both the Brownlow Medal and the Logies were hosted in its function rooms. In 1999 it was sold off and slowly demolished, with the site sitting vacant for several years. The location is now occupied by this, considerably less flamboyant, mixed use building:"How did they gain access to such secure information from Dell? This is very concerning." "I had the same thing happen to me yesterday... He told me he was 'Tier 3 Dell Support' and knew the model number of my computer, my personal info, etc. " "Was DELL hacked...?? How did this 'helpful tech representative' have my contact info AND knowledge of my technical issue???????" "The same thing happened to me on July 9... I have not seen any report of Dell acknowledging this." "Same thing happened to me yesterday... I called Dell support and they are sticking their head in the sand." "Also getting calls from 'Dell', and they know which models of computer I have." "[H]e had my email and computer Service Tag info!!" "The[y] had lots of Dell info about me, my laptop id and service I got from them. It was very convincing." "This scam is still active in October 2015. I got a similar call today..." "This happened to my uncle in October. He lives in an assisted living [facility]... Dell told me today that they are aware of it and the FBI (or some government agency) is investigating it. I was told to cancel his charge card." "Placed an order with Dell, two days later I start getting voicemails about 'confirming info about my order'. I called Dell, and while they were absolutely no help at all, they did confirm it wasn't them calling..." phoned me in November — but these scammers knew things about me. They identified the model number for both my Dell computers, and knew every problem that I'd ever called Dell about. None of this information was ever posted online, so it's not available anywhere except Dell's own customer service records. (Even my e-mail account is secured with "two-step verification"...)I called the (real) Dell, and spoke to a customer support representative named Mark, who tried to explain how the scammers knew my account history."Dell has detected hackers," he said. "They're hacking our web site."I'm not sure I believe him. (Another theory is that scammers are simply getting hired by Dell, and then supplementing their hourly wage by trying to con Dell's customers out of hundreds of dollars more...) But one thing that's absolutely certain is that I'm not the only person who's being scammed. Dell's own support forum shows many more customers are complaining about the same phone scam. "There is no other way the person would have my name, cell phone number, and know I had a Dell computer if it didn't come from your company..." posted one unhappy customer in June. "This is pretty scary, especially since you claim to be able to protect our PCs, but if you can't even seem to protect our info on your servers how can we ever trust this company again??"In my case the scammers suggested I enter their domain name into my "Run window", which would've taken me to a site where I could download software to allow remote access to my system. (This presumably would allow the scammers to make a more compelling case that my computer was infected and in need of their high-priced support services...) In June someone identified as "Social Media Support" on Dell's forums responded to the complaints by saying it was "under investigation," then reassured Dell's customers by pointing to a post where the same thing had happened to somebody else But in fact, there were seven more identical complaints in two other threads Using Google, I was able to look up the phone number that had called me, and on two different web sites found even more Dell customers complaining throughout September that they'd also received calls from a similar scammer.It's been happening since at least last May, according to an article at eSecurityPlanet about yet another victim of the Dell scam who reported that the scammers had also known his Dell Service Tag Number and Express Service Code. And since then ten more victims of the Dell customer support scam have left comments on the article.Ironically, just eight days before I received my scam phone call in November, the FTC announced that they'd cracked down on a phone scam involving fake Dell technical support which had already cost consumers more than $17 million. (The FTC's next goal? "[T]o get money back for the victims in this case, and keep the defendants out of the scam tech support business.") Fake tech support calls are apparently a very profitable business, according to the FTC. "Since at least 2013, Defendants have bilked millions of dollars from consumers throughout the United States...by making consumers believe that they are part of or affiliated with well-known U.S. technology companies, such as Microsoft, Google, Apple, or Dell..."Then, Defendants peddle their technical support services and charge consumers up to thousands of dollars."But unfortunately, the FTC's announcement makes it clear that that was a much less sophisticated scam that involved simply placing online ads targeted to people searching for solutions to technical problems. ("[I]n some instances, the technicians removed consumers' antivirus and security software already installed on the computers and replaced it with some other programs...") It was disturbing to learn that they'd been in business "since at least 2013" before the FTC finally managed to shut them down. Maybe it's a reminder that there's lots of different phone scammers out there.But it's very disturbing that scammers are now also apparently in possession of service histories — and home phone numbers — for Dell's customers.Goalkeepers are one of the simplest positions to evaluate in both MLS Fantasy and Draft format. They offer little variance and the point differentials among starters is not that great game to game. Without the odd PK save, their is little to go on besides team form. Premium Goalkeepers It’s really hard to list anyone as a premium goalkeeper. You have three basic groups to choose from: guaranteed starters, should be starters, and everyone else. The Best Defensive Teams usually produce a good keeper. Teams like Dallas, Colorado, and Seattle have consistently done well and their goalkeepers rack up decent points. usually produce a good keeper. Teams like Dallas, Colorado, and Seattle have consistently done well and their goalkeepers rack up decent points. PPG and PP90 are the best indicators to go on for keepers, just like defenders. These numbers typically remain consistent when starting. and are the best indicators to go on for keepers, just like defenders. These numbers typically remain consistent when starting. Teams that tend to struggle holding the ball and give up lots of crosses tend to have statistically better fantasy goalkeepers. While this sacrifices clean sheet bonuses, it generates a lot more save opportunities for the keepers. Holding Steady Your standard crew of Howard, Frei, Rowe, and Robles are still near the top of the list for fantasy keepers. Essentially every keeper that is locked to start should produce consistent numbers. Evaluating their surrounding defenses is a better indicator of the potential changes in GK production. Goalkeepers On the Rise There isn’t much to go on here, but there are a few names that could be in for breakout years. David Bingham has done well in SJ and has flown somewhat under the radar. He’s only going to get better with age. has done well in SJ and has flown somewhat under the radar. He’s only going to get better with age. Alec Kann got several games with SKC last season and impressed enough to get selected by Atlanta in the expansion draft. His numbers were decent and full time starting role is just what he needs. got several games with SKC last season and impressed enough to get selected by Atlanta in the expansion draft. His numbers were decent and full time starting role is just what he needs. Cody Cropper looks to have the NE Revolution starting role following the departure of Bobby Shuttleworth. The youngster shows lots of promise. Falling Out A few decent producers always trip players up. Don’t get caught with one of the guys on his way out. Josh Saunders was great for NYC in 2016, but he’s likely the backup in Orlando. Starting Goalkeepers Rankings According to the Author These are highly subjective and dependent on repeated performances and speculation. While the individual positions might be off, the general area of each player is a better indication of how they are expected to perform. Rank Player Team 1 Robles NYRB 2 Rowe LA Galaxy 3 Howard Colorado 4 Bingham San Jose 5 Melia SKC 6 Frei Seattle 7 Seitz Dallas 8 Blake Philadelphia 9 Kann Atlanta 10 Ousted Vancouver 11 Hamid DC united 12 Irwin Toronto 13 Rimando RSL 14 Bush Montreal 15 Bednik Orlando 16 Cropper New England 17 Gleeson Portland 18 Johnson NYC 19 Bava Chicago 20 Steffen Columbus 21 Alvbage Minnesota 22 Deric Houston Share this: Tweet Email PrintWe are finding out that our friends on the Left aren’t without shame solely when it comes to political rhetoric. Their lack of decorum extends far beyond that point. Not convinced? Take a look around the country. No one with a sense of shame would put on a display of neurosis and lack of composure the Democrats’ die-hards are regaling the public with right now. We’re not talking about the riots, er, “protests” taking place with tacit approval by the party’s pols in safe blue cities around the country. There is ample evidence — sometimes so wide open as to appear on Craigslist — that those “protesters” have been paid to put on street theater and generate the media narrative that the nation is coming apart because Donald Trump is president-elect. It is worth noting along those lines, though, that sometimes that approval isn’t so tacit. While it certainly appears so when Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama don’t seem to have much interest in explaining to the “protesters” that Trump will be president and it’s time to go home, it’s often worse than that. Take, for example, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-New Jersey), who came right out and said “God bless the protesters.” That’s a man who supposedly will carry the Democrats’ standard in 2020. At least Booker is in on the strategy outlined in the last column in this space. That can’t really be said for some of the more pathetic individuals on America’s college campuses. A dispatch from Cornell about a “cry-in” protest on campus… As the event took place, students — roughly 20 or so, according to the Sun’s video — wrote their reactions and emotions on poster boards with colored markers, or with chalk on the ground. A chilly day on the Ithaca campus, at one point the demonstrators huddled together as what appeared to be a barista brought them warm drinks. Several adults, most likely professors, stood around the group. The event appeared to take on the atmosphere of a funeral wake. “I’d say the results are heartbreaking and such a slap in the face to so many of the populations that make up America,” an older lady who appeared to be a professor told The Sun. “I think it’s also an indication that there are many people who are suffering and feel that haven’t been heard and they believe that Trump will answer their needs.” The stories of safe-space stupidity on college campuses since the election are legion. Most resemble the pathetic lunacy at Cornell. At least at LSU there’s a sense of humor and some talented trolling of the grievance warriors. But we’re used to coddled babies in academia disgracing themselves by now. What’s weirder is the acting-out of leftist corporate executives. For example, there was Matthew Harrigan, an actual corporate CEO of San Diego-based PacketSled, who lost his sanity over the election and made social media postings threatening Trump’s life before claiming he was drunk and joking — and then was forced to resign. Then there was the CEO of Grubhub, Matt Maloney, who apparently was not loaded when he sent out a company-wide email grousing about Trump’s victory and attributing it to “demeaning, insulting and ridiculing minorities, immigrants and the physically/mentally disabled” — and then threatening employees that should they wish to engage in such behavior they might as well resign “because you have no place here. We do not tolerate hateful attitudes on our team.” This was taken by some of Grubhub’s employees and lots of others as a threat to purge Trump voters from the company — and the market proceeded to eviscerate the company’s stock, dropping it more than 10 percent in the space of two days. Unhinged CEOs and simpletons on campus aren’t the whole story, either. There is also the media’s ongoing self-disgrace in the wake of Trump’s victory, which couldn’t be better signified than by the nearly-satirical report by NBC News on a shocking departure from protocol by the president-elect. It seems that Trump’s spokeswoman Hope Hicks told the media covering him that he was finished for the evening on Tuesday — and then Trump did the unthinkable. He took his family to dinner at the exclusive 21 Club. Alexandra Jaffe and Ali Vitali wrote this up like it was the Iran-Contra Affair… In a highly unusual move, President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday night left his Manhattan residence without notifying the reporters covering him or giving any indication of where he was going. The maneuver seemed to deliberately limit access to the media. The only way the press eventually ascertained his whereabouts was after a Bloomberg reporter, who happened to be dining at the 21 Club, tweeted a photo of Trump and some of his transition team in the Midtown steakhouse.… With his Tuesday night actions, the Trump Administration is shaping up to be the least accessible to the public and the press in modern history. A week after the election, Trump hasn’t yet held a press conference, the longest any recent president has waited to speak to the press. That continues a weeks-long drought that’s been going on since mid-summer, when Trump last answered questions from the press. One wonders why all the howling, since Hillary Clinton went 10 months without subjecting herself to media examination during the campaign and the media’s access to Barack Obama has hardly been exemplary, including — GASP! — an occasional instance of Obama’s own dining incognito at various Washington eateries. It’s cute when Obama does it. It’s a threat to American democracy if Trump doesn’t invite the press to sample his foie gras. We’re only beginning this, and already we’ve seen that the Left won’t take their loss in last week’s election with any dignity. What we don’t know is what happens when a few of their adults figure out how to pick up the pieces and respond to the beating the voting public just administered to them.Freckle Education the Freckle developer blog Beautiful Aggregations with Haskell by @eborden on September 22, 2017 Aggregating data is a common, tedious task. In imperative languages we often end up with a rat’s nest of mutable variables, nested loops and other awful constructs. In functional languages a naive implementation also results in spaghetti and usually less than ideal performance. We can do better. We can build fast, declarative, easy to understand and easy to maintain aggregations in Haskell. What is an Aggregate? One of the simplest definitions of an aggregate is: A whole formed by combining several separate elements. Postgres defines an aggregate as: A single result from a set of input values. Aggregates in Haskell Haskell has many aggregate functions min and max, sum, length, etc. These all live in base and provide great utility. However, once we start combining aggregates their utility falls apart. A common example is computing an average : average :: [ Float ] -> Float average xs = sum xs / fromIntegral ( length xs ) This works, but it is wasteful. It has to force evaluation of xs to compute sum. Then it calculates length. Finally doing division. This means our entire list will be in memory and we need to loop over it twice. This is bad and can destroy performance. We’d rather utilize one loop, while only keeping as much data in memory as necessary. A Better Way In Haskell, whenever we find ourselves combining (or crushing) many elements into one we reach for Semigroup and Monoid, often paired with Foldable. foldMap :: ( Foldable t, Monoid m ) => ( a -> m ) -> t a -> m or its Semigroup counterpart foldMap1 :: ( Foldable1 t, Semigroup s ) => ( a -> s ) -> t a -> s These building blocks can allow us to create principled, readable and performant aggregations. Postgres Aggregates in Haskell How would we represent common Postgres aggregations in Haskell? For many aggregations Data.Monoid and Data.Semigroup already have you covered. sum import Data.Monoid ( Sum ) getSum $ foldMap Sum [ 2, 4, 1, 3 ] > 10 count import Data.Monoid ( Sum ) getSum $ foldMap ( const $ Sum 1 ) [ 2, 4, 1, 3 ] > 4 bool_and import Data.Semigroup ( All ) getAll $ foldMap All [ True, True, True ] > True getAll $ foldMap All [ True, False, True ] > False bool_or import Data.Semigroup ( Any ) getAny $ foldMap Any [ True, False, True ] > True getAny $ foldMap Any [ False, False, False ] > False max import Data.Semigroup ( Max ) getMax. foldMap1 Max $ NonEmpty. fromList [ 1, 4, 2, 3 ] > 4 min import Data.Semigroup ( Min ) getMin. foldMap1 Min $ NonEmpty. fromList [ 2, 4, 1, 3 ] > 1 What is in a Sum? If we look deeper into Sum we can see how simple many Monoid s are: newtype Sum a = Sum { getSum :: a } instance Num a => Monoid ( Sum a ) where mempty = Sum 0 mappend ( Sum x ) ( Sum y ) = Sum $ x + y Wrapping addition in all this type machinery seems silly. Soon we’ll see that this allows powerful and principled composition. What About Average? A canonical package for an Average monoid doesn’t currently exist. Our naive average is (sum xs / length xs). We can break this into a fast canonical form by decomposing its elements into accumulators: data Average n = Average { length ::! Int, sum ::! n } averageDatum :: n -> Average n averageDatum n = Average 1 n getAverage :: ( Num n, Fractional n ) => Average n -> Maybe n getAverage ( Average l n ) = if l == 0 then Nothing else Just $ n / fromIntegral l instance Num n => Semigroup ( Average n ) where Average lx nx <> Average ly ny = Average ( lx + ly ) ( nx + ny ) instance Num n => Monoid ( Average n ) where mappend = ( <> ) mempty = Average 0 0 This Average data type encapsulates length and summation while allowing us to calculate these values in one pass. Decomposing formulas into accumulators is used pervasively in streaming abstractions and this Average type shows up time and time again. getAverage $ foldMap averageDatum [ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ] > Just 3 How About Group By? When we aggregate we often do so in association with or grouped by another piece of data. “I want the maximum price paid for each item on ebay.” We group data with Data.Map or Data.HashMap, but there is one hitch. The Monoid and Semigroup instances of these data types are left biased: foldMap ( uncurry HashMap. singleton. second Sum ) [( 1, 2 ), ( 1, 3 ), ( 1, 4 )] > fromList [( 1, Sum 2 )] We want a Monoid instance that mappends our data! Like any good haskeller we turn to the hammer of newtype ing to get the instance we want. We can wrap HashMap or Map newtype MergeMap k v = MergeMap { getMergeMap :: HashMap k v } instance ( Monoid v, Eq k, Hashable k ) => Monoid ( MergeMap k v ) where mempty = MergeMap HashMap. empty MergeMap x ` mappend ` MergeMap y = MergeMap $ HashMap. unionWith mappend x y Now we can happily foldMap our grouped data without worry. getMergeMap $ foldMap ( MergeMap. uncurry HashMap. singleton. second Sum ) [( 1, 2 ), ( 1, 3 ), ( 1, 4 )] > fromList [( 1, Sum 9 )] If you are a proponent of Semigroup then you might say, “Hey! Every Monoid is a Semigroup. Where’s my instance?” And you’d be right. We can build a Semigroup instance like so: instance ( Semigroup v, Eq k, Hashable k ) => Semigroup ( MergeMap k v ) where MergeMap x <> MergeMap y = MergeMap $ HashMap. unionWith ( <> ) x y This also reveals an important principle. Our Monoid instance is overly restrictive. We can weaken the param to Semigroup and our wrapped HashMap will do the work of providing mempty for us. instance ( Semigroup v, Eq k, Hashable k ) => Monoid ( MergeMap k v ) where mempty = MergeMap mempty -- mempty from (HashMap k v) mappend = ( <> ) There are technical reasons for why this is true, but a simple way to think of it is any parameterized Monoid can legally contain a Semigroup if its mempty instance does not require calling mempty on its type param. The Maybe type is one of the simplest forms of this. Compare Maybe a with Either l r. data Maybe a = Nothing \| Just a instance Semigroup a => Monoid ( Maybe a ) where mempty = Nothing mappend = _ data Either l r = Left l \| Right r instance Monoid r => Monoid ( Either l r ) where mempty = Right mempty -- crap we need mempty for r mappend = _ We don’t need the type parameter to produce a Nothing value *, but we do need the type param for Right to produce a mempty. This has very practical implications. It means we can calculate Semigroup values like Min and Max from empty lists as long as we wrap them in an appropriate Monoid : foldMap ( Just. Max ) [ 2, 3, 4 ] > Just ( Max 4 ) getMergeMap $ foldMap ( MergeMap. uncurry HashMap. singleton. second Min ) [( 1, 2 ), ( 1, 3 ), ( 1, 4 )] > fromList [( 1, Min 2 )] Building Complex Aggregates So we can aggregate single values, but what about aggregating many values at once? What about a query like this: select pet_type, min ( num_legs ), max ( num_legs ) from pets group by pet_type ; First we need to aggregate min and max. We could do this in two passes. let inTwo = ( min, max ) where min = fmap getMin $ foldMap ( Just. Min ) [ 1, 2, 3, 4 ] max = fmap getMax $ foldMap ( Just. Max ) [ 1, 2, 3, 4 ] > ( Just 1, Just 4 ) But that is two passes. We can do better by leveraging the Monoid instance of our tuple, (,). minMax x = ( Just $ Min x, Just $ Max x ) getMinMax = bimap ( fmap getMin ) ( fmap getMax ) inOne = getMinMax $ foldMap minMax [ 1, 2, 3, 4 ] > ( Just 1, Just 4 ) Now lets pull it all together with our grouping: petData = [( "dog", 3 ), ( "turkey", 2 ), ( "turkey", 2 ), ( "dog", 4 )] fmap getMinMax. getMergeMap $ foldMap ( MergeMap. uncurry HashMap. singleton. second minMax ) petData > fromList [( "dog", ( 3, 4 )), ( "turkey", ( 2, 2 ))] Awesome, we were able to group and compute Min and Max in a single loop. Custom Data Types As our aggregates grow in complexity we likely want to avoid tuples. They are great for small bits of data, but their laziness properties aren’t ideal for smashing data together and long tuples become hard to read or even ambiguous. We want to create custom data types: data PetAggregate = PetAggregate { minNumberOfLegs ::! ( Min Natural ), maxNumberOfLegs ::! ( Max Natural ), numCanSwim ::! ( Sum Natural ), averageWeight ::! ( Average Double ) } instance Semigroup PetAggregate where ( <> ) x y = PetAggregate { minNumberOfLegs = on ( <> ) minNumberOfLegs x y, maxNumberOfLegs = on ( <> ) maxNumberOfLegs x y, numCanSwim = on ( <> ) numCanSwim x y, averageWeight = on ( <> ) averageWeight x y } So What? Okay, so we can aggregate information, who cares? We can do this in Postgres, likely faster, while our data and computation is co-located on the database. Why pull data back to our client to do this work? One prime example is calculating multiple granularities of the same data. Take the following table: CREATE TABLE answers ( student_grade integer NOT NULL, teacher_name text NOT NULL, accuracy real NOT NULL ); We want to know: The average, min and max accuracy across all answers. The average, min and max accuracy by grade. The average, min and max accuracy by teacher. With a single query Postgres will only allow us to group at the finest granularity. SELECT avg ( accuracy ), min ( accuracy ), max ( accuracy ), student_grade, teacher_name FROM answer GROUP BY student_grade, teacher_name ; We can likely do some SQL wizardry, but what complexity cost are we buying? We could make multiple calls to the DB, but then we are writing more SQL and de-serializing the same data for every granularity. Instead we can use Postgres for fine grain aggregation and use our new monoidal super powers to do the rest. First we define a data type that encompasses our simple answer aggregations. data AnswerAgg = AnswerAgg { averageAccuracy ::! ( Average Double ), minAccuracy ::! ( Min Double ), maxAccuracy ::! ( Max Double ) } instance Semigroup AnswerAgg where x <> y = AnswerAgg { averageAccuracy = on ( <> ) averageAccuracy x y, minAccuracy = on ( <> ) minAccuracy x y, maxAccuracy = on ( <> ) maxAccuracy x y } Then we define a data type that pulls those all together, grouping some with MergeMap. data MultiGranularityAgg = MultiGranularityAgg { globalAgg :: Option AnswerAgg, byGrade :: MergeMap Natural AnswerAgg, byTeacher :: MergeMap Text AnswerAgg } instance Semigroup MultiGranularityAgg where x <> y = MultiGranularityAgg { globalAgg = on ( <> ) globalAgg x y, byGrade = on ( <> ) byGrade x y, byTeacher = on ( <> ) byTeacher x y } instance Monoid MultiGranularityAgg where mappend = ( <> ) mempty = MultiGranularityAgg mempty mempty mempty Then we write a function that converts a single row of data into our aggregation type, nesting and all. singletonAggregate :: ( Int, Double, Double, Double, Natural, Text ) -> MultiGranularityAgg singletonAggregate ( numAnswer, sumAccuracy, minAccuracy, maxAccuracy, grade, teacherName ) = MultiGranularityAgg { globalAgg = Option $ Just answerAgg, byGrade = MergeMap $ HashMap. singleton grade answerAgg, byTeacher = MergeMap $ HashMap. singleton teacherName answerAgg } where answerAgg = AnswerAgg
and didn’t speak well, he got Yanukovich elected Prime Minister by giving him advice like: wear a suit, stay on message, act less like a thug and regularly tweet the phrase: “Lock her up” – even though his opponent was NOT a woman. So, Yanukovych is Prime Minister for a few years. THEN: In 2014, there’s a big popular uprising in the Ukraine and the people overthrow Yanukovych’s government because they realize they elected John Gotti… not John Stamos. OK. – so big picture: Manafort spent 10 years working with and taking money from a Ukrainian political party and oligarchs who are friendly and sympathetic to Vladimir Putin and Russia. But, for the last 3 years, the Ukrainian gov’t has been leaning towards improved ties with both NATO and the European Union… against the wishes of Vladimir Putin. (You can watch the episode of Be Less Stupid, if you prefer...) Cut to: March 29, 2016. That’s when Paul Manafort joins Trump’s campaign. 6 Weeks later, Manafort is made Campaign Chairman. 2 Months later, it’s the Republican Convention. And just before the Republican convention, something odd happened that no one could have expected. And no, I don’t mean Sean Hannity said something nice about a Mexican… nor did Hannity suddenly extricate his grotesquely large head from up Trump’s ample ass. No, what happened is this: A few days before the Republican convention, the Trump team made just one change to the party’s platform – it’s a 66 page document – with two columns per page. It’s a kind of blue print for what the party believes. Anti-abortion, less taxes, more guns. Think of it like the Republican party bible – only instead of turning loaves into fishes for poor people, Jesus takes away their health care. Anyway – Trump’s team wants to make just one change to this 66 page document: They now want to support gay marriage. I’m kidding. The one thing they change is the wording of the GOP’s support for the people of the Ukraine. Who, when we last left them, had overthrown their douche-bag dictator and were now supporting NATO and the European Union while simultaneously fighting the Russians who had invaded their country and annexed the Crimea in Ukraine’s southern region. So, this platform – before Trump’s team changes it originally calls for the Republicans to support “ARMING” Ukrainian rebels with lethal weapons to fight back against Russia. Then, after the Trump team made their change, the language read: the GOP would support providing Ukrainian rebels with “appropriate assistance.” So, it went from “Arming Ukraine” to providing “appropriate assistance.” It’s like the difference between taking a guy who just slashed his arm with a chainsaw – it’s gushing blood and his bone is exposed like after you gnaw the meat off a chicken wing- and instead of taking him to the Emergency room… you tell him to kick some dirt on it, man up and to walk it off. So, how does softening the language in the GOP platform on assistance to the rebels in the Ukraine help Russia? Why does it matter if we help or don’t help them? Well, there’s a few reasons: 1. There are LARGE untapped fields of natural gas in the Crimea… and Russia wants that gas. You see, right now, Russia provides Europe with the largest percentage of their natural gas…and if the Ukraine is able to monetize their gas, Ukraine would become competition to the Russians – so the Russians would make LESS money. 2. Russia needs to maintain their image as a military and political leader in the region – The Russians believe that if America believes the Russians are determined to expand their territory into more of Europe, then Russia will have leverage and can exact concessions in other areas like trade. 3. By limiting Europe’s access to the Ukraine, it prevents NATO from having a staging area on the Russian border should they ever think about invading Russia. 4. And perhaps most importantly, as the Ukraine points its sails west to alliances with the US, Nato and the European Union, it continues to foment anti-Russia sentiment among its people …and Putin is deathly afraid of that revolutionary fever becoming viral and infecting the people of Moscow and St. Petersburg… which could lead to worker strikes, demonstrations, violence and perhaps the overthrow of Putin’s regime. So, here’s the collusion: Trump goes soft on helping the people of the Ukraine fight Russian influence. Sessions, Kushner, Flynn, Manafort, Carter Page all secretly promise Russian envoys, lawyers and Ambassadors who all directly report to Putin, to reduce the severity and or remove Obama era sanctions during a Trump tower meeting… and at the Mayflower hotel… …AND in exchange, the Russians agree to manipulate social media and get trump elected President. Ta-Dah! There’s your collusion!From Tax Justice Network’s August 19 Taxcast. The Big Four accountancy firms: Are they in fact more like the ‘Big One’? And should they be broken up? Also: the Duke of Westminster’s 9 billion tax free inheritance and how his family history forms the legal basis for the justification of tax avoidance around the world; why are the world’s biggest banks now officially endorsing transparency measures? And…so much for Panama cleaning up its act post-Panama Papers scandal: we discuss the demise of Panama’s not-so-transparent Transparency Commission. “The Big Four…just seem to be getting away with being the guardians of commerce when they are basically a bunch of tax cheating facilitators…they have infiltrated governments at every level all around the world” —Michael West “What they’re doing is really taking over the operation of companies by stealth…4 organisations dominating 98% of global commerce as auditors is well past its used by date, I don’t think any industry has come even close to this…” —George Rozvany Featuring: John Christensen of the Tax Justice Network, tax ethicist George Rozvany (with 32 years of experience at senior levels of Big 4 Accounting Firms and major corporations) and award winning economics and finance journalist Michael WestThe most penetrating and iconoclastic response to this sort of reasoning came from the writer Isaac Bashevis Singer in his story “The Letter Writer,” in which he called the slaughter of animals the “eternal Treblinka.” The story depicts an encounter between a man and a mouse. The man, Herman Gombiner, contemplates his place in the cosmic scheme of things and concludes that there is an essential connection between his own existence as “a child of God” and the “holy creature” scuffling about on the floor in front of him. Surely, he reflects, the mouse has some capacity for thought; Gombiner even thinks that the mouse has the capacity to share love and gratitude with him. Not merely a means for the satisfaction of human desires, nor a mere nuisance to be exterminated, this tiny creature possesses the same dignity that any conscious being possesses. In the face of that inherent dignity, Gombiner concludes, the human practice of delivering animals to the table in the form of food is abhorrent and inexcusable. Many of the people who denounce the ways in which we treat animals in the course of raising them for human consumption never stop to think about this profound contradiction. Instead, they make impassioned calls for more “humanely” raised meat. Many people soothe their consciences by purchasing only free-range fowl and eggs, blissfully ignorant that “free range” has very little if any practical significance. Chickens may be labeled free-range even if they’ve never been outside or seen a speck of daylight in their entire lives. And that Thanksgiving turkey? Even if it is raised “free range,” it still lives a life of pain and confinement that ends with the butcher’s knife. How can intelligent people who purport to be deeply concerned with animal welfare and respectful of life turn a blind eye to such practices? And how can people continue to eat meat when they become aware that nearly 53 billion land animals are slaughtered every year for human consumption? The simple answer is that most people just don’t care about the lives or fortunes of animals. If they did care, they would learn as much as possible about the ways in which our society systematically abuses animals, and they would make what is at once a very simple and a very difficult choice: to forswear the consumption of animal products of all kinds. Photo The easy part of this consists in seeing clearly what ethics requires and then just plain doing it. The difficult part: You just haven’t lived until you’ve tried to function as a strict vegan in a meat-crazed society. What were once the most straightforward activities become a constant ordeal. You might think that it’s as simple as just removing meat, eggs and dairy products from your diet, but it goes a lot deeper than that. Advertisement Continue reading the main story To be a really strict vegan is to strive to avoid all animal products, and this includes materials like leather, silk and wool, as well as a panoply of cosmetics and medications. The more you dig, the more you learn about products you would never stop to think might contain or involve animal products in their production — like wine and beer (isinglass, a kind of gelatin derived from fish bladders, is often used to “fine,” or purify, these beverages), refined sugar (bone char is sometimes used to bleach it) or Band-Aids (animal products in the adhesive). Just last week I was told that those little comfort strips on most razor blades contain animal fat. Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You will receive emails containing news content, updates and promotions from The New York Times. You may opt-out at any time. You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters. To go down this road is to stare headlong into an abyss that, to paraphrase Nietzsche, will ultimately stare back at you. The challenges faced by a vegan don’t end with the nuts and bolts of material existence. You face quite a few social difficulties as well, perhaps the chief one being how one should feel about spending time with people who are not vegans. Is it O.K. to eat dinner with people who are eating meat? What do you say when a dining companion says, “I’m really a vegetarian — I don’t eat red meat at home.” (I’ve heard it lots of times, always without any prompting from me.) What do you do when someone starts to grill you (so to speak) about your vegan ethics during dinner? (Wise vegans always defer until food isn’t around.) Or when someone starts to lodge accusations to the effect that you consider yourself morally superior to others, or that it is ridiculous to worry so much about animals when there is so much human suffering in the world? (Smile politely and ask them to pass the seitan.) Let me be candid: By and large, meat-eaters are a self-righteous bunch. The number of vegans I know personally is... five. And I have been a vegan for almost 15 years, having been a vegetarian for almost 15 before that. Five. I have lost more friends than this over arguments about animal ethics. One lapidary conclusion to be drawn here is that people take deadly seriously the prerogative to use animals as sources of satisfaction. Not only for food, but as beasts of burden, as raw materials and as sources of captive entertainment — which is the way animals are used in zoos, circuses and the like. These uses of animals are so institutionalized, so normalized, in our society that it is difficult to find the critical distance needed to see them as the horrors that they are: so many forms of subjection, servitude and — in the case of killing animals for human consumption and other purposes — outright murder. People who are ethical vegans believe that differences in intelligence between human and non-human animals have no moral significance whatsoever. The fact that my cat can’t appreciate Schubert’s late symphonies and can’t perform syllogistic logic does not mean that I am entitled to use him as an organic toy, as if I were somehow not only morally superior to him but virtually entitled to treat him as a commodity with minuscule market value. We have been trained by a history of thinking of which we are scarcely aware to view non-human animals as resources we are entitled to employ in whatever ways we see fit in order to satisfy our needs and desires. Yes, there are animal welfare laws. But these laws have been formulated by, and are enforced by, people who proceed from the proposition that animals are fundamentally inferior to human beings. At best, these laws make living conditions for animals marginally better than they would be otherwise — right up to the point when we send them to the slaughterhouse. Think about that when you’re picking out your free-range turkey, which has absolutely nothing to be thankful for on Thanksgiving. All it ever had was a short and miserable life, thanks to us intelligent, compassionate humans.The World or Warcraft is now officially off-limits to online gamers in Iran. Their access to the gaming network has been blocked so the game's developer can comply with tough U.S. trade sanctions imposed on Iran, in response to that country's pursuit of nuclear weapons. World of Warcraft creator Blizzard Entertainment is set to release a new episode of its online game next month. Its fictional dungeons and battlegrounds are set on the fictional continent of Pandaria. The dark and violent world of Pandaria may (or may not) be fine entertainment, but its now off limits in Iran. Gamers in Teheran have posted complaints in recent days saying they can’t access Warcraft’s network. This week, Blizzard acknowledged that it’s responsible for more tightly restricting Iranian access. “U.S. trade restrictions and economic sanctions prohibit doing business with residents of certain nations, including Iran,” the company said. Jamal Abdi, who is with the National Iranian American Council in Washington, said this is an example of how U.S. sanctions are hurting the wrong people. “Our politices are hurting ordinary Iranians and not the Iranian government whose behavior we’re trying to change," he said. "It could be something we think is trivial like World of Warcraft but this is a much bigger problem. Every facet of life in Iran is now being impacted by U.S. policies and it’s having a negative impact on the Iranian people, who are largely our friends.” Iranian blogs has buzzed with speculation that the Iranian government had blocked access to Warcraft because of "the corrupting influence" of violent entertainment. Instead Abdi says it turns out that Blizzard Entertainment is just complying with U.S. government policy. “If we want to stand with the Iranian people, we need to make sure they can be part of the outside world, and communicate freely instead of making their lives harder, and cutting them off from these communications tools,” Abdi said. Warcraft fans in Cuba, Libya, North Korea and Syria are in the same boat. U.S. sanctions mean they’re all restricted from playing in the misty lands of World of Warcraft.By Charles Richards/@spurs_report As a Spurs fan, you can pick your nadir. Maybe it was Lasagne-gate, or the night when Chelsea snatched our hard-earned Champions League spot in 2012. Perhaps it was the sight of Arsenal celebrating the league title on the pitch at White Hart Lane, Sol Campbell among them. For some the pain predates the Premier League era, while for others each new misstep supersedes the last and it is the final-day faceplant against Newcastle in May that stings more than anything. For me, rock bottom came on March 8, 2014: Chelsea 4 Tottenham 0. I had some things going on in my life at that time, and more than ever before or since, I needed my team. I needed that temporary uplift, that two hours of escape, that feeling of togetherness that a good Spurs performance brings. Instead, I witnessed one of the most abysmal displays in recent memory. The BBC summed up the shambles in its match report: “Spurs fell behind to Eto’o’s 56th-minute strike, which came after Jan Vertonghen’s slip and aimless pass, before more mistakes – from Sandro and Kyle Walker – led to Chelsea’s third and fourth goals at the death. Chelsea’s second came from Hazard’s penalty after Younes Kaboul fouled Eto’o, a challenge that also saw the French defender sent off.” That Tim Sherwood, parachuted into his first managerial role mid-campaign, was out of his depth tactically was already clear. But as he appeared before the TV cameras and lambasted the players, it was becoming evident that he wasn’t psychologically suited to the task either. It wasn’t what he said — the performance was gutless, the squad did have players who didn’t care — but rather the way that he said it. As he lost control, he lashed out; his attitude appeared to be, “If I’m going down, I’m taking you down with me.” There was a real risk that his interim appointment could cause lasting damage, and the few positive legacies from the lean preceding years, such as Hugo Lloris and Christian Eriksen, would seek a departure as the club stumbled blindly into the next false dawn. Spurs as a club wasn’t just fractured, it was broken. Daniel Levy’s schizophrenic switching between “continental” and “English” strategies had gone into overdrive, bordering on parody, with the transition from the “Emperor’s New Clothes” vacuity of Andre Villas-Boas and Franco Baldini to the cartoonish footballing provincialism of Sherwood. When Levy, rebuffed by Louis van Gaal, turned to Mauricio Pochettino in May of 2014, this was an appointment that simply had to work. The club’s “best of the rest” status, that ambition of Champions League football that could be sold to potential recruits even if it wasn’t quite achieved, was threatened as Spurs drifted back towards the mid-table pack. The stadium project was stalled, while the new training ground was an expensive new facility that no-one appeared to know how to make the most out of, like an iPad only used for playing Angry Birds. I don’t think, in hindsight, we can overestimate the scale of the job that faced Pochettino when he first joined. Aged 42 and with little more than five years of managerial experience, he became the 10th Spurs manager in 12 years on the strength of a hugely impressive, if low-pressure, spell at Southampton. Two years on, Spurs are back in the Champions League, playing vibrant football, and have a young and united squad with a strong homegrown core. The success appears sustainable, and I can’t recall ever feeling that the future was so bright. Only the most attention-seeking of contrarians will argue that Pochettino hasn’t succeeded in every respect. Which begs the question, how on earth has Pochettino prospered where so many of his predecessors have failed? Heading into the Argentine’s third season in charge of Tottenham, now is the perfect time to look back at what Pochettino has achieved, and the work that still needs to be done. The Kaboul Cabal and a dressing room revolt For the first 11 league games of Pochettino’s tenure, it had all the hallmarks of another trademark Tottenham false dawn. Eric Dier’s late winner against West Ham and a thrashing of QPR raised expectations, only for a crushing defeat by Liverpool to send Spurs back down to earth. A point at the Emirates was fine, another inept thrashing at the Etihad a sign that nothing had really changed. The real problems occurred once the Europa League campaign kicked in, and those early Sunday kick-offs at White Hart Lane, fans and players equally unenthusiastic, returned. First was a narrow defeat to West Brom, which happens, then a farcical defeat to Newcastle in which Alan Pardew’s side scored seven seconds into the second half, which really shouldn’t. When Stoke went 2-0 up within 33 minutes on November 9, with Spurs devoid of ideas and any clue how to defend, for the first time the atmosphere turned mutinous. There’s a story, which I heard from THST Co-Chair Martin Cloake on The Tottenham Way podcast, about the Spurs dressing room after the Stoke match. Returning down the tunnel, the boos ringing out after a 2-1 home defeat, it was business as usual for the likes of Emmanuel Adebayor. At this point, Harry Kane and Ryan Mason stood up and took control, informing the dressing room that this wasn’t acceptable. There was a rebellion, and Pochettino needed to decide who to back. This match would prove to be a watershed, above all in Pochettino’s understanding of his squad’s willingness and ability to carry out his instructions. Adebayor, who didn’t care, was cast aside, as were the likes of Kaboul and Etienne Capoue, after being deemed inadequate technically and tactically. The “Kaboul Cabal” was born — even if the term was harsh on Kaboul himself, a committed player for whom injury rather than attitude had been the (primary) downfall. Others would find themselves pushed to the sidelines. Aaron Lennon, the club’s longest serving player, was a walking, talking (and rarely playing) version of the “needs a new challenge” cliche. By February he’d be at Everton on loan. Paulinho continued to appear, occasionally and never effectively, while Roberto Soldado’s crisis of confidence deepened. New signings like Federico Fazio and Benji Stambouli were evidently sub-standard. In their place, the young guns led by Kane, starting to embark on his rise to national prominence, would be given their chance. In hindsight, Pochettino’s biggest achievement at Spurs may have been surviving his first season. He inherited an unmotivated, fractious and poorly assembled squad, but one that was expensive enough to raise expectations. Ditching the “Kaboul Cabal” was the right move, as was turning to the likes of Kane, Mason and Nabil Bentaleb. But there was also an element of luck that these players were able to step up. Was it good management, or just good fortune? This “lucky vs good” question would be an issue through the 2014/15 season. All those late Eriksen or Kane winners that kept the campaign afloat — was that the mark of enhanced fitness stemming from superior training methods, or just the rub of the green? The Pochettino pressing game wasn’t just poorly executed, it was positively dangerous, with Spurs shipping 53 goals. Southampton conceded just 33, yet we finished fifth while they finished 7th. If the dismal Stoke defeat was one milepost, another would come on New Year’s Day against Chelsea. For the first time, Spurs fans witnessed the sort of performance that we’d allowed ourselves to dream about in the most optimistic moments when Pochettino was appointed. A young Spurs side descending on Chelsea’s league leaders like a pack of wolves, ripping them apart and scoring five. For many fans, this was seen as a turning point, the moment when the Pochettino project found its feet and the club kicked into the next gear. But perception is a funny thing, especially when it comes to gauging success. Even though we all felt that performances were finally improving, and revelled in the thought that a brighter future was starting to take shape, actually results didn’t really improve much. In the 19 games before we played Chelsea, we averaged 1.63 points per game, in the 18 games after we averaged 1.66. The reality was Spurs were playing a bit better, had one or two excellent performances (notably against Arsenal), but were still a flawed unit with huge holes in the squad (and in the defence). Ultimately, Pochettino did enough in his first season. Spurs got enough points, there was enough hope about the future, enough signs that his methods were working, enough understanding that a lot of the failures could be laid at Baldini or Levy’s doors. But going into 2015/16 there were precious few hints of what was going to come. “I hear people say stuff about Tottenham and I don’t like it” After a familiar slow start to Pochettino’s second campaign in charge, and a frustrating summer where key areas of the squad (central midfield and striker) were not strengthened, it soon became clear that something was happening at Spurs. It wasn’t like the previous season, where, rightly or not, the 5-3 win over Chelsea could be seen as a visible turning point. Instead, after there was a steady drip of events, information, quotes and social media buzz that pointed to a more positive dynamic emerging. After losing narrowly at Old Trafford, Spurs were unbeaten for the next fourteen games. The defence was miserly, and for the first time in years we had a proper central defensive partnership in Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen. In front of them, Eric Dier was starting to demonstrate that he was much more than a centre-back slotted into midfield due to a shortage of options. Dele Alli was proving that the impish nutmeg of Luka Modric in pre-season really was the precursor to greater success that we’d hoped for. Even Erik Lamela, so lost in his first two years and nearly shipped out on loan to Marseille, was starting to get it. Harry Kane, after a slow start, rediscovered his shooting boots. Above all, the penny had appeared to drop about the type of play Pochettino wanted. The pressing was notably better, the way the centre backs split and the fullbacks zoomed forward was smoother than a Swiss watch, while Dele Alli’s ability to get beyond defences unlocked space for Eriksen and Kane. The passing became crisper, the ball and players fizzing around menacingly. After his first season, Pochettino diagnosed two primary problems with the squad he inherited. First, there were the players who weren’t up to it, for a variety of reasons; second, the squad was simply too big. It was counterintuitive, given how widely accepted has become the Mourinho doctrine of two quality players in each position, and how Spurs have struggled with Europa League demands in the past. But Pochettino wanted a more united and cohesive squad, and placed faith in the quality of his fitness work and injury prevention record to withstand the rigours of the schedule. “Character” is a tainted word in football, thanks to the Proper Football Men’s overuse of the word to describe a myriad of situations and problems. But anyone who has followed Spurs in the past two years will agree that a greater emphasis has been placed on identifying the “right” sort of player. Call it character, mentality, psychology, attitude or personality, the dressing room at Spurs hasn’t come together by accident. Pochettino and has staff have created an atmosphere of hard work and common purpose, and on the recruitment side, more attention has been paid to finding players who buy into this. There were softer touches too. The club invested in improved social media over the summer of 2015, bringing in The Times journalist Henry Winter to advise players on how to communicate. Unlike other clubs, the players were always on message, but nonetheless it felt natural and not contrived PR fluff. The Dier-Alli bromance blossomed, photos of the squad eating together were shared, a mid-season trip to Barcelona was a roaring success, and created an impression of harmony. Even Pochettino and his staff got in on the act, larking about on a jog around Baku before the match against FC Qarabag, brightening what could have been a long and boring trip. The players genuinely seem to get along, and be happy at Spurs. In previous years, the leaks out of Hotspur Way were negative, the internal politics spilling out into the open and undermining the attempts at unity from whichever manager happened to be in charge at the time. Gone were the stories about strikers falling out with managers over beanie hats and and transfer blame games, now it was all positive — little vignettes such as the players all joining in board games, shooting competitions after training, the tough fitness work seen as a badge of honour, not a cause for complaint. This shift in mentality, the new toughness and determination emanating from the camp, was summed up by Eric Dier after Spurs thumped Man City at White Hart Lane: “I don’t think we get the credit we deserve. We are an extremely young squad. I hear people saying stuff about Tottenham and I don’t like it. I don’t think the other boys like it either.” I hate it, but the term “Spursy” was coined for a reason — too many sloppy goals, weak performances, decades of prioritizing style over substance. “Spursy” became a catch-all term to explain how it felt for success — however you cared to define it — always being just out of reach. We were Charlie Brown, trying to kick the football, and maybe, just maybe, things were starting to change. Gary Neville, before embarking on an annus horribilis that would see his reputation in tatters, declared Pochettino his favourite manager in the league. “There is not one negative word I could use,” Neville said of the Argentine’s work. “There is nothing I dislike.” A lot has gone right at Spurs in the last two years. Recruitment has improved with the arrival of Paul Mitchell and Rob MacKenzie, the return of Ian Broomfield and (unofficially) David Pleat, and much-needed investment in the scouting network. Assistant manager Jesus Perez is a sports scientist, and the standard of physical training (and injury prevention) has improved remarkably. A pathway for youngsters fostered by academy guru John McDermott has been established. Perhaps most important is the relationship between Pochettino and Levy. In his rare media or public outings such as the Q&A with fans last year, the chairman has appeared unusually relaxed. He even undertook the “Ice Bucket Challenge” — remember that? — although the two players who soaked him didn’t last long. Pochettino revealed he’d watched one of the Leicester games at his house with Levy in last season’s title run-in. It seems, more than anything, like Levy has finally “found his guy” — a manager who offers middle ground between the continental and the English styles. Levy is able to focus on non-football things — things that arguably he is far better at — such as the stadium project and other property ventures, as well as the money side. There is a balance of responsibilities and a structure that has previously been lacking at the club. Pochettino’s title change from head coach to manager reflects the extent to which he rules the roost at Hotspur Way, and the trust he has earned from a chairman with a reputation for micro-management. It isn’t all handshakes and hugs at Hotspur Way either. Pochettino has shown he can be tough, and will treat expensive imports and homegrown talent equally firmly if the situation requires. When Andros Townsend threw a tantrum during a warm-down after the match against Aston Villa, Pochettino’s response was swift and firm: “When you behave in the wrong way, you have to pay.” Townsend was suspended, and left the club a few months later. According to Toby Alderweireld, the key change under Pochettino was the team spirit: there were “no longer any heroes” in the Spurs team. “When one makes a mistake, the other one picks it up. We have a togetherness. We want to achieve something this season and I think you can see that on the pitch. There is confidence and self belief — not arrogance — that we can beat everybody. We know that if we don’t put the effort in, we are a normal team. “He [Pochettino] only puts in guys who work very hard. A lot of guys have left the club. If you do not follow the path, you don’t belong in Tottenham.” Pochettino doesn’t seek credit, and when he signed his new contract, he made sure his team of coaches were signed up too. But, undoubtedly, when looking at the progress made by Spurs in the past 24 months, the Argentine is the common denominator. “When your face isn’t smiling, your feet aren’t smiling” Pochettino doesn’t court publicity and he keeps his opinions to himself. There are no mind games, no taking of the bait, and rarely any insight into how he goes about his business. On a personal level, two years on, we know practically nothing about him. We know Pochettino works incredibly hard — arriving at Hotspur Way very early and leaving very late. We know his son Maurizio is in the youth set-up. We know nothing about Mrs Pochettino — beyond the fact she thought he’d put on some weight last season forcing him to spend time on the treadmill over lunch. We know he insists on organic meat. We know Marcelo Bielsa is the dominant influence, from the day El Loco signed Pochettino up on the strength of his legs. The contrast with Jose Mourinho, whose PR blitz for the Manchester United job would have made Kim Kardashian blush, couldn’t be starker. The lack of soundbites and storylines from Hotspur Way frustrates journalists covering the team, and there have been communication problems with fans. Comments appearing to de-emphasize the importance of finishing above Arsenal last season, while reasonable, did not come out quite as intended and added to the frustration of slipping down to third. We have rarely seen Pochettino flustered. About the only time last season was after comments about him wanting to manage his former club PSG in the future, again reasonable, emerged and took on a life of their own. His subsequent announcement that he had agreed a new deal with Spurs seemed impromptu. The sense above all is that he sees media duties as an obligation, not an opportunity. Because of his still-limited English, it is the one part of his fiefdom where he doesn’t have the degree of control that he would like. But despite this, we all know what the Pochettino mantra is. Performance in training is crucial, fitness is paramount, the process of improving mentally is continual. Homegrown talent must be given the same opportunities as expensive imports, players are treated like adults and expected to behave as such. The sum of the parts must never be greater than the whole. Over the busy Christmas period in 2014 and with three days before the next match, Pochettino was asked by a TV reporter if his plan was to “rest, rest and rest.” He replied, quick as a flash and with a smile, “No. Train, train, train.” Not every footballer will like this approach, and those thinking of joining Spurs will know exactly what is in store. It’s like the Spartans leaving out their newborn boys — it filters out the weak. Rare insight into the way Pochettino works was given by John McDermott in a talk in California that was transcribed and posted on Reddit. McDermott revealed that he spent several hours a day working with Pochettino. He considered Pochettino by far the best manager he had worked with, and described him as the “best strategist in terms of how he got the club working.” “Pochettino is a leader of people, a very warm, Latin, touchy feely man, he has got something about him, an X factor. If you took Pochettino from Tottenham right now, they would not be half as successful. Pochettino will often say something doesn’t ‘feel’ right, he uses his intuition. For example, (he said to) Bentaleb, ‘When your face is not smiling, your feet are not smiling’. It is an intuition allied with statistics.” For McDermott, who has spent years trying to work with Spurs managers, some of whom have shown no interest in the young talent he is developing, he now has a very different problem keeping him awake at night. “How do I make sure our academy keeps up with Pochettino? He has taken it to another level.” “We are ready to compete against any team” I have always thought captaincy is a good indication of the health of a squad. When a squad seems united, potential captains, vice-captains and future captains abound. When a squad seems short on “character” — perhaps Man United in recent years — there appear few, if any, choices. If Pochettino could have one mulligan from his time at Spurs, it would be appointing Kaboul as captain and Adebayor as vice-captain. In hindsight, it was a horrible decision, but it was also an indicator of the extent to which the lunatics had taken over the asylum. The artful way that Pochettino buried the likes of Kaboul and Adebayor for the rest of the campaign was testament to his man management skills and the way a previously leaky club was starting to tighten up. Now, you could happily see any of Alderweireld, Danny Rose and Dier joining Lloris, Vertonghen and Kane among the Spurs leadership group. No-one speaks in more positive tones of Pochettino than Lloris. The France and Spurs captain revealed to the Guardian not only how close he had coming to leaving the club, but also how immediate Pochettino’s impact was. “I had some concern and I question a bit myself two years ago, after AVB and Tim Sherwood were in charge. I think the first meeting with Mauricio Pochettino was very clear for me, for my future. I think I trust him since the first second I meet him, and because I understand what he wants, fully agree about his football view. I can say we have the same football view and he’s brought a lot to the team and the players.” “The credit is for the gaffer. I think he changed all, inside the training ground, inside the squad, it’s about his mentality, his personality. We can feel we improved a lot. We have a real identity now and, from outside, it’s very clear. We try to play good football but don’t forget that we need to be aggressive, especially in the Premier League.” “If you’re not aggressive, it’s difficult to be competitive and so if you have a good philosophy of football, you add aggression, hunger, because of course we are young but we can feel the team is very hungry. It means a lot for me. It’s about competitive mentality. Now we can feel we are competitive, and ready to compete against any team.” “We show this season a lot of character. Of course, it will be interesting what will happen next season but I think in the way we work, we are improving every month so it’s not about this
his technical policing skills and his ability to make sound, independent decisions in the patrol setting.” Diafwila’s lawyer, Paul Champ, said the decision is a win not only for his client but for all police officers in Ontario. “For my client, it means that he is fully reinstated and able to carry out his duties as a police officer,” Champ said. “If in the future performance of his duties, the Ottawa police has any concerns about his performance, they will need to raise them with him in accordance with their policies. “The decision is also, however, important for all police officers across Ontario for the same reason.” Diafwila, the first officer asked to quit over performance issues, “absolutely” wants to resume a policing career. “He’s very committed to community service – that’s always really been his passion,” Champ said, adding that his client and those officers who testified on his behalf feel he’s a good officer. “He’s anxious to get back to work and show what he can do.” The police service’s final avenue of appeal would be to the Supreme Court of Canada.This morning, Dana Milbank — who used to have a podcast with Chris Cillizza on which he once suggested Hillary would choose to drink Mad Bitch beer — wrote a piece warning of the dangers of fake news. After writing about a threatening email he received, Milbank considered whether episodes like the attack on Comet Ping Pong — which he described as “the family pizza place in Northwest Washington I’ve been frequenting with my daughter ever since she was a toddler a decade ago” — were the new normal. Milbank described the role of Alex Jones in making a “bogus and bizarre accusation” against Hillary. Then he turned the attack on Comet Ping Pong, in part, into an attack on the media. This would appear to be the new normal: Not only disagreeing with your opponent but accusing her of running a pedophilia ring, provoking such fury that somebody takes it upon himself to start shooting. Not only chafing when criticized in the press but stoking anti-media hysteria that leads some supporters to threaten to kill journalists. The man whose “Mad Bitch beer” comment targeted Hillary ended his piece by scolding Trump for fueling rage against Hillary and those who support her. If Trump were a different leader, he would declare that political violence is unacceptable in a free society. Perhaps he’d say it after eating a “Steel Wills” pie at Comet. But instead he continues to fuel rage against his opponents and his critics. On Twitter, Peter Singer — who wrote a very worthwhile book that uses fiction to lay out near term threats to the US — RTed Milbank’s story with the comment, “stop winking and nodding” at fake news because it can get people killed. Singer works at New America Foundation, but he used to work at Brookings Institution, which employs people like Michael O’Hanlon and Charles Lister to write propaganda, funded in part by Qatar, designed to generate support for endless wars in the Middle East. In response to Singer’s tweet, I RTed it and pointed out that “The #fakenews about Iraqi WMD DID get hundreds of thousands killed.” That in turn led to some interesting discussions, most notably with Zeynep Tufekci, who claimed that by “conflating two very, very different types of failure” I was being unhelpful because those different kinds of fake news operated via different mechanisms. Tufekci is right. The means by which an uncritical press — enthusiastically joined by the WaPo’s editorial page and many, but not all, of its reporters — parroted Dick Cheney’s lies about Iraqi WMD are different than the means by which millions of people sought out the most outrageous claims about Hillary. The means by which the financial press claimed the housing market would never collapse are different than the means by which millions of people sought out conspiracy theories about the people who didn’t prosecute the banksters. The means by which Dana Milbank got to insinuate the Secretary of State might choose Mad Bitch beer are even different than the means by which millions of people sought out news that called the former Secretary of State #CrookedHillary. The means by which the traditional press focused more attention on Hillary’s email server than on Trump’s fraudulent business practices are different than the means by which millions of people sought out claims that Hillary’s email server was going to get her indicted. All of those traditional news examples of fake news included an editorial process designed to prevent the retelling of fake news. The means by which traditional news media shares fake news are different than social media’s algorithm driven means of sharing fake news. Until you remember that a week before the election, Fox’s Bret Baier, who eight months earlier had moderated a GOP primary debate, reported that the investigations into Hillary “will continue to likely an indictment.” While Baier retracted the claim just over a day later, the claim was among the most damaging pieces of fake news from the campaign, not least because it confirmed some of what the most inflammatory social media claims were saying and magnified the damage of Jim Comey’s irresponsible announcement about finding new emails. Baier got manipulated by his sources who knew how to game the means the press uses to avoid fake news. Baier got manipulated into sharing fake news that served the goals of his sources. It turns out Baier was not any more immune from the manipulation of his biases than your average news consumer is. Now, the NYT (though not, I think, the WaPo) apologized for their WMD coverage and Milbank apologized for his Mad Bitch podcast and Baier apologized for his indictment scoop. No one has yet apologized for focusing more attention on Hillary’s email server than Trump’s own corruption, but I’m sure that’s coming. I’m not aware that the financial press apologized for the cheerleading that ultimately led to millions of Americans losing their homes to foreclosure, but then it also hasn’t stopped the same kind of fake news cheerleading that led to the crash. Indeed, while it shows remorse after some of the worst cases, the traditional news media still lapses into the habit of reporting fake news, often in a tone of authority and using an elite discourse. Such lapses usually happen when a kind of herd instinct or a rush to get the news first sets in, leading news professionals to tell fake news stories. And, now that social media has given average news consumers the ability (and after financialization has led to the disappearance of reliable local news), average news consumers increasingly bypass news professionals, listening instead to the stories they want to hear, told in a way that leads them to feel they are assuming a kind of self-control, told in a language and tone they might use themselves. At its worst — as in the case of PizzaGate — a kind of herd instinct sets in, with news consumers reinforcing each others’ biases. On Sunday, that almost got a lot of innocent people — families like Milbank’s own — killed. Elite commentators may view the herd instincts of average news consumers to be more crude than the herd instincts of professional news tellers. Perhaps they are. Across history, both types of herd instincts have led to horrible outcomes, including to the deaths of hundreds of thousands, even millions of people. But as we try to deal with our herd instincts and the mistakes we all make (myself very much included), we might do well to exhibit a little less arrogance about it. That certainly won’t eliminate the mistakes; we are, ultimately, herd animals. But it might provide a basis to rebuild some trust, without which leads all of us — the professionals and the average news consumers — further into our own bubbles. Update: This Current Affairs piece treats WaPo’s peddling of fake news — including the PropOrNot story — well.Get the biggest daily news stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email A single mum was fired from her new job at a daycare centre after she posted on Facebook that she "hated" it. Kaitlyn Walls, 27, who criticised the position just hours before she started her first shift, was hit by a barrage of insults from other users. She posted: “I start my new job today, but I absolutely hate working at day care.” (Image: Google Maps) And, after her bosses got wind of the post, they told her not to bother coming in. Kaitlyn, from Texas, told CBS: "I really needed it really bad. I’m a single mom trying to get out on my own. “I had all these girls attacking me because I don’t want to be around a lot of kids all the time,” Kaitlyn was branded "dumb" by some users and was compared to the “bubonic plague". She said she wasn't trying to offend anybody and maintains she doesn't hate kids.THE DAY REPLAYED – The big shock, on a day on which Austria and Ukraine both advanced to the last 16 of the FIFA U-20 World Cup New Zealand 2015, was the elimination of Argentina. Held to a 0-0 draw by the Austrians in Wellington, the six-time champions were condemned to an early exit by the host nation’s 5-1 defeat of Myanmar. It was an unforgettable night for the All Whites, who came from a goal down to swamp the Asian debutants and finish on four points in Group A, giving them every chance of advancing to the knockout phase as one of the best third-placed teams. Ukraine topped the pool after easing to a 3-0 defeat of the USA, who finished second. The Argentinians, who went into the day needing to win and for the New Zealanders to fail to do so, were on the front foot for most of their match against the Austrians but could not find a way past the impressive Tino Casali. The South Americans’ first-round exit is their first since Portugal 1991, while Austria find themselves in the last 16 for only the second time in their history. Top spot in Group B was claimed by Ghana, who beat Panama 1-0 to take their points tally to seven. A game that had seemed destined to remain goalless was settled by Emmanuel Boateng’s late solo effort. Ukraine were once again indebted to the razor-sharp finishing of Viktor Kovalenko, who scored all three in his side’s defeat of USA. The Americans tested Bohdan Sarnavskyi in the Ukraine goal but were very much second best as they relinquished top spot to the eastern Europeans. Results* Group A Myanmar 1-5 New Zealand Ukraine 3-0 USA Group B Austria 0-0 Argentina Panama 0-1 Ghana Goal of the dayMyanmar-New Zealand 1-2, Patterson (47) Though goals were in relatively short supply on day seven of New Zealand 2015, it did produce a genuine candidate for goal of the tournament: the hosts’ second in their five-goal romp against the Asian newcomers, a superb four-touch move inside the penalty box. Showing great touch for his size, striker Alex Rufer started things off by back-heeling the ball through the legs of his marker and into the path of Clayton Lewis, who laid it off to Noah Billingsley, who in turn slid the ball first time to the waiting Monty Patterson. All the Ipswich Town midfielder had to do to complete the slickest of moves was tap the ball over the line from close range. Memorable momentsOne-man wall The main reason why Argentina failed to get the win they craved at Wellington Regional Stadium was the performance of Austria keeper Tino Casali. The 6’4 custodian stood tall in more ways than one, pulling off save after save to frustrate the South Americans time and again. Angel Correa, Matias Tripichio and Emanuel Mammana were among those thwarted by the irrepressible Casali, who used feet as well as hands to keep the six-time winners at bay and produced a stunning double save to defy Giovanni Simeone. What might have been Panama leave New Zealand without having achieved their objective of claiming a first U-20 World Cup win in 15 attempts. Their 1-0 reverse at the hands of Ghana was too much to take for some players, among them Fidel Escobar, who slipped over in missing a 90th-minute penalty. After wrapping a paternal arm around the player at the final whistle, Panama coach Leonardo Pipino then succumbed to the emotion of the occasion, welling up with tears in the post-match press conference. Second-half sensations Just as they had done against New Zealand and Myanmar, Ukraine played out a goalless first half against USA. And just as they had done against the Asians, they went on a post-restart scoring spree, taking their Group A goal tally to nine, all of them coming after half-time. In taking his tournament tally to five with his triple salvo, Kovalenko is now the competition’s leading scorer, one goal clear of Hungary’s Bence Mervo. The stat 40 - The percentage of penalties missed in the competition to date. Panama defender Fidel Escobar’s wayward spot-kick was the fourth penalty out of the ten awarded so far not to hit the back of the net. The words“That was the game of my life! Amazing! Beating Argentina at football (in the group) is like them beating us at ski jumping,” Tino Casali, Austria goalkeeper. Next matchday Saturday, 6 June 2015 (all times local) Group C * Senegal-Qatar (13.00, Hamilton) Colombia-Portugal (13.00, Dunedin) Group D Serbia-Mexico (16.00, Dunedin) Mali-Uruguay (16.00, Hamilton)Done right, internal hackathons are awesome. They encourage company developers to build all the crazy stuff that they’d normally never dabble with, be it for lack of time, fear that their co-workers/bosses would think they’re nuts, or because their ideas are just too far from “the company vision” or whatever. When all that’s on the line is bragging rights and beer, people build surprisingly awesome stuff. Like this hack from Netflix’s internal 24 hour Hack Day. It uses the data from a Fitbit to determine when you’ve fallen asleep while watching a streaming movie, and pauses your flick at that spot: Fun fact: If you follow me on Twitter (you really should. I throw secret dinners for select followers at least once a month. And by “secret dinners” I mean I heat up a Hot Pocket and by “select followers” I mean me. But do it anyway), you might remember that I tweeted pretty much this exact idea (but with audio books) yesterday. A coincidence, I swear! While I wasn’t there and am just hearing about this Hackathon today, it actually went down a week ago — so these guys had this idea way before me. Plus, I’m sure I’m the 9 millionth person to have that idea. But wait, there’s more! Here are a few other entries that Netflix opted to share — no word here on who won. Playlists lets you build multiple playlists (instead of having one big queue), and skip back and forth between movies/shows without going back to browse. Radial is a keyboard for typing out search queries on consoles, allowing for much faster input over the oddly-common linear keyboard found on most consoles. Netflix Beam lets your friends temporarily use your Netflix account on their own devices when they’re at your house, and automatically logs them off when they leave PIN protected profiles lets you lock down your profile on a shared account with a 4-digit pin, so that your friends/kids/burglars can’t screw with your queue: Any and all of these would make damned fine additions to Netflix’s feature set. Seriously. Give them to me. Alas: We should also note that, while we think these hacks are very cool and fun, they may never become part of the Netflix product, internal infrastructure, or be used beyond Hack Day. [ You know what else would be a damned fine addition to Netflix’s feature set? An API that isn’t awful and/or friggin’ CLOSED, so that people outside of Netflix could build awesome things.]The U.S. Department of Treasury will run out of money Nov. 3 if an agreement to change the federal debt ceiling is not reached by lawmakers. File photo by Roger L. Wollenberg/UPI \| License Photo WASHINGTON, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Treasury on Thursday moved up the timetable for when it will run out of money -- Nov. 3 -- should lawmakers not raise the debt ceiling before then. Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew initially warned the U.S. government would exhaust its funds Nov. 5, but amended that date by two days. "At that point, we expect Treasury would be left with less than $30 billion to meet all of the nation's commitments -- an amount far short of net expenditures on certain days, which can be as high as $60 billion," Lew wrote in a letter to Congress on Thursday. By Nov. 3, Congress must raise the debt ceiling or risk a government default. Should this occur, Lew said the government would not be able to make all 80 million payments for which it is responsible each month, including Social Security, military salaries and Medicare reimbursements. "Operating the United States government with no borrowing authority, and with only the cash on hand on a given day, would be profoundly irresponsible," he said. Meanwhile, Lew reiterated his stance that the Treasury's cash balance should not fall below the $150 billion mark, which he said helps protect the country against market interruptions often caused by natural disasters and large-scale terror attacks like on Sept. 11, 2001. "For these reasons, I respectfully urge Congress to take action as soon as possible, raise the debt limit without delay, and remove an unnecessary threat to our economy. We have learned from the past that failing to act until the last minute can cause serious harm to business and consumer confidence, raise short-term borrowing costs for taxpayers, and negatively impact the credit rating of the United States. And there is no way to predict the irreparable damage that default would have on global financial markets and the American people," Lew wrote. RELATED Justice Department creates domestic terrorism unit Several politicians expect Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, will find a way to approve a debt-ceiling fix before his upcoming retirement. Republicans are having difficulty replacing Boehner.LONDON — Harry Potter really is the gift that keeps on giving. The final book in the J.K. Rowling's series may have been published back in 2007, but that hasn't stopped her from dropping a whole bunch of new revelations in the intervening years. With Harry Potter and the Cursed Child mere weeks away, now seems like a good time to re-visit some of the secrets Rowling has disclosed since the books finished... 1. Dumbledore's sexuality. Dumbledore was once in love with Grindelwald. Image: warner bros. Rowling revealed the sexuality of everyone's favourite magical headmaster during a book tour in 2007. When a fan asked about Dumbledore's love life, Rowling replied: "Dumbledore is gay." She went on to confirm he'd been in love with Grindelwald, and was "horribly, terribly let down" by what Grindelwald ultimately became. In March 2015, Rowling took to Twitter to respond to a fan who asked her about Dumbledore's sexuality, writing "I can't see him that way." 2. Dumbledore's feelings towards Newt Scamander. @jk_rowling I wonder, what makes Albus Dumbledore so fond of Mr. Scamander? i felt the need to ask you — kit (@patronuspanther) April 11, 2016 Albus Dumbledore is fond of Newt Scamander for the same reasons that I am fond of Newt Scamander. You're welcome. https://t.co/bNdwX6Tf40 — J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) April 11, 2016 @jk_rowling but we also know that Dumbledore has come to defend him. So, was the expulsion revoked? :) — Potterish (@potterish) April 11, 2016 Dumbledore was a young teacher at the time Newt was expelled. He wasn't able to revoke expulsions. https://t.co/UskHwSQvtJ — J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) April 11, 2016 3. What Dumbledore really saw in the Mirror of Erised. In an online Q & A with readers after the release of the Deathly Hallows, Rowling responded to a fan's question about what Dumbledore saw in the Mirror of Erised. "He saw his family alive, whole and happy," Rowling responded. "Ariana, Percival and Kendra all returned to him, and Aberforth reconciled to him." 4. James Potter and Teddy Lupin's Hogwarts Houses. Have just heard that James S Potter has been Sorted (to nobody's surprise) into Gryffindor. Teddy Lupin (Head Boy, Hufflepuff) disappointed. — J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) September 1, 2015 5. The complexities of wandless magic and broomless flight. .@bluesrgt Yes, nearly all wizards use wands, which makes magic easier to channel. Wandless magic is sophisticated and takes more talent. — J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) March 8, 2016 .@o0MRG0o Yes, most wizards produce more precise magic by using the correct wand, which is why they've been widely adopted. — J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) March 8, 2016 .@dwmw24601 @bluesrgt Exactly. Wands and brooms (and flying cars) are tools that channel magic. The most gifted can dispense with them. — J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) March 8, 2016 6. We've been pronouncing Voldemort wrong. @Universe_Box One piece of Harry Potter trivia I always forget to mention: the "t" is silent in Voldemort, according to @jk_rowling. — Michael Lucero (@mhenrylucero) September 9, 2015 ... but I'm pretty sure I'm the only person who pronounces it that way. https://t.co/HxhJ5XY5HP — J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) September 9, 2015 7. Harry, Ron and Hermione all went on to have key Ministry roles. We'll be finding out more about what this lot are up to in the 'Cursed Child'. Image: warner bros. Our heroic trio all went on to work at the Ministry in some capacity after leaving Hogwarts: Harry as an auror, Ron (briefly) as an auror and Hermione in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. "Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny et al would of course play a significant part in the re-building of wizarding society through their future careers," Rowling said in a Bloomsbury Q & A back in 2007. 8. Her reasons for killing off Remus Lupin. Once again, it's the anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts so, as promised, I shall apologise for a death. This year: Remus Lupin. — J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 2, 2016 In the interests of total honesty I'd also like to confess that I didn't decide to kill Lupin until I wrote Order if the Phoenix. — J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 2, 2016 Arthur lived, so Lupin had to die. I'm sorry. I didn't enjoy doing it. The only time my editor ever saw me cry was over the fate of Teddy. 😢 — J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 2, 2016 9. Hogwarts is free. @emmalineonline1 @micnews There's no tuition fee! The Ministry of Magic covers the cost of all magical education! — J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) July 17, 2015 10. There are eleven wizarding schools world-wide. We’re excited to announce Ilvermorny is the name of the North #American wizarding school! https://t.co/wZOnSwczyW pic.twitter.com/YvjFjSVz7b — Pottermore (@pottermore) January 30, 2016 In a post on Pottermore, J. K. Rowling revealed that there are, "eleven long-established and prestigious wizarding schools worldwide, all of which are registered with the International Confederation of Wizards." She went on to release more details about individual schools in Japan, Africa, Brazil and North America. 11. North America has a dark magical history. In piece three, uncover events that drove 18th century American wizards deeper underground: https://t.co/EEdMJDtIfA pic.twitter.com/gY5sZeajVR — Pottermore (@pottermore) March 10, 2016 Rowling wrote about magical segregation in her four-part series of the history of North American magic. 12. Her favourite character. @jk_rowling Besides Harry, who is your favorite character in the series? — Adam Mahan (@mahanadam) April 11, 2016 13. Hagrid and the Patronus spell. Jo always asked you this. What was Hagrids Patronus @jk_rowling — Tanisha Fagwani (@tanishafagwani) August 21, 2015 Hagrid couldn't produce a Patronus. It's a very difficult spell. https://t.co/TRDVNvSEdR — J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) August 21, 2015 14. Why Harry named his son after Snape. @jk_rowling Why did you pick Snape to name Harry's kid after? I'm genuinely curious as he was nothing but abusive towards everyone. — △⃒⃘Jasmine△⃒⃘ (@FrazzyJazzy7) November 27, 2015 Snape died for Harry out of love for Lily. Harry paid him tribute in forgiveness and gratitude. https://t.co/MPXBgUApa3 — J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) November 27, 2015 15. Why Snape died. Snape didn't die for 'ideals'. He died in an attempt to expiate his own guilt. He could have broken cover at any time to save himself 1/2 — J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) November 27, 2015 but he chose not to tell Voldemort that the latter was making a fatal error in targeting Harry. Snape's silence ensured Harry's victory. 2/2 — J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) November 27, 2015 16. What she thinks about Snape as a character. This morning I've been thinking a lot about the appeal of simple dichotomies in our messy world, then you raise Snape! Highly appropriate. — J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) November 27, 2015 Snape is all grey. You can't make him a saint: he was vindictive & bullying. You can't make him a devil: he died to save the wizarding world — J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) November 27, 2015 17. Finally (and perhaps most importantly), what Harry was hoping to achieve when he named his son after Snape. In honouring Snape, Harry hoped in his heart that he too would be forgiven. The deaths at the Battle of Hogwarts would haunt Harry forever. — J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) November 27, 2015 We have a feeling that this will be key for the upcoming play — especially the final line. We know from the Cursed Child synopsis that the past will come back to haunt Harry. Maybe his guilt over what happened during his school years will be a theme in the Cursed Child. Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.Why isn't Abbott acting on the 'budget emergency'? Posted Tony Abbott has wisely left Australia's fiscal settings exactly as they were under Labor, putting the lie to his hysterical pre-election economic rhetoric, writes Stephen Koukoulas. Almost two months after a thumping election victory, there is not one hint of any economic policy change from the Abbott Government that will deal with the budget bottom line. Yet until the day before the election, this was painted by the Coalition as an "emergency" or "crisis". The reason is obvious. The budget is in triple-A shape and in the complete opposite of an emergency. If there were a budget emergency, Treasurer Joe Hockey and the Government would have acted with the same speed on spending and revenue measures as they have shown over abolishing the carbon price and implementing their boats policy. Which goes back to the main point. The six years of Labor Party government through to September 2013 were characterised by pragmatic, prudent and ultimately successful management of the economy. While some of the politics was astray, Australia's economy is in tip-top shape as a result of this record of first class economic management. The economic runs on the board delivered by Labor include six extra years of unbroken economic and employment growth, a halving of the inflation rate, further solid increases in per capita GDP, and ongoing prosperity. If Tony Abbott can maintain the same record as Labor in his term in government, even without the negative shocks from the global economy, he will have done well. This strong economic performance between 2007 and 2013 was despite the world economy crashing to its weakest point since the Great Depression of the 1930s, when financial market ructions threatened to completely undermine the functioning of global trade and the world economy. It was truly extraordinary that Australia, in these circumstances, managed to dodge a recession and at the same time hold the unemployment rate below 6 per cent for whole period where unemployment rate hit double digits in most other advanced economies. The reasons for this remarkable economic performance are simple: policy pragmatism and foresight. The fiscal stimulus measures, which saw the budget balance move by 6 per cent of GDP, was vital to supporting economic growth. Builders were employed and retailers stayed afloat as the government pumped temporary, timely and targeted spending into the economy. Aiding the growth-enhancing policies was the easing in monetary policy, which saw the RBA cut the official cash rate by 425 basis points in a few months. This saved mortgage holders and business alike many tens of billions of dollars in interest costs - money that was at least partly directed to spending and investment. The Australian dollar fell by over 30 per cent and traded at 60 US cents, which helped to support many exporters. Complementing this policy brilliance was some good luck. In the period from 2008 to 2010, the Chinese authorities stimulated their economy which not only saw Chinese GDP growth bounce back to above 10 per cent, but also reversed the commodity price slump and boosted demand for Australia's exports. After the depths of the crisis had passed, the prudent policy settings from the Labor government continued. In its budget settings, the Labor government implemented the largest tightening in fiscal policy ever recorded. The budget tightened by 3 per cent of GDP in a couple of years and 2012-13 saw the largest cut in real government spending ever. This fiscal policy tightening was aimed at replenishing the budget, and there would have been a budget surplus were it not for the post-stimulus slowing in the Chinese economy, and the decline in the terms of trade that hit tax revenue hard over the past couple of years. It has not been widely reported that over the past two years, the Australian economy confronted a 20-year low for Chinese economic growth. This bad luck (for Australia) obviously dragged the terms of trade lower and the Labor government had to deal with this unfortunate turn of events. In late 2012, it made the prudent decision to let the budget automatic stabilisers to work which of course meant less revenue and a budget deficit, but it kept the economy growing at around a 2.5 per cent pace and as we saw last week, the unemployment rate in September was just 5.6 per cent. From a perspective of maintaining economic growth, this again highlighted the prudent and pragmatic nature of policy makers interested in sustaining economic growth and job creation. It is interesting to note that the fiscal tightening allowed the RBA to ease monetary policy over the past two years, with interest rates for mortgages and the business sector falling to the lowest level in around 50 years. The Labor Government knew that if it delivered tight fiscal settings, it would give room to the RBA to ease monetary policy which in turn would help trim the Australian dollar strength. The RBA rose to the challenge and the recent fall in the dollar from levels constantly around 105 US cents to levels under 95 US cents has given exporters and firms competing with importers a clear shot in the arm. At a macroeconomic level, it is difficult to find what the Labor government could have done differently or better. Less fiscal stimulus during the GFC may have seen the economy dive into recession. More stimulus was not needed given the economic outcomes delivered. It was about as right as these things can be in an economy that is now around $1.6 trillion a year. To be sure, some of the rhetoric from the Labor ministers around the budget was misplaced, such as promises to return to surplus in 2012-13 come hell or high water, but the actual runs of the board and the bottom line policy settings were almost always right. The fact that Mr Abbott and his team have seen fit to hold fiscal settings exactly as they were under Labor - with no mini-budget and no policy changes to alter the path of government spending or to change the momentum on economic growth - speaks loudly about the economy that Labor managed over their term of office, and draws into question the hysterical electioneering claims of economic incompetency and budget emergency. 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No Military or PO Box shipments available Warranty: 90 Day SamsungHuffPost Australia‘s joint venture with Fairfax Media has come to an end, the US based website announced this afternoon. It is believed Fairfax Media will redeploy staff members – of which there are more than 30 – into the metro business, while others will be left without jobs as the Huffington Post’s local team is expected to be reduced to a handful of contractors. A spokesperson for HuffPost Australia said in a statement: “Employees were briefed today on the decision of HuffPost and Fairfax to bring the Australian joint venture to an end. HuffPost will operate a standalone Australian edition from December 1 with a smaller local team. If redeployment is not possible, regrettably redundancies will occur.” Every day of the past 2 years has been a joy thanks to the @HuffPostAU team. Talent, passion and integrity. If you're looking for a digtal gun to employ hit me up and I'll send the right one your way. As for me, I need a day or two off before finding the next challenge. Exhale… — Tory Maguire (@_Tors) November 29, 2017 ADVERTISEMENT Mumbrella understands the future of the joint venture was entirely in the hands of HuffPost management, with Fairfax Media continuing to show a vested interest in the brand. But despite the official comment, this ‘standalone Australian edition’ is understood to mean several contractors – similar to what has occurred with HuffPost’s joint venture with The Times of India. The withdrawal of HuffPost’s commitment to Australia comes just over two years since the publication launched. At the time, founder Arianna Huffington told Mumbrella the market was “very fertile ground” for the publisher’s commercial model. Ahead of the company’s launch into the market, Koda Wang, the general manager overseeing HuffPost’s international expansion, said the company would intend to become the market leader in Australia within three to five years, and was on the hunt for a local partner. Fairfax Media was confirmed as the local partner in August. Since then, the company has been jointly owned by Fairfax Media (49%) and AOL (51%) – which recently acquired Yahoo. At the time of launch, the company was led by Chris Janz, now managing director of Fairfax Media’s Metro Publishing division. He was later replaced by RocketFuel managing director, JJ Eastwood. The company also named Lisa Wilkinson, former Today Show host as editor at large. In Nielsen’s monthly digital rankings, HuffPost’s audience has remained relatively stagnant – only jumping between February and March due to a change in Nielsen’s ratings system. Mumbrella also understands the company was struggling to make money
both fallen under the "Timestamp" catchall that was commonly used for Humility, but now is thankfully something we have to refer to far less often when discussing the card. <em>Exception 3</em> – Non-creature cards that set their own or another card's power and toughness If someone sent you a link for this page, this is the most likely reason you are here. This example is likely the most important, but it is number three because it is also the longest example and afterward we will delve into the more technical aspect of how the card works. <h4>State Based Effects</h4> The key to understanding Humility is to have a knowledge of how the layering system works or checking state based effects. Each type of effect is applied in a specific game order, with State based effects according to Humility. <strong>613.1a Layer 1: </strong>Copy effects are applied. See rule 706, "Copying Objects." Clone, Vesuvan Doppelganger and such cards choose which card to enter the battlefield as and will stay a copy of that creature. Not that important, but it can come up. <strong>613.1b Layer 2: </strong>Control-changing effects are applied. Nothing to really discuss here in regards to Humility. <strong>613.1c Layer 3: </strong>Text-changing effects are applied. See rule 612, "Text-Changing Effects." Nothing here either. <strong>613.1d Layer 4:</strong> Type-changing effects are applied. These include effects that change an object's card type, subtype, and/or supertype. Opalescence, Mutavault, Mishra's Factory, most other manlands are all given different types at this point, including subtypes where applicable. Specially,however, Magus of the Moon will be applied in this layer, making all non-basic lands into non-basic Mountains. Even though Magus of the Moon will lose this ability in Layer 6, when Humility is applied, every time state-based effects are checked, Magus of the Moon will be applied here and make non-basic lands Mountains. <strong>613.1e Layer 5:</strong> Color-changing effects are applied. Painters Servant will check right here and make everything the chosen color. Although Painter's Servent will later lose this ability, every time state-based effects check, they will check in this order and Painter's Servant will still make everything the chosen color at layer 5. <strong>613.1f Layer 6: </strong>Ability-adding and ability-removing effects are applied. Humility's text that removes all abilities takes effect here. Any abilities that a creature has printed on it are removed. The only abilities that a creature can have are those that are granted to it through a source that happens after Humility has entered the battlefield, such as Elspeth giving a creature flying or Concordant Crossroads being cast after Humility is in play. Cards like The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale, Wonder (in the Graveyard) and all other cards that give a creature an activated, triggered or static ability are taking effect right here, but will only matter if they enter the battlefield after Humility, but we will discuss timestamps after this. <strong>613.1g Layer 7:</strong> Power- and/or toughness-changing effects are applied. The Sub-categories are what we are concerned with. <strong>613.3a Layer 7a:</strong> Effects from characteristic-defining abilities are applied. See rule 604.3. Tarmogoyf, Terravore and the like all are assigned power and toughness around here because they do not have a static one printed on the card. <strong>613.3b Layer 7b:</strong> Effects that set power and/or toughness to a specific number or value are applied. Opalescence, Humility, Mutavault, Mishra's Factory. These are applied in timestamp order, which will be discussed later. At this point, everything is made a 1/1. In the case of Humility, overwriting the previous sub-layer but not the future ones. <strong>613.3c Layer 7c:</strong> Effects that modify power and/or toughness (but don't set power and/or toughness to a specific number or value) are applied. Glorious Anthem, Cumber Stone, Engineered Plague take effect here. So after a creature is a 1/1, these will be applied in order that they entered the battlefield. <strong>613.3d Layer 7d: </strong>Power and/or toughness changes from counters are applied. See rule 120. This comes mostly from +1/+1 counters, which was discussed earlier. Creatures with +1/+1 counters are a 1/1 with the appropriate boost equal to the sum of the counters it has, while Humility is in play. <strong>613.3e Layer 7e: </strong>Effects that switch a creature's power and toughness are applied. Such effects take the value of power and apply it to the creature's toughness, and take the value of toughness and apply it to the creature's power. There really isn't too much to discuss here, as cards with this effect are seldom used, and when they are, it is Aquamoeba, which cannot function under Humility. The End! <h4>Layer Breakdown</h4> Well, before we begin to really break this down, I'm going to simplify that for what we're concerned with: <strong>Layers 1-3</strong> – Nothing much happens <strong>Layer 4</strong> – Non-creature cards are assigned creature types as well as any other types.. Magus of the Moon turns non-basic lands into Mountains. Because this happens before Humility, it works, don't ask me why the rules work like this. <strong>Layer 5</strong> – Painter's Servant turns all cards in all zones the chosen color. Because this happens before Humility takes effect, it works. Once again, don't ask me why the rules work like this, I don't know, but this is how it works. <strong>Layer 6</strong> – Humility takes away all abilities of all creatures, including abilities granted to creatures from things that were in play before Humility entered play. New effects that are not from a creature will still grant abilities. <strong>Layer 7a </strong>– Nothing relevant actually happens here. <strong>Layer 7b</strong> - Humility sets the power and toughness of all creatures 1/1. Just as before, if a new effect sets the power and toughness of a creature to something else, that will be applied and overwrite Humility for the amount of time it lasts. The primary example is Mishra's Factory, when the land is activated it becomes a 2/2 and this effect lasts until the end of the turn, but more on this later. <strong>Layer 7c</strong> – All things that add or subtract to a creature's power or toughness are applied. <strong>Layer 7d</strong> – +1/+1 and -1/-1 counters are all applied. <strong>Layer 7e</strong> – Nothing really happens here, as far as Humility is concerned. <h4>Understanding Timestamps</h4> Timestamps are relatively easy to learn and understand and to lead off talking about them I'd like to use an example from the Comprehensive Rules. "Example: <a href="http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.crystalkeep.com%2Fcgi-bin%2Fmagicsearch.cgi%3FcardName%3DCrusade&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGxLo-bMufemxn0dNHsQ1HH_S_Bxw">Crusade</a> is an enchantment that reads "White creatures get +1/+1." Crusade and a 2/2 black creature are in play. If an effect then turns the creature white (layer 5), it gets +1/+1 from Crusade (layer 6d), becoming 3/3. If the creature's color is later changed to red (layer 5), Crusade's effect stops applying to it, and it will return to being a 2/2. " Timestamps exist to have a way for the game to work logically, where a new effect will replace an old one, but if the new effect is removed or goes away, the old one can still be there to pick back up. With Timestamps, the oldest effect is applied first and then every other subsequent effect is applied. Timestamps happen literally all of the time in Magic and normally go off problem free, such as when a creature stops receiving an Exalted bonus, or when Wild Mongrel changes colors. But when Humility is thrown into the mix, it can be difficult for many players to understand which timestamps are relevant. The only time Humility will interact with the timestamp of another card is in Layer 6 and Layer 7b, because Humility will only remove all abilities from creatures and make all creatures 1/1. Because creatures have no abilities, they are not going to be able to create a new timestamp on their own, but non-creature cards can of course apply new timestamps. Another, far more complicated example may help to clear things up, this time written by myself. <strong>Player A controls</strong> Mobilization (Soldiers have Vigilance. 2W: Put a 1/1 Soldier into play) Ajani Goldmane (5 Counters) Honor of the Pure White Knight 3/3 First Strike (+1/+1 from Honor of the Pure) Ajani's Pridemage w/ 2 +1/+1 counters, 5/5 (+2/+2 from counters +1/+1 from Honor of the Pure) w/ Vigilance (From Mobilization) Stone Golem 4/4 Artifact creature, no abilities <strong>Player B controls</strong> Filth in Graveyard (Swamp in play) Dragon token (5/5, Red, Flying) Swapwalk (Via Filth) Mistform Ultimus 3/3 w/ Vigilance, (From Mobilization) Swampwalk (Via Fith) The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale, which is giving all creatures the Triggered Ability, "At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice this creature unless you pay {1}" Player A Casts Humility and it resolves. What is the result? <strong>Player A Will have:</strong> Mobilization, Because Mobilization was on the table first, it has the older timestamp, which means that Humility will overwrite the Vigilance ability on soldiers and replace it with no abilities. If another card such as Serra's Blessing or another copy of Mobilization enters the battlefield, the appropriate creatures will be given Vigilance, because that new permanent will have a more recent timestamp. Ajani Goldmane, who, if activated will grant Vigilance until the end of the turn. Because this effect will always be newer than the Humility that is in play, it will grant the ability, but only until end of turn, as per the card's text. White Knight, 1/1 + Honor the Pure = 2/2 no abilities. Ajani's Pridemate, 1/1 + two +1/+1 counters + Honor the Pure = 4/4, no Abilities Steel Golem 1/1, no abilities, still an Artifact, Humility doesn't affect card types. <strong>Player B will have:</strong> Filth will see the same fate that Mobilization did, where the effect that it grants has an older Timestamp so Humility's more recent Timestamp will remove the ability granted by Filth. Dragon Token 1/1, no abilities Mistform Ultimus, 1/1, no abilities, but is still all creature types as this is rules text on the card, not an ability. The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale will also have it's timestamp over written. Because the card gives all creatures an activated ability, Humility's newer timestamp will remove this as well. <h4>Summing Up Complicated Interactions</h4> <strong>Mishra's Factory, Mutavault, Nantuko Monastery and other man-lands</strong> Any time a spell or ability turns a non-creature permanent into a creature, the card is going to need to set a power and toughness for that card. Timestamps were just discussed and this is really the exact same thing. When Mishra's Factory is activated, the ability of the land produces an effect that reads "~This~ is a 2/2 artifact creature until end of turn." This ability has a newer timestamp than Humility, so in layer 7b, where Humility and Mishra's Factory are both aiming to set the power and toughness for Mishra's Factory, Humility will set it to 1/1, with its old Timestamp and then Mishra's Factory will replace that with 2/2. However, when Mishra's Factory becomes a creature, it loses all previous abilities that it had, such as the ability to tap for mana or tap to give an Assembly Worker +1/+1 until end of turn. But, if you activated something that grants itself abilities such as Nantuko Monastery, it will become a 4/4 First Strike, without the ability to tap for mana. In this instance, Nantuko Monastery produces a new timestamp in both Layers 6 and 7b, which are the two that Humility effect. <em>Bottom Line</em> – Mishra's Factory, Mutavault, Phyrexian Totem, Treetop Village, etc are all going to have the power and toughness granted to them by the ability that made it that, plus any abilities granted by the effect that makes it a creature. So, yes, <strong>Mishra's Factory is a 2/2 under Humility.</strong> <strong>Painter's Servant and Magus of the Moon</strong> Whenever state based effects check (Whenever a player would get priority) all of these layers get checked as well, and unlike the stack, effects apply in order. Humility is unable to affect anything that happens prior to Layer 6. This is so that cards like Dryad Arbor are still green, and have all of their types. Both Magus of the Moon and Painter's Servant create effects that apply before Humility in these layers so these cards effectively still "work" under Humility. These creatures will be 1/1 with no abilities, however, the effect that the cards normally have on the game will still be applied. So, if Magus of the Moon is in play, all non-basic lands will be Mountains and if Painter's Servant is in play, all cards in all zones will be the chosen color. It isn't repeatedly checked with their abilities removed. <em>Bottom Line</em> – Magus of the Moon and Painter's Servant both work under Humility. <strong>"As ~This~ Enters the Battlefield"</strong> Unlike cards with triggered abilities that trigger when they enter the battlefield, cards with this sort of text work so that they can produce an effect as a replacement effect to entering the battlefield. This happens on Painter's Servant, Meddling Mage and many other creatures and is important so that something like Arcbound Worker can have power and toughness when it is on the battlefield so it doesn't die to state based effects. Because this is not a static, triggered or activated ability, Humility does not touch it. The creature isn't even on the battlefield when this effect is happening. <em>Bottom Line</em> – Meddling Mage still names a card, Painter's Servant still names a color, and "As ~This~ enters the battlefield" text, is not an ability, so it is unaffected by Humility. <strong>Show and Tell, Eureka, Hypergenesis and Humility</strong> One of the more complicated interactions with Humility has to do with the recent popularity of cards like these. The question always comes up regarding something like Terrastadon or Angel of Despair's ability to destroy Humility when both enter the battlefield from this kind of effect, but the example can be relevant for more than just triggered abilities that destroy a permanent. The best way to break this down is by card: Show and Tell does something quite uncommon in Magic, which is put permanents into play simultaneously. Regardless of who the active player is, both cards will be on the table at the same time. Via timestamp rules, the active player is allowed to choose the order of timestamps when cards enter simultaneously, however there will never be an instance in which Angel of Despair or any other such creature is on the battlefield without Humility, so if both cards enter off Show and Tell, not only can Humility not be destroyed, by Angel of Despair will have no ability to destroy anything. Eureka and Hypergenesis however both work a bit differently, as they allow players to take turns putting cards onto the battlefield. This means that there is a window for a permanent to exist on the table without Humility in play, even if it is the second card that enters the battlefield from this effect. So, if Angel of Despair is put in by the active player and the ability triggers. Non-active player puts Humility into play, there has been a period of time where Angel of Despair exists without Humility, although no future creatures that come into play off this spell will have abilities trigger, Angel of Despair's ability will trigger and can even target Humility. This works because while the ability has triggered, it cannot be put on the stack until a player can receive priority, which cannot happen until either Hypergenesis or Eureka has finished resolving. <em>Bottom Line</em> – You can kill Humility with a creature if the creature enters the battlefield before Humility off of Eureka or Hypergenesis, but not Show and Tell. <strong>Opalescence and Humility</strong> This is undoubtedly the standby favorite to try to frustrate an authority figure that is talking about rules in Magic. However, this all has to do with timestamps and can actually be very simple. We'll look at each example in Timestamp order <strong>Humility then Opalescence</strong> – Opalescence will be applied in Layer 4, turning all other non-auras into creatures In layer 6, Humility will remove all of their abilities, including its own, and in Layer 7b, Humility will make itself a 1/1, because it has the oldest timestamp and then Opalescence will make Humility a 4/4 creature. <strong>Opalescence then Humility</strong> – Once again, Opalescence will happen in Layer 4 but this time, in layer 7b, Opalescence will make Humility a 4/4 but because it has the older timestamp, Humility will overwrite that and make itself a 1/1. <strong>Opalescence then Opalescence, then Humility</strong> – Here, Opalescence one will turn Humility and the other Opalescence into creatures, Opalescence two will do the same for the remaining opalescence. In layer 7b, the first two Opalescence will be applied in timestamp order, making all enchantments power and toughness equal to mana cost, and then because Humility has the newest timestamp, it will make all Enchantments 1/1 creatures with no abilities, of course. <strong>Opalescence then Humility then Opalescence</strong> – In this instance the way layer 7b works out will leave Humility and Opalescence one as 4/4 creatures, but Opalescence two will be a 1/1 creature because it is not able to set its own power and toughness, so the more recent timestamp that applies to it is Humility's. <strong>Humility then Opalescence then Opalescence</strong> – This ends up being the most beneficial result for the interaction, where Humility will remove all abilities from all creatures, but all the enchantments will be at full power and toughness due to the fact that both Opalescences have the most recent timestamps. When Replenish is added into this mix, it shouldn't complicate things too much, because as we touched upon earlier, when multiple permanents enter the battlefield at the same time, the active player is able to choose the timestamp order that he likes the most. Hint, Humility first. <h4>Conclusion</h4> I wanted to write a lot more about my experiences with this new control deck, but I really want to explore a few more directions before I settle on anything. I was working under the assumption that Thopter Foundry and Sword of the Meek was the more efficient win possible for a control deck, but assembling is really a lot more difficult than I want it to be and both of the cards are awful on their own. Additionally, the combo doesn't really use two cards the way it looks on paper, as you need to use a suite of other artifacts to enable the combo in case Sword is in the graveyard and Thopter Foundry is the only artifact in play. The more standard Counter-Top Thopter decks haven't been doing well and I think it's the reasons that I've been talking about for a couple of months now. For now, I would like to try a very traditional U/W approach and see where that leads me, although I'm open to the idea that Deed can potentially be a lot better. Concerning Peacekeeper, I wasn't able to get the real testing in with the card that I had wanted to. Every time I'm looking to test against something, it seems nearly impossible to play against it. I'm still pretty sold on the strength of the card, however and am really looking forward to seeing what it can do. Anyway, at the time I'm closing this I need to review with some friends over what the plan is for the pre-release, in the morning. Next week I'll probably talk a bit about my impressions on the set, but seeing as how there is very little for Legacy, it won't be a primary focus. However, I am quite excited to see how this new Elspeth pans out. Until then, I hope that your release weekend is a blast. ~Christopher Walton im00pi at gmail for Electronic Mail Master Shake on <a href="http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/">The Source</a>Stateside’s conversation with Tom Cullimore, founder of HOPE, and Mark Criss, director of the City Rescue Mission in Lansing. Think about this: providing enough meat to make more than half a million meals for people in need. That's over 100,000 pounds of meat, and much of it is venison. That's the remarkable result of of Tom Cullimore's work through his effort called HOPE: Help Other People Eat. Tom founded HOPE in 2004, inspiring hunters to donate their venison and other meat to shelters in the Lansing area. “At that time in my life, in the area around here, there was a big, big hole for meat for the hungry,” Cullimore said. “You could get all kinds of cereals and stuff, but you’ve got to have some protein, you’ve got to have some meat in your life.” After all these years of donated meals, Tom has announced he's retiring this year. Tom Cullimore, founder of HOPE, and Mark Criss, director of the City Rescue Mission in Lansing, joined Stateside today. “Prior to Tom’s involvement, we had a lot of pasta,” Criss said. “Tom allowed us to improve the quality of our meal by having more protein at almost every single meal.” Cullimore’s efforts to involve hunters at food banks and shelters also brought in other donations and contributions. It's helped City Rescue Mission expand services from 50 beds to 160. “It was a great awareness for people that support the mission, and so as the needs grew, the mission was able to meet more and more of those needs every single day," Criss said. Cullimore said it was a “wonderful thing to do,” and that it’s been hard to take a step back. “When you see people lined up with hardly any clothing on and it’s 10 degrees, that just rips you apart,” Cullimore said. Listen above to hear how City Rescue Mission hopes to continue Cullimore's efforts, and continue collecting hunters' donations. Criss said hunters can donate their venison to Specialized Deer Processing Plus Inc. (Subscribe to the Stateside podcast on iTunes, Google Play, or with this RSS link)Nearly every state park in the Bay Area — from the towering redwoods at Big Basin to Angel Island, Mount Tamalpais to Mount Diablo and every state beach from Año Nuevo in San Mateo County to Big Sur — would close as part of budget cuts proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. In all, 220 of California’s 279 state parks, about 80 percent, would be padlocked starting as soon as Labor Day, under details of a historic closing plan released Thursday night by the state parks department. “We’ve never been in as serious a predicament as we are facing right now. It is potentially devastating,” said state parks spokesman Roy Stearns. Layoffs could hit 1,500 or more of the 2,900 state parks employees, Stearns added. “This is a clear indication of the absolute seriousness of the state budget deficit. We have driven to the cliff and some would argue we are already falling off the cliff.” On Tuesday, as part of an effort to close the state’s $24 billion deficit, Schwarzenegger unveiled a series of proposed cuts. They included a plan to eliminate $70 million in state general fund money to parks in the year that ends in June 2010 and $143 million of that funding by June 2011. The latter number represents 40 percent of the state park system’s $387 million operating budget. In effect, the plan would phase out all general fund support of parks, leaving them funded only by entry fees, camping fees, and various small taxes, such as a tax on fuel for off-road vehicles. The proposal still must be approved by the state Legislature. But Friday, Democratic leaders said the budget hole is so great they expect some parks will close. The main reason: Sales tax, income tax and other revenues flowing into Sacramento have collapsed during the economic downturn and Republican leaders have said they will not support any increase in taxes or fees. “I’m going to work hard to keep them open, but not at the expense of things like insuring 1 million children in the Healthy Families program,” said state Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Santa Monica, who chairs the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee. Pavley said she will examine raising entry and camping fees, closing some parks in winter, partnerships with nonprofit groups, a new tax checkoff box on state tax forms, and other ideas to help reduce the number of parks closed. Other parks on the closing list include Henry W. Coe State Park near Morgan Hill, which at 90,000 acres is the second largest state park in California; Sutters Fort and Marshall Gold Discovery sites; Humboldt Redwoods; Anza-Borrego Desert; Bodie ghost town; Pfeiffer and Andrew Molera state parks in Big Sur and the popular Lake Tahoe parks of Emerald Bay, Kings Beach and Sugar Pine. The 59 that would remain open are parks that raise enough revenue to at least break even, such as Hearst Castle or Asilomar, a conference center in Pacific Grove, or places like San Luis Reservoir, Folsom and Oroville, which are supported by fees such as boating taxes. Environmental groups already have begun to collect signatures on petitions and draft letters to legislators. A rally is planned at 5:30 p.m. on Monday at Santa Cruz’s Natural Bridges State Beach — one of the parks slated for closure — by Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks. “We are taking this proposal incredibly seriously. The Legislature and the governor seem completely committed to passing a revised budget by July 1. That means we have less than a month,” said Elizabeth Goldstein, president of the California State Parks Foundation, a nonprofit advocacy group. Goldstein noted that a study by the University of California-Berkeley found that for every $1 in public money spent on state parks, $2.35 is returned to the state in taxes from tourism and other revenue they generate. A basic problem is that is nearly impossible to “close” a state park or beach. “We’ve never closed a park. We only close them at night,” said Gary Strachan, supervising ranger at Año Nuevo State Reserve near Pescadero. “If it means locking bathrooms and closing a gate, I guess that’s closing a park. But through 30 years of experience, knowing the public, visitors always try to get into the park.” When his park’s famous elephant seals began arriving in the 1970s, Strachan said, there were no regular rangers. After a story about the seals ran in Sunset magazine, visitors began descending on the area without supervision. “It was a nightmare. People were getting bitten and chased. Pups were getting harassed,” Strachan said. If the parks close, a small crew of rangers would patrol wide areas, checking in on closed parks. People still would park on highways and walk to beaches. But rangers, park managers and legislators are worried that with almost no supervision across 1.5 million acres of parklands, it is almost certain there will be vandalism, animals poached and a high risk of wildfires from trespassers. Because there are thousands of camping reservations already booked for the summer, Stearns said, parks won’t close until after Labor Day. Public outcry could affect the outcome. Last year, Schwarzenegger proposed closing 48 parks, then backed off when the public lit up Sacramento switchboards. “My office got more calls on the parks closures than any other issue about the budget,” said John Laird, a retired state legislator who was chairman last year of the Assembly Budget Committee. Laird wrote a proposal to increase vehicle registration fees by $10 a year, which would have raised $260 million for state parks. All California residents would have been given free entry. Montana has a similar plan already in place. The idea passed the Assembly, but died when then-Senate President Don Perata killed it in an attempt to find compromise with Republican leaders on wider budget issues. Laird said environmental groups could put the fee on the 2010 ballot. “I think that’s a very creative idea, and certainly worthy of discussion,” Pavley said. Contact Paul Rogers at [email protected] or 408-920-5045.Malware put more than 3,000 University of Alberta faculty, staff and students at risk late last year, but because of a police probe resulting in charges against a student, the breach wasn’t shared campus-wide until Thursday. The case involved the installation of malware on 300 computers in 20 classrooms and labs in the Library Knowledge Commons, Computing Science Centre and in the Centennial Centre for Interdisciplinary Science, Gordie Mah, the university’s chief information security officer, told a news conference Thursday at the U of A. The malware was designed to harvest the university’s primary identification password, known as the campus computing ID. “That’s the gateway to the university’s email service, for example,” Mah said, adding it could lead to the disclosure of unauthorized personal or financial information. “This particular malware requires the individual to be physically present at the machine,” he said. “That’s the only barrier to how much further it could have spread.” Mah noted there hasn’t been a data breach of this scale at the university in recent memory. He recommended people change their passwords often and avoid opening attachments or links from suspicious emails. The U of A’s information services and technology unit detected the malware Nov. 22, he said. A day later, the university notified 3,304 people their passwords were potentially at risk. Another 19 people were later found to have been potentially affected. The university implemented a mandatory password reset for the users at risk. A U of A student faces multiple cyber-attack-related charges, said Edmonton police. Acting Sgt. Phil Hawkins with the cyber crimes investigation unit said two malware attacks took place between Nov. 17 and Dec. 8. In the first incident, the university’s response team located the malware on 287 computers, which potentially affected more than 3,300 faculty, staff and students. In the second incident, the malware was found on 17 computers and affected 19 students. Yibin Xu, 19, is charged with mischief in relation to computer data, unauthorized use of computer services, fraudulently intercepting functions of a computer system and use of a computer system with intent to commit an offence. Xu’s next court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 10. Malware consists of malicious software and computer programs that attempt to conduct illicit actions through the affected computers, such as destroying information, allowing the perpetrator to gain control or stealing information.But let’s say Francis decided to pursue a progressive agenda anyway, and started by attempting<smallcaps_roman> to lift the ban on married priests. In an interview he gave in 2012, then-Cardinal Bergoglio indicated a willingness to consider a reform of the celibacy requirement. “It can change,” he said, since it’s a “matter of discipline, not of faith.” What he meant is that the rule is neither a dogma nor a doctrine of the Church. And though he made clear that he was in favor of maintaining current Church practice “for the moment,” he did so in a statement full of conditional language, acknowledging that celibacy has many “pros and cons” and speaking “hypothetically” about a future process of reform. Jumping off those remarks, it is possible to sketch out how Francis might seek to guide the Church toward permitting priests to marry. The first step would be for him to set up a pontifical commission to study the celibacy rule, its impact on the lives and work of the clergy, and above all its role in the alarming collapse in priestly ordinations throughout the Western world. (In the United States, the population of priests has decreased from 59,000 in 1975 to around 39,000 as of last year, with many of that number nearing or past retirement age.) Presumably the commission would also attempt to build on the fact that the Church permits married Anglican clergy to become priests when they convert to Catholicism, a practice that has already produced many married priests in countries around the world. Most important, it could identify historical grounds for reform. Clerical celibacy wasn’t uniformly enforced in the Western Church until more than a thousand years after the ministry of Jesus Christ, and it never took root in Eastern Orthodoxy at all. Those rationales, or something very close to them, would have to emerge from the commission and then be stated clearly and authoritatively by Francis himself as he and the relevant Curial offices defend the change. (What neither the Pope nor the commission would say in public is that permitting priests to marry would also make the priesthood a less attractive hiding place for sexually conflicted men who wind up molesting children.) The Pope would also probably try to co-opt a handful of prominent conservative pragmatists—such as Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York; John Onaiyekan, the archbishop of Abuja in Nigeria; or Odilo Scherer, the archbishop of São Paulo—and get them on board. And still, many Church officials would refuse to accept married priests. Not so much because conservative Catholics are particularly wedded to clerical celibacy, but because of their generalized suspicion of any change at all. One of the legacies of the Second Vatican Council is a widespread consensus within the Church’s hierarchy that a proposed break with tradition can’t even be entertained unless it can be framed as supporting a deeper continuity. First laid out by John Henry Newman in 1845, the concept is known as “development of doctrine,” and it holds that any shift must reaffirm the underlying changelessness of the Church. Appropriated by conservatives amid the upheavals of the late 1960s and early 1970s, it has served as a remarkably effective brake on innovation or reform. But even on issues that don’t rise to the level of doctrine—like allowing priests to marry—there is an inchoate presumption among many members of the hierarchy that change as such should be resisted. Vatican II convinced these conservatives that doctrinally justifiable reforms merely inspire calls for evermore audacious ones. These same conservatives view the pontificates of John Paul II and Benedict XVI as having reimposed crucially important authority on a Church that came perilously close to collapsing into chaos during the late ’60s and ’70s. They are loath to support any change bold enough to risk a return to those tumultuous times. If allowing priests to marry is unlikely, other progressive reforms are close to inconceivable. To many of members of the faith in the Western world, eliminating the ban on the use of artificial birth control among married couples seems like common sense; so few American Catholics in their twenties and thirties follow the rule that the percentage who do falls within the margin of error in pollsters’ surveys. But the laity elsewhere (including in Africa and in the Pope’s own Latin America, where, unlike in the United States and Europe, the Church is growing) is
outside the boundaries of law, and the main suspect in the killings – a religious studies teacher arrested and released due to a police blunder.” Personal Notes: I don’t know as much about this movie as I do about the rest on this list. Since April ’13 it’s been making the rounds on the festival circuit and creating quite a buzz. I’m big on revenge films when done right, and this looks quite stellar. I haven’t seen any horror movies out of Israel that I’m aware of, but this looks like a great one to start with. 8. Horns Release Date: TBA Director: Alexandre Aja Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Juno Temple, James Remar Plot: A young man’s girlfriend is mysteriously murdered and the town suspects him to be the culprit. In the aftermath of this, he sprouts strange horns from his head that help him to discover what really happened to her. Personal Notes: I’ve been hearing about this movie for a while now and am anxiously awaiting its release. Alexandre Aja is well revered in the horror community for directing such gems as Haute Tension, The Hills Have Eyes (2006), and Piranha 3D, and has been associated with the New French Extremity film movement. I am a big fan of Haute Tension (known as High Tension in the US) and of Maniac which he produced and co-wrote. Definitely different from what he’s done previously, and the same can be said of Daniel Radcliffe in this role. Either way, the anticipation of this movie alone has made it a must see in 2014 for me. 9. Tusk Release Date: TBA 2014 Director: Kevin Smith Starring: Justin Long, Michael Parks, Haley Joel Osment, Genesis Rodriguez Plot: Wallace, a podcast host, finds the story that could change his career in a man named Mr. Howe. Howe is a seafarer and adventurer with a thing for walruses. During his attempt to get an interview, Wallace goes missing, and the co-host of his podcast and his girlfriend set out to find him. Personal Notes: This video here is episode 259 of SModcast where the whole idea came about, it starts coming together around 18 mins. I’m a huge Kevin Smith fan. I love every movie he’s done sans The Movie that Shall Not Be Named. Red State received mixed reviews, but I really enjoyed it. The plot to Tusk sounds absolutely ridiculous and if done right, has major potential to be extremely weird, hilarious, and possibly even creepy. It’s really awesome to be able to see an idea sprout out of nothing and then actually be followed through and created. 10. Cheap Thrills Release Date: TBA 2014 Director: E.L. Katz Starring: Ethan Embry, Sara Paxton, Pat Healy, David Koechner Plot: Two friends meet a couple at a bar that puts them through a series of dares each worth a different amount of money. How far will they go? Personal Notes: I love the plot of this movie. How far will these blue collar guys go, how much degradation will they endure to win this money? Sounds like it’s going to be pretty gory and gross, but the context behind the movie will keep it from becoming a “gore for the sake of gore” kind of film. (Not that I have any problem with those types of movies. :P) Penny Dreadful The first episode of Penny Dreadful airs on 5/11/14 on Showtime. The Strain The Strain is set to premiere on 6/22/14 AdvertisementsNORTH WILDWOOD — An Army veteran was kicked off the North Wildwood boardwalk and issued a summons Thursday because he was walking with his service dog, according to local police and a Florida news report. Jared Goering, a Tampa resident and 19-year U.S. Army veteran, was taking his first vacation in years with his wife Sally in North Wildwood when a police officer stopped him because he was walking with his dog Navigator, he told ABC's Tampa affiliate. The officer told Goering there were no dogs allowed on the boardwalk except guide dogs and issued him a summons. Goering showed the officer the dog's special service collar, but the officer was unapologetic, according to the report. "He went on to say that, 'What are they doing? Giving every vet a dog now?' " Sally Goering told ABC. Goering brought the matter to a supervisor with the department, who retrieved the summons and filed for a dismissal, according to a press release from North Wildwood Police. "An internal affairs investigation was initiated and the incident will be thoroughly investigated by the Internal Affairs supervisor," North Wildwood police said today. Goering entered retirement in 2009 after he suffered two IED explosions in Afghanistan within a 36-hour period, ABC reported. He that after suffering through the debilitating aftermath, his service dog has allowed him to lead a normal life and feel comfortable in crowds. In the release, North Wildwood Chief Matthew Gallagher said he had met with representatives of America’s Vet Dogs to learn more about military service dogs. "[They were] extremely helpful and they realize there is confusion and frustration among public officials attempting to identify assistance dog teams including guide dogs, service dogs, and military therapy dogs," Gallagher said. "[They] provided training material and information, which was disseminated to all members of the police department relating to identifying legitimate service dog teams." According to the ABC report, the North Wildwood mayor also promised a formal apology if the investigation turns up any wrongdoing.by In 1528, Du Bellay, the French ambassador wondered if Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn’s relationship was strong enough to survive an extended period of separation. The ambassador’s question was soon answered, when on 16 June 1528, one of Anne’s ladies in waiting fell ill with the dreaded sweating sickness, ‘a highly contagious and frequently fatal disease’ that Eric Ives believes was probably a virus infection similar to the Spanish flu of 1918 (Pg. 100). As usual, when there was any sign of disease, Henry VIII fled from house to house seeking refuge from the killer epidemic. Anne Boleyn returned to the family home at Hever and the King, accompanied by Queen Katherine, ‘began a most meticulous round of religious observances’ (Ives, Pg. 100). Yet this did not stop Henry from writing to his beloved Anne and on hearing of her sudden illness the king wrote that he ‘would gladly bear half of your illness to make you well’ (Love Letters to Anne Boleyn, Pg. 22). He also wrote to her to reassure her that ‘few women or none have this malady’ but despite the King’s words of encouragement, Anne Boleyn fell ill with the disease whilst at Hever Castle. Her father, Thomas Boleyn too came down with the sweat during this epidemic (Starkey, Pg. 331). On the 22 June, the very same day that Anne Boleyn took to her bed, William Carey, Mary Boleyn’s husband, succumbed to the disease (Weir, Pg. 186). The King responded by sending his second-best doctor, William Butts, ‘the physician in whom I put most trust is now at this time absent when he could most do me pleasure’ (Ives, Pg. 101). Butts carried a letter of ‘sympathy and support’ from Henry and signed with the initials ‘H’ and ‘R’ flanking a heart and ‘AB’ (Ives, Pg. 101). Henry urged Anne to ‘to be guided by his (Dr. Butts’) advice in your illness’ so that they might be together again soon, which to the king would be ‘greater comfort than all the precious jewels in the world’ (Love Letters to Anne Boleyn, Pg. 23). Luckily for Butts, both Anne and her father recovered. And Butts’ endeavours did not go unrewarded. By Christmas 1528, he had been appointed Royal Physician and enjoyed a very healthy salary of 100 pounds per year (Starkey, Pg. 332). He also went on to forge a close relationship with Anne, looking after both her physical health and spiritual welfare (Starkey, Pg. 332). Cardinal Wolsey advised the king and council on what precautions to take while the sweating sickness ran its course. Brian Tuke, a counselor, reported that the king, “thanked your grace: and showing me, first, a great process of the manner of that infection; how folks were taken; how little danger was in it, if good order be observed; how few were dead of it; how Mistress Anne, and my lord of Rochford, both have had it; what jeopardy they have been in, by returning in of the sweat before the time; of the endeavour of Mr. Butts, who hath been with them, and is returned; with many other things touching those matters, and, finally, of their perfect recovery.” (Ives, Pg. 101) The King was so overjoyed by Anne’s full recovery that he sent her letters and gifts, as did Cardinal Wolsey. Within about a month, after an imposed period of quarantine, Anne Boleyn was back at court and Du Bellay had a clear answer to his earlier question. The separation had no negative effect on Anne and Henry’s relationship. On the contrary, on Anne’s return, Du Bellay noted ‘the king is in so deeply that God alone can get him out of it’ (Ives, Pg. 101). The time Henry and Anne had spent apart had not abated Henry’s passion for Anne; instead it had fuelled the fire within his heart. It seems that in this case, absence did make the heart grow fonder. I think it’s important now to look in a little more detail at the ‘sweating sickness’ in order to understand just how lucky Anne and her father were to survive it. Especially when considering that it claimed the lives of most that contracted it, including both of Charles Brandon and Catherine Willoughby’s sons, Henry and Charles, within hours of each other in 1551. When did the Tudor sweating sickness appear? The sweating sickness, one of the most feared and deadly diseases of the Tudor period, first reared its ugly head in 1485. It struck with great ferocity leaving many dead. From 1485 until 1507, when a less widespread outbreak occurred, the disease, in England, lay virtually dormant. In 1517 it resurfaced again, this time resulting in a more deadly epidemic. In Oxford and Cambridge the disease was frequently fatal and in some towns, claimed half of the cities population. In 1528 the sweating sickness returned with full force, breaking out in London and quickly spreading over the whole of England. The high mortality rate in London forced the court to break up, abandon the summer progress and flee in search of safety. On this occasion, the epidemic crossed the English Channel and spread through Europe with many succumbing to the disease within a few weeks. There were reported cases in Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway also emerging in Antwerp and Amsterdam. By the end of the year, the epidemic had all but disappeared never to return again to mainland Europe. England though was not so lucky and in 1551, the last major reported outbreak of the disease took place. What were the symptoms of the sweating sickness? The symptoms started very suddenly and were typical of a viral infection or the flu: a sense of apprehension, headaches, cold shivers, muscle aches and great exhaustion. This was followed by a hot and sweating stage that was accompanied by headaches and delirium. The patient would also suffer chest pains and encounter difficulty breathing. Death usually occurred within 24 hours of the first symptom although in some cases the patient died within a few hours of contracting the disease. What was the cause of this frightening disease? Some suggest that the sweating sickness was brought over from France with Henry VII armies in 1485. Unfortunately, the exact origin and cause is unknown although many historians concur that it was probably related to the modern disease known as Hantavirus. The problem with this theory is that Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome is a ‘deadly disease transmitted by infected rodents through urine, droppings, or saliva’ and the sweating sickness was thought to have been transmitted from human to human. Also, the disease for the most part targeted healthy men of status although women were not immune. One would imagine that the poorer Tudors would have come into contact more frequently with rodents and rodent droppings than the wealthy Tudors. Standards of hygiene were not the greatest in Tudor England regardless of your status but Henry VIII was terrified of disease and maintained a better standard of hygiene than what he is generally given credit for. Another proposed theory is Relapsing Fever transmitted through the bites of lice or ticks although again this doesn’t explain why the sweating sickness was more prevalent in wealthy societies. In addition, this infection leaves a black scab at the site of the bite and those nursing those afflicted with the Tudor disease made no such reports. So it seems that the sweating sickness is another Tudor mystery that will continue to intrigue and perplex us for many years to come. References & Sources Ives, E. The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn, 2004. Love Letters of Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn, n.d. Starkey, D. Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII, 2003. Weir, A. The Six Wives of Henry VIII, 2007. http://www.luminarium.org/encyclopedia/sweatingsickness.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweating_sicknessLoading... Loading... Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman General Joe Dunford admitted yesterday, despite Obama’s insistence that the US presence in Iraq is only as non-combatants, that US troops are indeed “fighting and dying” in the war-torn country, and elsewhere in the Middle East. He confirmed that the March 19 death of Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Louis Cardin was in combat. “Was he killed in combat?” Sullivan, a Marine reserve officer, asked. “He was killed in combat, Senator,” Dunford responded. Army Master Sgt. Joshua Wheeler, who was killed by ISIS fire on Oct. 22 in Kirkuk province, Iraq, also died in combat, Dunford said. “When our [Joint Special Operations Command] troops conduct [counter-terrorism] missions in that part of the world, are they conducting combat operations?” Sullivan pressed. Dunford agreed they were, and also assented that Air Force A-10s and F-16s dropping bombs on Iraq and Syria were also engaged in combat operations. “Why then, Sullivan asked, did the White House refuse to acknowledge that troops were in combat?” “Why does the administration go through these crazy somersaults that the entire country knows is not correct to say our troops are not in combat when they’re in combat? The chairman of the Joint Chiefs just stated that pretty much everybody in the Middle East is in combat. So why does the president not level with the American people, why does the White House spokesman continually say they’re not in combat,” Sullivan said. This is a massive admission in the face of the recent backlash the Obama administration has been receiving over the “no-boots-on-the-ground” fiasco. The administration has at every turn claimed that no further troops have been or will be deployed; and at every turn, they have been shown to be lying, as state department spokesperson John Kirby fervently, and unsuccessfully, tried to claim that there was a difference between “special forces” boots and typical boots, as they somehow do not qualify as “boots on the ground.” The admission is quite damning for those involved, as US officials have been continually dancing around the question of “combat troops” by manipulating the narrative and presenting them as only “advisors” or “trainers” when officially discussed. Some feel this to be a gross insult to the troops who are in fact in Iraq risking their lives in combat situations as their country denies their efforts. Sen. Dan Sullivan pushed hard on the matter speaking out on how he believes the attempt to present Iraq as “non-combat” only serves to belittle the efforts of those overseas risking their lives. “I also think it diminishes the sacrifice of the American troops and their families,” Sullivan added. “We know they’re in combat; why can’t we level with the American people and say they’re in combat?” Despite the obvious admission to combat casualties, and the clear role that the US is playing within this dynamic, the White House chose to continue denying the life-risking efforts these American troops are putting forth. In a Tuesday briefing, White House spokesman Josh Earnest, ironically gave a response lacking any earnest conviction, and simply reiterated their previous stance: “[U.S. troops are] not in a combat role, but they are in a role that puts them in harm’s way,” he said. “They are armed for combat. They are armed to defend themselves if necessary. But the role that they have is to offer advice and assistance to forces on the ground fighting ISIL in their own country.” Source: http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016/04/28/dunford-acknowledges-us-troops-in-iraq-conduct-combat-operations.html Help Us Be The Change We Wish To See In The World.Skip to comments. Man, fiancée kicked off United Airlines flight en route to their Costa Rica wedding NY Daily News ^ \| April 16, 2017 \| Meera Jagannathan Posted on by LouieFisk United Airlines just cant seem to fly under the radar. A Utah man and his fiancée say a U.S. Marshal booted them Saturday from a Houston flight en route to their Costa Rica wedding after they changed seats without permission the latest in a string of negative headlines for the bedeviled company. (Excerpt) Read more at nydailynews.com... TOPICS: Culture/Society Miscellaneous News/Current Events KEYWORDS: acbeachpatroltroll airlines bad publicity ual united usmarshal Ooops, they did it again... To: LouieFisk More to the story? This seems odd. To: LouieFisk Part of the free sh*t army... ### These passengers repeatedly attempted to sit in upgraded seating which they did not purchase and they would not follow crew instructions to return to their assigned seats, the airline said. by 3 posted onby 2banana (My common ground with terrorists - they want to die for islam and we want to kill them) To: LouieFisk United announces new seating options: First Class, Business Class, Economy Plus, Cardiac Arrest and Fight Club. To: LouieFisk “...after they changed seats without permission...” by 5 posted onby BwanaNdege ("The church... is not the master or the servant of the state, but the conscience" - Luther) To: LouieFisk The idiot media has decided it LIKES these stories. “The public UNDERSTANDS stories of this type...” It’s SO insulting. Someone breaks a NAIL on a flight..? SOMEHOW they will make it the work of some DASTARDLY airline person. They get a narrative then WORK IT, WORK IT, WORK IT, right into the oblivion. Cuz they think we’re idiots. To: LouieFisk Uh, if anybody was sleeping in my assigned seat, I don’t have a problem waking them up or calling the flight attendant. I wonder if they moved up to an exit row or something roomier. To: LouieFisk United’s severe overreaction during the Chicago incident — and its subsequent response — are going to be trouble for the airline. Passengers may come to the conclusion that United cabin crews will not respond to any situation for fear of a Chicago repeat. Jerks like this bride and groom will see this as license to be disruptive. To: BwanaNdege I need to know more about it. If there are two open seats in coach and the door is closed, who cares that they sit there? It’s not like they are opening the door to let more people on. by 9 posted onby EQAndyBuzz (Nuke Bilderberg from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.) To: LouieFisk Those were TSA Air Marshals and the airlines has no control over what flights they are on. To: LouieFisk I suspect that the widely reported issues arise more commonly with the older female flight attendants and the male ones. To: LouieFisk The airlines treat us like crap. I’m sick of it. Glad there’s some blowback. To: EQAndyBuzz Can’t tell anything about this one since the passengers’ story is completely different from the flight attendants’ story. To: GnuThere “I dont have a problem waking them up or calling the flight attendant.” Exactly right. There was even a little bitty button right in front of their faces they could’ve pushed to call the attendant (while they stood overlooking their occupied seats). To: EQAndyBuzz Did you read Post #3??? To: GnuThere The descriptions suggest that they moved to “United Economu Plus”. You get five more inches of leg room for a significant fee. I was on a recent flight where they wanted 79 bucks for this. United has always been of the opinion that they’d rather have empty, unsold seats than make customers more comfortable for free. When Contintenal was Continental, they upgraded everyone possible, so that the only empty seats were the terrible middle seats and those nearest the bathroom. Now CO is gone and they’d rather see customers pissed off. Way to go, United! So much for “The Friendly Skies.” To: LouieFisk Once the plane is in the air, we have often changed seats. Big deal. Yes, they could have wakened the guy sleeping in their seats. But instead they simply moved to another seat in a half empty plane. Again, big deal. You could get the idea that United doesn’t have any respect for their passengers. To: Cementjungle “Cant tell anything about this one since the passengers story is completely different from the flight attend.” Completely different? Amish? by 18 posted onby EQAndyBuzz (Nuke Bilderberg from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.) To: marron Did you read post #3, or the article? They moved to seats that cost more (since they have extra legroom - a common option on many airlines these days) without paying for the upgrade. To: LouieFisk by 20 posted onby JoeProBono (SOME IMAGES MAY BE DISTURBING VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED;-{) Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works. FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794 FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John RobinsonThere is a reason I pay attention to Eastern philosophers and "gurus" - it's because they deliver insights which trigger deep self-introspection and reflection. I'm always shocked at the theoretical simplicity of what these thinkers bring to the floor, but the practical implementation of these concepts is often difficult in our Western society. Regardless, their wisdom is impossible to ignore, and brings a great deal of joy to my life. As an obsessed nerd, I also love to compare and contrast the thinking of Eastern and Western theorists. I've attached a video (below) in which Sadhguru explains the difference between the expression of joy and the pursuit of happiness. Briefly, the idea that happiness is something that lies in the future, if only I can accomplish this or that, thwarts our ability to express joy in the present. Now, like Lacan, Sadhguru realizes the inevitability of our desire to expand (jouissance). Although we will always have another accomplishment to pursue, both Sadhguru and Lacan warn us against basing our entire identities on these never ending problems. Our minds require infinite desire, and we must not only recognize this fact, but actively embrace it. Only once life becomes an expression of joy do we truly begin to live. As Lacan would say, it is only after we "traverse the fantasy" that we become true subjects. Key Points Our unsuccessful pursuit of happiness is threatening the very life of the planet. There is a difference between seeking happiness and expressing your happiness. Human intelligence can only be harnessed after the after a person shifts from the pursuit of happiness to an expression of joy. Whatever you are, you are always longing for more. It's not because you are unhappy. If you are happy, it is all the more so. How much expansion do you really want? There is no limit. You seek the infinite. Survival is not adequate in human life. We seek more. What instruments to you have to seek the infinite? Only sensory tools. Beliefs have not created satisfaction or happiness. Embracing "I do not know" creates the possibility for development. Our aliveness need not decrease with age. If it does, we are committing suicide in installments. Your ability to do things in the world is enhanced when you are happy. You do not go far because you want to. You go far because you have made yourself capable. If you are able to function at your full potential, you are very fortunate because you will be peaceful.SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea observed the 60th anniversary of the end of the Korean War by showing off its military might to the outside world in a parade through the center of the capital, Pyongyang, that featured columns of rocket tubes, goose-stepping paratroopers and intercontinental ballistic missiles, or at least mock-ups of the weapons. When Kim Jong-un, the young leader, sauntered onto the reviewing stand in his trademark Mao suit, a sea of spectators cheered and waved flags and paper flowers as they filled a square named after the North Korean founder Kim Il-sung, his grandfather. As fighter jets screamed overhead, Mr. Kim clapped and chatted with Li Yuanchao, the visiting vice president of China, North Korea’s wartime ally. The North Korean military has traditionally used large parades to swear its loyalty to the Kim family. But the spectacles have also been closely monitored by regional analysts and policy makers for clues about the state of the Kim dynasty’s arsenal. Mr. Kim appeared to be eager to feed that hunger and display his country’s latest military hardware just months after a serious flare in tensions on the divided peninsula that included threats to stage nuclear attacks. As with other celebrations in the police state, this one was highly choreographed, and North Korea invited some international journalists to cover the events.ORLANDO, Fla. -- Jim Caldwell has been around the Detroit Lions' headquarters for only a couple months, and has yet to meet most of his players. He's prohibited from working with any of them until next month. But that hasn't slowed him from laying a foundation for how business will be done in Allen Park. And though the Lions are trying not to dwell on the failed Jim Schwartz regime, it is clear they're pleased with the direction of the franchise. "I think Jim has brought calmness and maturity immediately to the organization," Lions vice chairman Bill Ford said this week at the NFL owners meetings in Orlando. "His demeanor is something everybody remarks upon. And I like very much the staff he has put together." And what, exactly, is that demeanor? It seems to stem from, of all places, Ross Perot. The politician and former U.S. presidential hopeful once said that "everything's on the razor's edge." In other words, success is attained by walking a disciplined and fine line. Once the small stuff starts to slip, everything can fall apart. So Caldwell's job now is to establish the line, and then make sure everyone is walking it. "It's got to be fought for every single day, and that's the way it is," Caldwell said. "Otherwise, things start to slip just a little bit. And particularly when it's new, you have to repeat it over and over and over and over again to make certain everybody understands exactly what you're talking about, what you want done. "Things you see, you have to point out. You have to be able to set standards, you have to be able to give them guidance and direction without being overbearing, without being a micromanager. But things that matter to you in terms of standards and things of that nature have to be set, and set early, and they have to be fought for on a daily basis." Caldwell said he's already met with the various departments in Allen Park to relay what he expects, and he has done the same with his new coaching staff. "All those guys haven't been together," Caldwell said. "That's all new. We have to go through all that so they get a feel, so they get an understanding of what we expect. "Now the great thing we've done at this point in time is we've set the stage for the entire year on how we're going to practice in terms of OTAs, how we're going to meet, the content of the information we're going to make certain we distribute. That's constant. When we do get a chance to go on the field with them -- it's going to be a couple weeks after we start -- how we want that to go, what message we want sent and things of that nature, that's constant." Caldwell already has established a structured routine. The defensive staff will meet in the morning for a week, while the offensive staff does filmwork (which right now, means a lot of scouting for the draft). Then the offense meets in the afternoon, while the defense does its filmwork. The following week, that schedule is flipped, with offense meeting in the morning and defense in the afternoon. They take lunch from 11 a.m. to noon, during which time the special teams meet. And Caldwell sits in on all the meetings. "I like to be in both sets of meetings," he said. "I kind of have a chance to get a sense of what we're doing in all those areas and add my two cents worth when I need to."It didn't take long for audiences to get swept up in The Crown, Netflix's decadent dramatization of Queen Elizabeth II's first few years on the throne, and it's pretty obvious why. Although there are a few things in the hit series that didn't actually happen, it still captures the essence of what it was like for the young royal to take over for her father, King George VI, after his shocking death in 1952. With season one in the bag (which reportedly came at a $130 million price tag), it's time to look forward: what do we know about season two? The Main Cast Lead actress Claire Foy took home multiple best actress trophies this award season for her spot-on, layered performance as the queen, so it should come as no surprise that she's signed on for season two. She and costar Matt Smith, who plays Elizabeth's husband Prince Philip, are already halfway through filming the next 10 episodes of the show, though they'll be recast for seasons three and four due to the amount of time those seasons will span. "I feel that when we reach 1963-64 we've gone as far as we can go with Claire Foy without having to do silly things in terms of makeup to make her look older," creator Peter Morgan told Screendaily in February. "She can't help the fact she's as young as she is, and if we were to go further forward we'd probably need to think about the issue of recasting everybody and so those conversations are happening now and I couldn't tell you where we'll come out." Vanessa Kirby (Princess Margaret), Jeremy Northam (Anthony Eden), and Victoria Hamilton (the Queen Mother) are also set to return, although John Lithgow (whose portrayal of Winston Churchill earned him a few awards of his own) will likely not make an appearance due to his character's resignation as prime minister. Foy admitted how upset she is about not having him on set during a recent chat with Vulture. "It's awful!" she said "Me and Matt [Smith] did a Skype chat the other day and John was there on the end in LA. It was so amazing just to see his face! I just love and miss him so much. But saying that, I can't be unfaithful. I do have some amazing new prime ministers — Jeremy Northam, who plays Anthony Eden, and then Harold Macmillan — so I'm a very lucky girl." ADVERTISEMENT The Guest Stars New additions to the cast include Michael C. Hall as US President John F. Kennedy, whom the show's creators describe as "a natural leader and excellent public speaker who does not take kindly to being upstaged by anyone, especially his wife." Quarry actress Jodi Balfour plays the wife in question, Jackie Kennedy, who is "a seemingly natural First Lady, but whose charming exterior of confidence and glamour hides a shy woman who loathes public life." Joining Hall and Balfour is Matthew Goode, who's set to play Antony-Armstrong Jones, the Earl of Snowdon (aka Princess Margaret's future husband). The Timeline The second installment of the show will pick up with the monarch where season one left off, in 1955. We'll get to see how she tackles global events like the 1956 Suez Crisis, as well as matters of the royal family, like young Charles's education, the birth of Prince Andrew (born 1960), and Princess Margaret's marriage to Antony Armstrong-Jones. Morgan also revealed that season two will cover John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy's visit to Buckingham Palace and that it will conclude just as Britain is on the cusp of electing Harold Wilson as prime minister (and right about the time when JFK was assassinated). The Story Season two will kick off with soldiers in Her Majesty's Armed Forces fighting an illegal war in Egypt, and conclude during the scandalous downfall of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. While speaking at the Royal Television Society's "The Crown: Deconstructing the Coronation" event in London in March, Morgan noted that the focus of season two will not be heavily on Elizabeth. "Its soul is about Prince Philip's complexity," he said. "He's a strong flavor. I find him extraordinarily interesting — his childhood, again, you couldn't make it up. The soul of season two is about his complexity." Not to be outdone by her sister's husband, Princess Margaret's adventures through royal politics will also be heavily featured. Kirby told Vanity Fair that her relationship with Snowdon is "exciting, dangerous, volatile, and dysfunctional" and that he "starts this whole trail of a more bohemian life outside. Margaret was best friends with Elizabeth Taylor, and she had loads of American actress friends and singers. You see these two worlds collide — hers and Tony's, who is a member of the public and was a creative, liberal, dark horse. Meanwhile, she is this epitome of the establishment." In between the ups and downs of their roller-coaster relationship, they'll presumably find time to wed (in 1960) and welcome their two children, David and Sarah, in 1961 and 1964, respectively. The Teaser Trailer Queen Elizabeth II has some troubles ahead of her. The Premiere Date Season two will hit Netflix on Friday, Dec. 8.By Ted Chen / Staff reporter Blockchain technology is the key to accelerating growth in electronic payments in Taiwan, an investee of Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控) said last week, while urging the government to fast-track implementation of a regulatory sandbox. The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) has set the goal of increasing the use of electronic payments to 52 percent of total transactions by 2020, while lowering the reliance on hard currency, which currently accounts for 80 percent of all purchases. The slow adoption of electronic payments in Taiwan is primarily caused by widespread fragmentation in the field populated by a growing number of competing solutions that are not readily compatible, while none have garnered enough users to reach critical mass, blockchain developer AMIS (帳聯網路科技) chief executive officer Alex Liu (劉世偉) said on Thursday. “Blockchain is a value-exchange protocol that serves as middleware bridging between different systems and achieves compatibility between different mobile payment platforms and financial systems, making mobile payments as ubiquitous as e-mail,” Liu said, adding that the company is built from Taiwan’s deep talent pool. The dominant messaging service WeChat (微信) has propelled rapid adoption of mobile payments in China, Liu said, adding that Taiwan could close the gap with blockchain middleware. Ant Financial Services Group (螞蟻金服), a payment affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (阿里巴巴), has announced plans to integrate blockchain, which would enable China — which has already established critical mass in mobile payments — to make a tremendous leap, Liu said. However, the slow pace of regulatory changes have continued to impede developers, and Taiwan might lose its first-mover advantage in the blockchain space, Liu said, adding that fintech is a technology-heavy, capital-light field in which Taiwan could do very well. While the FSC last month submitted for legislative review a draft bill for a “regulatory sandbox,” blockchain investors remained concerned about the time frame required for the Legislative Yuan to complete the approval process. Some investors said the draft bill is lacking in focus, and fintech developers remain hesitant due to fear of plans encountering undeterminable regulatory boundaries. Others urged the government to make adjustments after the bill’s implementation, saying that it is not feasible to achieve an optimal balance between regulatory compliance and create an environment that fosters innovation on the first attempt. Liu said that there is a lack of urgency in the government’s higher levels, and that regulatory changes should not be limited to the financial sector, given the boundless potential of blockchain and other new technologies to transform many industries. Liu also questioned the reasons behind AMIS’s exclusion from talks between the government-run Financial Information Co (財金資訊公司) and domestic banks about adopting blockchain technology, while IBM Corp joined in the closed-door discussions. Taiwan has arguably not been “punching above its weight” in the global market since the heyday of the PC industry, and has missed out on opportunities in the “Web 1.0” and mobile eras, Liu said. “That may change as blockchain paves the way for a transformation from an Internet of information to an Internet of value,” Liu said during an address at an event promoting the new Etherium Enterprise Alliance, of which AMIS is
it’s tricky. From the few political things that I posted on my Instagram, [I was] immediately told to sit down, shut up, just act and be a monkey on a string. Hang on a second, just because I write or I’m on a television show, that doesn’t mean I’m not a citizen or don’t get to say what I think. I don’t think my opinion is more valuable than anyone else’s. But I get to have it. The final season of The Leftovers premieres on HBO April 16.Migrating from Microsoft SQL Server to MongoDB - Lessons Learned Your database is one of your most important technical stakeholders and will influence every major decision you make during the lifetime of your product. Once you have made your choice and built on top of it, chances are that you would never consider migrating to a radically different solution. As difficult of a decision as it was, early this year we migrated all our data from In this article I will share the challenges we faced and the lessons we have learned from this experience. Who are we? Wireclub is a vibrant online community with over 3 million users world-wide. Everyday we serve over a million database-intensive pageviews and service tens of millions of API calls. Our users are very active, exchanging over 1.2 million messages every day. We focus on providing our users tools for real-time interaction therefore performance is very important to us. Who should read this article? This article is packed with useful information for anyone planning to use MongoDB in a production environment with large amounts of data. While I will focus on our experience adapting a popular, pre-existing service to use MongoDB, I will also cover several key concepts I believe all MongoDB users should at least be aware of. Why did we migrate to MongoDB? Wireclub was born as a hobby and bootstrapped since its inception. It was not until we reached one million users that we saw it as a viable business. By that time we had already committed ourselves to a set of a sub-optimal technologies that were chosen not for being the best solution but simply because they represented the path of least resistance. Using SQL Server as our database was one of those decisions. Fast forward to 2010 and we found ourselves growing fast and constantly struggling to fit a square peg in a round hole to maintain acceptable performance levels using our original, organic platform. After much consideration, we finally decided to bite the bullet and revisit all the technology decisions we had made up to that point. This was when we, among other things, systematically reviewed all available alternatives to SQL Server and finally decided that MongoDB was our best bet. This is not an article on the virtues of NoSQL over relational databases. We are a very pragmatic team (we are not tech-hipsters, we are tech-spartans) and we didn’t pick MongoDB for what it isn’t (SQL) but for what it is: a powerful storage solution optimized for the specific kind of workload generated by web applications. It was simply a better tool for the job at hand. Trade-offs of replacing Microsoft SQL Server with MongoDB Beyond the obvious fact that MongoDB is a MongoDB is free: If you just have a handful of servers, licensing costs are unlikely to be a major concern. However if you plan to scale your business aggressively, using a free database may help you to maintain your profit margins while you expand your operations. MongoDB is fast: When used correctly, MongoDB is incredibly fast. So fast that sometimes we questioned even if it was actually doing anything (yes, it was). If you provision enough RAM to fit all your indexes in memory, the performance is absolutely incredible. While using SQL Server, we worried a lot about caching data outside the database and that added considerable complexity to our code. With our current MongoDB (on SSD) setup we have a database that is almost as fast as any caching system could be. Freedom from rigid schemas: Coming from a ObjectIDs are expressive and handy: In MongoDB all documents in a collection must contain an unique ID field and by default this field is an GridFS for distributed file storage: We were initially skeptical about For example, when someone uploads an image to Wireclub, we augment the document with image analysis metadata such as location of all faces detected, the percentage of skin-colored pixels (to identify inappropriate images), the percentage of the frame that is covered by faces (to identify portraits), etc. By indexing these fields we are able to search our images for “well framed portraits, taken outdoors with a dSLR camera”. Developed in the open: MongoDB is open source and 10Gen does a great job at keeping the community in the loop regarding the future of the platform. Things we will miss from SQL Server Maturity: SQL Server is a very mature, robust storage solution. Also, when it comes down to Tools: SQL Server comes with an incredible set of management and development tools which is something MongoDB lacks. The Query expressiveness: Microsoft’s In contrast, MongoDB offers a robust albeit limited set of operators that cover all basic requests. If you need anything that is not standard, you may express your logic using Javascript by using the In practical terms, you should not count on MongoDB for anything other than retrieving data using its built-in operators. This is not necessarily a weakness, just a reflection of Mongo’s philosophy that your business logic should reside within your application. Transactions: In SQL Server you can execute arbitrary blocks of T-SQL as an MongoDB does not offer a transactional mechanism mostly because it is intended for massively parallel deployments and in such environment, the checks necessary to ensure atomicity of transactions would incur a significant performance cost. It does however provide a set of very useful Joins: In SQL Server it is trivial to retrieve data from multiple tables as one single consolidated set. This is not possible in MongoDB as each query may only act over a single collection. This means that when One particularly sub-optimal case we identified is that there is no performance-friendly way to query collection (A) for a reasonably large list of items (IDs) that must be retrieved from collection (B) and then paginate the results while sorting for a field in (B). This may sound like an edge case but it turned out to be much more common than we expected. At the end of the day, eliminating joins makes scaling Case-insensitive indexes on text fields: In MongoDB all indexes are case sensitive. This means that if you have a field that is case sensitive (for display purposes for example) that is also searchable you must store two versions of the data. Moving your data into MongoDB Once you have made your decision to migrate, the next step is to start thinking about how you are going to reshape your relational data to make the most of MongoDB’s document-based storage. Data model changes: You could simply map relational tables to document collections but we would strongly advise against that. Because in MongoDB you cannot rely on triggers and transactions to keep your normalized data consistent across multiple collections you will have to extensively re-engineer your data models into the appropriate document forms, denormalizing as needed. Your database is likely to grow: MongoDB collections are schema-less and each document must define its own schema. If you have an element (field) named with 10 byte long identifier in a collection with one million documents that would amount to a 9.5MB storage overhead for that field name alone, never mind the data. This may sound wasteful and honestly it is. There are several strategies to mitigate this overhead but realistically, you should expect you data to at least double in size when you migrate from SQL Server to MongoDB. One strategy to mitigate the issue is to keep field names as short as possible. Another is to embrace the fact that in MongoDB not all documents must have all elements and make sure default values are never written to the database. When you restore an object, if a field is missing, simply assume it has the default value. Treat your data migration code as production code: If everything goes according to plan, you will only ever run your migration code once. It can be tempting to hack your migration logic together and do everything the quick and dirty way. The bad news is that things are unlikely to go according to plan and having a decent codebase to work with is a necessity when you are under pressure and your site is down. Test your migration code extensively against a full copy of your production database, also make sure you are running your tests on machines that are equivalent or inferior than the ones that you will use for the actual data migration. Plan for extended downtime: Depending on the size of your database, your migration may take several hours or maybe even days. It is important to have a detailed migration plan, listing all migration steps to make sure you will have all the resources you need once you go offline. Even so. things will probably go wrong and your team will have to adapt to the situation on the fly. Our migration took approximately 17 hours with dedicated servers for both SQL Server and MongoDB, it would have taken days if both databases were running on the same machine, competing for resources. Make sure your migration code can be stopped and resumed: This is very important, imagine that your site has been down for hours and you are almost done another migration step that has been running for the last 4 hours and it fails. If you don’t plan your migration code so the work is done in batches and the migration can resume from the last successful batch in case disaster strikes, you may find yourself in a very unpleasant predicament. General performance considerations: Odds are that SQL Server can read data much faster than MongoDB can write it to the disk. MongoDB will be under constant I/O pressure and it is important to monitor it during the whole process. At some points during our migration we had to give Mongo some time to catch up flushing data to the disk before initiating the next step. When inserting data into MongoDB, it is imperative that you use your driver’s batch insert methods otherwise you will experience low insertion throughput. When possible, you should also gather all the data you need to assemble a document in memory and write it to MongoDB in one step (batch insert) instead of relying on updates/upserts. Deployment Considerations Durability: We ran our SQL database in a centralized server and thanks to ACID compliance, our data was always guaranteed to be consistent when we used MongoDB on the other hand provides durability through The good news is that not all nodes must be a full featured server. In our case, we simply commissioned resources in other machines in our network to act as replication targets. MongoDB also offers Issues running on Windows: At this time I strongly advise you against running MongoDB on Windows. This is not an statement about Windows fitness as a server OS by any means, all the problems we faced lie squarely within 10Gen’s jurisdiction. It seems like Windows is considered a second-class citizen by MongoDB developers. Here is a rundown of the issues we experienced running MongoDB on a Windows server: Rampant memory use to the detriment of all other running processes. Over time a MongoDB instance will take over all available RAM and it will never release it back to the OS. Over time a MongoDB instance will take over all available RAM and it will never release it back to the OS. Spotty, unreliable performance that degrades as run time increases. Probably related to the memory issue but the throughput of a MongoDB instance on Windows will steadily decrease over time. This situation is so real that in one of our backup nodes that is Windows server we had to schedule MongoDB to restart twice a day otherwise it wouldn’t be able to keep up with the master node. Restarting the MongoDB process seems to restore throughput back to normal levels and allow the node to "catch up" with the master. Probably related to the memory issue but the throughput of a MongoDB instance on Windows will steadily decrease over time. This situation is so real that in one of our backup nodes that is Windows server we had to schedule MongoDB to restart twice a day otherwise it wouldn’t be able to keep up with the master node. Restarting the MongoDB process seems to restore throughput back to normal levels and allow the node to "catch up" with the master. Excessive locking: we ran our benchmark test on the same machine under both Ubuntu 11.04 and Windows Server 2008 R2. Locking percentages on Linux were constantly under 10% while the same tests caused the MongoDB running on Windows to register lock percentages in around 70-80%. we ran our benchmark test on the same machine under both Ubuntu 11.04 and Windows Server 2008 R2. Locking percentages on Linux were constantly under 10% while the same tests caused the MongoDB running on Windows to register lock percentages in around 70-80%. Unexplained crashes where no useful diagnostic information is provided: a truly terrifying situation to find yourself in, not only the database would crash and exit without providing any useful information but the data would also be left in a corrupted state. While this only happened to us during high-throughput write tests, it is the kind of thing that should never happen (ever). Issues running on Linux: MongoDB works flawlessly on Linux with the only exception being that if your server has a We worked closely with 10Gen to diagnose this problem and they were very helpful but ultimately unable to help us. Basically weeks before the big relaunch day, we found ourselves with a big problem and no one that could help us. Eventually it was an Oracle support article that indirectly helped us identify and solve the problem. If you have a machine with a NUMA architecture and you are using a up to date version of Linux (which you should) it is very likely that your kernel has NUMA optimizations turned on. As it turns out, those optimizations not only greatly harm MongoDB’s performance, it also frequently leads to an unrecoverable deadlock state. The solution for us was to disable all NUMA optimizations at the kernel level. The take home lesson from our experience is that when it comes down to adopting new technologies with a relatively small installed base, you are more likely to find yourself in the uncomfortable predicament of needing help and not having anyone to help you. This is a risk factor that should not be ignored and you should have a contingency plan for - in our case we were ready to fork and adapt MongoDB to our needs if necessary. Again I must stress that 10Gen was incredibly supportive and that they did their best to help us, they just were unable to at that time. Maximizing MongoDB Performance Our team has extensive experience building high-performance applications, before we created Wireclub, we have worked on real-time simulations, high-frequency trading and other similarly demanding fields. We cultivate a culture of pragmatic performance and as a result we maintained an average request fulfilment time of 50ms while servicing over 2.5 millions users from a single low-cost server with Microsoft SQL Server. Before migrating to MongoDB we allocated time to figure out everything we could do to maximize throughput. Following are the most significant ways we have identified to boost MongoDB’s performance: Go Solid State: If you can afford it, invest on solid state storage - it is absolutely worth every penny. Use multiple SSDs/HDDs: Instead of buying one big disk, buy several smaller ones, have your OS and swap running on its own dedicated disk, your journal on a separate one and then spread your document collections across 1-2 additional physical volumes. By doing so you are maximizing the SATA/SAS bandwidth available to MongoDB. Keep your indexes in RAM: Make sure your server has enough RAM available to keep all your important indexes in memory, this can greatly increase MongoDB’s query/update throughput. Use MongoDB’s safe mode wisely: There are two ways to write to a MongoDB collection: with “safe mode = on” you submit a request and wait for a result which requires a round trip to the server. Alternatively if you don’t need to know the result of a given operation you can set “safe mode = off” and your request will return immediately - although you will not know if it was successful or not. Only retrieve the fields you need: Retrieving whole documents is the equivalent of “select * from table” in SQL and it is just as bad for performance. When you are fulfilling hundred or thousands of request per second, it is certainly advantageous to only retrieve the fields you need. Profile your application often: If your stack doesn’t offer a good, free Instrumentalize your driver: MongoDB drivers come with source code which makes it straightforward to trap and time all calls to the database. Be careful to make sure you capture the network time which might not be trivial if your driver uses asynchronous methods. By doing this you could easily build a real-time query profiler and make sure you only spend time optimizing the queries that matter most. Here is what our realtime query profiler looks like: Start testing performance early: The idea isn’t to optimize prematurely but simply rule out queries and data models that might cause unreasonable I/O pressure later on. Work with full-size databases: Often the performance characteristics of database interactions are dependent on the actual data being manipulated. I recommend that you do all your performance tests against a copy of your production database because this will avoid many unpleasant surprises later on. Finally, always keep in mind that synthetic benchmarks don’t aways translate into real world performance. Things will come up once you go live, be prepared to address unforeseen throughput issues as they arise. Conclusion At Wireclub Media we really love MongoDB. The migration process was at times arduous but ultimately it paid off handsomely. Our new system is faster, more resilient and it is based on a data model which is much more flexible - all thanks to MongoDB. I hope this article was useful to you! - Rod (@rfurlan) ps1. We held a ps2. I am also answering questions about this article on Your database is one of your most important technical stakeholders and will influence every major decision you make during the lifetime of your product. Once you have made your choice and built on top of it, chances are that you would never consider migrating to a radically different solution.As difficult of a decision as it was, early this year we migrated all our data from Microsoft SQL Server, a traditional relational database, to MongoDB which is a “NoSQL” document-based database.In this article I will share the challenges we faced and the lessons we have learned from this experience.Wireclub is a vibrant online community with over 3 million users world-wide. Everyday we serve over a million database-intensive pageviews and service tens of millions of API calls. Our users are very active, exchanging over 1.2 million messages every day. We focus on providing our users tools for real-time interaction therefore performance is very important to us.This article is packed with useful information for anyone planning to use MongoDB in a production environment with large amounts of data. While I will focus on our experience adapting a popular, pre-existing service to use MongoDB, I will also cover several key concepts I believe all MongoDB users should at least be aware of.Wireclub was born as a hobby and bootstrapped since its inception. It was not until we reached one million users that we saw it as a viable business. By that time we had already committed ourselves to a set of a sub-optimal technologies that were chosen not for being the best solution but simply because they represented the path of least resistance. Using SQL Server as our database was one of those decisions.Fast forward to 2010 and we found ourselves growing fast and constantly struggling to fit a square peg in a round hole to maintain acceptable performance levels using our original, organic platform.After much consideration, we finally decided to bite the bullet and revisit all the technology decisions we had made up to that point. This was when we, among other things, systematically reviewed all available alternatives to SQL Server and finally decided that MongoDB was our best bet.This is not an article on the virtues of NoSQL over relational databases. We are a very pragmatic team (we are not tech-hipsters, we are tech-spartans) and we didn’t pick MongoDB for what it isn’t (SQL) but for what it is: a powerful storage solution optimized for the specific kind of workload generated by web applications.It was simply a better tool for the job at hand.Beyond the obvious fact that MongoDB is a document-oriented database and SQL Server is a relational database, there are several other key practical differences to keep in mind.If you just have a handful of servers, licensing costs are unlikely to be a major concern. However if you plan to scale your business aggressively, using a free database may help you to maintain your profit margins while you expand your operations.When used correctly, MongoDB is incredibly fast. So fast that sometimes we questioned even if it was actually doing anything (yes, it was). If you provision enough RAM to fit all your indexes in memory, the performance is absolutely incredible. While using SQL Server, we worried a lot about caching data outside the database and that added considerable complexity to our code. With our current MongoDB (on SSD) setup we have a database that is almost as fast as any caching system could be.Coming from a RDMS background, I can’t stress enough how liberating it is to work with a database that does not require the explicit declaration of data schemas. Documents contained within a MongoDB collection can be as homogeneous or as heterogeneous as you wish. This means that augmenting your data models with extra fields is a breeze, and that storing multiple object types inside the same collection is not an issue.In MongoDB all documents in a collection must contain an unique ID field and by default this field is an ObjectID which is Mongo’s idea of an identity column. The great thing about ObjectIDs is that unlike SQL Server identity sequences, it does not require that all nodes in a cluster coordinate to generate the next unique, monotonically increasing identity value. They also carry the document’s creation time which would be normally stored in a separate field in a SQL database.We were initially skeptical about GridFS and it turned out to be one of the best features gained from switching to MongoDB. Now thanks to GridFS, all our user contributed data, including pictures are stored in the database, seamlessly replicated across our cluster and augmented with rich application-specific metadata.For example, when someone uploads an image to Wireclub, we augment the document with image analysis metadata such as location of all faces detected, the percentage of skin-colored pixels (to identify inappropriate images), the percentage of the frame that is covered by faces (to identify portraits), etc. By indexing these fields we are able to search our images for “well framed portraits, taken outdoors with a dSLR camera”.MongoDB is open source and 10Gen does a great job at keeping the community in the loop regarding the future of the platform.SQL Server is a very mature, robust storage solution. Also, when it comes down to durability, we trusted SQL Server completely and absolutely - and we are not quite there with MongoDB yet.SQL Server comes with an incredible set of management and development tools which is something MongoDB lacks. The SQL Server Management Studio is an incredibly valuable tool we will sorely miss, not only it provides everything you need to manage your database, it also provides basic features for data exploration as well a robust query and database profiler. Having good tools can save you a lot of time!Microsoft’s Transact-SQL is a Turing-complete variant of SQL which is itself a forth-generation programming language created with the sole purpose of accessing and manipulating data stored within a relational database. Being both Turing-complete and a specialized language, it goes without saying that T-SQL is incredibly expressive within its domain.In contrast, MongoDB offers a robust albeit limited set of operators that cover all basic requests. If you need anything that is not standard, you may express your logic using Javascript by using the $where clause. While Javascript is also Turing complete, when using $where all operations must be element-wise and that will make several queries either non-trivial or impossible to express.In practical terms, you should not count on MongoDB for anything other than retrieving data using its built-in operators. This is not necessarily a weakness, just a reflection of Mongo’s philosophy that your business logic should reside within your application.In SQL Server you can execute arbitrary blocks of T-SQL as an atomic transaction, this means that either the whole block is successful or all changes will be rolled back in case of failure. This is very handy when performing complex, multi-step operations.MongoDB does not offer a transactional mechanism mostly because it is intended for massively parallel deployments and in such environment, the checks necessary to ensure atomicity of transactions would incur a significant performance cost. It does however provide a set of very useful atomic modifiers for operations in single documents.In SQL Server it is trivial to retrieve data from multiple tables as one single consolidated set. This is not possible in MongoDB as each query may only act over a single collection. This means that when denormalization isn’t viable operations must be performed in multiple round-trips to the database which can significantly hurt your performance.One particularly sub-optimal case we identified is that there is no performance-friendly way to query collection (A) for a reasonably large list of items (IDs) that must be retrieved from collection (B) and then paginate the results while sorting for a field in (B). This may sound like an edge case but it turned out to be much more common than we expected.At the end of the day, eliminating joins makes scaling horizontally much simpler but it also require a significant mind shift from RDMS practices.In MongoDB all indexes are case sensitive. This means that if you have a field that is case sensitive (for display purposes for example) that is also searchable you must store two versions of the data.Once you have made your decision to migrate, the next step is to start thinking about how you are going to reshape your relational data to make the most of MongoDB’s document-based storage.You could simply map relational tables to document collections but we would strongly advise against that. Because in MongoDB you cannot rely on triggers and transactions to keep your normalized data consistent across multiple collections you will have to extensively re-engineer your data models into the appropriate document forms, denormalizing as needed.MongoDB collections are schema-less and each document must define its own schema. If you have an element (field) named with 10 byte long identifier in a collection with one million documents that would amount to a 9.5MB storage overhead for that field name alone, never mind the data.This may sound wasteful and honestly it is. There are several strategies to mitigate this overhead but realistically, you should expect you data to at least double in size when you migrate from SQL Server to MongoDB.One strategy to mitigate the issue is to keep field names as short as possible. Another is to embrace the fact that in MongoDB not all documents must have all elements and make sure default values are never written to the database. When you restore an object, if a field is missing, simply assume it has the default value.Treat your data migration code as production code: If everything goes according to plan, you will only ever run your migration code once. It can be tempting to hack your migration logic together and do everything the quick and dirty way. The bad news is that things are unlikely to go according to plan and having a decent codebase to work with is a necessity when you are under pressure and your site is down.Test your migration code extensively against a full copy of your production database, also make sure you are running your tests on machines that are equivalent or inferior than the ones that you will use for the actual data migration.Depending on the size of your database, your migration may take several hours or maybe even days. It is important to have a detailed migration plan, listing all migration steps to make sure you will have all the resources you need once you go offline. Even so. things will probably go wrong and your team will have to adapt to the situation on the fly.Our migration took approximately 17 hours with dedicated servers for both SQL Server and MongoDB, it would have taken days if both databases were running on the same machine, competing for resources.Make sure your migration code can be stopped and resumed: This is very important, imagine that your site has been down for hours and you are almost done another migration step that has been running for the last 4 hours and it fails. If you don’t plan your migration code so the work is done in batches and the migration can resume from the last successful batch in case disaster strikes, you may find yourself in a very unpleasant predicament.Odds are that SQL Server can read data much faster than MongoDB can write it to the disk. MongoDB will be under constant I/O pressure and it is important to monitor it during the whole process. At some points during our migration we had to give Mongo some time to catch up flushing data to the disk before initiating the next step.When inserting data into MongoDB, it is imperative that you use your driver’s batch insert methods otherwise you will experience low insertion throughput. When possible, you should also gather all the data you need to assemble a document in memory and write it to MongoDB in one step (batch insert) instead of relying on updates/upserts.Durability: We ran our SQL database in a centralized server and thanks to ACID compliance, our data was always guaranteed to be consistent when we used shadow-copy snapshots to back it up.MongoDB on the other hand provides durability through journaling and replication. Simply put if you can’t afford to run MongoDB with journaling on - it is optional and it comes with a performance cost - and in a cluster of at least 3 machines ( a replica set ), you can’t afford to run it at all.The good news is that not all nodes must be a full featured server. In our case, we simply commissioned resources in other machines in our network to act as replication targets.MongoDB also offers a lot of control over how your data is replicated through your cluster. For example you can designate a node to replicate with a delay and maintain multiple snapshots of your data. If you are not planning to query a slave node, you can also reduce its resource requirements by replicating only the data without the indexes. Overall, maintaining a MongoDB cluster is a breeze.At this time I strongly advise you against running MongoDB on Windows. This is not an statement about Windows fitness as a server OS by any means, all the problems we faced lie squarely within 10Gen’s jurisdiction. It seems like Windows is considered a second-class citizen by MongoDB developers.Here is a rundown of the issues we experienced running MongoDB on a Windows server:MongoDB works flawlessly on Linux with the only exception being that if your server has a NUMA architecture you may sporadically experience a deadlock condition. This issue is so severe that we seriously considered giving up on MongoDB because of it.We worked closely with 10Gen to diagnose this problem and they were very helpful but ultimately unable to help us. Basically weeks before the big relaunch day, we found ourselves with a big problem and no one that could help us.Eventually it was an Oracle support article that indirectly helped us identify and solve the problem. If you have a machine with a NUMA architecture and you are using a up to date version of Linux (which you should) it is very likely that your kernel has NUMA optimizations turned on.As it turns out, those optimizations not only greatly harm MongoDB’s performance, it also frequently leads to an unrecoverable deadlock state. The solution for us was to disable all NUMA optimizations at the kernel level.The take home lesson from our experience is that when it comes down to adopting new technologies with a relatively small installed base, you are more likely to find yourself in the uncomfortable predicament of needing help and not having anyone to help you. This is a risk factor that should not be ignored and you should have a contingency plan for - in our case we were ready to fork and adapt MongoDB to our needs if necessary.Again I must stress that 10Gen was incredibly supportive and that they did their best to help us, they just were unable to at that time.Our team has extensive experience building high-performance applications, before we created Wireclub, we have worked on real-time simulations, high-frequency trading and other similarly demanding fields. We cultivate a culture of pragmatic performance and as a result we maintained an average request fulfilment time of 50ms while servicing over 2.5 millions users from a single low-cost server with Microsoft SQL Server.Before migrating to MongoDB we allocated time to figure out everything we could do to maximize throughput. Following are the most significant ways we have identified to boost MongoDB’s performance:If you can afford it, invest on solid state storage - it is absolutely worth every penny.Instead of buying one big disk, buy several smaller ones, have your OS and swap running on its own dedicated disk, your journal on a separate one and then spread your document collections across 1-2 additional physical volumes. By doing so you are maximizing the SATA/SAS bandwidth available to MongoDB.Make sure your server has enough RAM available to keep all your important indexes in memory, this can greatly increase MongoDB’s query/update throughput.There are two ways to write to a MongoDB collection: with “safe mode = on” you submit a request and wait for a result which requires a round trip to the server. Alternatively if you don’t need to know the result of a given operation you can set “safe mode = off” and your request will return immediately - although you will not know if it was successful or not.Retrieving whole documents is the equivalent of “select * from table” in SQL and it is just as bad for performance. When you are fulfilling hundred or thousands of request per second, it is certainly advantageous to only retrieve the fields you need.If your stack doesn’t offer a good, free profiler, I recommend you invest in one. If there are no profilers available for your stack, I am afraid you picked the wrong stack. Optimizing without a profiler is akin to developing without a debugger - a silly endeavor for people that don’t like to get things done.MongoDB drivers come with source code which makes it straightforward to trap and time all calls to the database. Be careful to make sure you capture the network time which might not be trivial if your driver uses asynchronous methods.By doing this you could easily build a real-time query profiler and make sure you only spend time optimizing the queries that matter most.Here is what our realtime query profiler looks like:The idea isn’t to optimize prematurely but simply rule out queries and data models that might cause unreasonable I/O pressure later on.Often the performance characteristics of database interactions are dependent on the actual data being manipulated. I recommend that you do all your performance tests against a copy of your production database because this will avoid many unpleasant surprises later on.Finally, always keep in mind that. Things will come up once you go live, be prepared to address unforeseen throughput issues as they arise.At Wireclub Media we really love MongoDB. The migration process was at times arduous but ultimately it paid off handsomely. Our new system is faster, more resilient and it is based on a data model which is much more flexible - all thanks to MongoDB.I hope this article was useful to you!We held a Q&A on HackerNews about our experience with MongoDB.I am also answering questions about this article on RedditLord Prescott has criticised political advisers and the media for fuelling "a panic" in the Labour leadership contest. The former deputy prime minister urged the party to "speak to the people in a language they understand" - and focus on policies, not people. Lord Prescott said leftist candidate Jeremy Corbyn was doing well in the race because people knew where he stood. He launched a scathing attack on long-time boss Tony Blair's "totally unacceptable" warning of the dangers of a lurch to the left with a suggestion that anyone preparing to vote "with their heart" for Mr Corbyn should get a transplant. "I found that absolutely staggering. To use that kind of language is just abuse," Lord Prescott told Today. He urged his Labour colleagues to "calm down" - before going on to attack Harriet Harman, Ed Miliband, David Miliband, Margaret Beckett, Alistair Campbell, Chuka Umunna, Tristram Hunt, Jeremy Corbyn and former Tony Blair advisor John McTernan.5 Times Porsches Famously Eclipsed Their Music Video Co-Stars Superstars, Sexy Models and Porsches Mix It Up in Hit Music Videos. Guess Which Receives the Most Attention? Cool cars have been a mainstay of music videos since the early days of MTV. And Porsche, of course, makes some of the coolest cars out there. So, naturally, the two entities would intersect at some point. And when they did, it resulted in a number of unforgettable music videos. But, when it comes to Porsches, these beauties are so easy on the eyes that, instead of watching the rock star who’s making the video, you often find yourself looking at the car instead. The following five videos feature Porsches that totally upstage their celebrity drivers. 1. Rick Ross – ‘911’ – Porsche 911 Rapper Rick Ross wrote a whole song about how much he loves his Porsche 911—and the video features two of the classic rides, a black one and a silver one. Ross is so into his Porsche that he never wants to part with it, and he means never: “If I die tonight, on the highway to Heaven, can I let my top down, in my 911?” he raps in the song’s chorus. In the video, Ross cruises down Hollywood’s famed Sunset Strip in his 911, stopping by spots like Hustler Hollywood and Terner’s Liquor before retiring to a parking garage to lean against his Porsche and spit some more rhymes. Forget Lambos and Bentleys: Rick Ross just made Porsches the hottest cars in the rap game. 2. Jamiroquai – ‘White Knuckle Ride’ – Porsche 911 Carrera A Porsche can outrun almost any other vehicle–unless it’s a helicopter. In this epic car-chase video, Jamiroquai singer Jay Kay, who’s a licensed helicopter pilot, pursues a Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 across the Spanish desert. The action is so well choreographed that the chase sometimes looks more like a ballet. The Porsche tries to lose Kay’s helicopter by doing donuts and kicking up an enormous cloud of dust to obscure itself from view, but no luck. When it speeds off again, Kay’s still right behind it. Eventually, the Porsche driver, whose face we never see, bails out of the car, abandoning it under a bridge and escaping on foot. Jay Kay arrives to see the car is empty. Who was the driver? Why was Jay chasing him or her? Who would abandon a Porsche 911? We may never know… 3. 2NE1 – ‘Go Away’ – Porsche 996 Don’t mess with CL from South Korean all-female group 2NE1–she’ll run you right off the road, even if you’re driving a sweet Porsche 996 racecar. In this video, CL plays a race car driver who has to compete against her abusive ex-boyfriend. The video is in Korean, but you can easily get the gist of what’s going on: CL wants to reunite with her ex, but he’s not interested. When she pleads with him to give their relationship another chance, he flies into a rage and gives her a black eye. (Huh?!? Who creates these music video concepts, Jack the Ripper?!?) At her next race against him, she drives with new conviction. As she maneuvers her Beemer to push him off the track, he spins out of control in his Porsche, and both of their cars end up bursting into flames. Hopefully those were special effects, otherwise not only was the Porsche destroyed, but her awesome BMW E6 M3 was also totaled. 4. Calvin Harris – ‘We’ll Be Coming Back’ – Porsche 911 Scottish DJ and one-time Taylor Swift arm-candy Calvin Harris teams up
the infant who was nearly murdered in his sleep. The Free Thought Project reached out to the department in hopes of getting in touch with Habersham County Sheriff’s Office regarding this unbelievable defense. We’re not holding our breath. Below is a copy of this mind-blowingly asinine response to the original lawsuit. Flash Bang Reply by William N. GriggHail cannon in 2007 Hail cannons in 1901 Hail cannon in Banska Stiavnica (Slovakia) Old Castle. Probably designed by Julius Sokol A hail cannon is a shock wave generator claimed to disrupt the formation of hailstones in the atmosphere. These devices frequently engender conflict between farmers and neighbors when used,[1] because they are repeatedly fired every 1 to 10 seconds while a storm is approaching and until it has passed through the area, yet there is no scientific evidence for their effectiveness. Historical use [ edit ] In the French wine-growing regions church-bells were traditionally rung in the face of oncoming storms,[2] later replaced by firing rockets or cannons.[3] Modern systems [ edit ] A mixture of acetylene and oxygen is ignited in the lower chamber of the machine. As the resulting blast passes through the neck and into the cone, it develops into a shock wave. This shock wave then travels at the speed of sound through the cloud formations above, a disturbance which manufacturers claim disrupts the growth phase of hailstones. Manufacturers claim that what would otherwise have fallen as hailstones then falls as slush or rain. It is said to be critical that the machine is running during the approach of the storm in order to affect the developing hailstones, although all manufacturers unanimously agree that the area of effect of their device is only 100 to 200 square meters directly above. Scientific evidence [ edit ] There is no evidence in favor of the effectiveness of these devices. A 2006 review by Jon Wieringa and Iwan Holleman in the journal Meteorologische Zeitschrift summarized a variety of negative and inconclusive scientific measurements, concluding "the use of cannons or explosive rockets is a waste of money and effort".[4] There is also reason to doubt the efficacy of hail cannons from a theoretical perspective.[5] For example, thunder is a much more powerful sonic wave, and is usually found in the same storms that generate hail, yet it doesn't seem to disturb the growth of hailstones. Charles Knight, a cloud physicist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, said in a July 10, 2008, newspaper article that "I don't find anyone in the scientific community who would validate hail cannons, but there are believers in all sorts of things. It would be very hard to prove they don't work, weather being as unpredictable as it is." See also [ edit ] References [ edit ]The brief was simple: create an explosive device which is easy to carry and innocent in appearance. No sticks of dynamite, no ticking time-bombs. As part of an attempt to supply arms to the Chinese to aid resistance against the Japanese during WWII, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) developed an incendiary known as ‘Aunt Jemima’ – for reasons that will soon become apparent. Soldier-come-chemist George Bogdan Kistiakowsky began work on a powerful powdered explosive designed for guerrilla sabotage purposes. A nitroamine high-explosive known as HMX (the origins of whose name is still subject to speculation) was mixed with regular baking flour to create a compound which could be turned into all sorts of un-suspicious looking culinary delights. Aunt Jemima (the name of a popula r brand of American pancake flour) could be baked and consumed without exploding, although ingesting it was generally not encouraged. The explosive powder, once perfected, was packaged in flour bags and easily trafficked through Japanese check-points to the Chinese resistance-fighters. If ordered to demonstrate that the contents of their flour bags were indeed flour, the smuggler could whip up an authentic-tasting loaf and consume it right in front of his doubters. Although this would result in a successful mission, our smuggler would not be too happy about having eaten the mixture. As master demolitionist and saboteur Frank Gleason recalls, although not lethal, eating the explosive flour, however tempting it appeared, was ill-advised. ‘In China we made muffins from the stuff. I wanted to show Major Miles how you could bake Aunt Jemima into muffins, put a blasting cap into it, and blow something up. It looks like regular flour, but if you look carefully at a little piece, you’d see it was gritty, unlike flour. It could make bread, so I told this Chinese cook at Happy Valley to make some muffins out of the explosive flour. I said, “Do not eat those muffins! They are poison. Do not eat them!” You should have seen them when they came out of the oven. They were gorgeous. The cook thought to himself, “Those damn Americans just want those muffins for themselves!” He violated what I told him and he ate one. He almost died.’ Further tests were conducted and refinement of the compound yielded a less toxic version. The deadly, delicious muffins or pancakes could now be used as a devastating explosive device, and a non-vomit-inducing snack. Uneaten pancakes or unused dough could still be used later for its original explosive purposes. In China during WWII, 15 tons of Aunt Jemima was used, and none was ever discovered by the Japanese.Virginia lawmakers have introduced 50 ALEC-written bills; since 2001, the state has sent lawmakers to the group's conferences on the taxpayer's tab to the tune of $230,000. In 2009, more than 200 of its model bills became law, NPR's Laura Sullivan reported. Lawmakers in Florida and Tennessee have introduced bills where large sections are copied verbatim from ALEC model bills. Where does it get its money? Both legislators and corporations pay dues to belong to ALEC, but corporate members' dues make up 99 percent of the group's $7 million budget, NPR reports. It gets some of its funding from organizations tied to Koch Industries, the company of Charles and David Koch, who fund many conservative causes, including some Tea Party groups, and are liberals' favorite villains. But most of its corporate members are companies that sell products to the average consumer and are not associated with conservative causes. How does it work? ALEC not technically a lobbying group because it only "exchanges" legislation. But some of the things it does sounds like lobbying -- business leaders and lawmakers sit in a room and write legislation, and then the lawmaker takes it home to his state capital, Sullivan explains. As a non-profit, ALEC can put on fancy conferences where corporations can sponsor golf tournaments and parties. Lawmakers don't have to disclose the corporate sponsorships of events attached to the conference. Lawmakers can receive scholarships to attend these conferences. Who's in it? Major corporate members: Kraft, ExxonMobile, AT&T, UPS, Koch Industries, Pfizer, PhRMA, GlaxoSmithKline, Wal-Mart Former corporate members: Pepsi, which ended its relationship in January after 10 years; Coca-Cola, which said goodbye Monday; Corrections Corporation of America, which was a member as late as October 2010 and which was present when model legislation was drafted based on Arizona's controversial illegal immigrant law. Lawmaker alums: The liberal Center for Media and Democracy lists many prominent lawmakers as ALEC alums, including House Speaker John Boehner, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, Sen. Jim Inhofe, and Sen. Lindsey Graham. Texas Gov. Rick Perry proudly touted an ALEC award in 2010. On March 25, The New York Times' Paul Krugman wrote, "And if there is any silver lining to Trayvon Martin’s killing, it is that it might finally place a spotlight on what ALEC is doing to our society — and our democracy." (It seems that has come to pass.) Krugman described the far-reaching consequences of ALEC's activism. Two days after Krugman's column was published, ALEC responded, but only to say it was no longer involved in the for-profit prison industry, because it thinks different reforms work better. "We are not afraid to do so when the facts demand it," the group wrote in a statement on its site. It did not dispute its characterization as a stealthily powerful right-wing not-quite lobby group with tentacles in statehouses across the country. This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire. We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to [email protected] course, I couldn’t finish this post without guessing (just guesses) the reasons why Firebird SQL is so unpopular if compared to MySQL or PostgreSQL : 1. There’s no big player like Sun /Oracle or IBM supporting it right now. ED: Not an issue: there is no need for the big Oracle hug, look what they have done to MySQL, OpenOffice, Hudson, they killed or dumped the projects and only community saved them by forking the source code and continuing under some sort of fundation umbrella: Apache, TDF …. Another article that you must read is by Glyn Moody : Has Oracle been a disaster for Sun’s open source? 2. The official website is terrible (http://www.firebirdsql.org). Seems futile, but the first impression of the project is horrible. Makes you think it’s stalled. ED:This is fixed, site was reworked, check the new design and compare with the old version from archive.org 3. Firebird’s biggest sponsor today is IBPhoenix, which main business IS Firebird. But even it’s website falls in the same problem. ED This is fixed, site was reworked, check the new design and compare with the old version from archive.org 4. The fact of being Delphi related since it’s beginning.. With Delphi’s decadence, its popularity just floundered with it. ED : That is solved we do have support for all the other new players : nodejs, rails, django, lua … And Lazarus apps are still the fastest one in benchmarks vs Java,.net … 5.Poor documentation ED:Soon to be fixed, but more hands are needed, it’s easy to complain, please help to update and fix the bugs in the docs area Maybe things may change to Firebird SQL after Oracle bought Sun (many MySQL users are getting scared (I see no reason for this by the way)) and may play with Firebird, but it’s something improbable to happen. 🙂 ED:Wind of change : i get more hits on my blog with things like phpbb3 installations, rails installations … and the traffic for FibirebirdSQL.org and FirebirdNews.org is going up, sourceforge download stats are up, also on the linux distro land and bsd side we are going well : packaged and ready to replace LAMP with FLAPS, firebird php driver is included in default php install on Windows Of course, these are just my opinions about it. I really whould like to know yours. Why do you think so few developers are using Firebird today?‘Hysterical nonsense’ There’s nothing sinister about Sessions talking to the Russian ambassador, says Lew Rockwell, political analyst, and author. RT: We just heard US senators saying there’s nothing wrong with meeting with a Russian ambassador, so why the controversy here? Lew Rockwell: It is the deep state. American mainstream media has been showing since the Church hearings and many other investigations, might as well juts be a part of the CIA. So this is just the more of the campaign against Trump, against having a friendly relationship with Russia. It is all the baloney about Russia having intervened in the American elections. By the way, the way the US intervenes in every single Russian election and elections all around the world, I don’t think the Russians intervened in the American elections. Certainly, Sessions talking to the Russian ambassador at a Heritage Foundation party – there is nothing sinister about it. No ambassador is ever that country’s top spy. I mean in some sense every diplomat is a spy. This is just a hysterical nonsense that is being peddled. Current Prices on popular forms of Silver Bullion Even if the Russians did intervene, what did they want? Did they want atomic secrets or that kind of stuff? No. What they wanted was – peace with the US, no more US aggression against Russia, and trade. Get rid of the sanctions, let’s have a friendly relationship, exactly the relationship by the way that the US should have with every single country in the world, whether it is China, or Venezuela, or Iran, whomever. This is the proper foreign policies laid out by George Washington so many years ago. This hostility, this Cold War-esque, baloney is not having an effect on the American people. This is an entirely DC hysteria. Yes, there were Republicans as well as Democrats who hate the guts of the Trump administration and would love Hillary back in the chart. The CIA as Organized C... Douglas Valentine Best Price: $17.99 Buy New $18.93 (as of 07:10 EST - Details) RT: During a news conference on Thursday, Sessions was pretty adamant and direct that he is not stepping down, as he claims he has done nothing wrong. He said he has examined the rules of ethics and they have not been broken. What are your thoughts on his statement? LR: I think pretty much everything he said was good. I don’t like the recusal business. After all, he is not a judge. So for him to do this, when we know that the deep state wants a special prosecutor, who would be loyal to them, and who could make up all kinds of stuff, that part is unfortunate. We just have to see what develops. But let’s remember the Democrats used to be very pro-Russia when there was Stalin. When Stalin and Lenin were in charge, they liked Russia. They set up the export and import bank to fund trade with Russia. Of course, they were Russia’s ally in WWII. Now that Russia is …no longer Communist, it has much freer market and no Gulag, they hate its guts. Seems to me there is something wrong about that. RT: The House speaker Paul Ryan commented on the scandal saying there’s no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. Why is there such hysteria about this? LR: There’s hysteria because again it’s the CIA, the NSA, the FBI, or at least the elements within those intelligence organizations and other unnamed intelligence organizations that seek to overthrow the President. They seek to toss him out and to install a Hillaryite or neocon in the White House instead. They want Cold War, some of them want “hot war” with Russia. They want much more military spending, they want many horrible things. So this is all a generated hysteria. This person are all puppets. They’re like “Pravda” and “Izvestia” in the old days. There has been a switch here, a very unfortunate switch, I must say. The statements, views, and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT. Against the State: An... Llewellyn H. Rockwell Jr. Best Price: $12.99 Buy New $9.21 (as of 07:10 EST - Details) The Devilu2019s Chessb... David Talbot Best Price: $6.00 Buy New $8.05 (as of 11:00 EST - Details) Maryu2019s Mosaic: The... Peter Janney Best Price: $11.50 Buy New $12.14 (as of 06:05 EST - Details) Amazon.com $50 Gift Ca... Check Amazon for Pricing.In the future, experts say, models need to be opened up to accommodate more variables and more dimensions of uncertainty. The drive to measure, model and perhaps even predict waves of group behavior is an emerging field of research that can be applied in fields well beyond finance. Much of the early work has been done tracking online behavior. The Web provides researchers with vast data sets for tracking the spread of all manner of things — news stories, ideas, videos, music, slang and popular fads — through social networks. That research has potential applications in politics, public health, online advertising and Internet commerce. And it is being done by academics and researchers at Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Facebook. Financial markets, like online communities, are social networks. Researchers are looking at whether the mechanisms and models being developed to explore collective behavior on the Web can be applied to financial markets. A team of six economists, finance experts and computer scientists at Cornell was recently awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation to pursue that goal. Photo “The hope is to take this understanding of contagion and use it as a perspective on how rapid changes of behavior can spread through complex networks at work in financial markets,” explained Jon M. Kleinberg, a computer scientist and social network researcher at Cornell. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Andrew W. Lo, director of the Laboratory for Financial Engineering, is taking a different approach to incorporating human behavior into finance. His research focuses on applying insights from disciplines, including evolutionary biology and cognitive neuroscience, to create a new perspective on how financial markets work, which Mr. Lo calls “the adaptive-markets hypothesis.” It is a departure from the “efficient-market” theory, which asserts that financial markets always get asset prices right given the available information and that people always behave rationally. Efficient-market theory, of course, has dominated finance and econometric modeling for decades, though it is being sharply questioned in the wake of the financial crisis. “It is not that efficient market theory is wrong, but it’s a very incomplete model,” Mr. Lo said. Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You will receive emails containing news content, updates and promotions from The New York Times. You may opt-out at any time. You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters. Mr. Lo is confident that his adaptive-markets approach can help model and quantify liquidity crises in a way traditional models, with their narrow focus on expected returns and volatility, cannot. “We’re going to see three-dimensional financial modeling and eventually N-dimensional modeling,” he said. Advertisement Continue reading the main story J. Doyne Farmer, a former physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory and a founder of a quantitative trading firm, finds the behavioral research intriguing but awfully ambitious, especially to build into usable models. Instead, Mr. Farmer, a professor at the interdisciplinary Sante Fe Institute, is doing research on models of markets, institutions and their complex interactions, applying a hybrid discipline called econophysics. To explain, Mr. Farmer points to the huge buildup of the credit-default-swap market, to a peak of $60 trillion. And in 2006, the average leverage on mortgage securities increased to 16 to 1 (it is now 1.5 to 1). Put the two together, he said, and you have a serious problem. “You don’t need a model of human psychology to see that there was a danger of impending disaster,” Mr. Farmer observed. “But economists have failed to make models that accurately model such phenomena and adequately address their couplings.” When a bridge over a river collapses, the engineers who built the bridge have to take responsibility. But typically, critics call for improvement and smarter, better-trained engineers — not fewer of them. The same pattern seems to apply to financial engineers. At M.I.T., the Sloan School of Management is starting a one-year master’s in finance this fall because the field has become too complex to be adequately covered as part of a traditional M.B.A. program, and because of student demand. The new finance program, Mr. Lo noted, had 179 applicants for 25 places. In the aftermath of the economic crisis, financial engineers, experts say, will probably shift more to risk management and econometric analysis and concentrate less on devising exotic new instruments. Still, the recent efforts by investment banks to create a trading market for “life settlements,” life insurance policies that the ill or elderly sell for cash, suggest that inventive sales people are browsing for new asset classes to securitize, bundle and trade. “Good or bad, moral or immoral, people are going to make markets and trade via computers, and this is a natural area of financial engineers,” says Emanuel Derman, a professor at Columbia University and a former Wall Street quant.ADVERTISEMENTS Share with: New driver-owned ride-sharing startup Arcade City launched its mobile app this month to the Apple and Android app stores. Drivers have given more than 1,000 rides to customers in 100+ cities across 27 states, and Australia. advertisement Arcade City has begun integrating its service with Blockchain technology using a decentralized application platform called Ethereum, similar to Bitcoin but more suitable for governing peer-to-peer interactions. Arcade City will use Ethereum to issue ‘crypto-equity’ to drivers, allowing them to own up to 100% of the company by 2020. Launched in the aftermath of dramatic rate cuts by Uber and Lyft that decimated driver take-home pay up to 40% overnight with no warning, Arcade City quickly signed up more than 3,000 drivers, most of them current or former drivers for the ‘big two’ ride-sharers. Arcade City lets riders review driver profiles in advance and choose the driver they prefer. Drivers are free to set their own rates and offer additional services like deliveries or roadside assistance. Approximately half of current drivers give rides on a ‘pay what you think is fair’ basis. “The Achilles’ heel of Uber and Lyft is their centralized management of pricing,” said Arcade City founderChristopher David, a former Uber driver. “By decentralizing that decision to the level of the driver and rider, Arcade City frees the driver to be an entrepreneur, and empowers the rider with control over their entire experience. Both drivers and riders are loving it so far.” “Uber and Lyft treat drivers terribly, like numbers in an algorithm,” said David. “To them drivers are just a temporary nuisance, to be replaced with self-driving cars at the earliest opportunity. They even hide that fact from the drivers. But drivers are beginning to wake up to reality – and actively search for an alternative.” Arcade City drivers have so far given rides in 27 states and counting: Arizona, Arkansas, California,Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Washington state, and Washington, D.C. Drivers are also active in Australia, with Mexico, Canada and Sweden launching in the spring.Why should I picture my life in 3D? We believe that when you capture your own moments in 3D you will realise the magical experience of personal 3D photography—just like we did. We want to bring this experience to you. That's why we are making two super simple devices, one that is easily attached to your DSLR and another for your smartphone. This makes it easy as one two three for you to start taking your own 3D pictures and videos. And you will see—it is magical. What is this? The little one is Kúla Bebe which turns your smartphone into a 3D camera and the big one, Kúla Deeper, does the same for your SLR camera. It is our dream to bring 3D photopraphy to you and we are here on Kickstarter to finance the manufacturing of these devices. How can I get in on the fun? To your right, the reward currency is danish krona. 1 DKK ≈ 0,17 USD For example, you can get a Kúla Bebe by pledging ~$35 or DKK 205 and a Kúla Deeper for only ~$98 or DKK 574 (limited amount). This includes accessories for viewing in 3D. Note: Now you can add Kúla Bebe to some of the rewards! NEW: Now Kúla Deeper and Kúla Bebe come with a microfiber bag as we reached our stretch goal. Yay! How do I use Kúla Deeper? 1. Take a picture with Kúla Deeper attached to your SLR camera lens. 2. You can see the results right away on your camera with Kúla Stereo Viewer. 3. For a larger audience, our software Kúlacode can convert your pictures and videos to the appropriate format. It doesn´t matter whether it is a 3D TV, anaglyph glasses or something totally different Kúlacode got you covered. 4. Enjoy your moments in 3D! Other Stereoscopic devices can be used for unprocessed pictures: a stereoscope, virtual reality devices such as Oculus Rift, Google cardboard, Avegant Glyph, etc. How do I use Kúla Bebe? 1. Put Kúla Bebe on your smartphone and you are ready to shoot. 2. Choose any of a number of fun ways to view your photos instantly using the app that comes with Kúla Bebe. Our favorite for on the spot viewing is Kúla's CinemaBox. For sharing instantly online with your friends, our top choice is an animated gif called Wigglegram. 3. Enjoy! How can any camera take 3D pictures? In a nutshell Kúla Deeper and Kúla Bebe use high precision mirrors to capture the image from two slightly different perspectives. So after you snap a photo you´ll see what looks like the same picture side by side. Combined, these pictures make a 3D picture (or video). The picture below was captured with Kúla Deeper and explains how it can make up a 3D picture: Example picture from an early Kúla Bebe prototype: How can I see the results in 3D? Kúla Bebe comes with Kúla's CinemaBox and red/cyan anaglyph glasses. Kúla Deeper comes with a stereoviewer and anaglyph glasses. But the possibilities are endless so it's really up to you! How does the software work? Kúlacode performs advanced image processing algorithms, correcting the images and exporting them to different 3D formats. 3D TV. If you thought aliens and hobbits were the only thing that look good on a 3D TV screen, check out your cat—or yourself! * Kúlacode converts your stereoscopic stuff to a 3D TV format. . If you thought aliens and hobbits were the only thing that look good on a 3D TV screen, check out your cat—or yourself! Kúlacode converts your stereoscopic stuff to a 3D TV format. Kúla's CinemaBox. This method is for your smartphone and it gives you amazing sense of depth. We recommend using a phone with a high resolution display for the most pleasant 3D experience. This method is for your smartphone and it gives you amazing sense of depth. We recommend using a phone with a high resolution display for the most pleasant 3D experience. Anaglyph glasses. Did you think they belonged to the 80s? Well, in a recent issue of Vogue you can find the most astonishing red/cyan anaglyph pictures, proving it's high fashion. Now make your own! . Did you think they belonged to the 80s? Well, in a recent issue of Vogue you can find the most astonishing red/cyan anaglyph pictures, proving it's high fashion. Now make your own! Wigglegrams are animated gifs. They give you a sense of depth and can even work for those who have a hard time using two eyes to perceive 3D. are animated gifs. They give you a sense of depth and can even work for those who have a hard time using two eyes to perceive 3D. StereoViewer. Hold it in front of your eyes to watch the awesome 3D pictures you just captured, either right away on the DSLR camera display or on a computer screen. . Hold it in front of your eyes to watch the awesome 3D pictures you just captured, either right away on the DSLR camera display or on a computer screen. Cross eyed. Some say this is the coolest 3D experience you can get. To see how it works, search for a mushroom below. * We cannot guarantee your awesome look in 3D but your cat might pull it. Tech specs Kúla Deeper and Kúla Bebe are made of four high precision mirrors with reflection coefficient around 94%, resulting in super sharp images and videos and a pleasant 3D experience. Kúla Deeper can be attached to the camera lens in one click. It uses the lens thread and fits lenses of diameter Ø77mm by default. For smaller diameters you'll need an adaptor ring and to begin with we are making adaptors for lens diameters Ø52, Ø62 Ø67 and Ø72 mm. To begin with, Kúla Bebe will come with attachments for the phones listed in the table below. We are developing 3 different mounting plates that are attached to the phone or your phone cover with a special removable tape. Kúla Bebe can be attached to the mounting plate in one click. I want to see 3D right here right now! Enjoy the mushroom. Open your mind. It's time to harvest. You will see. You will see things in a different perspective. One very effective way to see 3D without the assistance of 3D glasses is to cross your eyes and look at a picture like the one below. Above you can see how the image will merge into a 3D image when you cross your eyes. Now, please follow these steps: 1. Make sure there are no colleagues around. 2. Keep the,,cross-eye" image right in front of you. 3. Cross your eyes a little bit, until you see a third image appear in between the two. 4. Now focus on the one in the centre and you might experience 3D. Some people think this method brings you the coolest 3D experience, just stop before you get a headache. It requires patience and practice to succeed, but once you get it, there's no return. Now try this method on the image below and have a nice trip into the wild. Another option is the wigglegram. It is not really 3D but the animated gifs give a good sense of depth. It is our favourite way of sharing Kúla's 3D pictures as no technique or devices/glasses are needed to view the them: Who are you? Who am I? Please put on your anaglyph glasses and meet us. Íris Ólafsdóttir: Electrical engineer and founder of Kúla. Birgir Birgisson: Industrial designer with 20 years of experience. Ágúst Rafnsson: Computer engineer and app developer. Jón Arnar Tómasson: Mathematician and software engineer. Stella Björg Björgvinsdóttir: Graphic designer. Advisory board: Össur Kristinsson: The founder of Össur and Rafnar (and 12 more). Ari Jóhannesson: CTO of Sprettur (now Kolibri), leading lean software development in Iceland. What do they think about Kúla Deeper? The award winning concert photographer Richard Gastwirt at stageshooter.com has tested Kúla Deeper and this is what thinks: What is the status of the project? Kúla Deeper is already in the manufacturing process and we would love to bring Kúla Deeper to your Christmas presents, but it is quite probable that we can't deliver until January. An early version of Kúlacode is ready. We are finalising the design of Kúla Bebe and we assume the device and mounting plates will be ready for delivery in march 2015. We have a beta version of the mobile verions of the software up and running and will work on improvements until delivery (and ever after). Therefore we are here on Kickstarter, seeking your support for financing the production. If we reach our goal we will use the funding to finance the production of both Kúla Bebe and Kúla Deeper, so please hang on with us! Thank you so very much! Kúla is funded by the Icelandic Technology Development Fund and this project is sponsored by Kukl rental–your one stop solution in Iceland. Stretch goal We just reached our stretchgoal so now Kúla Deeper and Kúla Bebe come with a microfiber bag. Press Please find product pictures and info on kula3d.com/pressThe White House has released the 2015 State of the Union speech text as prepared for delivery, exceeding 6,700 words. There is a ritual on State of the Union night in Washington. A little before the address, the White House sends out an embargoed copy of the President’s speech to the press (embargoed means that the press can see the speech, but they can’t report on it until a designated time). The reporters then start sending it around town to folks on Capitol Hill to get their reaction, then those people send it to all their friends, and eventually everyone in Washington can read along, but the public remains in the dark. This year we change that. For the first time, the White House is making the full text of the speech available to citizens around the country online. On Medium, you can follow along with the speech as you watch in real time, view charts and infographics on key areas, tweet favorite lines, and leave notes. By making the text available to the public in advance, the White House is continuing efforts to reach a wide online audience and give people a range of ways to consume the speech. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, my fellow Americans: We are fifteen years into this new century. Fifteen years that dawned with terror touching our shores; that unfolded with a new generation fighting two long and costly wars; that saw a vicious recession spread across our nation and the world. It has been, and still is, a hard time for many. But tonight, we turn the page. Tonight, after a breakthrough year for America, our economy is growing and creating jobs at the fastest pace since 1999. Our unemployment rate is now lower than it was before the financial crisis. More of our kids are graduating than ever before; more of our people are insured than ever before; we are as free from the grip of foreign oil as we’ve been in almost 30 years. Tonight, for the first time since 9/11, our combat mission in Afghanistan is over. Six years ago, nearly 180,000 American troops served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Today, fewer than 15,000 remain. And we salute the courage and sacrifice of every man and woman in this 9/11 Generation who has served to keep us safe. We are humbled and grateful for your service. America, for all that we’ve endured; for all the grit and hard work required to come back; for all the tasks that lie ahead, know this: The shadow of crisis has passed, and the State of the Union is strong. At this moment – with a growing economy, shrinking deficits, bustling industry, and booming energy production – we have risen from recession freer to write our own future than any other nation on Earth. It’s now up to us to choose who we want to be over the next fifteen years, and for decades to come. Will we accept an economy where only a few of us do spectacularly well? Or will we commit ourselves to an economy that generates rising incomes and chances for everyone who makes the effort? Will we approach the world fearful and reactive, dragged into costly conflicts that strain our military and set back our standing? Or will we lead wisely, using all elements of our power to defeat new threats and protect our planet? Will we allow ourselves to be sorted into factions and turned against one another – or will we recapture the sense of common purpose that has always propelled America forward? In two weeks, I will send this Congress a budget filled with ideas that are practical, not partisan. And in the months ahead, I’ll crisscross the country making a case for those ideas. So tonight, I want to focus less on a checklist of proposals, and focus more on the values at stake in the choices before us. It begins with our economy. Seven years ago, Rebekah and Ben Erler of Minneapolis were newlyweds. She waited tables. He worked construction. Their first child, Jack, was on the way. They were young and in love in America, and it doesn’t get much better than that. “If only we had known,” Rebekah wrote to me last spring, “what was about to happen to the housing and construction market.” As the crisis worsened, Ben’s business dried up, so he took what jobs he could find, even if they kept him on the road for long stretches of time. Rebekah took out student loans, enrolled in community college, and retrained for a new career. They sacrificed for each other. And slowly, it paid off. They bought their first home. They had a second son, Henry. Rebekah got a better job, and then a raise. Ben is back in construction – and home for dinner every night. “It is amazing,” Rebekah wrote, “what you can bounce back from when you have to…we are a strong, tight-knit family who has made it through some very, very hard times.” We are a strong, tight-knit family who has made it through some very, very hard times. America, Rebekah and Ben’s story is our story. They represent the millions who have worked hard, and scrimped, and sacrificed, and retooled. You are the reason I ran for this office. You’re the people I was thinking of six years ago today, in the darkest months of the crisis, when I stood on the steps of this Capitol and promised we would rebuild our economy on a new foundation. And it’s been your effort and resilience that has made it possible for our country to emerge stronger. We believed we could reverse the tide of outsourcing, and draw new jobs to our shores. And over the past five years, our businesses have created more than 11 million new jobs. We believed we could reduce our dependence on foreign oil and protect our planet. And today, America is number one in oil and gas. America is number one in wind power. Every three weeks, we bring online as much solar power as we did in all of 2008. And thanks to lower gas prices and higher fuel standards, the typical family this year should save $750 at
city would amend its ordinance based on what the new law would say. “Just because a referendum passes, that’s not the end of it. Then you have regulations that have to be adopted pursuant to it,” Lee said. Champagne asked if it were possible to extend the city’s current 180-day moratorium on considering requests or permits for marijuana-related facilities until after the referendum. Lee said the city could request an extension if it needs more time to adopt appropriate regulations and must show it has been working on that. Geller noted that caregivers are not defined as running a retail operation, but a dispensary is considered a retail operation. So caregivers are more a service and that is allowed in a residential area, he said. But Beverage said anyone selling medical marijuana out of a home would be in violation of the home occupation ordinance. “It’s not a service if you’re taking it away with you,” she said of a product. Lee said the city could make it simple and just say no caregivers or dispensaries would be allowed in the downtown area. “You’ve got several choices,” he said. “If you tell me what it is you want, I’ll write it.” Amy Calder — 861-9247 [email protected] Twitter: @AmyCalder17 ShareI have been wanting to make chocolate myself since I was very young, after I saw it being done on a Japanese TV program. Every Valentine's Day, girls will carefully make a box of beautiful chocolates for the boys they have crush on. It's a way to express their feelings. I think, even if she gets refused, she has still enjoyed the process of making these chocolates. Anyway, it's a romantic and pleasant thing to do after all. Some tips: Be sure to use bittersweet baking chocolate—I prefer French. Ordinary, ready-to-eat chocolate contains too much sugar and milk, so it'll be too sweet when paired with the sweet fillings. For the fillings, the ideal ingredients will form a soft mass. I used Nutella mixed with chopped nuts. You could also try jam and raisings, butter and cream, or even the black sesame tangyuan fillings sold in most markets. Just use your imagination! If you want to use liquid fillings, lengthen the freezing time so it becomes solid, otherwise it won't seal. Finally, for the chocolate molds, Taobao is a great place! These are thin plastic molds that bend fairly easily for removal of the finished chocolates. Jelly molds can also be used, and in a pinch you could try the flexible silicone ice-cube molds that come in various shapes, but the hard plastic trays must be avoided or your chocolates will crack when you try to remove them. Ingredients 200g baking chocolate, cut to small pieces 100g Nutella almonds, lightly toasted and finely chopped walnut, lightly toasted and finely chopped strawberry jam small raisins Directions 1. Fill a milk pot 1/3 of the way with water. Put 100g of the chocolate into a bowl that is large enough to cover the pot (steam should not come into contact with the chocolate), and put it on top of the pot. Heat on low. When the steam begins to melt the chocolate, turn the burner off and allow the remaining heat to slowly melt the rest of the chocolate. Stir, and make sure the temperature is not too high; otherwise the chocolate will burn. 2. Paint the melted chocolate finely over the sides of the molds to form a hollow shell. 3. Refrigerate the chocolate in the molds for 10 minutes or until they hold their shape. 4. In the meantime, prepare the fillings, according to your taste—for instance, a mixture of Nutella and chopped almonds or walnuts; or strawberry jam with raisins. 5. Add fillings. Fill them tight and nearly to the top of the mold, leaving just a little space to seal them off. 6. Melt the remaining 100g chocolate. Pour it over the top of each mold, sealing in the filling. This will be the bottom of the chocolate. 7. Refrigerate for another 20 or 30 minutes. After the chocolates are formed, leave them at room temperature for a little while. Carefully remove the chocolates from the molds, making sure you don't break the shells! They should come out fairly easy. 8. Package them up as you wish—in the picture I used mini-muffin paper cups, but I think used chocolate boxes could be good, too. Now they're ready to bring a smile upon the face of your favorite boy or girl—just in time for Double Seventh Festival (七夕情人节), aka Chinese Valentine's Day on Wednesday. ;-) Sichuanese native and Chengdu resident Annie blogs about her adventures in cooking vegetarian meals, adapting recipes from around the world. Recently she has translated some of her favorite posts into English for GoChengdoo readers to enjoy. The original, Chinese-language version of this post can be viewed here. Photo by Annie Chen.Concept "Koron" is a traditional Iranian musical term that refers to notes a quarter-step lower in pitch. Using these quarter tone intervals is a distinguishing feature of Iranian and other Eastern traditional music. This sample library pays tribute to that concept, and is designed to capture the essence of Iran’s rich musical forms and history, while also breaking the barriers between Eastern and Western music by giving composers new timbres and a new way to view music. Koron began as the idea of Siavash Mozaffari, who raised funds for a ‘sonic journey’ to Iran. Sia's goal was to share the sounds of Iran’s traditional instruments by turning them into virtual tools for any composer to use. We loved this idea and connected with Sia to expand the scope and depth of the project. Over 2 years later, our collaboration has resulted in one of the deepest world instrument libraries ever released. Koron includes 10 instruments – 5 melodic, 5 percussive – with over 17,000 samples in total. We present both deep multisamples, including multiple dynamics, round robins, and legato transitions, as well as extensive percussive hits and techniques, plus over 1,200 performances and phrases. Besides this staggering pool of samples, we’ve designed Kontakt patches with our latest script techniques such as Total Articulation Control Technology (TACT) for custom mapping, and phrase editing right within Kontakt itself. Together with Sia, we’ve also included pictures and information about every instrument recorded, so you can learn more about their construction, history, and playing style. One of our core goals at Impact Soundworks is to sample and develop virtual instruments outside the standard Western repertoire, and Koron is the most extensive fulfillment of that goal yet. We hope you will enjoy playing it as much as we enjoyed creating it, and look forward to hearing what you write!The United States does not have the “freest” Internet in the world, according to the annual Freedom House transparency and access report, Freedom on the Net. Slow and gentrified broadband access and occasional government intrusion stunted the U.S. to the #2 spot, with the tiny Eastern European technological powerhouse, Estonia, taking the gold medal. With online voting, access to electronic medical records, and widespread broadband access, Estonia is the envy of the digital world. “Although the United States is one of the most connected countries in the world, it has fallen behind many other developed nations in terms of Internet speed, cost, and broadband availability,” explains the U.S. report. The U.S. lags behind Japan, South Korea, Norway and Sweden in access to blistering fast Internet (average peak speeds in Hong Kong — 49 Mbps — are nearly twice that of the U.S. — 28 Mbps). The United States Congress and the Federal Communications Commission have allocated nearly half a billion dollars to connect rural farmers to the same Bittorrent-friendly speeds that allow the rest of the country to pirate Game of Thrones. Other reasons for America’s less-than-superlative results include: A relative oligopoly from AT&T, Comcast, Time Warner, and Verizon, who control 50 percent of the Internet Service Provider (ISP) market Homeland Security’s penchant for secretly shutting down Internet sites, such as hip-hop blogs that were wrongly believed to be pirating Chris Brown’s Deuces. In 2011 San Francisco suspended cell phone service to preempt a protest of a shooting by a metro policy officer and, most recently, Twitter was forced to disclose the secret tweets of an Occupy Wall Street protestor. Estonians, in addition to having widespread public WiFi and more than 200 ISPs, enjoy access to some of the most advanced public services on the planet: The full report, which is largely about the most egregious violations of Internet freedom, can be seen here. H/T: Alec RossThe untold story of the sources of the loot controlled by Paul “The Vulture” Singer, Ken Langone and the Kochs—and why they need to buy the White House For TruthOut/Buzzflash Greg Palast’s investigative reports are broadcast by BBC Television’s Newsnight. His new book, Vultures’ Picnic: a Tale of Oil, Sex, Radiation and Investigative Reporting will be released by Penguin USA on November 14. [October 5, 2011] Paul Singer likes to breakfast on decayed carcasses. What he chews down is sickening, but just as nausea-inducing are his new table mates: Ken Langone and the Koch Brothers, Charles and David. Singer has called together the billionaire boys club for the purpose of picking our next president for us. The old fashioned way of choosing presidents—democracy and counting ballots and all that—has never been a favorite of this pack. I can tell you that from my investigations of each of these gentlemen for The Guardian. When the Statue of Liberty has nightmares, she dreams that these guys will combine to seize America via a cash-and-carry coup d’état. Welcome to the nightmare. Singer, Langone and the Kochs last month decided to elect Chris Christie for us. The Jersey Governor’s pseudo-campaign went belly-up before it began. But that’s besides the point. Now that the Supreme Court has effectively ended campaign finance limits and allowed secretive contributions through “corporations”, this new combine of the ultra-wealthy should not be viewed as just a political threat to the Democrats, but a threat to democracy. Let me give you a run-down from my sulphur-scented files on these men who would be king-makers. BILLIONAIRE 1: Ken Langone Langone likes to be known as the founder of Home Depot, just your local tool guy in a blue apron with a little bag of screws. But he was also the man, with his right-wing partners, behind DBT, Database Technologies. It was in my first investigation of Langone in 2000 that I discovered that DBT had created a list of several thousand “felons”—most of them Black, all of them innocent, all of them purged from Florida’s voter rolls by DBT’s client, Katherine Harris. And Langone’s company knew exactly what was going on. What qualifies Langone to pick our president? In his own words: “I’m nuts, I’m rich.” BILLIONAIRES 2&3: David and Charles Koch You think you’ve read all about the billionaire brothers. Well, there’s more: In 1996, an FBI agent, Richard Elroy, told my team that oil had been pilfered from the Osage Indian reservation in Oklahoma. He and other G-men filmed the filch—theft, say witnesses, personally ordered by Charles Koch. A few barrels here, a few barrels there. It all added up: to about a billion and a half dollars in looted petroleum, says one expert, a third of the Koch fortune at the time. David and Charles shared in the booty via their private company, Koch Industries. BILLIONAIRE 4: Paul Singer Now we get to the carrion king, Paul Singer, known as Singer The Vulture. I didn’t give him the moniker. The name Vulture was tagged on him and his speculator colleagues by the Prime Minister of Britain and the World Bank. Recently, former Deputy Secretary-General of the UN Winston Tubman suggested I ask Singer or his business associates, “Do you know you’re causing babies to die?” What does this guy do—put poison in kiddies’ milk? Worse: he takes away the milk. Singer’s modus operandi is to find some forgotten tiny debt owed by a very poor nation (Peru and Congo were on his menu). He waits for the US and European taxpayers to forgive the poor nations’ debts; then waits at bit longer for offers of food aid, medicine and investment loans. Then Singer pounces: legally grabbing at every resource and all the money going to the desperate country. Trade stops, funds freeze and an entire economy is effectively held hostage. Singer then demands aid-giving nations pay monstrous ransoms to let trade resume. At BBC TV’s Newsnight, we learned that Singer demanded $400 million dollars from the Congo for a debt he picked up for less than $10 million. If he doesn’t get his 4,000% profit, he can effectively starve the nation. I don’t mean that figuratively—I mean starve as in no food. In Congo-Brazzaville last year, one-fourth of all deaths of children under five were caused by malnutrition. For BBC, I tried to ask Vulture Singer the diplomat’s question about the baby killing, but I couldn’t get past George Gershwin. (In the New York office tower housing the billionaires’ roost, a George Gershwin look-alike in top hat and tails plays show tunes on a grand piano for Singer’s grand entrance.) And it’s not just poor African carcasses that tempt Singer. Indeed, during my investigation for my new book Vultures’ Picnic, I discovered that Singer’s first big vulture attack was on American asbestos victims. Background: The executives of a few asbestos companies, WR Grace, USG and Owens-Corning, knew that their asbestos factories were killing their workers. When caught and sued, the companies filed for bankruptcy, agreeing to pay almost all their earnings to those dying and injured by their asbestos. But Singer had a better idea. These companies, as you can imagine, were worth next to nothing; and Singer bought Owens-Corning for a song. If he could cut the amount paid to the victims, Singer could boost Corning’s value big time. So, a PR campaign was begun attacking the dying workers, saying they were all faking it. One attacker was a guy named George W. Bush. In January 2005, President Dubya held a televised meeting to promote an “expert” who pronounced that over half a million workers suing Singer’s industry were liars. If workers couldn’t breathe, he said to the grinning President, it wasn’t the fault of asbestos. The “expert” was not a doctor, but notably, his “research” was partly funded by …Paul Singer. And so was Bush. Since the death of Enron’s Ken Lay, Singer and his vulture flock at Elliott International had become the top contributors to the Republican National Committee. It’s hard to measure his largesse exactly because some of that help comes in through the side door. For example, Singer put money behind the “Swift Boat” smear on Bush’s opponent, John Kerry. The legal, political and PR attacks on the dying workers chiseled away the compensation expected to be paid by the asbestos companies, boosting their net worth. Singer then flipped Corning, selling it for a neat billion-dollar profit. It’s legal, it’s brilliant, it’s sick, it’s Singer. One of my favorite Singer scores was his successful scheme to legally loot the Treasury of Peru. The nation’s US lawyer told me, aghast, how Singer let Peru’s rogue President, Alberto Fujimori, flee his nation to avoid murder charges. Singer had seized Fujimori’s get-away plane. The Vulture named his price: One of Fujimori’s last acts as president before he fled was to order his dirt-poor nation to pay Singer $58 million. Why the Billionaires Need to Buy the White House A Koch Industries executive (not knowing he was being taped) said he had asked Charles Koch, who already had a billion from an inheritance, why Koch was pocketing a few bucks a week from poor Indians. Koch told him, “I want my fair share, and that’s all of it.” And “all of it”, of course, includes the White House. Putting Bush in the White House was worth his weight in gold to these gents—more, in fact. And now, the Kochs, Singer and Langone have teamed to pick a candidate they pray can take back their real estate at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The gimme for Langone. Langone’s firm DBT’s “felon” scrub list included only innocent people, so you certainly wouldn’t find the name “Langone” on it. In 2004, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer charged Langone with conspiracy, accusing the billionaire with subverting a stock exchange regulator’s investigation into monkey business by Langone’s investment bank. A technicality ended the civil action on the conspiracy charge. But now, Obama’s new banking and securities reforms, albeit weak, give regulators new enforcement powers and provide an extra independent eye on stock-market shenanigans. For Langone, picking the President means closing the regulatory eye. The gimme for The Kochs. The Koch Brothers, from “The Joker’s Wild” deck of cards by Greg Palast and Bob Grossman. Click here for all cards. FBI man Elroy told our investigators that the Justice Department was going to let the FBI cuff Charles Koch on criminal charges for the theft of the Osage Indian oil. But then, fumes Elroy, Koch’s well-funded buddies, Senators Bob Dole and Don Nickles, stepped in—and Koch walked. No charges. US Senator Dennis DeConcini wanted to know why criminal or civil charges were never brought against the Kochs. That was not a wise question to ask. The Senator told me that the Kochs threatened his political destruction if the Congressional Committee he chaired continued with its investigations of the theft of Native oil. He continued, but his political career did not. During the Clinton Administration, Koch Industries was charged with criminal violations of the Clean Water Act. Under President Bush, the charges, but not the water, were cleaned up. In other words, crime pays—if you get to pick the sheriff. The gimme for Paul Singer. Paul Singer had placed a big bet on the asbestos industry; then, set out to fix the casino, helping install Bush in the White House. That is, he had a President willing to beat up on asbestos workers and push for so-called “tort reform” that undermined these victims’ claims. What the victims lost, Singer gained. But there’s trouble on the horizon for Singer. In 2007, Britain outlawed Singer and all other Vulture speculators in Third World debt from collecting their pound of flesh in the United Kingdom. Other European nations are following suit. Several US Congressmen are pushing a UK-style prohibition on Singer’s activities. (Even Chevron Corporation is complaining about the Vulture attacks. When Chevron calls bankers unscrupulous, they’ve got to be really unscrupulous.) Without a veto pen over Congress, Singer stands to lose hundreds of millions of dollars. Singer plays defense, but is best at offense: To collect on some of his claims against Argentina, his lobbyists have pushed a bill in Congress to put an economic choke-hold on trade with the South American nation. Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton blocked this crazy attack on our ally. As a result, Singer is not a happy gaucho. There will be blood. Obama will have to pay. The gimme for them all. There’s one thing that every billionaire wants: another billion. And that’s threatened by Obama’s plan to tax the “carried interest” tax deferment. Guys like Singer and Langone don’t pay taxes like you and I do. While we pay taxes on income, the profits from vulture speculation and arbitrage are often recorded as “carried interest,” effectively not taxed. It’s a billion-dollar benefit for the billionaires, and every Republican candidate has sworn to keep this loophole open and make sure you and I pay Singers’ taxes for him. Unfortunately for Singer, the Kochs and Langone, the GOP candidates currently kissing the billionaires’ behinds don’t seem electable. So the Billionaire Boys Club prodded Gov. Christie, a bully-boy from Jersey, to muscle his way into the Oval Office. Christie didn’t fly, no surprise. But whether they pick the GOP candidate or retreat to their old tactics of smear-from-the-rear, the fragile thing called democracy stands little chance against the tsunamic powers of the quartet’s combined checkbooks. ***** For more on Greg Palast’s new book, Vultures’ Picnic: in Pursuit of Petroleum Pigs, Power Pirates and High-Finance Predators, a Tale of Oil, Sex, Radiation and Investigative Reporting, go to www.VulturesPicnic.org. Subscribe to Palast’s Newsletter and podcasts. Follow Palast on Facebook and Twitter. GregPalast.comDemographic features of the population of South Korea Population of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 2015. This article is about the demographic features of the population of South Korea, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. In June 2012, South Korea's population reached 50 million.[1] Since the 2000s, South Korea has been struggling with a low birthrate, leading some researchers to suggest that if current population trends hold, the country's population will shrink to approximately 38 million population towards the end of the 21st century.[2] In 2018, fertility in South Korea became again a topic of international debate after only 26,500 babies were born in October and an estimated of 325,000 babies in the year, causing the country to have the lowest birth rate in the world.[3][4][5] By the end of 2016, South Korea's population has surpassed 51 million people.[6] Background [ edit ] In South Korea, a variety of different Asian people had migrated to the Korean Peninsula in past centuries, however few have remain permanent. South Korea and North Korea are among the world's most ethnically homogenous nations. Both North Korea and South Korea equate nationality or citizenship with membership in a single, homogenous ethnic group and politicized notion of "race." The common language and especially race are viewed as important elements by South Koreans in terms of identity, more than citizenship. Population trends [ edit ] Population of South Korea by age and sex (demographic pyramid) as on 1955-09-01 as on 1960-11-01 as on 1965-11-01 as on 1970-10-01 as on 1975-11-01 as on 1980-11-01 as on 1985-11-01 as on 1990-11-01 as on 1995-11-01 as on 2000-11-01 as on 2005-11-01 as on 2010-11-01 as on 2015-11-01 Live births, deaths of South Korea (1925~2016) Crude births, deaths rate of South Korea (1925~2016) According to Worldometers' South Korea Population Forecast statistics, South Korea is supposed to have a.36% yearly change increase by 2020, a.28% yearly change increase by 2025, a.18% yearly change increase by 52,701,817, and a.04% yearly change increase by 2035.[7] According to those same statistics, the years from 2040 to 2050 are supposed to have a steady decline of yearly change percentages.[7] The population of South Korea showed robust growth since the republic's establishment in 1948, and then dramatically slowed down with the effects of its economic growth. In the first official census, taken in 1949, the total population of South Korea was calculated at 20,188,641 people. The 1985 census total was 40,466,577. Population growth was slow, averaging about 1.1% annually during the period from 1949 to 1955, when the population registered at 21.5 million. Growth accelerated between 1955 and 1966 to 29.2 million or an annual average of 2.8%, but declined significantly during the period 1966 to 1985 to an annual average of 1.7%. Thereafter, the annual average growth rate was estimated to be less than 1%, similar to the low growth rates of most industrialized countries and to the target figure set by the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs for the 1990s. As of January 1, 1989, the population of South Korea was estimated to be approximately 42.2 million. The proportion of the total population under fifteen years of age has risen and fallen with the growth rate. In 1955 approximately 41.2% of the population was under fifteen years of age, a percentage that rose to 43.5% in 1966 before falling to 38.3% in 1975, 34.2% in 1980, and 29.9% in 1985. In the past, the large proportion of children relative to the total population put great strains on the country's economy, particularly because substantial resources were invested in education facilities. With the slowdown in the population growth rate and a rise in the median age (from 18.7 years to 21.8 years between 1960 and 1980), the age structure of the population has begun to resemble the columnar pattern typical of developed countries, rather than the pyramidal pattern found in most parts of the Third World. The decline in the population growth rate and in the proportion of people under fifteen years of age after 1966 reflected the success of official and unofficial birth control programs. The government of President Syngman Rhee (1948–60) was conservative in such matters. Although Christian churches initiated a family planning campaign in 1957, it was not until 1962 that the government of Park Chung Hee, alarmed at the way in which the rapidly increasing population was undermining economic growth, began a nationwide family planning program. Other factors that contributed to a slowdown in population growth included urbanization, later marriage ages for both men and women, higher education levels, a greater number of women in the labor force, and better health standards. Public and private agencies involved in family planning included the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Planned Parenthood Federation of Korea, and the Korea Institute of Family Planning. In the late 1980s, their activities included distribution of free birth control devices and information, classes for women on family planning methods, and the granting of special subsidies and privileges (such as low-interest housing loans) to parents who agreed to undergo sterilization. There were 502,000 South Koreans sterilized in 1984, as compared with 426,000 in the previous year.[8] The 1973 Maternal and Child Health Law legalized abortion. In 1983 the government began suspending medical insurance benefits for maternal care for pregnant women with three or more children. It also denied tax deductions for education expenses to parents with two or more children. As in China, cultural attitudes posed problems for family planning programs. A strong preference for sons—who in Korea's traditional Confucian value system are expected to care for their parents in old age and carry on the family name—means that parents with only daughters usually continued to have children until a son is born. The government encouraged married couples to have only one child. This has been a prominent theme in public service advertising, which stresses "have a single child and raise it well." Total fertility rates (the average number of births a woman will have during her lifetime) fell from 6.1 births per female in 1960 to 4.2 in 1970, 2.8 in 1980, and 2.4 in 1984. The number of live births, recorded as 711,810 in 1978, grew to a high of 917,860 in 1982. This development stirred apprehensions among family planning experts of a new "baby boom." By 1986, however, the number of live births had declined to 806,041. Decline in population growth continued, and between 2005 and 2010 total fertility rate for South Korean women was 1.21, one of the world's lowest according to the United Nations.[9] Fertility rate well below the replacement level of 2.1 births per female has triggered a national alarm, with dire predictions of an aging society unable to grow or support its elderly. Recent Korean governments have prioritized the issue on its agenda, promising to enact social reforms that will encourage women to have children. The country's population increased to 46 million by the end of the twentieth century, with growth rates ranging between 0.9% and 1.2%. The population is expected to stabilize (that is, cease to grow) in the year 2023 at around 52.6 million people. In the words of Asiaweek magazine, the "stabilized tally will approximate the number of Filipinos in 1983, but squeezed into less than a third of their [the Philippines'] space." Population settlement patterns [ edit ] South Korea is one of the world's most densely populated countries, with an estimated 425 people per square kilometer in 1989—over sixteen times the average population density of the United States in the late 1980s.[10] By comparison, China had an estimated 114 people, the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) 246 people, and Japan 323 people per square kilometer in the late 1980s.[citation needed] Because about 70% of South Korea's land area is mountainous and the population is concentrated in the lowland areas, actual population densities were in general greater than the average. As early as 1975, it was estimated that the density of South Korea's thirty-five cities, each of which had a population of 50,000 or more inhabitants, was 3,700 people per square kilometer. Because of continued migration to urban areas, the figure was doubtless higher in the late 1980s. In 1988 Seoul had a population density of 17,030 people per square kilometer as compared with 13,816 people per square kilometer in 1980. The second largest city, Busan, had a density of 8,504 people per square kilometer in 1988 as compared with 7,272 people in 1980. Kyonggi Province, which surrounds the capital and contains Inch'on, the country's fourth largest city, was the most densely populated province; Kangwon Province in the northeast was the least densely populated province. According to the government's Economic Planning Board, the population density will be 530 people per square kilometer by 2023, the year the population is expected to stabilize. Rural areas in South Korea consist of agglomerated villages in river valleys and range from a few houses to several hundred.[11] These villages are located in the south that are backed by hills and give strong protection from winter winds.[11] Since 1960, the pace of urbanization in South Korea has hit a considerable decline in population of rural areas and the traditional rural lifestyle has been slowly fading away.[11] Aging population [ edit ] South Korea faces the problem of a rapidly aging population. In fact, the speed of aging in Korea is unprecedented in human history,[12] 18 years to double aging population from 7 – 14% (least number of years),[13] overtaking even Japan. Statistics support this observation, the percentage of elderly aged 65 and above, has sharply risen from 3.3% in 1955 to 10.7% in 2009.[14] The shape of its population has changed from a pyramid in the 1990s, with more young people and fewer old people, to a diamond shape in 2010, with less young people and a large proportion of middle-age individuals.[15] There are several implications and issues associated with an aging population. A rapidly aging population is likely to have several negative implications on the labour force. In particular, experts predict that this might lead to a shrinking of the labour force. As an increasing proportion of people enter their 50s and 60s, they either choose to retire or are forced to retire by their companies. As such, there would be a decrease in the percentage of economically active people in the population. Also, with rapid aging, it is highly likely that there would be an imbalance in the young-old percentage of the workforce. This might lead to a lack of vibrancy and innovation in the labour force, since it is helmed mainly by the middle-age workers. Data shows that while there are fewer young people in society, the percentage of economically active population, made up of people ages 15 – 64, has gone up by 20% from 55.5% to 72.5%.[14] This shows that the labour force is indeed largely made up of middle-aged workers. A possible consequence might be that South Korea would be a less attractive candidate for investment. Investors might decide to relocate to countries like Vietnam and China, where there is an abundance of cheaper, younger labour. If employers were to choose to maintain operations in South Korea, there is a possibility that they might incur higher costs in retraining or upgrading the skills of this group of middle-age workers. On top of that, higher healthcare costs might also be incurred [16] and the government would need to set aside more money to maintain a good healthcare system to cater to the elderly. Due to the very low birth rate, South Korea is predicted to enter a Russian Cross pattern once the large generation born in the 1960s starts to die off, with potentially decades of population decline. Urbanization [ edit ] Like other newly industrializing economies, South Korea experienced rapid growth of urban areas caused by the migration of large numbers of people from the countryside. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Seoul, by far the largest urban settlement, had a population of about 190,000 people. There was a striking contrast with Japan, where Edo (Tokyo) had as many as 1 million inhabitants and the urban population comprised as much as 10% to 15% of the total during the Tokugawa Period (1600–1868). During the closing years of the Choson Dynasty and the first years of Japanese colonial rule, the urban population of Korea was no more than 3% of the total. After 1930, when the Japanese began industrial development on the Korean Peninsula, particularly in the northern provinces adjacent to Manchuria, the urban portion of the population began to grow, reaching 11.6% for all of Korea in 1940. Between 1945 and 1985, the urban population of South Korea grew from 14.5% to 65.4% of the total population. In 1988 the Economic Planning Board estimated that the urban portion of the population will reach 78.3% by the end of the twentieth century. Most of this urban increase was attributable to migration rather than to natural growth of the urban population. Urban birth rates have generally been lower than the national average. The extent of urbanization in South Korea, however, is not fully revealed in these statistics. Urban population was defined in the national census as being restricted to those municipalities with 50,000 or more inhabitants. Although many settlements with fewer than 50,000 inhabitants were satellite towns of Seoul or other large cities or mining communities in northeastern Kangwon Province, which would be considered urban in terms of the living conditions and occupations of the inhabitants, they still were officially classified as rural. The dislocation caused by the Korean War accounted for the rapid increase in urban population during the early 1950s. Hundreds of thousands of refugees, many of them from North Korea, streamed into the cities. During the post-Korean War period, rural people left their ancestral villages in search of greater economic and educational opportunities in the cities. By the late 1960s, migration had become a serious problem, not only because cities were terribly overcrowded, but also because the rural areas were losing the most youthful and productive members of their labor force. In 1970, the Park Chung Hee government launched the Saemaul Undong (New Community Movement) as a rural reconstruction and self-help movement to improve economic conditions in the villages, close the wide gap in income between rural and urban areas, and stem urban migration—as well as to build a political base. Despite a huge amount of government sponsored publicity, especially during the Park era, it was not clear by the late 1980s that the Saemaul undong had achieved its objectives. By that time many, if not most, farming and fishing villages consisted of older persons; relatively few able-bodied men and women remained to work in the fields or to fish. This trend was apparent in government statistics for the 1986–87 period: the proportion of people fifty years old or older living in farming communities grew from 28.7% in 1986 to 30.6% in 1987, while the number of people in their twenties living in farming communities declined from 11.3% to 10.8%. The nationwide percentages for people fifty years old or older and in their twenties were, in 1986, 14.9% and 20.2%, respectively (see Agriculture, ch. 3). In 1985 the largest cities were Seoul (9,645,932 inhabitants), Busan (3,516,807), Daegu (2,030,672), Incheon (1,387,491), Gwangju (906,129), and Daejeon (866,695). According to government statistics, the population of Seoul, one of the world's largest cities, surpassed 10 million people in late 1988. Seoul's average annual population growth rate during the late 1980s was more than 3%. Two-thirds of this growth was attributable to migration rather than to natural increase. Surveys revealed that "new employment or seeking a new job," "job transfer," and "business" were major reasons given by new immigrants for coming to the capital. Other factors cited by immigrants included "education" and "a more convenient area to live." To alleviate overcrowding in Seoul's downtown area, the city government drew up a master plan in the mid-1980s that envisioned the development of four "core zones" by 2000: the original downtown area, Yongdongpo-Yeouido, Yongdong, and Jamsil. Satellite towns also would be established or expanded
Nazism’s destruction," writes British historian and journalist Max Hastings in "Inferno: The World at War, 1939-1945." The Soviet Union paid the harshest price: though the numbers are not exact, an estimated 26 million Soviet citizens died during World War II, including as many as 11 million soldiers. At the same time, the Germans suffered three-quarters of their wartime losses fighting the Red Army. "It was the Western Allies’ extreme good fortune that the Russians, and not themselves, paid almost the entire ‘butcher’s bill’ for [defeating Nazi Germany], accepting 95 per cent of the military casualties of the three major powers of the Grand Alliance," writes Hastings. Moscow will host on Saturday one of Russia's largest ever military parades, marking the 70th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany. This footage show the victory parade on Red Square in 1945. (AFP) The epic battles that eventually rolled back the Nazi advance -- the brutal winter siege of Stalingrad, the clash of thousands of armored vehicles at Kursk (the biggest tank battle in history) -- had no parallel on the Western Front, where the Nazis committed fewer military assets. The savagery on display was also of a different degree than that experienced farther west. Hitler viewed much of what's now Eastern Europe as a site for "lebensraum" -- living space for an expanding German empire and race. What that entailed was the horrifying, systematic attempt to depopulate whole swaths of the continent. This included the wholesale massacre of millions of European Jews, the majority of whom lived outside Germany's pre-war borders to the east. But millions of others were also killed, abused, dispossessed of their lands and left to starve. Russian soldiers are pictured on top of the Reichstag building in this undated photo taken May 1945 in Berlin.(REUTERS/MHM/Georgiy Samsonov/Handout via Reuters) "The Holocaust overshadows German plans that envisioned even more killing. Hitler wanted not only to eradicate the Jews; he wanted also to destroy Poland and the Soviet Union as states, exterminate their ruling classes, and kill tens of millions of Slavs," writes historian Timothy Snyder in "Bloodlands: Europe between Hitler and Stalin." By 1943, the Soviet Union had already lost some 5 million soldiers and two-thirds of its industrial capacity to the Nazi advance. That it was yet able to turn back the German invasion is testament to the courage of the Soviet war effort. But it came at a shocking price. In his memoirs, Eisenhower was appalled by the extent of the carnage: When we flew into Russia, in 1945, I did not see a house standing between the western borders of the country and the area around Moscow. Through this overrun region, Marshal Zhukov told me, so many numbers of women, children and old men had been killed that the Russian Government would never be able to estimate the total. To be sure, as Snyder documents, the Soviet Union under Stalin also had the blood of millions on its hands. In the years preceding World War II, Stalinist purges led to the death and starvation of millions. The horrors were compounded by the Nazi invasion. "In Soviet Ukraine, Soviet Belarus, and the Leningrad district, lands where the Stalinist regime had starved and shot some four million people in the previous eight years, German forces managed to starve and shoot even more in half the time," Snyder writes. He says that between 1933 and 1945 in the "bloodlands" -- the broad sweep of territory on the periphery of the Soviet and Nazi realms -- some 14 million civilians were killed. By some accounts, 60 percent of Soviet households lost a member of their nuclear family. For Russia's neighbors, it's hard to separate the Soviet triumph from the decades of Cold War domination that followed. One can also lament the way the sacrifices of the past inform the muscular Russian nationalism now peddled by Putin and his Kremlin allies. But we shouldn't forget how the Soviets won World War II in Europe. Related on WorldViews How the world is still fighting World War II Russia to unveil state-of-the-art tank The dark side of Winston Churchill's legacyIf you think your student loans are bad, know that it could be far, far worse. Chinese state media reported this week that some online lenders require borrowers to send a nude selfie as collateral. If the They then threaten to post the photo online and send it to their family members if payment isn’t made on time. The practice largely targets female students who need money to pay for college, and in order to get a higher loan than they otherwise would—reportedly two to five times higher than average—these students must pose naked while holding their IDs and then provide information about their family members. This allows the loan sharks to threaten the release of the photos, and with interest rates that reach as high as 30 percent, those threats can lead borrowers to amass further debt. In one instance, reported by Computerworld, a student who took out a naked loan worth 500 yuan (the equivalent of $76), struggled to make payments and, having to pull out further loans, saw her debt balloon to 55,000 yuan ($8,352). The shady scheme appears to have been going on for some time on a lending platform called Jiedaibao, which allows people to make private arrangements to lend or borrow money. And while the company initially told state media that it could not control what lenders asked for as collateral, the recent media exposure may lead to a change in Jiedaibao’s policy. When the Guardian reached out to Jiedaibao on Wednesday, it said they would work with police to investigate the practice the so-called “naked loans.” Still, that may not be enough to put an end to shady loan schemes, as state-funded student loans are hard to come by, leaving millions of people to find a way to pay for school.The prime minister of Slovenia touted the benefits of blockchain earlier this week while highlighting a new government-backed think tank focused on the tech. Prime Minister Miro Cerar was speaking at the Digital Slovenia 2020 gathering on Wednesday when he gave a wide-ranging speech on blockchain. During the remarks, he notably declared that the government “want[s] to position Slovenia as the most recognised blockchain destination in the European Union.” He touted the country’s startup community, and also disclosed that the government is looking at administrative applications of blockchain. Cerar stated: “The regulatory bodies and ministries are already studying blockchain, and the state is participating in activities at European level in the area of the introduction and regulation of this technology. We are also already laying the foundations for the initial pilot testing of the technology in the state administration.” The think tank will likely play a role in these ongoing efforts. The recently inaugurated group – announced on Oct. 3 – will act as a point-of-contact between blockchain developers, industry stakeholders and the Slovenian government, while also coordinating with different companies to create educational materials on the technology. The country’s Ministry of Public Administration is formally backing the effort, which will play a role in developing new regulations around the tech. According to the prime minister, Slovenia is looking to throw its weight behind the tech in a broad way. “Slovenia as a whole is therefore setting itself up as a blockchain-friendly destination, and to that end it is establishing the pillars of a national blockchain ecosystem in the area of the transfer and spread of information, the adoption of legal regulations and the promotion of a supportive environment for the development of companies working in the area of blockchain technology,” Cerar remarked. His remarks closely follow statements from Slovenia’s Financial Stability Board, which said that blockchain innovations “are welcome from the perspective of the development of the country.” In the same release, the board also warned citizens against investing in initial coin offerings and cryptocurrencies, noting that neither are regulated in the country. Image via United Nations/FlickrPosted in Massachusetts by Sophia Here Are The 10 Poorest Cities In Massachusetts Massachusetts is a beautiful place, but economic struggle is definitely a reality in some places. This list of the poorest towns in the state was compiled using data regarding each town’s per capita income (the average income earned per person in a given year), median household income, and poverty level. All data is from the 2009-2013 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. The U.S. Census Bureau determines poverty status based on income, household size and other factors. It must be said that each of the towns on this list are still full of great places to visit and things to do. Were there any surprises on this list? Do you feel the data reflects your own experience? Share and let us know in the comments.Get the biggest daily stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email A young diver from Donaghadee is looking to take another step towards his Olympic dream when he travels to America next month to take part in the Ripfest performance training camp. 12-year-old Logan Black won the Junior Irish National Championship last year, and as a result was selected to represent Ireland at the Tri-Nations, which pitted the best young divers from Ireland, Scotland and Wales against each other. At the camp in Indiana, Logan will be part of a program that was developed by 2008 USA Olympic Head Coach John Wingfield in an attempt to improve his technical ability, and also his psychological and personal development as an athlete. Logan will travel to the States alongside his parents Jonny and Nicole on August 10th, who say they are'so proud' of Logan's achievements. "Logan is an all-rounder when it comes to sports, from no age he has excelled at every sport he has tried, from boxing, football, gymnastics and trampolining to Olympic weightlifting," Nicole told Belfast Live. (Image: @loganblackdives) "Logan started diving recreationally with his dad and brother after swimming lessons and quickly developed a passion for it. We spoke with the diving coach who suggested we bring him along for a taster session, after which he was hooked. "We were not surprised when Logan progressed quickly into the competitive squad, he spent every given opportunity practicing his somersaults on the trampoline at home so he could put them into action on the boards. "We are so proud of Logan and his dedication to the sport. We hope his trip to America will develop as an athlete and help him achieve his ultimate dream of representing his country at an elite standard." Logan is excited about the opportunity to improve his all-round game while in America. "I'm thrilled to get the opportunity to dive in America. I am looking forward to meeting new people and training alongside divers from all over the world," he said. "The thing I am looking forward to most is training in the outdoor pool and getting the chance to dive off the 10m board, for the first time. I hope the coaches can help me perfect my 1.5's in all directions and teach me to add twists to my dives. "I am both excited and nervous, I know the training will be tough but I hope to have a lot of fun too." Logan has been part of Diving Academy Northern Ireland for just under two years, and head coach Joan Dunlop who said Logan is 'a dream to coach'. "Logan is every coaches dream as this young lad not only wants to train and learn he has the drive to be the best, a quality hard to find especially in someone so young," she said. "Outside of his training he has his mum trailed all over north & south of Ireland looking for pools where he can do additional training. Logan's drive and sheer determination is clearly demonstrated through winning many competitions over the last 2 years he continually smashes his personal best. "In his short time in the sport he is showing ability above his years and made it very quickly onto the competitive squad. He certainly is a force to be reckon with. I am super excited for him to get this amazing opportunity to be trained in America by some of the top coaches in the world. "Logan is an absolute pleasure and honour to coach and i see him as family as i know he will be in my life for many more years to come. "When i think of Logan this quote always pops into mind 'Don't limit your challenges' challenge your limits'. I can't wait to see what the future brings for him" If you would like to donate to help fund the expense of all that is involved, you can do so here.It’s hard not to be captivated by bitcoin. So many things about the digital currency are novel and the technology of the block chain is so complex that many who become acquainted with bitcoin eventually end up enthralled. Add in the element of drama that seems to follow bitcoin like a shadow – bankrupt exchanges, arrests, regulatory debate and a polarizing reputation – and the story of this once-esoteric invention becomes even more fascinating. We bitcoiners lead a peculiar lifestyle. As early adopters of an unprecedented technology, we’re arguably a part of history as we help shape this blossoming industry. We learn new things every day and are fueled by the seemingly endless opportunities this technology has created for innovators. On the other hand, living with a bitcoin obsession is often an uphill battle. We’re forced to deal with price volatility, skeptical friends and family, regulatory uncertainty and all the other speed bumps that are par for the course for any new technology. Despite the adversity, the bitcoin community – like the technology – has been impressively resilient. We all have an idiosyncratic passion for bitcoin, and thus we may have more in common than you’d expect. Here are 24 signs you’re obsessed with bitcoin: 1. You check the price within five minutes of waking up 2. Your friends have been forced to sit through your spiels about all the joys of the digital currency 3. You keep a hawk-like eye out for ‘bitcoin accepted here’ signs 4. You’ve rehearsed your speech in defense of bitcoin, just in case you ever run into any skeptics 5. You feel a sense of pride whenever you convince someone to embrace digital currencies 6. You daydream about what life will be like once you can use bitcoin to buy everything you need 7. You double (okay, triple) check all of your wallets on a more-than-consistent basis… just to be sure 8. You’re not fazed by price swings anymore, and ‘bad news’ no longer sets you off in an immediate panic 9. The words ‘Mt Gox’ make you physically cringe 10. /r/bitcoin and bitcointalk.org have become your social networks of choice 11. Whenever bitcoin is brought up, your friends roll their eyes and brace themselves for you to jump into the conversation 12. You go out of your way to shop at Overstock, Newegg, Expedia etc to support their bitcoin business 13. You thoroughly research every new startup to see if they add enough value to earn your support 14. You’ve been to at least one bitcoin conference 15. You scoff at the idea of using Western Union to send money abroad 16. You’ll interrupt someone else’s conversation to correct them if you hear anything inaccurate being said about bitcoin 17. You set aside money every paycheck to buy more bitcoin 18. You’ve bought something you didn’t need simply because you could purchase it with bitcoin 19. You tried out several different wallets/storage methods before settling on your preferred option 20. You’ve done the math to see how economically feasible it would be to set up your own mining rig 21. You felt personally attacked by Leah McGrath Goodman’s exposé on Dorian Nakamoto 22. You’ve tweeted one of your favorite companies to request that it accept bitcoin The @ALSassociation should accept bitcoin donations in memory of Hal Finney, a pioneer affected by the disease cc: @coinbase @bitpay — Tom Sharkey (@tom_sharkey) August 30, 2014 23. You’ve casually tried to inquire with your employer about getting paid in bitcoin 24. You truly believe this technology will change the world Thinking image via ShutterstockDaniel Bernbeck has learned that in Tehran there's no point getting worked up about things like the gridlock between Gholhak, his neighborhood in the northern part of the city, and downtown, where his office is located. Here he is again, stuck in traffic, with everyone honking their horns. Tehran is a murderous city, says Bernbeck, even without international sanctions and threats of attack from Israel. Bernbeck is sitting in a gray SUV. He's a wiry, tall blond man who wears lawyer-like glasses. The only departure from the standard business look is a narrow soul patch on his chin, which suggests a certain degree of individualism. His cell phone rings. Bernbeck's Iranian secretary is on the line. She's expecting him, and the deputy German ambassador has also arrived, along with two investment bankers from London and Hong Kong. They are asking about stock tips for Iran. "Iranian stocks for Hong Kong?" Bernbeck exclaims with a grin, and then says in his best Farsi: "The same bankers would have said a year ago: You're crazy." Then he asks the driver to hurry up, although it doesn't do any good. Bernbeck is the head of the German-Iranian Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Tehran. He paves the way for business ties in a country where Western politicians have been trying for decades to make such relationships impossible, especially since 2006. At the time, the Islamic Republic started to rapidly expand its nuclear program. Intelligence agencies predicted that it would be only a matter of a few years before the Iranians had a nuclear bomb. Arab Gulf states in the region felt threatened, and Israel was determined to go to war with Tehran if a political solution could not be found quickly. For over five years now, Bernbeck, 50, has been living between these two adversarial worlds, more specifically "on the dark side of Mars, where the cannibals and Holocaust deniers live." Bernbeck says that's how Iran is portrayed in the West. Landmark Deal in Geneva But his world has become much brighter since Nov. 24. That was the day when the five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- plus Germany and Iran -- signed a landmark deal in Geneva aimed at turning around the situation within the next six months. According to this agreement, Iran would roll back certain elements of its nuclear program and, in exchange, the West would ease economic sanctions. Bernbeck believes in this possibility for a peace accord. Suddenly it appears to be there, the "chance of a century" that he has been waiting for, although this opportunity could still be dashed, like in 2005. Back then, Iran only had a few centrifuges for enriching uranium, and negotiators were close to reaching an agreement that would have frozen its nuclear program at that level. But then the negotiations faltered and US President George W. Bush refused the deal. Today, eight years later, Iran has over 19,000 centrifuges. So why should things work out now? Perhaps because this time both sides have made concessions on the issue. The Americans have dropped their absolute demand that the Iranians abandon their entire nuclear program. At the same time, Israel's threats of war and, above all, painful international sanctions have forced the Iranians back to the negotiating table. For the past three years, there have been virtually no bank transfers between Iran and the outside world, and revenues from oil and gas sales have plummeted. Only the Chinese are still making purchases, but instead of paying in hard currency they are delivering only bulldozers and construction machinery. Old Revolutionaries Are Skeptical The sanctions have paralyzed Iran's economy. But Mohammed Hossein Rafi is one of the many Iranians who simply don't believe that. In fact, he says, the sanctions have only served to make his proud country even stronger. Rafi ranks among the country's conservatives, the hardliners, the old faithful followers of Ayatollah Khomeini. He is sitting in the Iranian Artists' Cafe, and like most former revolutionaries, he wears his beard neatly trimmed around the chin. He keeps his cashmere coat on during the interview. During the 1970s, he campaigned against the Shah, then fought in the Iraq-Iran war, and later had a long career with an Iranian intelligence agency. Now he is supposedly working at an institute for Islamic standards, which wants to create something akin to Germany's DIN industrial standards. Rafi says that with the international pressure Iran has risen to become a leading country in the area of science and research. It has even discovered an effective AIDS drug, which will soon be presented to the world, he contends. These are just some of the stories that war veterans recount in Tehran. The old revolutionaries take a highly skeptical view of the negotiations with their arch-enemy, the United States. They would prefer to see the negotiators fail. And the Revolutionary Guards' network, which was founded by Ayatollah Khomeini -- and includes Rafi -- still remains one of the most powerful organizations in Iran. Rafi says that he doesn't believe in peace or the current nuclear negotiations: "Obama wants war," he says. Rafi maintains that 50,000 volunteers have already registered as suicide bombers, to be deployed if it should come to an armed conflict. But he refuses to divulge the identity of the organization that has recruited them. Iran's new president, Hassan Rohani -- who the West is hoping has the strength to institute reforms -- will have to incorporate people like Rafi into his new Persia. Indeed, Rohani says that there should be no more "revolutions," but rather an "evolutionary process." It might be possible to win over the war veterans if they can benefit from future business deals, Bernbeck says. Investors Flock to Tehran Rohani needs economic success stories. He has to sweep aside the sanctions but, more importantly, move faster than inflation, which is eating away at the already meager income earned by millions of Iranians. The monthly minimum wage is only 140 ($190). Iranians are suffering under the embargo, and they are not just holding the Americans responsible for this. The price of gasoline has multiplied; milk and cheese now cost three times as much as they did two years ago. But it looks like the nuclear negotiations could spark an economic upswing in Iran. Although none of the sanctions have been lifted, droves of Western business people are already flocking to Tehran. Iran has the world's fourth-largest known oil reserves, and the second-largest gas reserves. Business deals worth billions of euros can be made here. Bernbeck has finally arrived at the underground parking garage. He takes the elevator to the seventh floor, which is the home of the German-Iranian Chamber of Industry and Commerce. He lists the names of all the countries whose business people have already been here -- "except for the Germans again." Bernbeck tells a story that he thinks perfectly illustrates the current situation in Tehran: Not a single top European official came to President Rohani's inauguration, as agreed by the EU member states' representatives in Brussels. But the very next day the government in Rome sent a high-ranking emissary to personally congratulate the new Iranian head of state. Now the planes from Europe are "full of Italians," Bernbeck quips, including managers from Italian energy giant Eni. France is also on the move. In a deal worth billions, the French are about to renew their licensing contract for supplying Peugeot conponents to Iranian carmaker Iran Khodro. "And the Americans are already here with ExxonMobil, Chevron Corporation and other US companies," he says, adding: "They are responsible for renovating the old oil production facilities and refinery industry, as well as exploring new oil fields. That's a huge multibillion-euro business."Tom C. sent us an ad for Google that does an excellent job of resisting the urge to make separate commercials aimed at men and women. In the ad below, a searcher seeks information on masculine-typed and feminine-typed activities, as well as more neutral ones. It leaves open the sex of the searcher. It’s a nice counterpart to the profoundly gendered advertising we see almost everywhere else… and evidence that it doesn’t have to be that way. ————————————- For another example of non-gendered advertising, see this vintage Uniroyal tires ad. In comparison, Hulu sometimes asks whether you want to see ads made “for her” or “for him,” Facebook wants to know what sex you are so as to better sell to you, and Best Buy will just assume you’re a dude,A Baltimore County pilot program meant to crack down on unruly parties in Towson will be extended through 2022. Under the law, first passed by the County Council in early 2016, offenders face fines and community service, while their landlords can be fined and eventually lose their rental license if their tenants are cited for repeated offenses. The “social host” program was scheduled to expire early in 2018. At the council’s meeting Monday in Towson, members voted 7-0 to extend the law another five years. “Our first priority as a County Council is to do whatever is needed to preserve the peace of mind and security of our neighbors,” said Councilman David Marks, a Republican who represents Towson. Marks had proposed the program initially, and also sponsored the bill to extend it. “It is not just a public safety issue, but also a private property rights issue, since disruptive incidents over many years devalue homes and destabilize whole neighborhoods,” he said. Under another change approved Monday, the ordinance now will apply to all areas encompassed by the county police department’s Towson precinct. Previously, a number of neighborhoods were included, but not the entire precinct. Marks said the change was made in response to neighborhoods that wanted to be included under the ordinance, and also to simplify the boundaries. Although originally aimed at Towson University, the law also was applied later to an area near the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. It says gatherings of four or more people can be cited for behavior that causes “substantial disturbance of the peace and quiet enjoyment of private or public property.” In another unanimous vote, the council approved a measure from Councilman Wade Kach, a Cockeysville Republican, to increase fines — from $50 to $130 — for illegal parking on a stretch of Monkton Road near the Gunpowder River. The bill stemmed from complaints about illegal parking by summertime visitors who are in the area for tubing and other recreational activities. Council members also voted 7-0 in favor of a bill sponsored by Councilwoman Cathy Bevins, a Middle River Democrat, that will allow residential use in a manufacturing zone adjacent to White Marsh’s commercial district. “The 2020 master plan identifies White Marsh as one of the largest centers in the county for job creation,” Bevins said. “This bill essentially is going to allow residential to go within the White Marsh town center.” An amendment by Democrats Julian Jones of Woodstock and Vicki Almond of Reisterstown will allow Bevins’ bill to apply to a similarly zoned district in Owings Mills. The council also approved a resolution asking the county health department and other agencies to make recommendations for legislative action “to combat the ever-increasing opioid crisis.” A report is due in six months. CAPTION Towson University students complained to school police officers about a woman approaching them in two campus buildings last week and asking if they were interested in dating her son. Towson University students complained to school police officers about a woman approaching them in two campus buildings last week and asking if they were interested in dating her son. CAPTION Towson University students complained to school police officers about a woman approaching them in two campus buildings last week and asking if they were interested in dating her son. Towson University students complained to school police officers about a woman approaching them in two campus buildings last week and asking if they were interested in dating her son. CAPTION The Baltimore County teachers union rallies about budget issues before the school board meeting. (Kenneth K. Lam, Baltimore Sun video) The Baltimore County teachers union rallies about budget issues before the school board meeting. (Kenneth K. Lam, Baltimore Sun video) CAPTION Turner Station, which dates to the late 1800s, became a thriving, middle-class black community in the mid-20th Century. The neighborhood has struggled with decline in recent years, but some former and current residents are working for a revival. Turner Station, which dates to the late 1800s, became a thriving, middle-class black community in the mid-20th Century. The neighborhood has struggled with decline in recent years, but some former and current residents are working for a revival. CAPTION Baltimore County Interim Schools Superintendent Verletta White announced that she was slashing her proposed operating budget. Baltimore County Interim Schools Superintendent Verletta White announced that she was slashing her proposed operating budget. CAPTION Legal battle between Robin Zoll and the local neighborhood association and Hasidic Jewish organization Chabad over the addition at 14 Aigburth Road in Towson. Legal battle between Robin Zoll and the local neighborhood association and Hasidic Jewish organization Chabad over the addition at 14 Aigburth Road in Towson. [email protected] twitter.com/aliknezMary Elizabeth Williams, of Salon, is upset because of a “sexist” handbook for the Oakland Raiders cheerleaders. Williams writes: In a section of the book about fraternization, it acknowledges, “There have been a few relationships between the two groups that have resulted in a few happy marriages and lovely children,” but goes on to warn, “HOWEVER, we have also had more situations where, quite frankly, the Raider organization and the Raiderettes narrowly escaped ruined reputations.” It goes on to elaborate: “One such example concerns a player who gave Halloween parties every year and many of the Raiderettes attended. This same player was suspended from the team for drug use but also arrested for date rape. For you on the squad who have attended those parties, just think how narrowly you missed having your photo in all the local papers and/or being assaulted.” And/or. Whatever. But mostly, think upon how you might have sullied the team’s good name by getting in the papers. For being raped. Oh and by the way, the definition of date rape is rape. It’s even in the state penal code! But the handbook may be alluding to the late defensive tackle Darrell Russell, who in 2002 was accused, along with two other men, of drugging and raping a woman Russell had been “casually dating.” The case was eventually dropped because it couldn’t be proved beyond reasonable doubt. Here’s the accompanying photo of the cheerleaders: Needless to say, the team itself is heavily black (not that its white players are necessarily safe to be around either) and the cheerleaders predominantly white. With the mostly white Raiderettes, and the mostly black Raiders – and calls for the former to be wary of the latter, it’s a wonder Williams didn’t call the handbook “racist.” As this handbook “scandal” has been making the rounds on the internet, I’m reminded of John Derbyshire’s talk that got him fired from the National Review. This author probably knew better than to mention anything about race; that way, if she found herself the subject of criticism, she could plead the lesser charge of sexism and keep her job.OMAHA, Neb. -- For the second time in the last four games, the top-ranked Creighton men's soccer team used a second-half scoring onslaught to rally to victory. Tuesday night, the Bluejays scored a pair of goals within the final 11 minutes of play to overcome former Missouri Valley Conference rival, Drake, 2-1. With the victory, the Bluejays pushed their record to 11-0-0, the program's best start since 1993. Creighton remains the lone unbeaten and untied team in NCAA Division I. After conceding a goal just 21 seconds prior to intermission, Head Coach Elmar Bolowich and the Bluejays regrouped, outshooting the Bulldogs (7-3-0) by a staggering 21-2 margin in the second half. "I felt like we had the energy and manpower to turn this game around," Bolowich said. "It was just a matter of staying patient. We knew they would pack it in during the second half. It was just about being patient, finding your opportunities, and capitalizing on them." Creighton pushed across the equalizing goal in the 79th minute when Timo Pitter collected his own blocked shot and sent a soaring attempt into the right side of the net. Six minutes later, the Bluejays struck again, this time with Vincent Keller collecting a ball in the box and finding Ricky Lopez-Espin on the left side. Espin gathered the ball in mid-air and sent a fluid, right-footed shot past the outstretched arms of Drake keeper Darrin MacLeod. "Fortunately for us, the ice broke," Bolowich said. "Sometimes you have games where you run out of time. "The guys did a great job of managing on the field. They didn't get rattled and didn't try to play Drake's game. We tried to play our game, and that was very, very important." For the third-consecutive outing, Creighton limited the opposition to fewer than five shots. In their last three victories, the Bluejays have outshot their opponents by a 58-13 margin. The Bluejays have come back from 1-0, second-half deficits to win three separate times this season. Sept. 4, Creighton came back to beat Cal State Northridge, 2-1. The Bluejays scored three unanswered goals Sept. 26 to defeat Seton Hall, scoring all three goals within the final 11 minutes. Creighton will host BIG EAST opponent, St. John's, on Saturday, Oct. 10 at 7:00 p.m. The match will be broadcast on the BIG EAST Digital Network.Image copyright EPA Image caption The new executions were carried out amid tight security in Faisalabad Pakistan has hanged four prisoners, the second set of executions since a death penalty moratorium was lifted after the Peshawar school massacre. The four men were convicted of involvement in a plot to assassinate then President Pervez Musharraf. One of those executed had dual Pakistani-Russian citizenship. On Friday, Pakistan executed two convicts. This followed the Taliban attack on the school that left 141 people - 132 of them children - dead. The Taliban said the raid on 16 December was in revenge for an army offensive in the north-western region near the border with Afghanistan. UN plea The four prisoners were executed in a jail in the central city of Faisalabad on Sunday, amid tight security. The convict with dual Pakistani-Russian nationality was named as Akhlas Akhlaq. Three other men were identified by Pakistan's media as Ghulam Sarwar, Zubair Ahmed and Rashid Tipu. Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement it had tried - but failed - to delay the execution of Akhlas Akhlaq. The failed assassination attempt on Pervez Musharraf took place in 2003. Pakistan imposed a de facto death penalty moratorium in 2008. The new executions come despite calls by the UN not to resume them.Police have revealed that Britain is one of the world’s worst countries for acid attacks, with more than 800 now recorded each year. In the six months to April, more than 400 assaults using acid and other corrosive substances were reported — an average of two a day — but officers say this figure is likely just a fraction of the total number of acid attacks really taking place on Britain’s streets. “The UK now has one of the highest rates of recorded acid and corrosive substance attacks per capita in the world and this number appears to be rising,” reported Assistant Chief Constable Rachel Kearton, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) lead on acid attacks. While the number of attacks reported in Britain now far outstrips official figures for India and other southeast Asian countries where acid throwing has a history of being used as a form of punishment or revenge in family and personal conflicts, Kearton explained that this is partly due to the lack of comprehensive records in these countries. Rising tide of London acid attacks https://t.co/8ycVDfWqb9 — Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) September 24, 2017 “It appears that in 2017 we will again exceed previous records for the number of attacks [but] I strongly feel that this is an under-reported crime at this time,” she told a briefing in London, where she said hospitals are treating far more injuries from corrosive liquids than are being reported to police. “People in a domestic situation who are afraid of reprisals”, and “young gang members who are worried about a comeback if they speak to police” are among the types of victims officers believe are reluctant to come forward about attacks, Kearton said. The assistant chief constable, who is leading research into patterns of acid attacks, said that while cases previously tended to be carried out as incidents of domestic violence, “the trend of escalation appears to be more within males, and they appear to be of a younger age profile, currently showing at 26-35.” Reporting in March on the soaring number of acid attacks taking place in London, the BBC said figures show that the vast majority of cases never reach trial, with around 74 per cent of investigations having had to be wound down since 2014 due to problems with identifying perpetrators, or victims being unwilling to press charges. While such attacks are not confined to any one community in Britain, figures suggest they are concentrated in areas which have been subject to high levels of immigration.Notes From The Recent Seattle Police North Precinct Meeting If you missed the North Precinct Meeting with the Seattle Police on November 8, you are in luck… a Greenlaker sent us his notes to share with the community. The meeting focused on safety and reporting incidents to police. Here’s his notes: Seattle PD is a data driven entity. If we expect attention to crime issues in our neighborhood, we need to report even small incidents such as car prowls, even if nothing is taken. Data determines what activities are allocated police resources. Call 911 even when you are not sure if your call is critical. The 911 operators will transfer you to other resources if your call is not critical, so do not hesitate if you feel you need to make a report. Always answer your door (so it’s obvious someone is home) but never open your door without identifying who is there. Make sure your door’s deadbolt is secured by long screws, not the short, one-inch-long screws often used. Short screws make it easy for someone to kick open a door. It’s easy to back out screws to see how long they are; and replace with long screws if needed. Always lock all windows when you are away. Often it is the unsecured or unlocked second-story window that is accessed by intruders, often employing a neighbor’s or your own easily available ladder. Make sure your house number is visible from the street, especially at night. First responders need to easily identify your
Tin Ear) Sclafani said incredulously about the young. To which another associate replied, “These [expletive] kids—twenty-five, twenty-six years old—will teach you things you could not ever believe.” “You know, I’m computer-phobia,” a DeCavalcante soldier named Lenny replies. “That’s the whole thing,” another says. “In this [expletive] life that we live, every day if you ain’t like a chameleon, if you can’t change, you’re finished.” I thought of this exquisite sampling of the DeCavalcante tapes after reading the riveting serio-comic report in the Washington Post by Adam Entous describing a meeting in June, 2016, on Capitol Hill, at which Republican Party leaders, including House Speaker Paul Ryan and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, gathered to talk business. Let’s not be unfair, much less libelous. It’s not that the members of Congress present were involved in crimes or illegal activity of any kind; no, it’s that they seem so craven, cynical, and, ultimately small-time. They have sunk so low that they are willing to get behind a candidate for whom they clearly have no regard. Because, well, that’s “this [expletive] life that we live.” In the transcript published by the Post, McCarthy speculates that the Russians hacked the Democratic National Committee’s computers and, in the process, discovered whatever opposition-research materials the Democrats had gathered on Trump. “There’s two people I think Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump,” McCarthy said, according to Entous, a superb reporter who heard a tape recording of the colloquy. “Swear to God.” Dana Rohrabacher is a Republican from California with a peculiar amalgam of views: pro-marijuana, dubious about climate change, pro-torture. For this last position, in 2007, Keith Olbermann awarded him his periodic “Worst Person in the World” award, on his old MSNBC show. Like Trump, Rohrabacher has been highly solicitous of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Last year, Politico ran an article on Rohrabacher called “Putin’s Favorite Congressman.” In the Post piece, McCarthy’s remark is met with laughter, and Ryan cautions his colleagues, “This is an off the record... No leaks!... All right?” And then, amid more laughter, Ryan says, “This is how we know we’re a real family here.” “That’s how you know that we’re tight,” Steve Scalise, the House Majority Whip, says. “What’s said in the family stays in the family,” Ryan concludes. Spokesmen for the various parties at first denied that the conversation took place. But when the Post apprised them of the audiotape, they went into an oh-well-it-was-just-a-joke mode. Another participant, Evan McMullin, an ex-C.I.A. operative, who ran for President last year as an independent, confirmed to the Post that the conversation took place. He attended as the policy director of the House Republican Conference. In fairness, Entous makes clear in his report that there was laughter throughout the exchange, and it is entirely possible that McCarthy was not serious at all about his conjectures. And yet the tape and the transcript do deepen the impression of blithe hypocrisy when it comes to the business of electing an obviously erratic man as President. Almost everyone in the room endorsed Trump. McCarthy was so ardent in his support that Trump referred to him as “my Kevin.” Ryan made distancing gestures from time to time, expressing oblique disgust at Trump’s hosannas for Putin and his pussy-grabbing braggadocio, but those faint stirrings of a moral conscience soon passed, and his endorsement of Trump before the nominating Convention and his fealty ever since have been consistent. Ryan—like Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell—could hardly assume a position in immediate opposition to a President of his Party, and the leaders of the Republicans in Congress decided to muffle their misgivings and moments of revulsion in service of their conservative agenda: tax cuts, “repeal and replace,” and a generalized rollback of the Obama years. These men must know that they are still defending the increasingly indefensible: an unstable and incompetent man flailing in the wind. It’s hardly different at the White House. In the West Wing, senior aides have become increasingly disgusted by the behavior of the President, as he spends his days wallowing in fury, self-pity, self-aggrandizement, distraction, defensiveness, and delusion. During the campaign, President Obama routinely called Trump “uniquely unfit” to be Commander-in-Chief; now Trump’s aides (some of them) and Republicans in Congress (some of them) seem to be reaching a similar conclusion. The political question that may matter most is this: At what point will private misgivings tip over into a withdrawal of support and a demand for an end to this prolonged emergency? Meanwhile, Trump has gone from one graduation speech to the next, unloading his grievances at the podium. “You have to put your head down and fight, fight, fight,” he declared to the hopeful young. “Look at the way I’ve been treated lately, especially by the media. No politician in history, and I say with surety, has been treated worse, more unfairly.” Sir Winston could not have said it better. In both reporting and thinking about the avalanche of information about the Trump Administration and its congressional supporters, it is essential to avoid getting ahead of what is known. Jokes–if they were jokes–are not evidence. Theories are not evidence. What’s needed is the deepest and most unprejudiced investigation possible of the campaign and this Presidency’s possible crimes or misdemeanors. Whatever evidence James Comey or Paul Manafort or Carter Page or anyone else has to provide, it must be heard and seen. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has announced that Robert Mueller, the director of the F.B.I. between 2001 and 2013, will be special counsel in the investigation of Russian involvement in the 2016 election. If Mueller, who is widely respected in Washington, can maintain his independence from any meddling, subtle or broad, by the White House, this will count as a step forward. What recent weeks have also made clear is that, outside government, the Fourth Estate has worked hard to put pressure on power, its most essential role. And a large measure of that pressure has been the result of the daily battle between the Times and the revitalized Washington Post. What fresh horror will tomorrow bring?Most atheists I know talk about their “lack” or “rejection” of religion– their active stance against belief in any higher power. But for me, it’s not active at all. For a long time I felt the need to defend my passive atheism against believers and non-believers alike. Believers, of course, accused me of having no moral compass, or pitied me for apparently being too dumb to know what I was missing. In those moments, I could see why people would seek out atheist communities (of which there seem to be more every day). Given that, according to some recent polls, people are more likely to vote for just about any other candidate over an atheist, and about 73% of Americans believe in either Creationism or god-guided evolution, finding a gathering of like-minded people can certainly sound comforting. But as defensive as I’ve gotten with believers, I’ve never actually been tempted to join an atheist group. Partly, that’s because it’s hard to avoid the white men ruining it for the rest of us by using atheism as just another platform for a macho power struggle. Atheism offers no guarantee of other shared ideas or philosophies – and when white male atheist leaders and communities act racist, Islamophobic and misogynistic, I find myself wishing that there were another way to describe my non-beliefs. More to the point, though, I cannot personally see the point in aligning myself with people based on what you don’t believe – and I’ve almost always not-believed this way. When I tell people I don’t believe in any god they often assume it’s out of spite, like the only way you could come to this conclusion is through rebellion, but if it was, then I started young. When I was four or five, we went to visit my great-aunt’s family for Thanksgiving and, as was customary in her house, everyone stood and joined hands to say grace before the meal – a custom I was unfamiliar and unhappy with. So before we could reach the end, I shouted at the top of my lungs “I don’t want to play this game!” Aside from grace at my great-aunt’s, my upbringing had very little religion for me to rebel against. Nobody in my immediate family attended regular religious services of any kind (unless you count the shrine to Shiva my grandmother built in her guest room). My dad worships at the altar of Carl Sagan. Twice over the course of my childhood, my mom’s family asked us to join them at church on Christmas Eve, and both times I remember being thoroughly confused about what Jesus had to do with Santa and presents. Mainly, though, everybody close to me describes themselves as “spiritual” or “non-religious”, and god – or the lack thereof – just isn’t something we talk about. I was, however, raised knowing that religion was something other people had, and something I could have if I wanted. My mom read me some stories from a children’s Bible; I hung out with my Jewish friends on Hanukah; I painted flour-paste flowers on the walkway with my grandmother for Diwali. I took it all in, but it never became something I felt like I needed. Like veganism or Twilight fandom, I get what it does for other people; I just know it isn’t for me. Why do I need to explain something that plays no part in my life, though? I don’t believe in god the same way I’m not from Canada – there’s no explanation, it’s just how things are. And yet much of the mainstream atheist community still defines itself in relation to religion, as if you learn something about a person by knowing what they’re not. I understand the desire to feel like part of a community: that’s what most people turn to religion for in the first place. It wasn’t until relatively recently that I realized that not all believers center their every decision around religion: for them, their religious convictions are something softer to check in with from time to time, not the brash fire-and-brimstone philosophies I saw from those who made religious identity their public faces. For some people, belief is a part of their lives, not the whole of their identity. For me, atheism is similar: my life is bigger than my non-belief. I have the freedom to find my own community of believers and non-believers – of people who share my interests and those who don’t – who I just enjoy for who they are. God, or no-god, has nothing to do with that.Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Cuadrilla shale fracking facility in Lancashire The controversial method for mining natural gas known as fracking might trigger asthma flare-ups, according to a US study. Pennsylvania doctors found patients' asthma was harder to control if they lived near a fracking site, compared with other asthma patients. The findings, in more than 25,000 patients, are not proof of a causal effect. The authors say in the journal JAMA that more safety studies are needed. Fracking Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, involves drilling down miles underground and blasting the shale rock with a high-pressure water mixture to release the natural gas trapped inside. Proponents say it has the potential to be greener, in terms of carbon footprint, than some other energy sources. Critics are worried about the impact on humans and the planet - namely, air and water pollution, earth tremors and potential health risks. Public Health England has looked at the issue in the UK and believes "the risks to public health from exposure to emissions from shale gas extraction are low if operations are properly run and regulated". The US has already pushed ahead with fracking, which is now a big industry. The UK, however, has remained cautious and paused its pursuit following a couple of small earthquakes near a test drilling site in the Blackpool area. US researchers, funded by the National Institutes of Health, set out to study the impact of fracking on the population of Pennsylvania - a region which has seen more than 6,000 shale gas wells drilled in the last decade or more. Using local electronic health records, they identified asthma patients and checked if fracking activity might be linked to disease flare-ups over a six-year period. Asthma triggers A flare-up was defined as mild if the patient needed to be prescribed a steroid inhaler, moderate if they needed to go to the emergency department and severe if they had to be hospitalised for their asthma. The Johns Hopkins researchers looked at the distance the patient lived from an active fracking site, as well as other risk factors, such as whether they lived by a busy road. Patients with asthma in areas with the highest fracking activity - judged on distance, size and activity of the shale gas sites in the locality - had higher risk of asthma flare-ups compared with asthma patients living in places with low fracking activity. The odds of a flare-up was about 1.5 to 4 times higher, but the researchers still do not know why. They believe air pollution from the shale site itself as well as the heavy vehicles needed to build and service these facilities might be to blame, although they don't have any proof. Researcher Sara Rasmussen said: "We need more studies now to explore this theory. Another possible pathway is stress." Asthma can be exacerbated by stress and she says people living in the communities they studied would have had to deal with disruption as the shale gas sites were built. But, again, it's not clear if this would have an impact. Dan Murphy of Asthma UK said: "Asthma is a complex condition affecting one in 11 people in the UK, yet years of research underfunding means it still remains a relative mystery. "While this study suggests that living near fracking industry wells may increase risk of an asthma attack, more research is needed to get a clearer picture of the connection between the two and the impact on people with asthma." Energy In Depth, a campaign body set up by the Independent Petroleum Association of America, said: "The researchers claim this study 'adds to a growing body of evidence tying the fracking industry to health concerns.' "The study - and many others like it - actually doesn't have any evidence to prove causation, while numerous studies that actually provide real evidence that fracking is reducing asthma throughout the US continue to be overlooked." Update 20 July 2016: This story has been updated to include a response from the fracking industry.The Tolkien family is an English family of German origin whose best-known member is J. R. R. Tolkien, Oxford academic and author of the fantasy books The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion. The Tolkien family originated in the East Prussian town Kreuzburg near Königsberg, where the Tolkien name is attested since the 16th century. The verified paternal line of J.R.R. Tolkien starts with Michel Tolkien, born around 1620 in Kreuzburg. Michel's son Christianus Tolkien (1663–1746) was a wealthy miller in Kreuzburg. His son Christian Tolkien (1706–1791) moved from Kreuzburg to nearby Danzig, and his two sons Daniel Gottlieb Tolkien (1747–1813) and Johann (later known as John) Benjamin Tolkien (1752–1819) emigrated to London in the 1770s and became the ancestors of the English family. The family first appears in English records in 1777. In 1792 John Benjamin Tolkien and William Gravell took over the Erdley Norton manufacture in London, which from then on sold clocks and watches under the name Gravell & Tolkien. Daniel Gottlieb obtained British citizenship in 1794, but John Benjamin apparently never became a British citizen. Their German nephew Daniel Gottlieb Bergmann also joined them in London. Johann (John) Benjamin Tolkien, who died in London in 1819, was the 2nd great-grandfather of J.R.R. Tolkien.[1][2] Etymology According to Ryszard Derdziński the Tolkien name is of Low Prussian origin and probably means "son/descendant of Tolk", with Tolk meaning interpreter or negotiator and originating as a nickname.[1][2] A number of other theories on the meaning of the name have been proposed, including that it is derived from the village of Tolkynen in East Prussia.[3][4] J.R.R. Tolkien himself erroneously believed the name to be derived from the German adjective tollkühn, meaning foolhardy.[1][2] Several people with the surname Tolkien or similar spelling, some of them members of the same family as J.R.R. Tolkien, live in northern Germany, but most of them are descendants of recent refugees from East Prussia who fled the Red Army invasion.[1][2] J. R. R. Tolkien's own knowledge of the family history was limited to its 18th century German origin,[5] according to Derdziński in part because he was "early isolated from the family of his prematurely deceased father."[1][2] Notable members J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien CBE (3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English philologist, writer and professor of Oxford University. He was a devout Roman Catholic. Much of Tolkien's published fiction is a connected body of tales, fictional histories, invented languages, and literary essays about an imagined world called Arda, and Middle-earth (derived from the Old English word middangeard, the lands inhabitable by humans) in particular, loosely identified as an "alternative" remote past of our own world. Tolkien applied the word legendarium to the totality of these writings. Most of the "legendarium" was edited and posthumously published by his son Christopher. While Tolkien was preceded by other fantasy authors,[6] his enduringly popular and successful works have had a remarkable influence on the genre.[6][7] Thus he has been popularly identified as the "father of modern fantasy literature",[8] or to be precise, high fantasy.[9] L. Sprague de Camp and others consider him the father of modern fantasy together with sword and sorcery author Robert E. Howard (creator of Conan the Barbarian).[6][10] Arthur Tolkien Arthur Reuel Tolkien (c. 18 February 1857 – 15 February 1896), the father of author J. R. R. Tolkien, was born in Handsworth, Staffordshire, England (now a suburb of Birmingham). He was the eldest child of John Benjamin Tolkien and Mary Jane Stow,[11][12] who had married on 16 February 1856 in All Saints Parish Church, Birmingham, Warwickshire, England. Arthur had 6 siblings: Mabel Tolkien (1858–1937), who married Thomas Evans Mitton; Grace Bindley Tolkien (b. 1861), who married William Charles Mountain; Florence Mary Tolkien (b. 1863), who married Tom Hadley; Marian Esther Tolkien (1866–1934), who married Frederick William Chippendale; Wilfred Henry Tolkien (1870–1938), a stockbroker, who married Katherine Madeleine Green; and Lawrence George H. Tolkien (b. 1873), a life and fire insurance secretary, who married (Emily) Grace McGregor. Arthur's father John had previously been married to Jane Holmwood, with whom he had four children: Emily (b. 1838), Louisa (b. 1840), John Benjamin (b. 1845), and Jane (b. 1846). John Benjamin Tolkien had been a piano teacher and tuner, as well as a music seller, but he had gone bankrupt in 1877, when he was described as "John Benjamin Tolkien, of High-street, Birmingham, in the county of Warwick, Pianoforte and Music Seller".[13] Arthur did not follow his father into the traditional Tolkien trade in pianos, which many of his London cousins also followed; instead he became a bank clerk and ended up moving to Bloemfontein in the Orange Free State (now part of South Africa), where he became manager of the Bloemfontein branch of the Bank of Africa.[14] A furniture shop[15] now occupies the Bradlow's Building on the site where the bank once stood, on the corner of West Burger and Maitland Streets. Arthur was later joined by his fiancée, Mabel Suffield. They were married on 16 April 1891 at the St. George's Cathedral, Cape Town, Cape Colony (later Cape Province, South Africa). Two children: John Ronald Reuel (b. 1892) and Hilary Arthur Reuel (b. 1894) followed, and the family lived next door to the bank. Mabel Tolkien felt the English climate would be better for the boys' health and returned to England with them in 1895. Arthur remained in South Africa, where he died of severe haemorrhage following rheumatic fever, on 15 February 1896, before he had the opportunity to join his family in England. He is buried in President Brand Cemetery, on the corner of Church and Rhodes Avenues, Bloemfontein.[15][dead link] Mabel Tolkien St Peter's Catholic Church, Bromsgrove : grave of Mabel Tolkien (1870–1904) Mabel Tolkien, born Suffield (1870 – 14 November 1904) was the mother of J. R. R. Tolkien. Her parents, John Suffield and Emily Jane Sparrow, lived in Stirling Road, Birmingham and owned a shop in the city centre. The Suffield family had a business in a building called Lamb House since 1812. From 1812 William Suffield ran a book and stationery shop there; Tolkien's great-grandfather, also John Suffield, was there from 1826 with a drapery and hosiery business.[16] Her husband Arthur Tolkien's death in South Africa in 1896 left her and their two young sons without a source of income.[17] At first, they lived with her parents in Birmingham, then moved to Sarehole (now in Hall Green), then a Worcestershire village, later annexed to Birmingham.[18] Mabel tutored her two sons, and J. R. R. (or Ronald, as he was known in the family) was a keen pupil.[19] She taught him a great deal of botany, and she awakened in her son the enjoyment of the look and feel of plants. But his favourite lessons were those concerning languages, and his mother taught him the rudiments of Latin very early.[20] She also taught him how to write, and her ornate script influenced her son's handwriting in his later life.[21] Mabel Tolkien converted to Roman Catholicism in 1900 despite vehement protests by her Baptist family[22] who then stopped all financial assistance to her. She died of acute complications of diabetes in 1904 (at about 34 years of age, about as long as a person with diabetes mellitus type 1 could live with no treatment – insulin was not discovered until two decades later), when Tolkien was twelve, at Fern Cottage in Rednal, which they were then renting. For the rest of his life Tolkien felt that she had become a martyr for her faith, which had a profound effect on his own Catholic beliefs.[23] Edith Tolkien Edith Mary Tolkien, born Bratt (21 January 1889 – 29 November 1971) was the wife of J. R. R. Tolkien. She served as the inspiration for his fictional character Lúthien Tinúviel, an Elven princess and the most beautiful of all the Children of Ilúvatar (the name of God in Tolkien's fiction). Bratt first met Tolkien in 1908, when they lived in the same boarding house. Both were orphans. The two fell in love, despite Bratt being Tolkien's senior by three years. Before the end of 1909 the relationship became known to Tolkien's guardian, Father Francis Xavier Morgan, who forbade Tolkien to see Bratt until he was 21.[24] With one exception, Tolkien obeyed this instruction to the letter while Father Morgan's guardianship lasted. They were married in 1916. The couple are buried side by side in Wolvercote Cemetery, Oxford; below the names on their grave are the names Beren and Lúthien: in Tolkien's legendarium, Lúthien and the Man Beren were lovers separated for a time by Lúthien's father King Thingol. Hilary Tolkien Hilary Arthur Reuel Tolkien, (17 February 1894 – 1976) the younger brother of J. R. R. Tolkien, was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa. The climate did not suit the young J.R.R. Tolkien and his mother took both her sons to visit her parents in Kings Heath in Birmingham. When her husband died in 1896 she decided to stay back in England with her sons. They moved to Sarehole, a village then outside Birmingham, in 1896. As a child, J.R.R. Tolkien used to tell stories to his younger brother Hilary, making ogres out of the adult people in the village. Ronald nicknamed the flour-coated miller's son in the nearby Sarehole Mill The White Ogre. A farmer who used to terrorise children intruding on his land was nicknamed as the Black Ogre. He once chased Ronald for plucking mushrooms from his farm. Hilary wrote the stories, letters and reminiscences of past times in a notebook during his twilight years. The contents of the notebook were published as a book titled Black & White Ogre Country: The Lost Tales of Hilary Tolkien in 2009. In 1902, the family moved to 26 Oliver Road in Edgbaston, Birmingham and later they both joined St. Philip's School in Birmingham. However, they soon left the school and their mother started teaching them at home. In 1904, both brothers contracted measles and whooping cough. Owing to the poor condition of their house on Oliver Road, Hilary also contracted pneumonia. When their mother became ill with diabetes, Ronald was sent to live with his aunt Jane's fiancé and future husband Edwin Neave. Hilary was sent to stay with his maternal grandparents, the Suffields. After the death of their mother they were raised by Fr Francis Morgan. Hilary later passed an entrance examination and joined King Edward's School in 1905 where his elder brother also studied. Hilary left school in 1910 and later helped his aunt Jane Neave run Phoenix Farm in the village of Gedling in Nottinghamshire. Hilary, his brother, aunt Jane and members of the Brookes-Smith family made a trip to Switzerland in the summer of 1911. In late September 1914, J. R. R. Tolkien stayed with his aunt and brother at the farm for a few days. In 1914 during World War I, Hilary enlisted in the British Army with the Royal Warwickshire Regiment as a bugler and was wounded in 1916. After his military service, Hilary returned to Gedling and, in 1922, bought an orchard and market garden near Evesham, ancestral town of his mother's family. In 1923, J.R.R. Tolkien along with his wife and children went to stay with Hilary for a while. A few months before his death, he visited Hilary in Evesham. Hilary married Magdalen Matthews in 1928. They had three children. The first son, Gabriel, was born in 1931, the second son, Julian, in 1935, and the third son, Paul, in 1938.[25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33] John Francis Reuel Tolkien John Francis Reuel Tolkien (1917–2003) was the eldest son of J. R. R. Tolkien. He was born in Cheltenham on 16 November 1917. He was educated at the Dragon School, Oxford and The Oratory School in Caversham, Berkshire where in his final year he decided to become a priest. On the advice of the Archbishop he decided to go to college to study English and joined Exeter College, Oxford from where he received his B.A. degree in 1939. In November 1939, he went to the English College, Rome to train as a priest. Due to the outbreak of World War II, the college was moved to Stonyhurst in Lancashire where John trained as a priest during the war. He was ordained as a priest at St John and Augustine Church in North Oxford. His first position was as a curate from 1946 to 1950 at the St Mary and St Benedict Church in Coventry where he taught weekly classes to 60 children and organized the building of church schools. From 1950 to 1957, he was a curate at the English Martyrs Church in Sparkhill, Birmingham. Thereafter he moved to North Staffordshire, where he was the chaplain of University College of North Staffordshire, now Keele University and at two grammar schools, St Joseph's College, Trent Vale and St Dominic’s High School, Hartshill. He was parish priest at Knutton Roman Catholic Church from 1957 to 1966. In 1966, he became the parish priest at Our Lady of the Angels and St Peter in Chains Church, Stoke-on-Trent. He held the position until 1987 and there oversaw the building of a new school. He was chairman of governors at Bishop Bright School, chaplain to the North Staffordshire Catholic Teachers Association and area chaplain to the Young Christian Students. He moved back to Oxford in 1987, settling in Eynsham where he was the parish priest at St. Peter's Catholic Church till his retirement in 1994. Father Tolkien also served in parishes in Oxford, Birmingham, and Warwickshire.[34][35][36][37] In 1987, he and his sister Priscilla began identifying the large collection of family photographs. In 1992, they released a book titled The Tolkien Family Album containing photographs and memories of the Tolkien family and giving an account of their father's life to celebrate the centenary birth anniversary of J. R. R. Tolkien.[34][35] Michael Hilary R. Tolkien Michael Hilary Reuel Tolkien (22 October 1920 – 27 February 1984) was a British teacher. He was J. R. R. Tolkien's second son and was named after J. R. R. Tolkien's brother Hilary. When young Michael lost his toy dog and became sad about this, his father began to write the story of Roverandom to comfort him. Michael's fear of spiders was J. R. R. Tolkien's inspiration for the encounter of Bilbo Baggins and the spiders of Mirkwood in The Hobbit.[38] Michael also used to own a Dutch doll which became an inspiration for Tom Bombadil.[39] In 1939, Michael volunteered for the British Army but he was told to continue his university studies. He studied history at Trinity College, Oxford. In 1941, Michael Hilary Tolkien served in an anti-aircraft role during the Battle of Britain for which he was awarded the George Medal.[40] He met a nurse named Joan Audrey Griffith (1916–1982) whom he married the same year.[41] Later in World War II, he served as an anti-aircraft gunner in France and Germany. In 1944, he returned to Trinity College and finished his studies. He graduated in Modern History in 1945.[38] From 1947 until the 1970s he worked as a teacher at various Catholic schools in Britain.[38] In 1973, Michael Tolkien published an article about his father in The Sunday Telegraph: "J. R. R. Tolkien – The Wizard Father".[42] Michael and his wife Joan had three children: Michael George Reuel (b. 1943), Joan Anne (b. 1945) and Judith (b. 1951). Royd Tolkien is the son of Michael's daughter Joan. Michael Hilary Reuel Tolkien died in 1984 from leukemia.[38] Christopher Tolkien Christopher John Reuel Tolkien (born 21 November 1924) is the youngest son of J. R. R. and Edith Tolkien. He is best known as his father's literary executor; he is the editor of much of his father's posthumously published work. The Fall of Gondolin is the latest example of his editorial work, published on 30 August 2018.[43] During the Second World War he served in the RAF as a pilot. After the war, he followed in his father's footsteps, becoming a lecturer and tutor in English Language at New College, Oxford from 1964 to 1975. In 2001, he received some attention for his stance on New Line Cinema's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, directed by Peter Jackson. It was reported that he had had a falling out with his son Simon over the appropriateness of a film adaptation.[44] Responding to these reports, he said he felt The Lord of the Rings was "peculiarly unsuitable for transformation into visual dramatic form". However, this was just his opinion, he stressed; he said he did not disapprove of the movies, definitely not "to the point of thinking ill" of those with whom he might disagree.[45][46] Christopher Tolkien has been married twice. He currently lives in France with his second wife, Baillie Tolkien. Faith Faulconbridge Faith Tully Lilly Faulconbridge was the first wife of Christopher Tolkien, whom she married[47] on 2 April 1951. Their son Simon was born in 1959.[48] She produced a bust of J. R. R. Tolkien that is displayed in the English Faculty Library at Oxford University.[47] She was born in 1928 to F. T. Faulconbridge, whom J. R. R. Tolkien knew as a fellow student from King Edward's School, Birmingham. She received her B.A. degree from St Anne's College, Oxford in 1950 and later studied sculpture-making from Oxford Art School. She was initially known for portrait heads in bronze, some of which she presented in the Royal Academy in 1958. She made a bust of her father-in-law which the English faculty at Oxford presented to him on his retirement in 1959. He had it cast in bronze and in 1966 it was placed at the English Faculty Library. Her other subjects included Iris Murdoch and C. S. Lewis. She separated from Christopher in 1964[48] and divorced from him in 1967.[47] In 1958, she produced a seated Madonna and Child for the Catholic Chaplaincy at Birmingham University. In the early 1980s she returned to religious themes, including working for the Corpus Christi Church in Headington, Oxford and the Church of the Sacred Heart in Sutton Coldfield. She died on 24 October 2017.[49] Baillie Tolkien Baillie Tolkien (née Klass) is the second wife of Christopher Tolkien. She was born in Winnipeg on 10 December 1941 to Dr. Alan Klass and his wife Helen. Alan Klass (1907–2000) was a surgeon and a distinguished member of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Manitoba. Baillie attended McGill University and the University of Manitoba from which Baillie received her B.A. in 1962. She received her M.A. from St Hilda's College, Oxford in 1964. Her first husband was Brian Knapheis, a Rhodes Scholar from Winnipeg, to whom she was briefly married. While as Baillie Knapheis, she worked as a secretary, first to J.R.R. Tolkien and then to Isaiah Berlin. She married Christopher Tolkien on 18 September 1967. She has two children with Christopher. Their son Adam Reuel Tolkien was born in 1969, and their daughter Rachel Clare Reuel Tolkien was born in 1971. After the death of J.R.R. Tolkien, his letters written to his children were edited by Baillie for publication. The contents of the book were released in a 1976 book titled The Father Christmas Letters, in which Baillie is credited as the editor. In the 1976–77 exhibition of paintings held at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford and afterwards at the National Book League in London, Baillie contributed a short introduction to the catalogue.[50] Priscilla Tolkien Priscilla Mary Anne Reuel Tolkien (born 18 June 1929[51]) is the fourth and youngest child of J. R. R. Tolkien, and his only daughter. Priscilla had long been hoped for, and was born to Tolkien and his wife in their house at 22 Northmoor Road in Oxford shortly before the couple moved into their new one at 20 Northmoor Road in 1930.[52] She took an active part in production of The Lord of the Rings by typing out some early chapters for her father at the age of fourteen. She completed her B.A. degree in English at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford in 1951.[51] The initial name of Frodo Baggins in the fourth draft of The Lord of the Rings was Bingo Bolger-Baggins which was named after a family of toy bears owned by Priscilla.[53] She accompanied her father to a two-week holiday in Italy from late July to mid-August 1955.[51] After that, she started living in the further side of the Oxford city from her parents house but still saw them frequently and started working as a probation officer in the city.[54] She was also a social worker.[51] Tolkien wrote his last letter to Priscilla in August, 1973.[55] She is the honorary vice-president of the Tolkien Society.[56] She wrote an article titled My Father the Artist in December, 1976 for Amon Hen, the bulletin of the Tolkien Society.[57] After her eldest brother John returned to Oxford in 1987, the siblings began identifying and cataloging the large collection of family photographs. In 1992, she and John published the book The Tolkien Family Album containing pictures of the Tolkien family to celebrate the 100th birth anniversary of their father. The same year she unveiled a plaque at the Anglican Cathedral of St. Andrew and St. Michael commemorating the centenary birth anniversary celebrations of her father at his birthplace of Bloemfontein, South Africa.[
side, and there’s a solitary tachometer installed in front of the driver. Bill Shaw Racing ran the Camaro in the 1970 season with former champion Roy Pierpoint at the wheel, Martin Thomas went on to campaign the car successfully for the 1971 to 1973 seasons, including the legendary appearance at Crystal Palace in ’71. After its retirement from racing at the end of the 1973 season, however Martin kept the car, and in the early 1990s he decided to rebuild it. He would keep the car until 2004 when it was sold on to the current owner who used it to compete in the Heritage Grand Touring Cars series, as well as Classic Sports Car Club events, and a number of demonstrations including the two BBC appearances mentioned above. It’s now being offered for auction via Silverstone Auctions at their upcoming Race Retro Competition Car Sale due to be held on the 24th of February in Coventry, England. If you’d like to read more about the car or register to bid you can click here to visit the official listing or click here to view the race.The Trouble with Trademarks Copyright was bad enough. Now this more strict and poorly-understood system of protecting intellectual property is freaking out the internet. Hank Green Blocked Unblock Follow Following Jan 31, 2016 I got my first trademark in 2005: “EcoGeek.” It was the name of a blog that had become my job. I had a dream of turning it into a big business. After spending a huge amount of time and money attempting to “protect” that trademark, I let it lapse. It was still 2005. Intel used my logo on some of their packaging, they never even apologized! But really want I wanted to protect against was other websites starting up blogs called “EcoGeek” which I was also unable to protect against. No one really knows how trademarks work. I don’t mean, “Come along with me on this journey and you will be one of the righteous few who truly understands!” I mean, no one really understands how trademarks work. That’s why lawyers spend so much time (and make so much money) arguing about them in courts. The basic idea is that I shouldn’t be able to start a business called Burger King and use Burger King’s logo and serve Whoppers in BK-branded boxes. That would be confusing to customers and damaging to Burger King. This is pretty cut and dried. Burger King has trademarked the name Burger King (and also the name Whopper) and no one else can use them. But wait, what about Whoppers!? Notice that “The Original Malted Milk Balls” has a TM and “Whoppers” has an R? Guess what, THEY’RE BOTH TRADEMARKS and THERE IS A DIFFERENCE and it’s WEIRD and NOT WORTH GETTING INTO. Turns out you only get to trademark for specific uses. Candy Whoppers have their candy trademark and Burger Whoppers have their burger trademark (there’s also a casino game called “Bingo Whopper” with a live “Whopper” trademark, if you’re curious.) Copyright and Trademark are completely different things. Copyright prevents anyone from copying this article and posting it somewhere else. Copyright happens instantaneously the moment I write something down that is unique and from my brain. Trademarks are far more restrictive. They prevent you from using words or phrases at all in certain circumstances. Trademarks are all about consumers being able to recognize the source of a product and, as such, there are words and phrases that simply cannot be used in certain circumstances by anyone except the trademark holder. Copyright is like, just don’t copy exactly what someone else said or created. Trademark is like, “YOU CAN’T EVEN USE THIS WORD GO AWAY.” A Good Example You may have seen attractive tan people at Wholefoods sporting the slogan “Life is Good” on their t-shirt. Well, remarkably enough, in 1994, a company managed to get the apparel trademark for “Life is Good.” This means that, if I wrote the phrase “Life is Good” in Sharpie™ on a t-shirt and started selling them on Etsy™, those heroes of social good (and monsters of intellectual property) could sue me. LG, the Korean electronics company, has trademarked “Life’s Good” for use in electronics as well. SO BE CAREFUL WHEN TALKING ABOUT HOW GOOD LIFE IS YOU GUYS! Not only that, but technically they would need to sue me. If your mark starts to be used by others, eventually public perception no longer aligns your product with the mark. Once that happens, it becomes difficult to legally protect your trademark and one of your most valuable assets could vanish. This is why trademarks are expensive and why you occasionally hear about a giant corporation suing some midwestern mom. They have to protect their trademark or risk losing a thing they have paid huge amounts of money to create and maintain. The internet has made all of this even more complicated. My brother and I semi-coined a phrase back in 2007, “Don’t Forget to be Awesome.” We use it as a sign-off in our videos and our merchandise is sold through DFTBA.com. We made a decision early on that we couldn’t trademark DFTBA or “Don’t Forget to be Awesome” for use on apparel because then we would have to enforce it against Urban Outfitters and fans equally. If we sued every big company that’s sold something with “Don’t Forget to be Awesome” on it, their lawyers would just point to the scads of fan-made stuff and say “They aren’t protecting their trademark” and we’d lose the case. This is the video in which my brother discusses all of the people who we don’t like who have used our catch phrase and why we let them do it anyway. There’s also just the VOLUME of stuff. There is so much more commercial content in the world now that protecting trademarks has become a very weird and subjective game. Putting a trademark in the title of a movie or song, for example, is the kind of thing you want to avoid. The TMBG song “AKA Driver” was going to be called “Hey NyQuil Driver” until their lawyer advised them against it. But now every YouTube video has a title! And most YouTube videos could legally be considered named, commercial products. Does Vick’s have to go through and take down every video that has “NyQuil” in the title? No, obviously not. But could they? Maybe! NO ONE KNOWS! Recently, filmmaker Devin Graham had a video removed from his extremely popular YouTube channel because the title was “People Are Awesome” which turns out to be trademarked by Jukin Media (a company that mostly licenses viral videos.) Jukin routinely goes through YouTube and removes videos that have “People Are Awesome” in the title. This is the first time in all of my paying attention to YouTube that I’ve seen the phrase “Video Removed: Trademark Issue.” Jukin later apologized for not reaching out to Devin before taking the video down. Now, The Fine Brothers have trademarked the “React” for use in online video as part of a plan to grow their extremely successful format internationally. This is a perfectly normal thing for a media company to do if the USPTO allows it (and they have). They have a brand, it’s their’s, you could easily argue that, since “Kids React” morphed into a dozen other “React” shows on YouTube.com/React, so The Fines could trademark “React.” The Fine Brothers announcing a licensing program basically franchising out their “React” format has been met with a mix of confusion and the kind of vitriolic animosity that only the comments section could muster. The internet has not been so forgiving. The above video has about 170,000 downvotes and a lot of comments that unsurprisingly misunderstand how trademark and copyright work and what the Fines are actually planning to do. From my perspective, this could actually be a very cool project if it could be divorced from the idea of two very powerful creators attempting to control a very popular YouTube video format. Franchising one of YouTube’s biggest shows? Yeah, I’d love to see how that goes. But the question becomes…what are the Fines going to do with their trademark? Certainly they won’t take down every video on YouTube with the word “React” in it. I’m sure they would take down videos with “Kids React” in the title, but what about something that takes the form of their show and title but adds in a new element like “Dogs React” or “Bros React.” Would they take that down? How close does it have to be to infringe? Would they need to take videos down in order to protect their trademark? It likely depends on which lawyer they asked because, as I said before, no one really understands trademark. The internet has taken a solid 10 years to even start figuring out what copyright might look like in an era where everyone’s a creator. And with Facebook still not protecting against freebooting and YouTube having no good system for protecting fair use, we’re still a ways away. Add trademarks into the bag and, I mean, yikes. The initial salvos have been fired and the trademark holders are the ones that are coming out looking bad. But a bunch of laws designed for a different era are on their side, so we will have to wait and see. CORRECTION: An early version of this article said the Fine Brothers were seeking to register “React” as a trademark. In fact, they have registered that trademark and it is currently live.[Update as of November 11, 2012: After this story was posted, it became uncertain whether the restaurant's new owners would sign a contract with the organized workers of Hot and Crusty. Tense negotiations went on for weeks, and ended on October 26 with a collective bargaining agreement that provides paid vacation and sick leave, wage increases, seniority, and other benefits.] Just weeks before the Occupy movement celebrated its first birthday on Wall Street, low-wage immigrant workers at a Manhattan bagel shop proved that Occupy tactics can make a difference on Main Street, too. Prompted by below-minimum wages, verbal and sexual harassment, and unsafe working conditions, the workers at a midtown branch of the bakery chain Hot and Crusty voted to unionize in mid-May. When the chain’s owner shut down the store in retaliation on August 31, the workers didn’t leave their workplace quietly. Instead, they and their supporters occupied it. When the chain’s owner shut down the store in retaliation on August 31, the workers didn’t leave their workplace quietly. Instead, they and their supporters occupied it. The occupation lasted for about two and a half hours before the police arrived and arrested six members of Occupy Wall Street, who refused to leave in a show of solidarity. But the workers and their allies had made their point. “That kind of action made the company think about it,” said Mahoma López Garfias, who has worked at Hot and Crusty for seven years and was one of the key organizers. “They had to have an agreement with the workers.” A week and a day later, the workers announced a tentative agreement with a new owner: he would reopen the store, rehire the workers, negotiate with the union, and give the union control over hiring new workers. That’s not to say they all lived happily ever after. The building’s landlord is currently hedging on whether or not he will lease the space to the prospective new owner or to another business. But the agreement still stands as a remarkable victory amidst a decade of labor defeats. Raising Support in the Neighborhood Workers and supporters affirmed that direct action and creative tactics helped them win. In addition to the occupation, workers maintained a daily picket line and set up a “Worker Justice Café” on the sidewalk beside the shuttered restaurant. The café, in particular, helped generate support in the surrounding community, according to Diego Ibañez, a member of the Occupy Wall Street Immigrant Worker Justice group, which has been involved in the campaign since last November. Once the “symbolism of the counter” was removed, he said, customers began relating to the workers as friends, rather than as food servers. In addition to the occupation, workers maintained a daily picket line and set up a “Worker Justice Café” on the sidewalk beside the shuttered restaurant. Community awareness helped put pressure on the store’s then-owner, Mark Samson, who lived in the neighborhood. It wasn’t Samson who finally signed the deal, however. A businessman named Anthony Illuzzi stepped up to take over ownership of the store. Illuzzi said he’d been in the food business for 30 years and had found out about the labor strife through someone invested both in Hot and Crusty and one of Illuzzi’s other ventures. Where Samson saw a nuisance, Illuzzi saw opportunity. “[Hot and Crusty] interests me because it’s a pillar of the community,” he said. Workers Organizing Themselves The Hot and Crusty struggle has many lessons to teach the labor movement, the first being that it’s not enough to rely on the legal bureaucracy. Through the LWC, Hot and Crusty workers found out about Occupy Wall Street’s Immigrant Justice Group and began attending meetings, building lasting relationships. López Garfias explained that he and his coworkers initially sought help from the Labor Department, but never got a response. Then one of their coworkers, who had a second job at a laundromat, told them about the Laundry Workers Center (LCW), a group formed to address the needs of the city’s largely underpaid and unorganized laundry workers. The LWC, which is itself little over a year old, has clear ideas about who and how to organize. “Who,” said Nastaran Mohit, the LCW's Mass Media Coordinator and Community Organizer, is “low-wage immigrant workers.” “How” is by training workers “to become organizers themselves,” as opposed to the top-down organizing model favored by more established unions. The Hot and Crusty struggle and the LWC grew together. A group from Hot and Crusty was the first to attend the LWC’s Leadership Institute. As that first group shared their new skills and knowledge with their coworkers, more workers shed their fear and stepped forward to attend and organize. Through the LWC, Hot and Crusty workers found out about Occupy Wall Street’s Immigrant Justice Group and began attending meetings, building lasting relationships. “They met people in Occupy who became connected to their story and their struggle and wanted to come out and support them,” Mohit said. The workers went public with their campaign on January 21, when they marched to the restaurant with 50 supporters and presented their manager with a list of demands. Before the unionization vote, they kept up the pressure by leafleting, even as they helped plan Occupy Wall Street’s May Day demonstrations In addition to building connections in the present, the Hot and Crusty workers have fought to build a foundation for future solidarity. The workers, many of whom are undocumented, turned down a deal that would have required new hires to show U.S. work permits. At a time when many unions are accepting contracts that offer significantly reduced benefits to new members, the workers’ decision is an important example. “One of the most radical things,” Ibañez said, “is that they’re not discriminating against the future labor force.” Less Brand, More Tactic But if the Hot and Crusty struggle has lessons to teach the traditional labor movement, it has just as much to teach Occupy as a whole. It suggests that the future of the movement lies less in symbolic protests on Wall Street and more in challenging policies in marginalized communities through radical networks and actions. Occupy Your Victories Rebecca Solnit provides an inspiring panorama of triumphs that Occupiers helped achieve in just one short year. “If Occupy’s going to survive it needs to start plugging into these very real struggles in the city,” Mohit said, adding that the Hot and Crusty struggle was an “example of a successful community campaign where Occupy plugged in, in all the best ways.” Ibañez argued that this struggle, like the rent strike in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, and anti-foreclosure actions in Chicago, “redefined what occupation meant. Rather than a brand, it became a verb.” It seems like an opportune time for such a transformation because the power of Occupy as a brand is fading. During its first months, the movement captured national attention through dramatic actions in high-profile locations like the Brooklyn Bridge or the Oakland ports. Know Your Meme listed it as one of their “Best Memes of 2011.” But now that police have smashed the encampments, pundits feel confident calling Occupy “a Frenzy that Fizzled.” Meanwhile, people like the workers at Hot and Crusty are literally occupying to fight injustice. Their struggles and successes show the movement of the 99 % a way forward. Interested? A tough economy makes cross-race organizing more important than ever. Occupy participant Marina Sitrin offers her take on the May Day actions in New York. How Americans across professions, religions, and states are uniting in opposition to Wisconsin’s anti-union bill and creating a movement.The Canadian Press OTTAWA -- Those feeling anxious about the future relationship between the United Kingdom and the rest of the world could use a little predictability, and both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and British Prime Minister Theresa May say Canada can help. The two countries are working towards a new bilateral free trade deal to take effect after the U.K. achieves its so-called Brexit from the European Union, the two world leaders revealed Monday after a morning of meetings in Ottawa. What's more, they said, the template for that deal would be the long-heralded Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement, or CETA, between Canada and the EU that comes largely into effect this week. "There is no question that CETA, which eliminates well over 90 per cent of all barriers to trade between Canada and the European Union... will make an excellent basis for ensuring a smooth transition in a post-Brexit world," Trudeau told a joint news conference. "After that, there will obviously be opportunities for us to look at particular details that could be improved upon for the specific needs and opportunities in the bilateral relationship between the U.K. and Canada. "But as a strong basis for a smooth transition, CETA is perfectly designed, and will be able to ensure -- for investors, for companies and for workers and consumers -- a smooth transition." The British prime minister agreed that using the Canada-EU agreement as the basis for a forthcoming new bilateral deal makes sense for everyone. "We want to ensure that for businesses and individuals, that there is as smooth a changeover, when the United Kingdom leaves the European Union, as possible; we want to see as little disruption to economies and to people's lives," said May. "That's why we believe it makes sense to take the trade agreement -- which the U.K. is part of, it's part of the European Union -- with Canada, and say that that is the basis at that point at which we leave for a bilateral relationship with the U.K. and Canada." May said she has already discussed the approach with the European Union. The Canada-EU trade deal took seven years to come together -- including some tense eleventh-hour negotiations with Wallonia, a tiny region of Belgium that ended up holding a deal-killing veto over the pact -- but Trudeau suggested things would move more quickly this time. "Within the European Union, the U.K. is the largest trading partner that Canada has, so the U.K. was deeply involved throughout those negotiations towards CETA, obviously, over the past seven years," Trudeau said. "It will form the basis for the way we move forward in a post-Brexit Europe." May also spoke of working "swiftly." The U.K. is Canada's fifth-largest merchandise trade partner, amounting to more than $25.3 billion in both directions last year. The trade deal, however, was not the only headline-making development out of May's first official visit with Trudeau, who took the opportunity to ramp up his government's fight with U.S. aerospace giant Boeing. The Liberal government, Trudeau said, won't do business with a company he accuses of attacking the domestic aerospace industry and trying to put people out of work. Boeing launched a trade dispute with Montreal-based rival Bombardier earlier this year. May also has a stake in the dispute, as Bombardier has a factory in Northern Ireland. The two leaders met Monday ahead of Trudeau's trip to New York to address the United Nations General Assembly, where May will also be speaking this week, including on ways to curb the use of the Internet by terrorists.One of the more harrowing stories out of the New Year’s Eve celebrations from around the globe came out of the country of Germany. Just weeks after German Chancellor Angela Merkel was distinguished by TIME as being the person of the year — largely for her willingness to open German borders to migrant refugees — the country saw a shocking number of reported rapes and sexual assaults. By reports, over 1,000 men allegedly terrorized females in various German cities on New Year’s Eve. German police, stunned at the turn of events that developed with increased frequency over a number of hours, called the unprovoked attacks “a completely new dimension of crime.” A prominent German police chief was shortly fired thereafter for his perceived mishandling of the threat. But it would seem that Germany is far from the only European nation to see a severe and horrifying spike in sexual assault violence in recent weeks. The Daily Mail is now reporting that assaults have been carried out in Sweden, Finland, Austria, and Switzerland as well; in the city of Kalmar, Sweden along, 15 women has reported sexual misconduct to local authorities. The police spokesman for Kalmar, Johan Bruun, told the Daily Mail, “We are aware of what happened in Germany but we are focusing our investigation on what happened in Kalmar.” The effort on the ground in Germany by law enforcement has been significantly ramped up since news of the New Year’s attacks made front pages of the international media. 31 suspects have been detained by federal officers; many of the individuals across all of these countries have been identified by authorities as asylum seekers or migrants from places like Iraq and Northern Africa. A German refugee worker revealed, “The perception of refugees has changes with each new incident like this. Most people used to have sympathy for them, but that is changing, you can see it in people’s attitude and hear it in the way they talk about foreigners.” According to the Daily Mail, members of Austrian police have also been accused of allegedly covering up a series of attacks in the city of Vienna. Have a tip we should know? [email protected] good lie is never known as a lie. A famous lie is a different matter. A lie that is famously a lie is the very opposite of a good lie. How then does it become popular? In the answer lies the true nature of “fake news", which is an unsatisfactory name given to a broad range of things—fabricated information, propaganda, rumours, pranks and hoaxes. You may have wondered why you are reading so many articles about fake news these days. The matter appears to be an internal crisis of journalism, so why must you be bothered so often by what interests journalists? But fake news is almost entirely about you. According to mainstream intellectual opinion, you are often a victim of fake news, a gullible simpleton who falls for any nonsense you read free of cost on the Internet, which you then transmit to your friends. But it is this hypothesis that is too simple. Something else is going on. Several months ago, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced Rs2,000 notes, word spread that the notes were the most technologically advanced currency ever, so sophisticated that they could be traced by the government, even tracked a few metres underground, which was a nice touch. The popularity of the lie was on a par with the best lies that US President Donald Trump’s campaign had generated. For instance, the news that the Pope had endorsed his campaign. Most observers appear to believe that such lies contribute to the popularity of notorious public figures. But if this view were true, lies would be universally helpful, and the liar with the highest marketing budget would win. But that is not how it goes. All lies are not equal, and the most successful lies appear to help only a particular type of people. When a public figure is immensely popular but reviled by an intellectual elite that has an outsized influence over the respectable media, then he does not become even more popular because a piece of fiction has gone viral. Rather, what appears more probable is that the piece of fiction goes viral because of the popularity of the public figure. Modi and Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin did not become popular because of the lies. The lies became popular because of them. Successful fake news contains excellent storytelling techniques—it has a strong protagonist who is very interesting because he is unpredictable, blunt and morally ambiguous, it captures the current of the times and it appears to be highly probable. It succeeds for the same reason that good yarns work well. People wish to believe it. Truth is always slower than a convenient lie. That is why health myths, for instance, go deeper into the minds of people than health facts. The half-truth that exercise could make you fatter than sloth would always be more popular than the truth that complete abstinence from refined carbohydrates will have a profound effect on your well-being. I do not suggest that fake news does not create misinformation at all, just that its transformative powers are overstated. Yuval Noah Harari, a historian who is best known for his book Sapiens, argues that the very success of the human race lies in its ability to believe in fiction, which according to him includes religion and all political and economic ideologies. “Ever since the Stone Age, self-reinforcing myths have served to unite human collectives. Indeed, Homo sapiens conquered this planet thanks above all to the unique human ability to create and spread fictions," he wrote in a Bloomberg View column. “The truth is that truth was never high on the agenda of Homo sapiens." Harari is speaking of powerful forces, like delusions and their ability to travel fast. Modern fake news is not always driven by such major elements. It is, instead, the minor after-effect of colossal fiction that has already been established, like the news of an idol drinking milk or the statue of a Jewish virgin shedding tears are minor effects of the establishment of two gigantic works of fiction. The idea that a hugely popular lie is not influential but a reflection of current beliefs, should alter our perception of the most organized form of fake news—propaganda. Propaganda is usually generated by a dominant political force. The perception that propaganda was how, historically, evil men influenced ordinary people, is itself a form of fake news. Over the decades, artists and academics, who make a living out of sympathizing with social underdogs, have successfully created the myth that ordinary people are victims of propaganda. The German public of Hitler’s time, for instance, is only mildly implicated in his crimes while the fact is that their political views and disposition made it possible for the propaganda to be successful. The conscientious liberals lament fascist propaganda and other forms of fake news but they, too, generate or transmit it. But their fake news never travels as fast and as wide as the right-wing fake news, and is almost never as successful. A few days ago, some people were excited by the cover of Time magazine, which is taken seriously these days only when there is a hoax. The cover called Donald Trump “Liar-in-chief". Not surprisingly, intellectuals of a type loved it and passed it around. But when they realized it was a hoax, they had to take it down to guard their own reputation, and take it down with sheepish notes about how the image had come from very credible sources, how they were so very sorry for promoting a hoax. About 15 years ago, the novelist and activist Arundhati Roy used some strands of fake news in her essay on the Gujarat riots. One suggested that Congress MP Ehsan Jafri’s daughter had been stripped and murdered, while she was safe thousands of kilometres away. Roy had no choice but to tender an apology, however grudging. The transmission of liberal fake news is often slowed this way—by the strict requirements of decency. But intellectuals fall for and transmit fake news for the same reason that semi-literates do: The news corroborates their delusions. Manu Joseph is a journalist and a novelist, most recently of The Illicit Happiness Of Other People.With an aggressive push to get a top-tier quarterback commit, Gators coach Jim McElwain is pressing the case that the days of the Florida Gators being a powerful offensive team are set to return. With the dark period ending tomorrow, Florida Gators football recruiting will resume with plenty of needs for head coach Jim McElwain to address. One of those positions will be quarterback, where the Gators will look not only to build depth for the future, but to also bring in the talent that fits McElwain’s system and can be developed for the future. The Gators have a thin recruiting class, with among the fewest amount of commitments among any Power 5 school. And with the Florida Gators’ only quarterback recruit decommitting in December, there’s both space and need for McElwain to lure a top-flight signal caller to the team. New offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier is a former quarterback who was brought in to help McElwain develop the quarterback position and he will be responsible for helping the Gators bring in a quarterback recruit. Nussmeier says he think the team needs to recruit a quarterback each year and that there needs to be depth and competition at that position. Right now, the Gators don’t have enough of either. Freshman quarterback Treon Harris will be back for the Gators and blue-chip recruit Will Grier will also be ready to compete to be the starter for the 2015 team. After that, there’s room young quarterbacking talent to compete. “When you look at creating opportunity, when you look at our depth chart, it’s not a deep depth chart at quarterback. We don’t have a lot of numbers there. So the opportunity to come in and compete is the thing that you can sell to anyone, ” Nussmeier said. As far as what kind of quarterback the Gators need to recruit — a pro-style passer or dual-threat runner — Nussmeier said that Florida Gators football under McElwain would develop their offense around our talent. “We’re going to do what our personnel allows us to do and fit our system to what our people can do. We’re not going to get stuck in a box,” he said. A look at the top recruiting websites show that nearly all of the five- and four-star talent has shown they’ve committed. However, there’s opportunity for McElwain to flip a top recruit, and two four-star recruits are schedules to visit UF. Bradenton IMG quarterback Deondre Francois, an FSU commit, has good reason to decommit from the Seminoles, who also have another four-star quarterback commitment. Louisville commit Lamar Jackson is also schedule to visit UF this month. McElwain has reportedly already met with Francois. Florida State QB commit Deondre Francois (@Deondre_3) in All-America Game… 4-of-4 passing for 103 yards and a TD. pic.twitter.com/saEv2Nv9CU — Tyler Donohue (@TDsTake) January 3, 2015 With an aggressive push to get a top-tier quarterback commit, McElwain is pressing the case that the days of the Florida Gators being a powerful offensive team are set to return.Find An Event Create Your Event Help D20 Burlesque presents A Tribute to H.P. Lovecraft Parkside Lounge New York, NY Share this event: Get Tickets There are no active dates for this event. Don't forget you can still purchase tickets at the door for $15 or check facebook for our net upcoming show. Not Available Event D20 Burlesque presents A Tribute to H.P. Lovecraft D20 Burlesque is back with a tribute to the gamer's favorite horror writer, H.P. Lovecraft! Featuring the charmed talents of: Anja Keister Iris Explosion Victoria Privates Hazel Honeysuckle Dangrrr Doll + More Hosted by Bastard Keith with go-go by Stella Chu Sponsored by: The Compleat Strategist, The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society, and Miskatonic River Presss $10 online, $15 at the door. http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/173965 1920's-1930's/ macabre dress strongly encouraged! 21+ event 2 Drink Minimum Location Parkside Lounge 317 East Houston New York, NY 10002 United States Categories Arts > Burlesque & Cabaret Minimum Age: 21 Kid Friendly: No Dog Friendly: No Non-Smoking: Yes! Wheelchair Accessible: No Contact Owner: D20 Burlesque On BPT Since: Mar 07, 2011 [email protected]... www.facebook.com/D20Burlyq... Ask a question... Ask!When Alan Sokal tricked Social Text into publishing a nonsensical parody of postmodernist criticism, he thought the journal’s failure to spot that the article was a hoax revealed a shocking lack of intellectual rigour. John Sturrock, writing about it in the LRB, noted that Social Text exists in a different realm of discourse from Nature and that Sokal’s contribution, for all its faults, was a ‘jauntily expressed’ piece of ‘extreme provocation’, and as Sokal knew, the kind of thing that Social Text existed to promote. Well yes, but, as legions of letter writers responded, don’t things you publish sort of have to make sense? Last month That’s Mathematics! reported another landmark event in the history of academic publishing. A paper by Marcie Rathke of the University of Southern North Dakota at Hoople had been provisionally accepted for publication in Advances in Pure Mathematics. ‘Independent, Negative, Canonically Turing Arrows of Equations and Problems in Applied Formal PDE’ concludes: Now unfortunately, we cannot assume that It is difficult, as a non-specialist, to judge the weight of that ‘unfortunately’. Thankfully, the abstract is a model of concision: Let ρ = A. Is it possible to extend isomorphisms? We show that D´ is stochastically orthogonal and trivially affine. In [10], the main result was the construction of p-Cardano, compactly Erdős, Weyl functions. This could shed important light on a conjecture of Conway–d’Alembert. Baffled? You should be. Each of these sentences contains mathematical nouns linked by the verbs mathematicians use, but the sentences scarcely connect with each other. The paper was created using Mathgen, an online random maths paper generator. Mathgen has a set of rules that define how papers are arranged in sections and what kinds of sentence make up a section and how those sentences are made up from different categories of technical and non-technical words. It creates beautifully formatted papers with the conventional structure, complete with equations and citations but, alas, totally devoid of meaning. Nate Eldredge – the blogger behind That’s Mathematics! – wrote Mathgen by adapting SCIgen, which does something similar for computer science. Papers generated by SCIgen have been accepted for publication at academic conferences and journals that claim to carry out peer review. Eldredge reprints the acceptance letter from Advances in Pure Mathematics, including the comments of the anonymous peer reviewer, who tried to come up with ways in which the paper could be improved before publication. The result is another kind of nonsense, not much worse than the standard bureaucratic crap academics routinely churn out: For the abstract, I consider that the author can’t introduce the main idea and work of this topic specifically. We can’t catch the main thought from this abstract. So I suggest that the author can reorganise the descriptions and give the keywords of this paper. The paper justifies one of its propositions with the assertion that ‘this is clear.’ The reviewer complains: ‘The author has better to show the specific proving processes.’ Neither Marcie Rathke nor the University of Southern North Dakota at Hoople is willing to pay the ‘processing charges’ levied by Advances in Pure Mathematics, so we will never know if the work would actually have made it to publication. Academic journals depend on peer review to ensure the rigour and value of submissions. The less prestigious the journal, the harder it is to find competent reviewers and the lower they will have to set the threshold, until at some point we arrive at, essentially, accept-all-comers vanity publishing. The murkier the business model and the lower the standards outside the mainstream, the harder it is for academics to challenge the status of the prestige journals, locking academics into the situation Glen Newey describes.For the last several months, Mike and I have been working on a new project, which is nearing closed beta. That means we need to start battening down the hatches, and today was the day to start tackling client-side JavaScript performance. I’ve actually done quite a bit of performance work in my life, but not with JavaScript, so I though I’d take some notes along the way. Firebug is your friend In my mind, there are really three ways to a significant dent in performance: Find bad algorithms and replace them with fast ones Find code that doesn’t actually have to be called and skip it. Optimize the code that gets called most often And you really can’t do any of the three without a profiler. You might think you know what the problem is, but you won’t know until you profile it. In my case, I started out thinking that I had event listeners hanging around that weren’t letting go of their events, but the profiler (in this case, Firebug) told me I was completely wrong. To get started profiling in Firebug, go to the console tab, press the ‘profile’ button, do some stuff, and hit the ‘profile’ button again. That’s it. You’ll then be presented with data that looks like this: For my money, the two most important columns are ‘own time’ and ‘time’. ‘time’ is the total time spent in a function including any functions that are called by that function, and ‘own time’ is the same thing minus the time taken up by other functions. Problem: $$(‘.class’) can be SLOW! I created a test where I did the same UI gesture 8 times, and this is what I discovered. Looking at ‘own time’ told me that most of my time was going to DOM traversal via the $$ function. Looking at ‘time’ told me that the methods responsible for calling $$ were all central functions that were called in many places throughout my code, so it was worth making them as efficient as possible before figuring out whether there was a way to avoid calling some of them altogether. Phase 1 — replacing traversals of the entire DOM tree (via $$) with smaller traversals Roughly speaking,
acting with the same good faith. The Star has learned that the Mexican team has privately told people here that the U.S. negotiating team has also not provided specifics for Trump’s demand to revise labour standards that would apply evenly to all three NAFTA parties. That is on top of a lack of clarity around precise American demands in at least five other specific areas: on increasing U.S. content in the auto sector, on “rules of origin” which apply more broadly to a range of manufactured goods, on how the U.S. wants to target Canada’s dairy sector, on how it wants to revise the state-to-state dispute-resolution process, and how it wants to revise the investor-state dispute settlement mechanism in the current deal. Dias released an open letter today to the American team expressing concern that the Americans are expected to table labour standards that would “closely mirror the language adopted in the now defunct Trans-Pacific Partnership.” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau downplayed pessimistic assessments of NAFTA negotiations. ( TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP/GETTY IMAGES ) Conservative MP Erin O'Toole says he doesn't see the Liberal government fighting enough for key industries under NAFTA. The latest round of talks to modernize the trade deal is under way in Ottawa. (The Canadian Press) Dias said that is not good enough and “does not provide the fundamental change in NAFTA that many in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico desire.” “The TPP language only serves to enforce, not enhance, existing domestic labour standards, which are often insufficient, and in breach of international work standards. The TPP is entirely silent on issues of gender equality. It offers no reprieve for workers subjected to violence and intimidation for exercising their rights, and no penalties for governments and employers who breach those rights. It fails to effectively bar trade in goods made with forced or child labour.” Canada’s chief negotiator Steve Verheul had no comment at midday Monday on how talks were proceeding. Article Continued Below Read more about:John Jaso is likely to serve as the Athletics' full-time DH next season, which would seem to end speculation that the club will add a big bat in free agency, as Jane Lee of MLB.com reports. More: Mark Mulder signs with the Angels Rumors surfaced earlier in the offseason that Oakland would consider Nelson Cruz as an option to add to their relatively new flyball-centered approach -- and Cruz would certainly fit that plan of attack with a career flyball rate of 43 percent -- but reports that the 33-year-old outfielder is looking for a deal in the neighborhood of four years and $75 million likely ended that possibility rather quickly for the small-market A's. Jaso provides the A's with a cost-effective option at DH. MLB Trade Rumors' Matt Swartz projects him to make $2.2 million in 2014 through the arbitration process. He has an exceptional major-league track record in terms of getting on base. In his last 610 plate appearances, he's posted an on-base percentage of.391 for the Mariners and A's. Despite giving back some power in the slugging department when compared to a hitter like Cruz, Jaso's overall offensive contribution makes him a much better option for a team with Oakland's financial limitations. Oakland's catching duties are likely to be filled by Derek Norris and Steven Vogt. Last season, Norris led the team in innings behind the plate, and Vogt split the remaining time with Jaso. Isolating Jaso's bat might be the best way for Oakland to maximize his value to the club. In his career, he has struggled defensively, putting up -13 defensive runs saved (DRS) in over 2000 career innings as a catcher. More from SB Nation MLB: • Baseball Hall of Fame profiles: Barry Bonds \| Roger Clemens \| Frank Thomas • Quick and dirty guide to the Hall of Fame ballot • Emails betweeen A-Rod and Randy Levine are strange, sad • SP Masahiro Tanaka coming to MLB \| Teams that need him most • Death of a Ballplayer: Wrongly convicted prospect spends 27 years in prisonFresh off his debate victory, Donald Trump speaks at a rally on Friday in Fort Worth, Texas. Tom Pennington/Getty Images On Thursday night, for more than two hours, Sens. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz pounded Donald Trump with facts and allegations. They said Trump had hired illegal immigrants, had shipped jobs to China and Mexico, and had defrauded people who paid tuition to his university. If you scored the debate on punches, it looked as though Trump lost. But he didn’t lose. He won, because debates aren’t decided by punches. They’re won by the candidate who tells the best story, a story that frames his opponents’ arguments as part of his own campaign message. Here’s an example of how that’s done: Three weeks ago, just before the New Hampshire primary, Rubio came into a Republican debate with a game plan. He was going to compete with Trump and Cruz for angry conservative voters by establishing himself as the candidate most hostile to President Obama. At every opportunity, Rubio denounced Obama as an evil genius who had set out to change America and who “knows exactly what he’s doing.” On the punch scorecard, Rubio did well. But he was destroyed by Gov. Chris Christie, who framed Rubio’s message as part of a larger story: that Rubio was robotic, shallow, and unprepared for the general election or the presidency. “There it is, the memorized 25-second speech,” Christie told the audience as Rubio repeated his message. Rubio plunged in the polls and was humiliated in the subsequent primary. That’s how you beat an opponent in a debate: You anticipate his message, and you make it part of your message. When viewers see your opponent talking, they don’t hear what he’s saying. They see him doing what you said he would do. It’s like throwing a net over a guy who’s trying to hit you. His punches don’t land on you. He just tires himself out and looks foolish. The more he attacks, the more he loses. That’s what Trump did to Rubio and Cruz on Thursday. The two senators came into the debate armed with information about Trump’s employment practices, his flirtations with liberalism, and his sketchy college. But the real fight wasn’t about that information. The real fight was about what it meant. As they spoke, the three candidates weren’t just throwing punches. They were throwing nets. Rubio was casting Trump and Cruz as unelectable. Cruz was casting Trump and Rubio as unprincipled. Trump was casting Rubio and Cruz as politicians. The real fight was between these three stories, these ways of understanding the drama onstage. And Trump’s story won. The framing began early, when Rubio went after Trump for hiring foreigners. “You hired some workers from Poland,” said Rubio. Trump shot back: “No, I’m the only one on the stage that’s hired people. You haven’t hired anybody.” With that, Trump reminded the audience that the complaints about his hiring practices were coming from politicians who produced no jobs. Later, Cruz and Rubio attacked Trump for defending Planned Parenthood. Trump replied: “I’m pro-life. I’m totally against abortion, having to do with Planned Parenthood. But millions and millions of women—cervical cancer, breast cancer—are helped by Planned Parenthood.” When Cruz accused Trump of supporting “socialized health care,” Trump responded: “I will not allow people to die on the sidewalks and the streets of our country.” Rubio, aghast, asked, “This is a Republican debate, right? Because that attack about letting people die in the streets …” But Trump stood firm: “Call it what you want, people are not going to be dying on the sidewalk.” In both of these exchanges, Trump came across as the only normal person, a man who responds from moral instinct, not from an ideology or a policy manual. Both senators hounded Trump for professing neutrality as a potential broker in Israeli-Palestinian talks. “I am very pro-Israel,” Trump insisted. “But it doesn’t do any good to start demeaning the neighbors.” Rubio launched into a speech about the viciousness of Palestinians. Trump dismissed Rubio’s rhetoric as unhelpful: “You are not a negotiator. And with your thinking, you will never bring peace.” Cruz accused Trump of supporting politicians who undermined Israel. Trump pointed out that he had actually written checks to support Israel. “You’re politicians,” he told the senators. “All talk, no action.” Later, Cruz attacked Trump’s statements about Libya. Trump answered him with an indictment of the whole political class for military adventurism in Libya, Syria, and Iraq. “If these politicians went to the beach and didn’t do a thing, and we had Saddam Hussein and if we had Qaddafi in charge, instead of having terrorism all over the place, we’d be—at least they killed terrorists,” said Trump. “We would have been better off if the politicians took a day off instead of going into war.” Toward the end of the debate, Cruz called Trump “malleable.” He told the businessman, “For 40 years, you’ve been funding liberal Democratic politicians.” Trump shot back, “I funded you.” Rubio, off camera, boasted that Trump “never funded me.” But Trump wasn’t finished. He told the audience that Rubio had “sent me his book with his autograph” and a line that said, “Mr. Trump, you’re doing a great job.” The audience laughed throughout the exchange, recognizing that all the talk about principle and writing checks was just part of the political game. In their closing statements, the candidates repeated their main themes. Rubio said he was the only candidate who could end the “silliness” and expand the conservative movement. Cruz presented himself as the true believer battling two Washington “dealmakers.” Trump said his opponents’ promises were all theater. “Nobody knows politicians better than I do. They’re all talk, they’re no action,” said Trump. “Whether it’s trade, whether it’s building up our depleted military, whether it’s taking care of our vets, whether it’s getting rid of Common Core … or knocking out Obamacare and coming up with something so much better, I will get it done. Politicians will never, ever get it done.” As the debate ended, I wasn’t sure who had won. The senators had raised serious questions about Trump’s university, his taxes, and his hiring practices. But then I saw how the talking heads on TV were greeting those questions. They were struck not by the substance of the attacks, but by their timing. They wanted to know why the senators had waited this long, until the 10th Republican debate, to raise issues about Trump that had been public, though not widely shared, for years. Trump had an answer. In three interviews on CNN and Fox News, he said he had expected the attacks because his opponents were doing poorly in the primaries and in polls. He pointed out that he had pulled even with Cruz in Texas and that he was trouncing Rubio in Florida. Rubio hadn’t won anything. Cruz had posted three straight third-place finishes. These were desperate men, Trump explained. They were under tremendous pressure. They had no choice but to throw everything at him in the debate, and so they had. Trump’s interviewers played along, describing Rubio and Cruz as a “tag team.” And with that, the net closed. The story of the night wasn’t Trump’s tax returns, his university, or his Polish workers. It was the politically timed attack by his two opponents. Two senators, down in the polls, were doing what politicians do. Exactly as Trump, the only real guy left in the race, the only one who gets things done, has said all along. In his endorsement of Trump on Friday, Chris Christie drove home Trump’s message. Hillary and Bill Clinton “know how to run the standard political playbook against junior senators and run them around the block,” said Christie. “They do not know the playbook with Donald Trump, because he is rewriting the playbook.” Politicians are out, and Trump is in. That’s been the story of the campaign, facts be damned. Read more of Slate’s coverage of the GOP primary.Henda Ayari, in an interview with Le Parisien, gave detailed public testimony accusing Tariq Ramadan of sexually assaulting her in Paris. She said that Ramadan believes that "either you wear a veil or you get raped." Of the 1,900 French jihadists fighting with the Islamic State, as many as one-fifth have received as much as €500,000 ($580,000) in social welfare payments from the French state, according to Le Figaro. Article 57 of the French Civil Code states that the name chosen by parents must be in "the best interests of the child." If the public prosecutor thinks the name "Jihad" is contrary to the law, he can ask a judge to order the name to be changed. If the parents are unable or unwilling to choose a new name, the judge has the right to choose a name. October 1. A 29-year-old illegal immigrant from Tunisia stabbed two women to death at the central train station in Marseille. Witnesses heard the assailant shout "Allahu Akbar" as he lunged at the women with a 20-centimetre (eight-inch) knife before threatening soldiers, who shot him dead. The man, identified as Ahmed Hanachi, was using seven different identities and had a long criminal history. He had been arrested in Lyon for shoplifting just days before the attack, but those charges were dropped due to a lack evidence. He was released, despite not having the documents needed to live in France. Why he was never deported remains unclear. October 2. Five people were arrested in Paris after police found four makeshift bombs at a building in the 16th arrondissement, one of the city's most exclusive neighborhoods. Police said there was no one living in the apartment block who might be considered a target for jihadists. Interior Minister Gérard Collomb surmised that the bomb was simply meant to create fear: "Blowing up a building in a posh neighborhood shows that no one is safe...that it could happen anywhere in France." He added: "This shows that the level of the threat in France is extremely high...yes, even if the Islamic State has suffered military setbacks, we are still in a state of war." October 2. The trial began of Abdelkader Merah, the 35-year-old brother of Mohamed Merah. In March 2012, Mohamed had gone on a nine-day shooting spree in southern France, killing three soldiers and gunning down a teacher and three children at a Jewish school before being shot dead by police. Abdelkader stands accused of "knowingly" helping to facilitate the "preparation" of the attack, in particular by stealing the scooter used for the three separate shootings. He appeared alongside 34-year-old Fettah Malki, accused of giving Mohamed Merah a bulletproof jacket, an Uzi submachine gun and the ammunition he unloaded on his victims. Abdelkader Merah faces a possible life sentence while Malki could get 20 years in prison. October 5. Six gas canisters attached to a "crude detonator device" were found under several trucks at a cement company in Paris. The trucks, parked in the French capital's northeastern 19th arrondissement, belonged to Franco-Swiss cement company Lafarge-Holcim. Lafarge is being investigated over claims that it paid taxes to the Islamic State and other armed groups in Syria to keep a plant running in a war zone. The company admitted that it resorted to "unacceptable measures" to continue operations at a now-closed cement factory in northern Syria in 2013 and 2014, after most French groups had quit the war-torn country. October 6. A French woman who travelled three times to Syria in support of her jihadist son was sentenced to 10 years in prison for being part of a terrorist conspiracy. Christine Rivière, 51, was sentenced for her "unfailing commitment" to jihad and for helping a number of young women travel to Syria to marry jihadists, including her son, Tyler Vilus. Rivière, a Muslim convert who was nicknamed "Mama Jihad," said of her son: "I didn't want to push him to die a martyr, but that could happen. Then he would be in heaven, near Allah." October 6. French prosecutors charged three men in connection with a makeshift explosive device made of gas canisters, placed inside an apartment block in western Paris. Amine A, his cousin Sami B, and Aymen B., were charged with "attempted murder in an organized group in connection with a terrorist enterprise" and placed in pre-trial detention. All three were arrested on October 2, two days after the device was found in the exclusive 16th arrondissement. Amine A., 30, and Aymen B., 29, are both on the terror watch list. October 9. French police and intelligence services are surveilling around 15,000 jihadists living on French soil, according to Le Journal du Dimanche. Of these, some 4,000 are at "the top of the spectrum" and most likely to carry out an attack. October 10. President Emmanuelle Macron announced a plan to open immigration offices in Niger and Chad to identify persons eligible for asylum on lists provided by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and bring them directly to France. The stated aim is to "better prevent an influx of economic migrants" who are not eligible for asylum. In all, France will take in 10,000 people, not only from Niger and Chad, but also from Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, by October 2019. October 11. Interior Minister Gérard Collomb announced the dismissal of the central government's top representative in the southern Rhône region, after a report criticized "errors of judgement" and "serious faults" in handling foreigners whose papers are not in order. The report was commissioned after 29-year-old Tunisian Ahmed Hanachi stabbed two women to death at the central train station in Marseille on October 1. October 11. A 20-year-old woman was arrested in Rouen on suspicion that she may have played a role in a jihadist attack on a church in Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray. On July 26, 2016, two jihadists had broken into the church and murdered Father Jacques Hamel while he was celebrating mass. While leaving the church, they were shot dead by the police. A few hours later, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack. Police say that shortly before the attack, the woman had been in contact with one of the jihadists. October 12. A French intelligence agent accidentally sent a text message to the mobile phone of a jihadist, inadvertently warning him that he was under surveillance and being monitored, according to M6 television. The target, a "proselytizing Islamist" living in Paris, responded by directly calling the agent and informing him of his mistake. October 12. The interior ministry announced that France will maintain border checks with its European neighbors until April 30, 2018, because of "persistent" terror threats. The 1985 Schengen Agreement ended passport checks and other protective measures on borders, but after the jihadist attacks in Paris in November 2015, France resumed them. France recently announced that it will maintain border checks with its European neighbors until April 30, 2018, because of "persistent" terror threats. France resumed passport checks and other protective measures on borders after the November 2015 jihadist attacks in Paris. Pictured: French border and customs police control vehicles at the France-Italy border. (Photo by Murielle Gander Cransac/Getty Images) October 15. A groundbreaking ceremony was held in Strasbourg to expand the Eyüp Sultan Mosque. The 32 million euro ($37 million) project will make the mosque one of the biggest in Europe. The 15-acre site will include a school, a library, conference rooms, restaurants and boutiques, as well as a prayer room for up to 3,000 worshippers. The mosque, which will be redesigned according to Ottoman architecture, will have 28 domes and 44-meter-high (145-foot) minarets. Local officials say the mosque will contribute to the religious, architectural and cultural diversity of Strasbourg. October 16. President Emmanuel Macron pledged to deport illegal immigrants who commit crimes in France. He said that even without new legislation, "we can take tougher measures" and expel illegal immigrants if they commit a crime, "whatever it may be." He added: "We are not taking all the steps that should be taken. Well, that's going to change." He was speaking after it emerged that a Tunisian who stabbed two women to death in Marseille had been arrested in Lyon two days earlier for shoplifting. October 18. President Emmanuel Macron unveiled a plan to bolster France's domestic security. A key promise was to hire 10,000 extra police and gendarmes during the next five years. He also proposed to create a new "daily security police" (police de la sécurité du quotidian, PSQ) which would be deployed in "priority neighborhoods from the point of view of insecurity." The PSQ, community police charged with fighting crime at the local level, will be tested in about fifteen localities in early 2018. In addition, Macron announced a plan to combat radicalization and to reform of asylum procedures to bring them in line with those of Germany. Finally, he promised to speed up the deportations of illegal immigrants who commit crimes in France. "We don't welcome people well; our procedures are too long; we don't integrate people properly and neither do we send enough people back," Macron said. "We should take our fair share, but we can't just welcome in all the world's poor people." October 20. Prosecutors in Toulouse launched an investigation after receiving a report that a couple in nearby Léguevin named their newborn son "Jihad." Article 57 of the French Civil Code states that the name chosen by parents must be in "the best interests of the child." A justice ministry memo on the topic states that local registrars must inform the public prosecutor if a name appears to be contrary to the law. If the public prosecutor thinks the name "Jihad" is contrary to the law, he can ask a judge to order the name to be changed. If the parents are unable or unwilling to choose a new name, the judge has the right to choose a name. October 20. Henda Ayari, a former Salafist who is now a Muslim feminist activist, accused prominent Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan of sexually assaulting her in Paris. Ramadan, a grandson of the founder of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, denied her accusations. Some of his supporters criticized Ayari on social media, insinuating that if the assault did take place, it was her own fault because Islam forbids an unmarried woman to be alone with a man. Others claimed that Ramadan is a victim of "international Zionism" and that the charges were "fabricated by Jews." October 22. Eight people, including three minors, were charged with "criminal terrorist conspiracy" for plotting to attack left-wing politicians, migrants and mosques. An investigation found that the group, led by Logan Alexandre Nisin, a 21-year-old far-right activist based in Provence, planned to buy weapons, organize paramilitary training exercises and conduct shooting practice. October 23. An official inquiry cast doubt on allegations that the French police had abused migrants in the northern port city of Calais. Human Rights Watch had accused police of a disproportionate use of force against migrants as well as aid workers when the notorious Calais migrant camp, known as the "jungle," was dismantled in October 2016. The inquiry said that some abuse was "plausible" but that there was no proof it had occurred. It added that accusations that police had used pepper spray against migrants while they were sleeping were "without foundation." The report found that many of the injuries sustained by migrants were due to brawls among migrants. "There is no evidence to prove the most serious allegations made," Interior Minister Gérard Collomb said. October 24. France issued an arrest warrant for Redouane Sebbar, a 25-year-old Moroccan man being held in Germany and suspected of helping plan an August 2015 attack on high-speed train traveling from Amsterdam to Paris. October 26. Of the 1,900 French jihadists fighting with the Islamic State, as many as one-fifth have received as much as €500,000 ($580,000) in social welfare payments from the French state, according to Le Figaro. October 30. Henda Ayari, in an interview with Le Parisien, gave detailed public testimony accusing Tariq Ramadan of sexually assaulting her in Paris. She said that Ramadan believes that "either you wear a veil or you get raped." Ramadan denied the accusations as a "campaign of slander." Since Ayari's original allegation, two more women have filed sexual assault complaints against Ramadan. October 30. President Emmanuel Macron formally signed a new counter-terrorism law that gives prefects, police and security forces wide-ranging powers — without the need to seek prior approval from a judge — to search homes, place people under house arrest and close places of worship. The measure also authorizes police to perform identity checks at French borders. The new law, adopted by the French Senate on October 18, makes permanent many of the previously exceptional measures imposed under a two-year-old state of emergency, which was introduced after the jihadist attacks in Paris in November 2015. That state of emergency was slated to expire on November 1. Macron said the new law strikes the right balance between security and respect for civil liberties. Hardliners countered that it does not go far enough, while human rights groups complained that it will leave France in a permanent state of emergency.We did it, America! According to a new report from the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, the United States is no longer the world's fattest developed nation--Mexico is. Nearly a third of Mexican adults (32.8 percent) are considered obese—people aged 20 and older whose body mass index (BMI) is 30 and above. That edges the United States, where 31.8 percent of American adults are considered obese. Syria at 31.6 percent, is the third fattest among developed countries, while Venezuela and Libya are tied for fourth at 30.8 percent. Mexico's urban lifestyle and rising income levels, coupled with malnourishment among the country's poor, have helped it claim this unhealthy title. “The same people who are malnourished are the ones who are becoming obese,” Abelardo Avila, a physician with Mexico's National Nutrition Institute, told the Global Post. “In the poor classes we have obese parents and malnourished children. The worst thing is the children are becoming programmed for obesity. It's a very serious epidemic.” Diabetes kills an estimated 70,000 people a year in Mexico—"or roughly equal to the deaths authorities say are caused by more than six years of the country's gangland wars," the Post noted. About 12 percent of the world's total population is obese, according to the U.N. report. The world's fattest nation overall is Nauru, a South Pacific island where a staggering 71.1 of is 10,000 inhabitants are obese. The U.N. report does not include data for American Samoa, which has been tabbed in the past as the world's fattest. According to a 2010 World Health Organization report, early all of that Pacific island's inhabitants (95 percent) are considered overweight. On the other end of the scale is Japan, the thinnest developed country. Just 4.5 of Japanese adults are considered obese, the U.N. says. Read more from Yahoo! NewsLongtime lurker here, I've been intending to join up for ages just so I can say how much I've been enjoying the line but never got around to it. It's a shame that the recent announcement is what has spurred me into action but I feel that any and all feedback is important at this stage.First of all @spawnshop, I have really enjoyed and appreciated your participation within the community and this is what has contributed to me buying into the line to the extent that I have. I haven't collected action figures except for the odd Star Wars guy since I was a teen, but when I saw how good TWD figures were getting and being comfortably in my 30's with disposable income and a passive interest in new toys, decided to buy the odd one or two starting with Glenn and Maggie. Then I needed a Rick, Darryl, Carl and so forth. I then stumbled upon this forum and various other social media in which McFarlane partake in and enjoyed the way the company interacted with the fans and listened to what their needs. For this reason, I bought into the line and now I pretty much buy all I can to support it and do my part to ensure it's continuation.Anyway, moving on from the boring backstory, the recent announcement of a change in scale has left a bad taste in my mouth and I'm on the fence now as whether I'll even get series 9, which I was very much excited about. I can understand why a change of scale is good in a business sense but such a major change was sure to alienate fans who have been loyal and frankly I expected better. I thought the line was doing quite well, yes, the zombies may have a harder time at retail, but I believe limited articulation is at play here. I love the comic series zombies such as the punk and pin-cushion but the burnt walker and swamp walker not so much. Also, the odd exclusive is just not gonna cut it (if that's even a remote possibility), they just don't make their way over to Australia.I can't see myself investing in 7inch scale now and I highly doubt that it will end up covering most, if any, of the B list characters such as Rosita, Sasha etc let alone C list and beyond. I'll just go back to having a passive interest and see how it goes.I guess all I can is that I hope our feedback is heard loud and clear but if not thanks for the memories!CLEVELAND -- Hank Peters helped build championship baseball in Baltimore and revive the sport in Cleveland. A longtime executive who began his career after serving in World War II, Peters died on Sunday of complications from a recent stroke. He was 90. The Indians said in a statement that Peters passed away in Boca Raton, Florida. Peters served as the club's general manager and president from 1987-91, his second stint with the franchise. Before coming to Cleveland, Peters spent 12 seasons with the Orioles, who had 10 consecutive winning seasons and won their third World Series in 1983 when he was there. Orioles owner Peter Angelos was saddened to learn of Peters' death. "Hank was highly regarded throughout baseball as a man of integrity and great character," Angelos said. "His impact was felt by multiple organizations throughout his 40-year baseball career, and he will be missed by all who knew him." Peters came to Cleveland when the Indians were perennial losers. Hired by late Indians owner Dick Jacobs, Peters was credited him with helping set the foundation for a new downtown ballpark in Cleveland and turned around a foundering franchise. Indians president Mark Shapiro called Peters "a cherished member" of the Indians family. Both the Orioles and Indians offered their condolences to Peters' daughter, Sharon, son, Steve, and grandchildren. Peters also worked in Cleveland as the club's vice president/director of player personnel from 1966-71. After serving in the Army, Peter broke into baseball with the St. Louis Browns, his hometown team. He and his wife, Dottie, were married for 59 years. She passed away in 2010.Despite my insistence that the MMM family eats outlandishly well these days, I take a fair amount of flak from certain readers on the subject of food: “Food is not something I take shortcuts on, and thus our food bill will always be higher than that of the MMM Family. They are cheaping out on something we should all spend MORE on!” “Food is not something I take shortcuts on, and thus our food bill will always be higher than that of the MMM Family. They are cheaping out on something we should all spend MORE on!” Other people pick up a different vibe, saying “Mr. Money Mustache, you seem to eat a good [Nutritious/Primal/Paleo] diet. How can you do this, and feed a family well on less than $1000 per day?” I welcome the idea that food is important: since about age fifteen I have tended to experiment with my own eating in an attempt to optimize nutrition. Far from seeking out the cheapest calories, I often put nutrition ahead of even tastiness, over the years shoveling things like raw brewers yeast, oddly colored concoctions from the blender, and raw vegetables galore into the belly. Some experiments have worked and some have failed, but these days, after sufficient reading and learning, I’m finally starting to get some things right. The biggest helpful shift for me has been the realization that “fat” (also known as “oil”) is not a taboo toxin that immediately sticks itself atop your nearest existing reserve of stored bodyfat if you accidentally ingest it. Quite the opposite, it is a pure and clean-burning fuel that your body will happily run on for great distances, much like an old Mercedes Diesel will burn unprocessed vegetable oil while creating only pleasant french-fry-scented tailpipe emissions. Fat is not fattening. Eating when you don’t yet need refueling is what makes you fat, and high-carbohydrate eating is what causes the craving to eat too often. This change in dietary philosophy can be unintuitive to those who still eat according to the USDA’s grain-intensive food pyramid. At a recent breakfast at a friend’s house, someone noticed me cooking a pan of eggs for myself. I started by heating an obscene lake of olive oil, then added the eggs and grated on a thick layer of full-fat cheddar cheese and another of spicy curry powder. After this delicious smelling treat was sizzled properly, I served it onto a plate, added some almonds on the side, and sliced on an entire avocado over top to add even more Good Fat. “Why are you adding so much fat to your breakfast?”, asked the friend. “Because it adds more calories”, I replied. “But don’t you want LESS calories rather than MORE?” “No. If I eat fewer calories at breakfast, I’ll just need to eat again sooner in the day. A meal like this will keep me going until 2PM. But if I eat bread, juice, or other simple carbohydrates at breakfast, I’ll be hungry in just an hour or two.” “This blows my mind.” “Good! Maybe you should try it!” The Triple M High Energy Breakfast Omelette: 2TBSP olive oil (240 calories, 27g fat, $0.36) 3 Eggs (21g protein, 240 calories, 18g fat, $0.60) 1/2 cup shredded cheese (14g protein, 18g fat, 225 calories, $0.31) 1/2 TSP Curry powder, pepper and garlic to taste (0 cals, $0.10) Diced Mushrooms and Onions (optional) (10 cals, $0.25) 1 Avocado (1g protein, 27g fat, 300 calories, $1.00) Fry the vegetables in the oil, then add the eggs and cheese. Sizzle and flip. Put on your plate, and slice on that Avo. Total Power: 1015 calories, 90 grams fat, 36 grams protein, $2.62 Carbohydrates: almost none Calories per Dollar: 387 Bicycle miles fueled at 18MPH: 17.2 Hours of outdoor work fueled at moderate intensity: 4-6 This is a big meal designed to start an active day. If you’re just planning on writing some software after breakfast, you might cut the cheese and avocado quantity in half. But the principle remains the same: a low-carb meal like this works better than one with juice, toast, bagels and other sugar-spiking ingredients. And it’s still relatively inexpensive, because there is no meat. But won’t it give me a heart attack? Again, quite the opposite. The most recent research on fat shows that it is not an artery-clogger or an abdomen-thickener. The proponents of this type of diet encourage you to get your own blood tested before and after the switch in order to see for yourself. I only have my most recent blood test on file, but the numbers are excellent after almost a year of eating this way. A friend of mine with past blood cholesterol problems switched to a low-carb, high-fat diet and saw immediate and complete improvement in his own blood test results – completely the opposite of his doctor’s prediction but exactly in line with the high-fat/low-carb research. Mark’s Daily Apple will entertain you for days if you are looking for more stories and research citations on the topic. The overall summary of the research seems to be, “Older studies found that fat was an arterty-clogger because they were done without controlling sugar and carb intake. And obese people tend to consume more of both of those macronutrients (a large soda alongside a large serving of fries, for example), so there is a high but non-causal connection between clogged arteries and rich food. But perhaps even more relevant to you and me, being assembled today at this Personal Finance blog, is that this nutrient is extremely cheap. It is easy and land-efficient to grow, easy to store and ship, and easy to use in the preparation of delicious food. You can find most of the best oils (and nuts) in organic top-of-the-line form at Costco in huge quantities at great prices. So nowadays I seek out fat rather than avoiding it. Homogenized rather than skim milk. Heavy unsweetened whipping cream instead of ‘lite’. Butter and bacon, and using bacon grease for additional cooking. Coconut and olive oils, used in cooking with no restraint. Nuts of all sorts. But the key to all of this fat, is that it must replace, rather than supplement, your refined carb intake. I think of slices of bread as “weight gain squares”. Beer is “liquid belly expander”. A plate of pasta is “Ultra Mass-Up 2000”. Pizza is no longer my favorite dinner treat. I’ll still indulge in these things occasionally, but only as a tool to gain weight after a heavy workout.. not as part of a lazy vacation. And drinking sweet things is totally out – no fruit juice or soda, pretty much ever. Go for water, milk, unsweetened coconut or almond milk instead. And while fat does the heavy lifting for me, I still eat raw and cooked vegetables freely with every meal, and plenty of fruit too. This is not the Atkins Diet or anything overly restrictive. Just a general “avoid flour and sugar” philosophy is all it takes. Another breakfast I’ve been eating recently when I need
developing pedestrian-centric solutions. This is an exciting period of connecting and rethinking; however, it is also marred by taking--specifically, the confiscation of open space held in the public trust, including parkland designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr. Here's a look back at what happened and what's worth following. Sabine-to-Bagby Promenade, Buffalo Bayou. Photo © Tom Fox, courtesy of SWA Group. Phase two of Chicago's dramatic Riverwalk opened this past summer with spaces designed by Sasaki Associates, Ross Barney Architects, Alfred Benesch Engineers, and Jacobs/Ryan Associates, and Maggie Daley Park, designed by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, opened immediately adjacent to Millennium Park - these new sites were teeming with activity when I visited last month. Another significant addition, the Bloomingdale Trail, also known as The 606, was created from a 2.7-mile stretch of former rail line (nearly twice the length of New York City's High Line), thanks to a public-private partnership between the City of Chicago, the Chicago Parks District, and the Trust for Public Land. In other waterfront news, half of the new 9.5-acre Festival Pier site in Philadelphia will be set aside for public space designed by OLIN, while in California, an eye-catching, headline-making, and somewhat controversial proposal would convert 51 miles along the Los Angeles River into parks, trails, and mixed-use development. For the ne plus ultra of car-obsessed cities, this would be a monumental change; however, there are a multitude of environmental and financial concerns, and the secret designation of architect Frank Gehry as the designer, and a lack of public input have drawn criticism, according to news reports. Rethinking Earlier this year, New York City's new Department of Parks and Recreation Commissioner Mitch Silver gave me a preview of an intriguing new initiative called "Parks Without Borders." As detailed in The Atlantic's CityLab, Silver proposes the reduction in height (and/or the elimination) of fencing, along with the addition of benches, tables, and other amenities, all to reduce physical and psychological barriers to the parks and make them more welcoming and better integrated with their neighborhoods. In a similar vein, the National Park Service (NPS), known for iconic wilderness parks like Yosemite and the Grand Canyon, is implementing its "Urban Agenda," an effort to create greater public engagement and awareness of its rich collection of urban parks as part of its centennial celebration in 2016. Like Commissioner Silver, NPS officials want to make the parks more welcoming. Renderings depicting before (above) and after (below), New York City's "Parks Without Borders" initiative. New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Taking Sadly, there is also a frustrating and growing national trend in parks today--land held in public trust is being confiscated for new construction projects. This is especially troubling when viable alternatives exist. Chicagoans and the rest of the country are waiting to see which of the city's two historic Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr./Calvert Vaux-designed parks will see the amputation of some 20 acres to accommodate the Obama Presidential Library (one of them, Washington Park, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places), while legal hurdles are being thrown in the way of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, which would be built along the lake front (the present site is a parking lot, which, on the surface, makes the museum proposal seem palatable; however, it's protected by the public trust doctrine that prevents development of the site). In New Jersey, a sports complex has been proposed for Rahway River Park, an Olmsted Brothers design that's eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places and part of a larger ensemble of important parks. And, an eight-acre portion of New Orleans' City Park, which reflects a design from the 1920s, largely by the firm Bennett, Parsons and Frost of Chicago, is being carved off for the Louisiana Children's Museum Early Learning Village. Rahway River Park. Photo courtesy of the Coalition to Save Historic Rahway River Park. Pershing-redux Meanwhile, the fate of parks named Pershing in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles is up in the air. Five finalist designs for a national World War I Memorial on Pennsylvania Avenue in the nation's capital would demolish one of the most significant extant works by landscape architect M. Paul Friedberg. The designs were recently presented to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, which has approval authority over the project. Several of the commissioners voiced concern, with one suggesting that perhaps the design-competition jury shouldn't have chosen any of the finalists. The approval of other agencies is required, so the final impact on the Friedberg design has yet to be determined. In Los Angeles, however, the days seem to be numbered for the postmodernist Pershing Square designed by Hanna/Olin and architect Ricardo Legorreta. Will a tabula rasa approach be the only acceptable solution for both of these early postmodernist projects? Pershing Square in Los Angeles. Photo © Charles A. Birnbaum. Naming Another controversy brewing in the Chicago area concerns Jens Jensen Park, named for the Danish-born landscape architect who created the Prairie Style of landscape architecture found in some of the city's great parks. Amid claims that Jensen (1860-1951) made racist statements, there are calls to rename the park. But questions have been raised about whether Jensen's remarks have been cherry-picked, thus obscuring the broader and very democratic nature of his legacy. Interpreting Given the innate ephemerality of landscape architecture, scholarship is vitally important. Three (of many) significant books were published this year: Frederick Law Olmsted: Plans and Views of Public Parks, edited by Charles Beveridge, Lauren Meier, and Irene Mills, with its unrivaled collection of Olmsted plans, is an invaluable reference; Women, Modernity, and Landscape Architecture, edited by Sonja Dümpelmann and John Beardsley, lifts the veil on leading female modernists around the globe; and The Landscape Architecture of Richard Haag: From Modern Space to Urban Ecological Design, by Thaisa Way, is the first serious biography of one of the most influential practitioners for multiple generations of landscape architects.Endangered monkey eaten by otters at British zoo after falling into pond Updated A rare golden lion tamarin monkey has been killed and eaten by otters after accidentally falling into a pond at a British zoo. Bristol Zoo Gardens said the monkey was climbing on a branch when it fell and became trapped in the otter enclosure last month. The zoo made the disclosure after a whistleblower unveiled a series of animal deaths at the institution. In a recent incident, an endangered warty piglet was eaten by its father shortly after it was born. The zoo's director of conservation, Christoph Schwitzer, said despite their best efforts, keepers were unable to prevent unforeseen accidents. Speaking in a video posted on the zoo's website, he said the zoo had made a decision not to separate the piglet's mother from its mate so it did not cause the animals harm. "This left not only our team of keepers and the vets very distressed but in fact all of us," he said about the piglet's death. "We care for thousands of animals here at Bristol Zoo day in and day out and our keepers and all of us here form very strong bonds with these animals and you can imagine we were unhappy about this incident." According to local media reports, three rainbow lorikeets escaped through a hole in their cage last week. One of the birds is still missing. The ABC has contacted Bristol Zoo Gardens for comment. Topics: animal-attacks, animals, zoos, united-kingdom First postedTHE ruling People's National Party (PNP) demolished the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) in yesterday's Local Government Elections, taking 12 of the 13 parish councils, among them the prized Kingston and St Andrew Corporation in the capital city. The governing party also won the Portmore Municipal Council and saw its candidate George Lee unseating the Jamaica Labour Party's (JLP's) Keith Hinds in the island's only mayoral race. The Trelawny Parish Council ended in a tie. This was the second time in three months that the PNP was celebrating, having crushed the JLP 42-21 seats in parliamentary elections last December. But yesterday's poll was characterised by a low voter turnout of 34.5 per cent, according to the Electoral Office of Jamaica, a significant drop from the 53 per cent voter turnout in the December election. The victory represented a reversal of fortunes for the PNP which won only three of the 13 councils in the 2007 Local Government polls. In yesterday's elections, the PNP took 149 of the 228 divisions. The JLP won 77, while two divisions went to independents -- Lester Crooks (Riverside in Hanover) and Paul Patmore (Lorrimers in Trelawny). Early yesterday afternoon, Opposition Leader Andrew Holness, in what appeared like a premature concession statement, expressed concern at the lack of voter interest in the elections, describing it as a threat to democracy. "In a low voter turnout environment, the winning party only needs to use national resources to take care of the small portion of the electorate that votes for them and possibly placate the portion of the electorate that votes against them," Holness said. "This is the recipe for staying in power. However, without an engaged citizenry, oversight and accountability for government action are weak. Eventually governments stray from the best interest of all the people to focus on the interests of the party faithful. "Government is therefore captured by political elite serving a voting minority. This is a threat to our democracy. I am concerned," said Holness, who also recommended that the phenomenon of low voter turnout in elections be studied carefully. Last night, at exactly 10 o'clock, a beaming Portia Simpson Miller, the prime minister and PNP president, told jubilant supporters at PNP headquarters on Old Hope Road in Kingston that local government is critical to the development of Jamaica and to ensure the delivery of services to communities. "We have done it again," she told the crowd, many of whom began celebrating a mere hour after the polls were closed yesterday and long before the Electoral Office of Jamaica had officially declared a victory for the governing party. Not even the persistent raindrops could dampen the spirits of the supporters who immediately got into party mode as they awaited the address from the party leader. "We are humbled by your support, and [I am] personally humbled by the support as I moved across the country working in the wee hours," she added. The opposition leader, she said, asked for a referendum and he got one on December 29 and another last night. In an obvious reference to the JLP's campaign slogan for the Local Government Elections, Simpson Miller said the people of Jamaica have "balanced the ting" by forming a union of local and central government. "Now elections are behind us, the Government can settle down to face the challenges and they are many," Simpson Miller said. She wasted no time getting down to business as she introduced councillor for the Norman Gardens Division and vice-president of the party, Angela Brown Burke, as the next mayor of Kingston. Simpson Miller also challenged the councillors to be accountable and responsible. "There must be accountability, and they must operate in a responsible way," she said.We have reached the halfway point of the season, where are the Ottawa Senators at midway through the 2015-2016 campaign? The Ottawa Senators have played forty-three games this season. The Senators have a 20-17-6 record and sit 10th in the Eastern Conference. The team is currently one point out of the 8th and final playoff spot. The NHL is right near the halfway mark of the eighty-two game regular season. This is a good time to ask and answer various important questions. What has Ottawa done well this season? What areas of the teams play have been effective and which areas need improvement? Even Strength Play The Senators are not a team that dominates games. The team is 27th in the NHL in terms of CorsiFor% at even strength with a percentage of 47.1%. The Senators are typically out-chanced in games. The Senators have been out chanced regarding shot attempts in twenty-nine of forty-three games this year. The team is 18th in the league in Goal Differential. It is evident that they could be playing better at even strength. Goaltending The saving grace of the Ottawa Senators has been strong goaltending. The team is 11th in the league in even strength save percentage with a 93.1% team save percentage. The number is impressive considering that the team gives up so many chances. The Senators goaltenders are forced to face many shots at Even Strength and have been able to deal with them fairly well. Craig Anderson and Andrew Hammond have been a productive goaltending tandem for the Senators. Special Teams The Senators have not been very effective in terms of special teams. The team is 19th in the league in Power Play Percentage with 18%. The power play numbers could be better but are much better than the team’s Penalty Killing numbers. The Senators are the 28th team in the league in terms of Penalty Killing percentage with 76.2%. The Penalty Killing numbers are scary considering that the Senators are seventh in the league in terms of times shorthanded. The Senators have been short handed 143 times thus far. The Senators take a ton of penalties and are not good at killing them off. PENALTY KILL The team’s woes on the Penalty Kill could be a result of losing Erik Condra and David Legwand. Condra was a very effective penalty killer and lead all forwards in penalty killing time last season. Legwand and Condra were key elements of a penalty killing unit that helped lead the Senators to finishing 11th in the league in Penalty Killing last season. Power Play Ottawa’s Power Play is trending slightly higher than it was last season. The Senators finished 22nd in Power Play percentage last season with a 16.8%. This season they are trending slightly higher, currently sitting 19th with an 18%. This could be due to improved utilization of players. Mike Hoffman has seen 1.68 TOI/Game on the Power Play last season shoot up to 2.36 TOI/Game this year. Injuries to Clarke MacArthur have seen him play only four games this season. This changes the look of the Power Play; MacArthur spent a ton of time on the Power Play last season. The Ottawa Senators are a team sitting just outside of a playoff spot. The division is extremely tight right now. 4th in the Eastern Conference is just a ten point difference from 14th in the conference. The season is halfway in the books, and lots of hockey is left to play. The Senators should be able to make the playoffs if they can stay healthy and improve their weaknesses. The Senators must try to stay out of the penalty box, improve their special teams, and start to put more pressure on opposing teams. It would be a great service to their goaltenders if they could start putting more pucks toward the opposition net. The second half the season should be very interesting.By Matthew Odam Updated Oct. 23, 2015 Vision, innovation, collaboration and passion have long fueled Austin’s creative spirit. Those qualities are also propelling the city’s best chefs, who garner more local devotees and national attention each year. It’s an exciting and rewarding time to be a diner in Austin. The city’s competitive dining scene is almost unrecognizable from the one of a decade ago. Only two of the restaurants in this year’s Top 25 have been around longer than 10 years, and about half of them opened within the past five years. Seven of the Top 25 opened since last year’s dining guide. None of which is to imply that newness alone qualified a restaurant to make the list. The restaurants that separated themselves from the rest of Austin’s dining universe did so thanks to their execution and commitment to quality, craftsmanship and service. They are restaurants with decisive points of view and identifiable personalities, regardless of price points or cuisine. I visited all of these restaurants (and dozens more) at least once since last October, and restaurants had to have opened by July 1 of this year to be considered. Of course, this is all just one (well-fed and humble) man’s opinion. I hope it inspires you to try new places, visit old ones and give me a piece of your mind, which you can do via email ([email protected]), phone (512-912-5986) or Twitter (@odam). More 2015 Dining Guide: Top restaurants, 50 critic's picks, Barbecue all-stars, Hamburger all-stars, Mexican cuisine all-stars, Pizza all-stars and All-star trailers.The drug war is largely a war on people who smoke marijuana. In 2010, there were 853,839 marijuana arrests in the United States, almost 90 percent of them for simple possession. At a time when state and local governments are laying off police, firefighters and teachers, this country continues to spend enormous public resources criminalizing marijuana, even though the law enforcement model clearly isn't working. The U.S. has higher rates of marijuana use than the Netherlands, where marijuana is legally available. Decriminalization is a long overdue step. Taxing and regulating marijuana would render the drug war obsolete. As long as organized crime controls distribution, marijuana consumers will come into contact with sellers of hard drugs like methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin. This "gateway" is a direct result of marijuana prohibition. Robert Sharpe The writer is a policy analyst for the advocacy group Common Sense for Drug Policy in Washington.Last summer the Rough Fire grew so large that fire crews from around the world came to the Sierra Nevada east of Fresno to fight the blaze. Today the area is still feeling the effects of the 150,000 acre burn. And as FM89’s Ezra David Romero reports El Nino is bringing a whole new set of problems to the area Listen to the story here. Pine Flat Lake is rising about a half a foot a day. Recent rain and snow are slowly filling it up. “The storms have been fairly regularly spaced and they’ve been bringing some much needed water into the lake,” says Pine Flat Lake Manager Jeromy Caldwell. He and I are on a boating trip on the lake. With heavy storms in the forecast, Caldwell is expecting lots of water to flow in soon. At the moment there’s only about 190,000 acre feet of water in the lake. But the reservoir has a capacity of a million acre feet. That’s over 325 billion gallons of water. With the water level rise comes a problem: debris and sediment from the burn area. The US Army Corps of Engineers is worried that increased amounts of brush, logs and groundcover will flow into the reservoir. That debris can be harmful to people fishing or skiing on the lake. Caldwell says the Corps has a solution for debris. "What happens in the burned scar area impacts everything downstream: sediment, water quality, ability to store water, how it's used downstream."- Steve Haugen “We have a floating boom and as you can see we’ve got some smaller debris now that is being caught,” says Caldwell. “The larger debris can cause hazards to boaters and it can also cause problems with the operation of the dam.” The boom spans the width of the lake and is made out of 10-foot plastic buoys. Hanging from each orange buoy is a two foot metal grate stopping the flow of debris into the lake. ROMERO: “That’s a pretty big log right there.” CALDWELL “It is pretty long. And so it could cause some problems for a boater that happened to hit it.” "We won't know the full extent of that problem until probably five to 10 years out as that sediment makes it way down through the river system." - Steve Haugen Sediment is the other problem. Fine particles dissolve in runoff as it flows through the watershed. Eventually sediment settles on the lake floor. All this mud could make the lake smaller. “There is additional sediment expected to come into the lake because of the fire,” Caldwell says. “You can see some brown colored fine sediment that’s building up along the river.” At this point there’s not much that can be done to stop the particles from coming into the lake. Steve Haugen is the watermaster for the Kings River Water Association. He says the consequences that come with the increased sediment from storms over a burn area are huge. “Out of a 10 year storm we could get upwards of 2,000 acre feet worth of sediment coming into Pine Flat. That settles on the bottom and displaces 2,000 acre feet of water,” says Haugen. And that’s just from one storm. El Nino is supposed to bring many storms. That may not seem like that much of a loss of water either, but with such low reservoir levels every drop matters. All that water is accounted for and a lower holding capacity in the lake means less water for farms and towns. “What happens in the burned scar area impacts everything downstream: sediment, water quality, ability to store water, how it’s used downstream,” Haugen says. Plus, once that sediment settles, it’s really hard and expensive to remove. Haugen also says the irregular increase in organic matter into the lake creates a problem for wildlife. “As that organic matter decays it actually removes oxygen from the water that would be otherwise available to fish or other aquatic life,” says Haugen. Even if California gets a bunch of heavy El Nino storms this year the problem with increased sediment flows doesn’t just go away next year. “We won’t know the full extent of that problem until probably five to 10 years out as that sediment makes it way down through the river system,” Haugen says. “The consequences of these fires are long duration.” Haugen says the sediment dissolved in the lake water eventually makes it out of the dam into grower’s fields and overtime can clog farm machinery and water pumps. But to what extent we won’t know for years to come.A basic understanding of C# and JavaScript is needed to follow this tutorial. Anonymity gives the likelihood to wear a cover, to end up being anyone you need to be. Also, anonymous communication permits you to quit being bashful and act naturally. It is a chance to pull in individuals whom you won't have the confidence to get to know, all things considered. Today, we will create a realtime public anonymous group chat app using C# ASP.NET and Pusher. This tutorial assumes the reader has basic knowledge of C# ASP.NET. Setting up Pusher We need to sign up on Pusher and create a new app, and also copy our secret, application key and application id. Setting up the ASP.NET project in Visual Studio We need to create a new Asp.Net MVC application, so we open up Visual Studio, select new project from the sidebar, under templates, select Visual C#, next, select web, and finally in the middle section, select ASP.NET Web Application. Now we are almost ready. The next step will be to install the official Pusher library for.Net using the NuGet Package. To do this, we go to tools on the top bar, click on NuGet Package Manager, on the dropdown we select Package Manager Console. After doing this, we will see the Package Manager Console at the bottom of our Visual Studio as shown below. The next step is to install the library, by running the following command in the console. Install-Package PusherServer Once this is done, our environment has now been set up. Crafting the chat application Now that our environment is set up and ready, let us dive into writing some code. By default, Visual Studio creates three controllers for us, however we will be using the HomeController for the logic of our chat application. The first thing we want to do is to delete the default index.cshtml file under the Views/Home folder, and create a new view file named index.cshtml that does not have a master layout. In our new index.cshtml file, let us copy the following contents into it. @{ Layout = null; Response.ContentType = "text/HTML"; } <html> <head> <title> Pusher Tutorial </title> </head> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.7/css/bootstrap.min.css" /> <script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.1.1/jquery.min.js"></script> <script src="//js.pusher.com/4.0/pusher.min.js"></script> <style>.chat { list-style: none; margin: 0; padding: 0; }.chat li { margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 5px; border-bottom: 1px dotted #B3A9A9; }.chat li.left.chat-body { margin-left: 60px; }.chat li.right.chat-body { margin-right: 60px; }.chat li.chat-body p { margin: 0; color: #777777; }.panel.slidedown.glyphicon,.chat.glyphicon { margin-right: 5px; }.panel-body { overflow-y: scroll; height: 250px; } ::-webkit-scrollbar-track { -webkit-box-shadow: inset 0 0 6px rgba(0,0,0,0.3); background-color: #F5F5F5; } ::-webkit-scrollbar { width: 12px; background-color: #F5F5F5; } ::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb { -webkit-box-shadow: inset 0 0 6px rgba(0,0,0,.3); background-color: #555; } </style> <body> <div class="container"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-md-12"> <div class="panel panel-primary"> <div class="panel-heading"> <span class="glyphicon glyphicon-comment"></span> Chat </div> <div class="panel-body"> <ul class="chat" id="chat"></ul> </div> <div class="panel-footer"> <div class="input-group"> <input id="btn-input" class="form-control input-sm" placeholder="Type your message here..." type="text"> <span class="input-group-btn"> <button class="btn btn-warning btn-sm" id="btn-chat"> Send </button> </span> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </body> </html> In the above piece of code, we have defined the layout to be null, and we have defined the content type as "text/HTML" so Asp.Net does not attempt to parse the page as XML. We required Bootstrap CSS, jQuery library, as well as the Pusher JavaScript library, before defining the HTML structure. If we save our file and run our project, we should see this. Now we have to trigger an event when someone enters some text and clicks the send button. Let's open up our index.cshtml file again and add the following at the end of the page. <script> $(document).ready(function(){ $("#btn-chat").click(function(){ var message = $('#btn-input').val(); $.post({ url: '@Url.Action("Pushermessage", "Home")', dataType: 'text/HTML', contentType: "application/json", data: JSON.stringify({ "message": message }), success: function (data) { $("#btn-input").val(''); } }); }) }) </script> In the above code, we have attached a click event listener to the element with the ID of btn-chat which happens to be our button. Once the button is clicked, the code will take the value of the element with the id of btn-input which happens to be our text box, and send an AJAX call to our Pushermessage function in our HomeController. However, we are yet to create the Pushermessage function that responds to the AJAX call. Let us move to our HomeController, and paste the following code after the index function. [HttpPost] public async Task<ActionResult> Pushermessage(String message) { var options = new PusherOptions(); options.Cluster = "XXX_CLUSTER"; var pusher = new Pusher("XXX_APP_ID", "XXX_APP_KEY", "XXX_APP_SECRET", options); ITriggerResult result = await pusher.TriggerAsync("asp_channel", "asp_event", new { message = message, name = "Anonymous" }); return new HttpStatusCodeResult((int)HttpStatusCode.OK); } Don't forget to add the following references to the top of your file, before the class declaration using PusherServer; using System.Net; using System.Threading.Tasks; In the last two block of codes, we have defined our Pushermessage function and we also decorated it with the [HttpPost] decorator, so Asp.Net knows it’s a function for POST requests. In this function, we instantiate Pusher, using our appId, appKey and appSecret respectively. We then went ahead to trigger a channel called asp_channel and an event called asp_event, sending in two values with it. At this point, if we reload our app, type in a message and send, we should see the following when we visit our debug console on our Pusher dashboard: At this point, we are done with emitting the message to data. Let us now move onto listening for the event on the client side and displaying the new message. Let us open up our index.cshtml file, and add the following lines of code after our click event. var pusher = new Pusher('PUSHER_APP_KEY', {cluster: 'XXX_CLUSTER'}); var my_channel = pusher.subscribe('asp_channel'); my_channel.bind("asp_event", function (data) { var new_message = '<li class="left clearfix"><span class="chat-img pull-left">'; new_message +='<img src="http://placehold.it/50/55C1E7/fff&text='+data.name+'" alt="User Avatar" class="img-circle">'; new_message += '</span>'; new_message += '<div class="chat-body clearfix">'; new_message += '<div class="header">'; new_message += '<strong class="primary-font">'+data.name+'</strong> <small class="pull-right text-muted">'; new_message += '</div>'; new_message += '<p>'; new_message += data.message; new_message += '</p>'; new_message += '</div>'; new_message += '</li>'; $("#chat").append(new_message); }); In the above block of code, we declared a variable called pusher and we set it to an instance of a new Pusher object, passing in our appKey. Next, we declared a variable called my_channel, and we call the Pusher subscribe method to our channel, which in this case, is called asp_channel. Next, we bind to the event, receive the data passed from it, wrap the data in some li tags, and then we append it to the ul element in our HTML structure with the ID of chat. Below is our functionality: In this article, we have demonstrated how to create a public anonymous chat application using C# ASP.NET and Pusher. We have gone over the process of setting up the environment, using the NuGet Package Console to install packages as well as implementing the chat application. Many other realtime applications can be built using Pusher and ASP.NET, it's left for you to decide which awesome realtime app you'll be building next.The Welles Park Craft Beer Fest and the Old Irving Park Beer & BBQ Challenge are both set for Aug. 5. View Full Caption Shutterstock LINCOLN SQUARE — When it comes to craft beer, Chicago's keg runneth over. Not one but two brew fests are scheduled for Aug. 5: the Welles Park Craft Beer Fest and the Old Irving Park Beer & BBQ Challenge. If double-fest-fisting isn't an option, here's a breakdown of the events to help you weigh your options. The Beer The Welles Park fest has 80 breweries lined up, from Alarmist to White Oak; the Beer & BBQ Challenge has 20 participating breweries. Here's the catch: A ticket to the Welles fest is only good for 20 tastings. Beer & BBQ tickets buy 40 tastings — two from each brewery. Double-fist: While there's a certain amount of brewery overlap between the two events, with a little bit of planning it's possible to go to both fests and enjoy samples of 60 totally different beers. The Food The main difference between the two events is right there in the name: The Old Irving Park fest is as much about the barbecue as the beer. Each participating brewery has been teamed with a pit master, and admission to the event includes samplings of each team's beer-and-barbecue pairing. At Welles Park, Taco In A Bag and Fountainhead will be supplying food, sold separately from the event ticket. The Cost A ticket to the Welles Park fest will set you back $50 (click here to buy online). Designated drivers and non-beer drinkers can attend without a ticket. General admission tickets (click here) to Beer & BBQ cost $60, including food. VIP admission (click here) is $90, and is worth an extra hour of early entry to the event. The Setting The Welles Park Craft Beer Fest will take place 1-4 p.m. at Welles Park, 2333 W. Sunnyside Ave. Last pour is 3:45 p.m. The Old Irving Park Beer & BBQ Challenge is set for 1-5 p.m. (VIP ticket holders can enter at noon) at St. Viator School, 3644 N. Kedvale Ave.Limiting the rights of EU migrants to claim tax credits is a key part of the renegotiation of Britain's relationship with the EU, Sajid Javid has said. The business secretary said ministers wanted to change rules that allowed EU migrants to receive £700 a month in tax credits - twice what Germany paid. He told the Andrew Marr Show: "That's the kind of thing we need to change. It's a key part of our negotiation." Labour's acting leader Harriet Harman said she also backed a rule change. Prime Minister David Cameron, who is due to hold talks with European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker for talks on Monday, has pledged to renegotiate a "better deal" for the UK and hold an "in/out" referendum by the end of 2017. 'Patience needed' Mr Javid told Andrew Marr he was confident the government would achieve the new deal it wants as the election of a Conservative government had concentrated the minds of Britain's EU partners. "We are going to need some patience but we will get there," Mr Javid said, especially on getting changes to things like the welfare payments available to new arrivals from elsewhere in Europe. Mr Javid said EU migrants could currently receive £700 per month in tax credits, twice what they would receive in Germany. He said "that's the kind of thing we need to change. It's a very key part of our negotiation." Ms Harman, who confirmed that Labour would now back the EU referendum bill, which paves the way for the vote by the end of 2017, said Labour supported government plans to reform welfare so people contributed before they were able to take something out. She denied it was inconsistent to support efforts to renegotiate terms but also say that the party would back staying in the EU whatever the result of those negotiations. Mr Cameron is in the middle of a diplomatic push on his plans to change the terms of the UK's membership of the EU. Image copyright EPA He said on Friday he was confident he could get a better deal for the UK but conceded that it "won't be easy". Speaking at an EU summit in Latvia, he said he had not been greeted "by a wall of love" when he met EU leaders for the first time since his general election win. But he said he had a mandate and the "British people at his back" for the changes he wanted to achieve. As well as talks with Mr Juncker, the prime minister will also hold talks with Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande in coming days. 'Compromise' sought Other EU countries have said they will listen to what the UK has to say, the Finnish prime minister Alexander Stubb saying he backed the UK's proposals to cut red tape and was sure "some kind of compromise" could be reached. But some member states have questioned the need for any change to EU treaties, something Mr Cameron has said he wants to see, and ruled out any watering down of the key principle of freedom of movement. Speaking at Friday's meeting of EU leaders, Mr Cameron said he believed it was in the interests of both the UK and its European partners for the UK to remain part of the European Union but under different terms. The British people, he said, were not happy with the status quo and wanted change on issues such as welfare, immigration and an opt-out from further integration. Mr Cameron is committed to holding an in/out referendum on Britain's membership of the EU by the end of 2017, but there is speculation it could be held next year to avoid a clash with elections in France and Germany. EU referendum in focus Image copyright Getty Images David Cameron is ready to start renegotiating the terms of Britain's EU membership ahead of a referendum. Here is some further reading on what it all means: The UK and the EU: Better off in or out? What Britain wants from Europe Q&A: The UK's planned EU referendum Timeline: EU referendum debate Why Germany is David Cameron's new best friend Legislation paving the way for the UK referendum is expected to be published next Thursday, the day after the Queen opens Parliament. Asked whether he would be prepared to recommend a UK exit if he did not get the outcome he wanted, Mr Cameron said he would "not rule anything out". Mr Cameron has not revealed the full details of what he is seeking from any changes, but he is expected to demand an opt-out from one its core principles of forging an "ever-closer union" between member states. He will also try to get more powers to block or opt out of new EU laws, and for restrictions on welfare benefits for migrants until they have lived in the UK for four years. This week, a number of UK business leaders started to highlight the potential implications of the referendum, with the president of the CBI saying businesses should "speak out early" in favour of remaining in a reformed EU, The Labour Party, SNP, Plaid Cymru and the Lib Dems favour staying in the EU. UKIP, which got almost four million votes but only one MP in the election, want to leave.Miami quarterback Brad Kaaya has noted—more than once this off-season—that he and his teammates wasted little time getting back to work after returning from winter break and a tough showing in the Duck Commander Independence Bowl. But the Hurricanes’ informal off-season workouts are about to get a little more regimented now that Miami is ready to kick off its spring practice sessions a little earlier than usual. The Hurricanes will have their first of
males would thus seem to be a prerequisite for teaching the Duluth model. Profiles of typical Duluth model clients Top In his book Rethinking Domestic Violence Don Dutton presents (p. 303) the following profile of a typical Duluth Model client based on his experience as a therapist: “Based on police arrest statistics and court and treatment group data, we know the following about the statistically most likely participant in a court-mandated group. He is about 31, under- or unemployed. He resents his lot in life but has several mouths to feed. He does not hate women but in his eyes his wife 'isn't pulling her weight.' He drinks more than he should, but he doesn't like her telling him about it. His anger has increased lately, especially with work layoffs, but he is in denial about it. His anger is starting to generalize to other groups, groups that are 'taking his work away.' (Their identity varies with geographic location). He feels powerless but hates to admit it because of pride. The arrest startled him. He had no previous police record. He is terrified about a 'treatment group.' He's never been in treatment; he thinks it's for sick people. When the group leader tells him he's using violence as a form of 'power and control' and that he flaunts'male privilege' he is stunned. He sees himself as the last person to have 'privilege.' He thinks the 'facilitator' is 'full of shit' but knows he had better keep that opinion to himself because he has to finish this group as a condition of probation. That means the therapist has to think he's okay. If that means going along the nonsense they're spouting, so be it. They try to tell him he's like a slave owner, but he thinks, 'If anyone's a slave here, it's me!' He mentions in group that his wife flies into rages and is sometimes violent, but his statements are dismissed as 'victim blaming,' so he learns not to talk about these problems. He 'goes underground' in group, not revealing what he sees as marriage problems. He keeps things to himself. The facilitator tells him he must write a letter of apology to his wife. He struggles with that one. He is feeling chronic anger now: toward her for calling the cops and toward the system that is forcing him to say and do these things. Some of the guys meet outside group to discuss how to 'get by and get out.' His sense of powerlessness is increased or intensified by the unfairness of how he is being dealt with by the'system.' Consequently, his sense of worth plummets further, and whatever optimism he has left is dealt a further blow. In other words, all the psychological and societal dynamics that came into play in the violent domestic situation become intensified and further solidified.” Sally Satel, M.D., presents the reaction of one man to courses based on the Duluth Model: “Take the case of 'Don,' a senior administrator at a southern university. Arrested once for slapping his wife (they are still together), Don was required to attend a Duluth-model program. About fifteen men sat for three hours on ten consecutive Wednesday nights in a classroom headed by two counselors. 'The message was clear,' Don told me, 'whatever she does to you is your fault, whatever you do to her is your fault.' It would have been a lot more helpful if they taught us to recognize when we felt ourselves being driven into positions where we lash out. The message should have been'recognize it, deal with it, and quit hitting.' But all they gave us to work with was guilt.' According to Don, 'bathroom and cigarette breaks were filled with comments about the whole thing being stupid. In the sessions, group discussions among participants were not allowed to develop maybe the leaders were afraid we'd unite and challenge their propaganda.' Rather than improve their relationships, Don felt the therapy only helped to increase polarization between men and women. 'Wives went to support groups and we went to our groups.'” or Satel's description of the reaction of a battered woman to DAIP courses: “Glenna Auxiera, a divorce resolution counselor in Gainesville, Florida, attended a training course on male batterers sponsored by the Duluth Abuse Intervention Program. She reports being'stunned' by what she heard. 'The course leaders were fixated on male-bashing,' Auxiera says. 'I was a battered woman, too, and I see the part I played in the drama of my relationship. Hitting is wrong. Period. But a relationship is a dynamic interaction and if both want to change, counselors should work with them.'” If someone has thought of a more idiotic method of trying to deal with domestic violence than the Duluth Model, I haven't heard of it! Summary Top It should be obvious from the above that men are the enemy in the feminist mind, regardless of a man's race, creed, color, or any other characteristics. In their ideology, the battering that men impose on women is the result of our patriarchal society and training. Women only use violence for “self defense.” The only solution to the problem of domestic violence under their creed is to forcibly separate the man and the woman using police powers to arrest the man and tear him from his home and family with no more to his name than what he stands in. On the basis of this unproven ideology, and with complete disregard of civil liberties, Colorado, and many other states, have passed laws that make a warrantless arrest of the male mandatory if a woman alleges domestic violence, or someone else reports that they suspect it, regardless of whether the officer witnesses any criminal act. Hearsay is admissible as a basis for arrest and at hearings and trial. The arrest of the male is mandatory even if the police have little or no evidence to support a woman's charges, or if the woman does not want an arrest made, and even if the police think the woman is lying. If you are in your home, the police will enter without a warrant and search for evidence of violence or any other thing they may discover. Once arrested, the male is usually held without bail for an indefinite period without a hearing, often exceeding 48 hours. Before being released, the man must sign a restraining order that forces him from his home and children with no more than the shirt on his back, forbids contact with his wife and children, prohibits mediation, prevents or greatly hinders his finding witnesses for his defense, prohibits his possession of a firearm for any reason, or the possession or consumption of any alcoholic beverage. Other punishments C.R.S. § 16-4-105 may be inflicted on the male prior to a trial solely at the discretion of the court. The prosecutor is prohibited by law, C.R.S. § 18-6-801(3), from plea bargaining such cases to any charge that does not include domestic violence, the so-called “no drop” provision. Ex parte (without the other party) restraining orders may be issued by the court if a woman alleges abuse of any kind, including verbal harassment, shouting, an argument. She may simply claim that she is fearful of a man or that the potential for “emotional harm” exists or may exist in the future. An adulterous woman may obtain a restraining order against her husband on the basis that he threatened the male she was having an affair with (e.g., see the case of Dr. Emerson ). Cathy Young notes that: “The basis for a restraining order need not include violence. In Massachusetts, over half of the 60,000 restraining orders in domestic cases issued every year do not, according to a 1995 state report, involve so much as an allegation of physical abuse.” The consequences of violating a restraining order almost certainly involve going to jail no matter how trivial or uncorroborated the charges. Under this feminist ideology, men have been jailed for: Taking food to their children while the mother was away for days partying. Sending their kids a Christmas card. For asking a telephone operator to convey a harmless message. For accidental contact at the courthouse. For returning a child's phone call. For sending an email, even when a computer virus sent the email. For passing the woman going the other way on a highway. Being at the grocery store at the same time. and on ad nauseam. Many of these laws have been in place in Colorado for a decade or more. Yet in 2000 the Colorado legislature is allocating ever more money to feminist groups to stop alleged increases in such acts. It is a virtual certainty that such monies will go toward financing feminist programs rather than attempting to solve the problem. macho (adj.): Of or pertaining to male behavior. It is always followed by the noun “bullshit.” In approved usage it is applied to any and all male behavior of which the speaker disapproves. Thus, a man holding a door for a woman and a man forcing a woman to walk two paces behind him are both macho bullshit. Only complete and total acquiescence to the woman's will is exempt from this label (see 'wimp'). Maybe there is a better way? Top \| EJF Home \| Join the EJF \| Comments? \| Get EJF newsletter \| Newsletters \| \| DV Home \| Abstract \| Contents \| Authors and Site Map \| Tables \| Index \| Bibliography \| \| Chapter 10 The Female Of The Species \| \| Next Marxism and the roots of radical feminism: Essays by Carey Roberts \| \| Back The female of the species \| This site is supported and maintained by the Equal Justice Foundation. Last modified 1/18/19PHAGWARA: It was an NRI wedding that never got real.A Greece-returned youth Parmjit who had met his ‘dream girl’ through the social media and arrived to wed her in style in a 20-car cavalcade, got a virtual slap on his face when he arrived at the marriage venue at Gobindpura village in Kapurthala district on Wednesday.The bridegroom never dreamt that anything was amiss as the ‘bride’, Sandeep Kaur, was in constant touch with him, guiding him to the venue, a banquet hall on Nakodar Road, Phagwara. But, the minute the over 100-member baraat reached the place, she signed off.The bridegroom who happily reached the palace at 11am in a flower-decked luxury car, and a row of baraatis in tow, couldn’t believe his eyes when he found the banquet hall in Hadiabad area locked and nobody from the girl’s family present. It took a few minutes for it to sink in that he had been set up. Devasted by this hoax, the youth’s father fainted.Pargan Singh, a numbardar of Gobindpura village, who was part of the baraat, said the groom had come in contact with the girl of Kotli village near Nakodar through the social media while he was in Greece. “The boy finalized the date and no one from his family was involved in negotiations for the matrimonial alliance or finalising of arrangements,” he said.“Celebrations were on at the groom’s place for two days and nearly all his relatives had come to see him wed,” said another relative.Terming it “the worst humiliation of their life”, some members of the marriage party spread word that they were ready to marry off the boy to any girl from the locality. A girl from a poor family was approached, but even her kin rejected the proposal as they were not sure about the groom’s credentials. The baraat ultimately returned “empty-handed”. By this time, the fraud had begun to add up for Parmjit, and he recollected how the girl had sought money from him on various pretexts. He went to Satnampura police station to lodge a complaint, but finally decided not to bother.CLOSE Convention vet Brian Truitt joins first-timer Carly Mallenbaum to share what you need to know before Comic-Con kicks off Thursday in San Diego. There will be big stars, big movies and, as always, big surprises at Comic-Con. VPC The actor stars as a fictional version of R.L. Stine in the movie based on the popular book series. Jack Black, right, anchors the upcoming film 'Goosebumps,' based on the book series by R.L. Stine. The films also features, left to right, Odeya Rush, Ryan Lee and Dylan Minnette. (Photo: Hopper Stone, Columbia Pictures) Like Jack Black, Comic-Con is going to be feeling some Goosebumps. The annual extravaganza of movies, TV shows, comic books and pop culture's finest officially begins Thursday at the San Diego Convention Center. And a sneak peek at clips from the family-friendly film, based on author R.L. Stine's Goosebumps anthology series, kicks off four days of geek-worthy entertainment for more than 125,000 attendees. The movie wrapped production in Atlanta on Friday and will be in theaters Aug. 7, 2015. Instead of simply adapting one of Stine's popular horror-fiction tomes, director Rob Letterman's Goosebumps conceit takes a bigger-picture approach. Teenage Zach (Dylan Minnette) moves from New York City to a small town, and finds himself intrigued by Hannah (Odeya Rush), the girl next door, but weirded out by her misanthrope father. He is R.L. Stine (played by Black), and he has a big secret: All the Goosebumps monsters come from his imagination and can manifest themselves in reality. Things get hairy when giant praying mantises, frightful zombies and all sorts of other kooky characters and creatures run wild at night through the local high school football field and the rest of town, and Stine has to come out of his introverted shell and team with some youngsters to save the day. It's a monster mashup in the new upcoming horror comedy 'Goosebumps' (Photo: Hopper Stone, Columbia Pictures) "He has to put all these monsters back in the books," says Letterman, "and at the same time keep the next-door neighbor kid from dating his daughter. "It's an incredibly delicate tone to weave horror scares and comedy and adventure," he adds. "I lean on Jack a lot to bridge those gaps." The genre mash-up was appealing for Black, as was playing a character who looked and sounded very different from himself. The fictional Stine is "someone with a little more gravitas, a respected writer, a writer with a dark side," the actor says. "So I worked on his voice and I decided to give him an Orson Wellesian accent, a little Northeastern flavor." The culprit behind all the monsters getting loose is Slappy, an evil ventriloquist's dummy who gets around in a haunted car. He also bears more than a passing resemblance to Black — Slappy is a piece of Stine's subconscious mind come to terrifying wooden life, according to Letterman. Slappy, an evil ventriloquist's dummy who causes all kinds of trouble in 'Goosebumps.' (Photo: Hopper Stone, Columbia Pictures) Black has starred in two of the director's projects — Gulliver's Travels and the animated Shark Tale — but Goosebumps "really felt like the movie that he was born to make," the actor says. "He had such a connection to the creatures, and I could see in his face that this was going to be a home run." Instead of setting out to make a monster movie, though, Letterman says he just wanted something like the films he loved as a kid. "I love the idea of just starting in a grounded world, and letting a supernatural element enter it — and staying with the characters and seeing how they deal with something impossible to imagine." Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1mB9M3vThis article is over 4 years old Sith lord runs for president as candidate of Ukrainian Internet party, vowing to'make an empire out of a republic' As Ukraine battles to stave off dark forces of its own, the Star Wars villain Darth Vader announced at the weekend he was running for president in a bid to restore glory to the downtrodden nation. The Sith lord, or at least an unnamed costumed protester often seen on Kiev's Independence Square flanked by his loyal stormtroopers during the winter protests, has been chosen as the official candidate of the Ukrainian Internet party (UIP) which has become known for its theatrical public stunts. "After winning intra-party primaries by a landslide, comrade Vader will be our party's candidate," said the UIP leader, Dmitry Golubov, who spent time in prison after being convicted of using the internet to run a credit card fraud scheme. Encased in black armour, with a black mask and cape, the party's Darth Vader has been involved in several political actions in the country. The Ukrainian Internet party’s Darth Vader flanked by stormtroopers in Independence Square, Kiev, in 2012. Photograph: Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images In November 2013 he was carried by his stormtroopers to Odessa city hall where he declared himself mayor. According to local media reports he has also reportedly demanded a plot of land to park his spaceship. "I alone can make an empire out of a republic, to restore former glory, to return lost territories and pride for this country," Vader said in a party statement. The party said it had paid the required 2.5m hryvnia (£136,000) registration fee for its unusual candidate. Ukraine is holding a snap presidential election on 25 May after parliament ousted the pro-Moscow leader Viktor Yanukovych as a result of bloody street protests against his government. The UIP was registered in 2010 and aims to create an electronic government in Ukraine, transition to digital media and offer free computer courses to all citizens.Reign-Thorns draws NWSL-record crowd of 21,144 PORTLAND, Ore. -- The Portland Thorns played the rival Seattle Reign on Wednesday night before a National Women's Soccer League-record crowd of 21,144. It was the first sellout at Providence Park for the Thorns. Portland also held the previous NWSL attendance record of 19,123, set Aug. 3, 2014, for a match against the Houston Dash. The Reign won 1-0 on Kim Little's goal in the 57th minute. AP Photo/Don Ryan Wednesday night's game was the first sellout at Providence Park for the Thorns. The Thorns lead the league in attendance by a wide margin, averaging 13,769 fans a game this season. Wednesday night's match will mark the fourth time the crowd has gone over 16,000 at the downtown stadium, which is also home to Major League Soccer's Portland Timbers. The record for a professional women's soccer match in the United States was set in 2001, when 34,148 watched the Washington Freedom beat the Bay Area CyberRays 1-0 at RFK Stadium. Mia Hamm starred for the Freedom, and Brandi Chastain led the CyberRays. The NWSL has benefited from the U.S. women's national team victory at this year's Women's World Cup. The Americans beat Japan 5-2 in the final for the team's third overall World Cup title. Members of the U.S. team -- and other national teams -- are spread across the NWSL. The Thorns' roster includes forward Alex Morgan and midfielder Tobin Heath. Other World Cup players in Portland include Canada's Christine Sinclair and Germany's Nadine Angerer. Morgan was unavailable for the match after minor surgery on her right knee. She is expected to be out for three to four weeks, but U.S. Soccer said she could return for the first of a 10-match victory tour Aug. 16 against Costa Rica in Pittsburgh. The Reign's roster includes U.S. midfielder Megan Rapinoe and goalkeeper Hope Solo. Solo was also sitting out because of a knee injury that the Reign said she sustained during the World Cup. She is considered day-to-day. "My focus right now is to get healthy so that I can return to the field for Reign FC," Solo said in a statement released by the team. "I am looking forward to rejoining my teammates and helping them push for an NWSL championship in this second half of the season." Earlier Tuesday, the Reign signed goalkeeper Caroline Stanley, who was an amateur call-up for Seattle while Solo was at the World Cup. Before the match, the World Cup players from both teams were honored onfield by Oregon Gov. Kate Brown. "I'm just so proud to say that we have the best fans in the world for club and country," Morgan said. Heath said the Thorns would have liked to give the hometown fans a win for their overwhelming support. "Tonight was hard," she said, "it was really hard."There is no doubt that HTC is the best at making Android based smartphones and it looks like HTC is finally taking a shot at high-quality QWERTY keypad smartphones running the famous Android OS. Last month we heard about the HTC Vision and it looks like it is for real. We told you that HTC is working on a dual-core Android 3.0 smartphones called the HTC Vision but there wasn’t much information and it looked too good to be true. Now, it looks like a Croatian site has uploaded some blurry images of what is supposed to be the HTC Vision. Although, it is not as buffed as we had heard it looks like the phone has Android 2.1 with Sense, a full QWERTY slide out keypad, 3.7-inch display and possibly a 1GHz Snapdragon processor. The phone is not quite as we had expected it to be however it looks like HTC is still interested in Android based smartphones with full physical QWERTY keypads. Source: Engadget via njuskalo.hrFind out if you truly appreciate the wonder of a good, quality craft beer. America on Tap Manchester is coming to the Verizon Wireless Arena on Saturday, Oct. 10. We know how much you love craft beer, but how do you really know if you have a passion for brews? Let us help you out. 1 You can’t even taste “normal” beer There you are at a party and the hosts are handing out the usual selection of mainstream beers. You smile and accept another bottle knowing full well that this watery brew will do nothing for your tastebuds. You long for a craft beer because anything less is like drinking straight from the water fountain. Reddit 2 You love craft beer more than people Your craft beer has never let you down. People come and go, but the many beers in your life will always stay by your side. Those bottles and cans contain more love than any human could possibly imagine. Gifbay 3 You can’t even remember how many you’ve tried The goal each week is to try a new brewery, or explore further options from one you’ve already tried. Mission accomplished. But now the amount of beers you’ve tried has exceeded your mental capacity to recall the whole list. You always say you will keep track of each new brew, but somehow that is always forgotten after a few bottles. Gifbay 4 You don't chug. You taste. Your buddies are pounding their drinks with reckless abandon and there you are just enjoying the subtle flavors hiding in each bottle. The idea of merely “chugging” your beer seems so wasteful, and the idea of merely shotgunning an excellent beer is cringeworthy. Reddit 5 You have encyclopedic knowledge of craft beer Your friends say they know a thing or two about beer, but can’t explain the difference between an ale and a lager. How about the attenuation or a beer, or how flocculation occurs? They look at you like you are speaking another language, which you basically are. It is the native toungue of a craft beer-lover. Cheezburger 6 There are no commercials for your favorite beers The greatest beers don’t need amphibians or charming men to gain a loyal following. Your favorite brews are shared through word-of-mouth and are praised for their quality, not the ad campaigns. You are a walking spokesman for all of the best craft beers available. Dos Equis 7 You describe your craft beer as you drink it Every new batch of craft beer has a story to be told, and you are going to be the one to tell it. The details of this story must be told in between sips and shared with your captive audience. Your “normal” drinking buddies need to know about how the bold flavor matches well with the spices mixed into this brew. Reddit 8 You know what craft beer pairs with meals Other folks will just slap any ol’ beer with their meal, but not you. You know that, like a fine wine, the choice of beer pairing can make or break a dining experience, That light-colored lager will pair perfectly with the fish, while that stout would compliment the blue cheese on your plate. Digg.tumblr.com 9 You check out what everyone else is drinking Admit it. You pay more attention to the beer someone is drinking than what they are saying. That isn’t a bad thing because what a person drinks says a lot about them. The wrong brand in the hand could be a sign of a severe lack of good taste. Cheezburger 10 You brew your own craft beer You love craft beer so much you have decided to make some of your own. This is the sign of a true fan who would go to any length to sample that perfect brew. Maybe one day you will open up your own brewery and amass a legion of beer-loving followers. One day...Get the biggest football stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email Ronald Koeman says his Southampton side may have to qualify for the Champions League this season to avoid ANOTHER summer exodus. The Saints were left reeling during the last close-season, when England stars Adam Lallana, Luke Shaw and Rickie Lambert, and manager Mauricio Pochettino, were among a host of departures. The south-coast high-fliers will face a battle to keep Manchester United target Nathaniel Clyne and key midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin, wanted by Arsenal, when the current campaign ends. Three Lions striker Jay Rodriguez is also attracting interest from Liverpool and Tottenham, despite being out since last April with a serious knee injury. Boss Koeman, whose side are fourth going into Saturday’s trip to struggling QPR, said: “Maybe it will be a question for these players that they like to play European football and the Champions League. “If there is any interest in these players, it will be easier for us if we play European Cup football to keep them. That’s always an important reason for a player to stay. “I know the situation. We are Southampton and if we are doing well there is always interest in players, and it’s up to the success of the club. “I like this, rather than to be on the bottom and there is no interest in the players.” Saints enter the weekend level on points with fifth-placed Arsenal, and ahead of improving Tottenham and Liverpool. Koeman reckons Saints’ lack of European and FA Cup commitments will give his side an edge. He added: “That’s an advantage for us. We know for Tottenham and Liverpool it is normal they will fight for the places up in the table. They need European football. We like to have it, but the chairman does not say to me, ‘If we don’t reach European football, you did a bad job.’”On Thursday, news spread of a lawsuit filed against Blue Diamond, alleging that the company’s popular Almond Breeze beverage, does not, in fact, contain almonds. Or rather, not very many almonds. According to online ingredient lists, Almond Breeze is only 2% almonds, and mostly water. Upon closer inspection, an Almond Breeze container only serves to make you further suspicious: it doesn’t claim to be almond milk — which is normally around 30% almonds — and says things like “made from real almonds,” “non-dairy beverage,” “Luscious taste!” and “Smart choice!” In other words: you can’t really tell what Almond Breeze is just by reading the package, but if you had to guess, you may go with “smart, luscious, non-dairy almonds.” It’s misleading in the way that so many products labelled with buzzwords such as “all-natural,” “no artificial flavours” and “made from real X” are. If you really want to know what’s in Almond Breeze — or just about anything in a package — you’d actually need to read the ingredients. But if you can’t be bothered, here are some tips to help you better navigate some products with especially disingenuous packaging. 1. REALFRUIT gummy candies The only fruits that are real fruits are real fruits. 2. Kraft Singles Rule of thumb: The more adjectives a product requires, the further it is from being a real food. “Pasteurized prepared cheese product” is right up there with… 4. Hellman’s half-fat mayo …. “sauce style mayonnaise type dressing.” 5. Coca-Cola made with real sugar The word “real” here is used as a signifier of purity or wholeness, when in actuality if you are drinking a can of Coke you are putting something in your stomach that can clean your sink. 6. Protinis Ever notice how “oven-roasted” chicken has grill marks on it? Why is that? OH WAIT YES IT IS BECAUSE THIS CHICKEN IS A LIE. 7. Veggie straws No vegetable on god’s green earth springs forth from the ground in the shape of something through which you could siphon Coca-Cola (made with real sugar). 8. Chocolate Dairy Beverage Much like Almond Breeze, the provenance and, indeed, contents of this package are unclear based on its name. It is clear, however, that it is not quite milk. 9. Goldfish Crackers I’m just putting these here because there is a type of Goldfish cracker that comes in rainbow colours, and the packaging says “made with natural colours.” Oh yeah? So what kind of bush does a colour grow on? When you see “made with natural ANYTHING,” have doubts. Avoid. Or buy the thing but know that you are basically eating corrugated cardboard full of sugar with maybe a whisper of real food. But don’t sue people; just be smarter. 10. Yogurt made with real coffee Wait, what? No. Just throw this into a fire.PT Barnum famously said that you can’t go broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public and blogger Vani Hari (Food Babe) is demonstrating the truth of that adage. Her artful manipulation of her Food Babe Army would warm Barnum’s heart. Like Barnum, Hari depends for her money on the gullibility and lack of sophistication of her followers. They are so naive that they seem to have no awareness that Food Babe is a business, and they’ve been duped into buying an endless array of its useless products. Maybe Vani’s followers are having trouble seeing Food Babe for the business that it is. Perhaps we should identify what Hari does by giving a nickname to her business; I suggest “Vansanto.” Barnum at least had to put on his circus and that costs money. Monsanto at least has to create poducts that actually do something. “Vansanto” doesn’t have to do anything to rake in the dough. Hari, the “chief executive” of Vansanto, has figured out how to monetize fear, and that’s free, especially when you create it yourself. I could spend a lot of time debunking Hari’s claims one by one, but I suspect that wouldn’t be very effective, because her followers lack the knowledge of basic science needed to understand them in the first place. But even those who never learned chemistry should have learned cynicism. They should be able to recognize a marketing ploy when they see one. “Vansanto” is no more committed to your health and wellbeing than Monsanto is. Both are businesses that make money by promoting and selling products. Monstanto sells a range of products some of which have tremendous value, some of which have serious side effects and all of which fill Monsanto’s coffers. “Vansanto” promotes and sells a range of products all of which have no intrinsic value since don’t do anything besides line Vani’s pockets. They only have value when you’ve been convinced to fear the less expensive, often far more effective, conventional alternative. That’s where Vani’s true brilliance comes in. She knows that her claims don’t have to make sense and don’t even have to be true; they just have to create fear and Vani is very, very good at doing that. What’s amazing is that The Food Babe Army is oblivious to what seems pathetically obvious to me. Vani Hari creates fear in order to monetize it. “Vansanto” is no different from Monsanto in that regard. It is an enterprise that exists to create value and profit for its shareholders regardless of whether its products help or harm people. Maybe members of the Food Babe Army could explain to me why they can’t see this. Is there a single member of the Food Babe Army that hasn’t been convinced to buy either a product that Vani sells, or to forgo buying a conventional product for one that Vani recommends? Is there a single member of her Army who isn’t supporting her with their own money? Can’t you see its about the money, not the food? Can’t you see that there’s no real difference between “Vansanto” and Monsanto except that one makes money for her and the other doesn’t? Don’t you see that Vani Hari sparked your fear and you are now willing to pay her to make the very fear that she created go way? That doesn’t mark you as educated; it marks you as gullible, and profitable, fools.In 1620, searching for a place to practice their dissident religion in peace, a small group of English separatists sailed to the wilderness coast of America. They were helped by local Indians, who shared with them a great feast comprised of native foods: turkey, cornbread, pumpkin, cranberries. The Indians taught the Pilgrims how to plant corn and squash together with a fish placed in the soil to encourage robust growth; the colony survived and prospered. Jump cut to the Boston Tea Party, Concord and Lexington, and the modern world’s first successful experiment in democracy. If you add the Salem Witch trails and the French and Indian War, this summary pretty much covers the average American’s vision of the century and a half that passed between the landing at Plymouth Rock and the fireworks of July 4, 1776. It’s what might be called the Thanksgiving Myth — and it’s not wildly off base as far as it goes. But some important context is missing. This is a problem, because a nation’s foundational mythology determines its self-image and deeply affects the behavior of its government and citizenry. From 1616 to 1619, a series of virgin-soil epidemics spread by European trading vessels ravaged the New England seaboard, wiping out up to 95 percent of the Algonkian-speaking native population from Maine to Narragansett Bay. The coast was a vast killing zone of abandoned agricultural fields and decimated villages littered with piles of bones and skulls. This is what the Pilgrims encountered when they landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620. Not a pristine wilderness, but the devastated ruins of a once-thriving culture, a haunting boneyard which English libertine Thomas Morton later described as a “newfound Golgotha.” The collision of worldviews is almost impossible to imagine. On the one hand, a European society full of religious fervor and colonizing energy; on the other, a native society shattered and reeling from the greatest catastrophe it had ever known. The Puritans were forever examining their own spiritual state. Having come to America with the goal of separating themselves from polluted forms of worship, a great deal of their energy was focused on battling demons, both within themselves and at large in the world. Puritan clerics confused the Indian deity Kiehtan with God, and they conflated Hobbamock, a fearsome nocturnal spirit associated with Indian shamans, or powwows, with Satan. Because of this special connection many Puritans believed that the powwows, and by extension all the New England Indians, were bound by a covenant with the devil. Indians thus became symbolic adversaries, their very existence a threat to the Englishmen’s prized religious identities. Meanwhile, the Great Migration of the 1630s was bringing in thousands of new colonists, many of them younger siblings shut out of an inheritance back in England, who were hungry for the opportunity to become property owners in their own right. There was a great need for more land. And so, tragically – and not for the last time in American history – self-interest, fear, and deep-seated ideology coincided. Indian-hating became the fashion. Religious piety provided a motive for armed violence. In May of 1637, colonists from Connecticut and Massachusetts Bay, with a group of their Indian allies, set fire to a fortified Pequot stronghold on the Mystic River. An estimated 700 Pequots perished, mostly women and children, and the few survivors were shipped to Bermuda and sold into slavery. On the heels of the virgin-soil epidemics that had decimated the native population, the ghastly specter of genocide had reached the shores of America. In 1675, bloody King Phillip’s War put the finishing touches on what was more or less the total extermination of the eastern woodland Indians. It is an inescapable fact, therefore, that this proud country was born in the aftermath of a shameful ethnic cleansing that is largely absent from the collective memory. It behooves us to refresh that memory. How would the current debate over immigration change, for example, if it were to be conducted in the light of a more honest consideration of our own deepest origins? Would self-righteous distinctions about “legal” vs. “illegal” immigrants have the same emotional currency? Recent popular histories such as Nathaniel Philbrick’s Mayflower and Jill Lepore’s The Name of War have taken us some distance in this process of revision, but we need to keep telling ourselves the true story until it is enshrined in our national consciousness. It’s high time we updated the Thanksgiving Myth. Tim Weed is the winner of a Writer’s Digest Popular Fiction Award and a featured expert for National Geographic Expeditions in Cuba, Spain, and Patagonia. His work has appeared in Colorado Review, Gulf Coast, Writer’s Chronicle, Backcountry Magazine, Nantucket Magazine, National Geographic’s Intelligent Travel, and elsewhere. Kirkus Reviews has called his debut novel, Will Poole’s Island (2014), a “riveting portrayal of early Colonial
2006:I used to love watching the questions only game on Who’s Line Is It Anyway, the reason being that growing up Jewish, I was all too familiar with the concept. My parents are masters of arguing questions only style. They can fight like this for hours. In fact, this comic is based on an actual fight they had the other day. The only difference is that my father has more hair, and my mother has less hair (but more eyes). Generally speaking, growing up Jewish is awesome because you never run out of cartoon ideas. That’s probably why Jewish people are so funny. And depressed. Want some examples? Why not read some more Jewish cartoons? Like the one about how dragons would suck at being Jewish? Or the one about Jesus’s mom? or the one about why your mom shouldn’t be your Facebook friend (especially if your mom’s Jewish)? See what I did here? With this last paragraph consisting of questions only? You didn’t see it? How didn’t you see it? How could a person with any sense in his head not see it? How do you expect to be successful in life when you can’t see such a simple thing? What do you mean you don’t want to be successful? Did I raise you that way? Ok my arms are getting tired, but we’ll talk about it tomorrow.© AP Photo/John Locher Ariana Mason attends a news conference as her attorney E. Brent Bryson holds up a picture of her Thursday, April 23, 2015, in Las Vegas. Mason is suing Las Vegas police and an officer she says smashed her face into a glass topped table during her arrest during a scuffle last August at a Strip resort nightclub. The excessive force lawsuit says Mason suffered broken teeth and facial gashes from broken glass. The lawsuit concedes that she punched the officer, but it alleges he didn't initially identify himself. LAS VEGAS — A 21-year-old Los Angeles fashion designer said Thursday she's suing Las Vegas police and a uniformed officer she says smashed her face into a marble and glass table during her arrest in the lobby of a Strip casino resort. Ariana Mason told reporters she suffered broken teeth and facial gashes that required 26 stitches after her arrest a little before 3 a.m. Aug. 16 outside 1 Oak at The Mirage. "I feel as if the way he reacted was unnecessary. I feel he escalated the situation," Mason told a news conference outside the office of her lawyer, Brent Bryson. Her lawsuit alleging civil rights violations and excessive force was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas. It seeks at least $4 million in damages from the officer and the Police Department. The lawsuit concedes that Mason punched the officer, Shawn Izzo, while she was being handcuffed, and notes that Mason is African-American and Izzo is white. "I just feel as if the color of my skin was different, this wouldn't have happened to me," Mason told reporters. © AP Photo/John Locher Attorney E. Brent Bryson holds up a picture of Ariana Mason during a news conference Thursday, April 23, 2015, in Las Vegas. Mason is suing Las Vegas police and an officer she says smashed her face into a glass topped table during her arrest during a scuffle last August at a Strip resort nightclub. The excessive force lawsuit says Mason suffered broken teeth and facial gashes from broken glass. The lawsuit concedes that she punched the officer, but it alleges he didn't initially identify himself. Izzo didn't respond to email requests for comment. Officer Michael Rodriguez, a police spokesman, said the department doesn't comment on litigation. Rodriguez said an internal affairs review found Izzo's actions weren't excessive. Records show that Mason was one of two people arrested on felony battery on a police officer charges in the incident. Six others were arrested on misdemeanor charges. Bryson released a compact disc with 6 minutes, 24 seconds of silent color video clips showing some parts of Mason's arrest. It shows Mason variously compliant and combative while Izzo, in uniform, and a female security guard drag Mason away from other scuffles. At one point, Izzo holds Mason's head in the crook of his arm on the marble hotel lobby floor. After Mason is handcuffed and brought to her feet, she appears to stiffen and Izzo pushes her forward over the large decorative table. A tall centerpiece glass vase wobbles but remains upright as Mason's head pitches forward. Police and casino security appear to struggle with several other people nearby while tourists with suitcases point cellphone cameras toward the action. Bryson said the CD clips were derived from casino ceiling surveillance camera video obtained by police and turned over to him by prosecutors while he defended Mason in a felony battery on an officer complaint. That case was dismissed March 17 in Las Vegas Justice Court. Records show Mason paid $285. Mason appeared emotional as she faced reporters Thursday flanked by Bryson, her parents, Fred and Francina Mason of Teaneck, New Jersey, and an aunt from Los Angeles, television personality Rolonda Watts. Mason acknowledged that she was 20 when she was in the club, but said she had "only two drinks" before the altercation outside. She said she wasn't asked for proof of age when she arrived with her boyfriend, who was performing as a disc jockey. A risk management official with club operator Hakkasan Group didn't immediately respond Thursday to a question about underage drinking.All detainees released from O’Hare after chaotic day at airport Mohammad Amirisefat (right) had to wait hours at O'Hare International Airport to be reunited with his sister Zahra Amirisefat (left). \| Sam Charles / Sun-Times A dozen travelers who’d been held at O’Hare International Airport were released late Saturday, ending a day in which 18 people were detained there due to an executive order signed by President Donald Trump. All of those detained throughout the day had been released by 11 p.m., said Fiona McEntee, one of the lawyers with the American Immigration Lawyers Association who represented the travelers. The chaotic day at the airport came a day after Trump signed the order barring refugees and green card holders from seven Muslim-majority nations from entering — or returning to — the country. The chaos inside the international terminal during the day mushroomed into a massive protest outside of it Saturday evening. Thousands of protesters blocked car traffic into the terminal and forced authorities to shut down roads in and out of it, though the terminal itself remained open. By midnight, after the detainees were released, the roads were reopened to traffic. Chicago Police said no one was arrested in the demonstration. Similar protests ensued at airports across the country. Dozens of attorneys crowded O’Hare’s international terminal for most of the afternoon Saturday, offering pro bono legal aid to anyone who said their family members were being held by authorities. U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., said she’d been working Saturday to secure the release of those being detained. By Saturday night, a federal judge issued an emergency order temporarily barring the U.S. from deporting people from nations subject to Trump’s travel ban, saying travelers who had been detained had a strong argument that their legal rights had been violated. It was unclear how quickly the order might affect people in detention or whether it would allow others to resume flying. At O’Hare, McEntee was thrilled to see a day that began with so much uncertainty end on a happy note. “I felt like we really saw democracy in action tonight with all the people that came out to show their support,” she said. “People bought us coffee and bought pizza. It was incredible.” Just before 6 p.m. Saturday, the first person at O’Hare to tell attorneys his family was detained, Mohammad Amirisefat, was reunited with his sister, brother-in-law and their 6-month-old son, who were returning from visiting family in Iran. After more than five hours of detention, Hessameddin Noorian and his wife Zahra Amirisefat, along with their baby son Ryan, passed through the gates of O’Hare’s international terminal. Noorian said before being released he was interviewed for about a half hour. “They asked us to sit there, no cell phone, no call, no nothing,” he said. “It was like 20 hours flight, and (we) were there for almost six hours, and I’m so tired.” Noorian said he didn’t know Friday’s executive order applied to those like him who hold green cards. “I thought as long as you have a green card, then you’re safe, you’re fine,” said Noorian, who along with his wife teaches at Oakton Community College. Asked how it felt to be detained in a country where he lives, works and had a child, the Park Ridge resident said: “The only thing I could say is [it] seems something changed.” Julia Schlozman, one of the attorneys who traveled to O’Hare at the request of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, helped resolve Noorian’s detention. “I heard that there was a gentlemen being detained who had dual Iranian/British citizenship, and I had the idea, ‘Maybe the British government has something to say about the fact that a U.K. passport is not being recognized by U.S. immigration authorities,’” Schlozman said. Schlozman called “an emergency line” in London to see if the British authorities could follow up, and they said they would. “I have no idea whether that had anything to do with any movement on the case, but I guess it was something,” she said. Rep. Schakowsky said after making “non-stop” phone calls, she finally reached someone at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, leading to Noorian’s release. “It’s unbelievable,” she said. Schakowsky said lawyers gathered at the airport asked her to help those who were being questioned at O’Hare, most of them Chicago-area residents. Their situations demonstrate Trump’s crackdown is affecting more than just refugees but also people who’ve been living in the U.S. legally. Among the group detained at O’Hare on Saturday, Schakowsky said, were: • An Oak Park man originally from Iran who has a U.S. green card. He is a dual citizen of the United Kingdom and Iran. • A South Loop man from Iran with a green card. • A woman from Ohio who has applied for a green card with her 2-year old daughter who is a U.S. citizen. • A couple living in Crystal Lake who have Syrian passports. • Three members of a North Side family from Pakistan who have F2 visas. Others with green cards included an elderly woman from Iran, a man from Iraq and a man from Yemen who has lived in the U.S. for 18 years. Throughout the day, Democratic politicians decried Trump’s immigration crackdown. “There are families stuck at ORD tonight — children who don’t know when, if ever, their parents will come HOME,” U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said in a tweet. He also tweeted: “These executive orders are tearing families apart and playing right into our enemies’ hands. This isn’t who we are.” U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth said “stopping legal permanent residents and babies simply because of where they’re from is not the American way, and it doesn’t make us safer. This Muslim ban must end.” Congressman Mike Quigley said Trump’s executive order has “very real and dangerous consequences” and should be rescinded immediately. “As a Member of the House Intelligence Committee, I am convinced that sweeping bans on whole categories of immigrants and refugees is deeply harmful to our national security interests, further complicating the fight against ISIS and other terrorist groups. Moreover, banning a group of people strictly on the grounds of their religion is unconstitutional and disrespects the legacy of our nation’s founders.” Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Trump’s action tarnishes America’s image in the world. “Those kids being stopped, whether they’re from Syria or another country, are part of a humanitarian crisis,” Emanuel said. “This undercuts who we are and what we stand for.” Lawsuits also had begun being filed in federal court in Chicago on behalf of some of those being detained. It was unclear whether those actions would proceed now that the detainees had been freed. Contributing: Associated Press, Jon Seidel Mohammad Amirisefat, whose sister, brother-in-law and niece are currently held, thanks supporters in O'Hare's Intl terminal pic.twitter.com/IH7KHZkYwh — Sam Charles (@samjcharles) January 28, 2017APR 30 2015 BY MIKE ANTHONY “Saying the Tesla Model S P85D is one of the best electric cars available is in fact doing it a disservice. With its great range, phenomenal interior, crazy amounts of power and a suite of driver-assist systems, the P85D is actually one of the best cars in the world. Period.” -Edmunds. Okay, we can stop there. Are there really any stronger words of praise? Edmunds graded the Model S in 5 categories: Performance, Comfort, Interior, Value, & Fun to Drive. Each category has multiple sub-categories. This one in particular caught our attention: We would like to correct an error (actually, it’s something changed literally right after this Edmunds’ report was released): The Model S now has a standard 8-year / unlimited mile warranty on both the battery pack & drive unit. Additionally, you do not have to purchase a service plan. With the Model S, you can annually bring it in for service for $600. And remember, this is the same Edmunds that had so many issues/complains with their early build Model S. Looks like Tesla has solved those problems. Click here to read Edmunds’ full report.Ted Cruz, who announced his presidential candidacy today, will be the subject of much vitriol in the press. But he won’t receive the epithet most coveted by liberals when they go after conservatives: They can’t say he’s stupid. “Off the charts brilliant,” is what legendary liberal Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz said of his former student in an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer a year ago. Dershowitz had trouble rating another former Harvard student, Barack Obama, who despite multiple attempts couldn’t get into Dershowitz’s class. “The computer kept him out,” Dershowitz said. “It wasn’t my fault.” Ahh, the computer. In the video below, Dershowitz tells Piers Morgan of CNN in 2013 that Cruz was one of the most intelligent students he ever taught: One of the sharpest students I had... I’ve had 10,000 students over my 50 years at Harvard... he has to qualify among the brightest of the students. At Harvard. Gosh, that’s like being the best tasting sushi in Japan. Cruz’s star has fallen a bit in recent weeks as Scott Walker and Rand Paul and of course Jeb Bush have ascended. But Cruz is being underestimated. Over the years, I’ve come to think of chutzpah and initiative and courage as better predictors of success than intelligence. But Cruz has chutzpah and initiative and courage in abundance. And don’t underestimate the power of raw intelligence. Especially when it comes to the debates, which obviously are extremely important in both the primaries and the general election. Dershowitz: He was in the class raising his hand... making very intelligent points and really winning debates all the time in the class, including winning debates with the professors. Cruz has another talent most smart people lack: He knows how to be dumb. That is, he is able to tame his mind and stay on message. His mind will have velocity, but it won’t wander. And that’s very effective during debates.In a significant failure for the United States in the Mideast, more than a dozen spies working for the CIA in Iran and Lebanon have been caught and the U.S. government fears they will be or have been executed, according to four current and former U.S. officials with connections to the intelligence community. The spies were paid informants recruited by the CIA for two distinct espionage rings targeting Iran and the Beirut-based Hezbollah organization, considered by the U.S. to be a terror group backed by Iran. "Espionage is a risky business," a U.S. official briefed on the developments told ABC News, confirming the loss of the unspecified number of spies over the last six months. "Many risks lead to wins, but some result in occasional setbacks," the official said. Robert Baer, a former senior CIA officer who worked against Hezbollah while stationed in Beirut in the 1980's, said Hezbollah typically executes individuals suspected of or caught spying. "If they were genuine spies, spying against Hezbollah, I don't think we'll ever see them again," he said. "These guys are very, very vicious and unforgiving." Other current and former officials said the discovery of the two U.S. spy rings occurred separately, but amounted to a setback of significant proportions in efforts to track the activities of the Iranian nuclear program and the intentions of Hezbollah against Israel. "Remember, this group was responsible for killing more Americans than any other terrorist group before 9/11," said a U.S. official. Attacks on the U.S. embassy and Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983 killed more than 300 people, including almost 260 Americans. The U.S. official, speaking for the record but without attribution, gave grudging credit to the efforts of Iran and Hezbollah to detect and expose U.S. and Israeli espionage. "Collecting sensitive information on adversaries who are aggressively trying to uncover spies in their midst will always be fraught with risk," said the U.S. official briefed on the spy ring bust. But others inside the American intelligence community say sloppy "tradecraft" -- the method of covert operations -- by the CIA is also to blame for the disruption of the vital spy networks. In Beirut, two Hezbollah double agents pretended to go to work for the CIA. Hezbollah then learned of the restaurant where multiple CIA officers were meeting with several agents, according to the four current and former officials briefed on the case. The CIA used the codeword "PIZZA" when discussing where to meet with the agents, according to U.S. officials. Two former officials describe the location as a Beirut Pizza Hut. A current US official denied that CIA officers met their agents at Pizza Hut. From there, Hezbollah's internal security arm identified at least a dozen informants, and the identities of several CIA case officers. Hezbollah then began to "roll up" much of the CIA's network against the terror group, the officials said. One former senior intelligence official told ABC News that CIA officers ignored warnings that the operation could be compromised by using the same location for meetings with multiple assets. "We were lazy and the CIA is now flying blind against Hezbollah," the former official said. CIA Spies Caught in Iran At about the same time that Hezbollah was identifying the CIA network in Lebanon, Iranian intelligence agents discovered a secret internet communication method used by CIA-paid assets in Iran. The CIA has yet to determine precisely how many of its assets were compromised in Iran, but the number could be in the dozens, according to one current and one former U.S. intelligence official. The exposure of the two spy networks was first announced in widely ignored televised statements by Iranian and Hezbollah leaders. U.S. officials tell ABC News that much of what was broadcast was, in fact, true. Hezbollah's leader, Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah, announced in June of this year that two high-ranking members of Hezbollah had been exposed as CIA spies, leading U.S. officials to conclude that the entire network inside Hezbollah had been compromised. In Iran, intelligence minister Heidar Moslehi announced in May that more than 30 U.S. and Israeli spies had been discovered and an Iranian television program, which acts as a front for Iran's government, showed images of internet sites used by the U.S. for secret communication with the spies. Story continuesBut it would be wrong to think that the only changes coming for the season ahead are on the chassis front, because underneath the fin-style engine covers that are expected this year will be some big developments too. Gone is the engine token system and with it the shackles of limited development that the likes of Honda were constrained by. Instead, there are new restrictions in terms of weight and materials in order to define the design direction and limit the manufacturer's scope in terms of chasing exotic and expensive alternatives. Furthermore, restrictions surrounding the fuel used by the teams have been introduced, as they will now only be able to nominate five fuel blends for the season - of which only two can be used throughout a race weekend. Tokens The token system was a logical move by the FIA ahead of the new turbo hybrid era, as it looked to keep spending and development contained by closing down development avenues over time. However, it did not account for the monumental gap that Mercedes had over its counterparts, leading to a futile chase from rivals who struggled to bridge the gap. For 2017, the manufacturers and FIA agreed to a different approach – with restrictions being in terms of weight and dimension in a bid to put an effective ceiling on the benchmark unit. From now on, the weight of the MGU-K and MGU-H can be no less than 7kg and 4kg respectively, plus the weight of the pistons, rods and crankshaft (no less than 300g, 300g and 5300g respectively). Further the rules have added dimensional restrictions to the crankshaft bearings, limiting the compression ratio of the cylinders (no higher than 18.0) and limiting coating thickness for Gold, Platinum, Ruthenium, Iridium and Rhenium to 0.035mm. These changes are designed to limit development, preventing the manufacturers from chasing finite gains - and updates will have to be more considered too, now that drivers only get four power units per season. The 2015 Renault Energy F1 engine Photo by: Renault F1 Fuelling a revolution There is change in terms of what is going on inside the engine too. For 2017, each team will only be able to nominate five fuel blends for the season, and only two at any given race weekend. Previously, an unlimited number was on offer. This should really narrow the teams' abilities to make vast changes between qualifying and race conditions, along with restricting their choices as they visit differing circuits. These changes will undoubtedly impact those that have had a close relationship with their fuel and lubricants partners, perhaps none more so than Mercedes and Petronas. But the impact will also be felt by the shuffle going on elsewhere – as Red Bull switches to Exxon/Mobil, and McLaren moves to BP/Castrol. Renault too is poised to confirm a move away from Total imminently. Red Bull can perhaps be seen to have the upper hand in this scenario of change, at least in the early stages, because it will be carrying over the wealth of experience that Mobil built up with McLaren and its previous engine partners Mercedes and Honda. However, whilst BP's return to F1 sees it three season behind in terms of a development understanding, it will be able to build up its database very quickly – especially if it does add Renault and Toro Rosso to its roster. Slick operation It's perhaps an understated component in the engine but, without the right lubricants, the internal combustion unit fails to operate correctly - be it in providing power or mileage. The lubricants being supplied to teams are critical to power output throughout the rev range, in terms of outright power and efficiency. Component deterioration must also be factored in, with their life cycle placed under close scrutiny in order to get the most performance at each and every GP. This is why a driver's engine allocation is so important, with the demands placed on components at certain circuits limiting their output at others. Consider, if you will, the disparity between the low-speed street circuit of Monaco, the high altitude in Mexico or the time spent on full throttle at Monza, where there are totally unique demands that call for very different characteristics. Mercedes AMG F1 W06 Mercedes PU106-Type Hybrid Photo by: Mercedes AMG Quality control Such is the importance of the fuel and lubricants that the suppliers travel around the world with the teams, setting up their own labs in the pitlane to check legality, monitor their products' performance, help make decisions on what specifications should be used and, in some circumstances, spotting failures before they even happen. There is a hefty workload at each race. As fuel is shipped direct to each GP, the engineers' first order of business is to check that it hasn't been contaminated and won't fall foul of the FIA's scrutineering processes. A gas chromatography machine is employed, breaking down the fuel and making sure the molecular makeup of the fuel matches the sample held by the FIA. Around 40 samples are tested each GP weekend. It's not only the fuel that is under scrutiny in the fuel suppliers' trackside lab though, with tests conducted on the oil being run through the V6 hybrid power unit and the gearbox, too. Shell, for example, uses a rotating disc electrode optical imaging spectography device (or RDEOES for short), to test the lubricant for any sign of metallic contaminants that might signal too much wear and an onset failure. In fact, Shell has numerous examples of when it has saved Ferrari's blushes, although the science still isn't entirely foolproof as various gearbox failures for Sebastian Vettel last season go to prove. Pushing the limits The aerodynamic changes to the regulations will result in the cars producing significantly more downforce than they have in the last few years, with the FIA suggesting that speeds could be up by 40km/h in some corners. This should create a more physically engaging experience for the drivers, who'll be cornering at much higher speeds, with many of the high-speed corners becoming no more than a kink in the straight. This increase in cornering speeds puts an onus on the fuel and lubricants manufacturers as it skews their usability at each circuit, with the increased forces placed on the car making a difference to the power unit's performance and life expectancy of the components. It will require a change of formula of their products, which could have an impact on the competitive order.MIDDLETOWN, Conn. — The Middletown Police Department released a video of a woman accused of stealing an angel statue from a gravesite in Middletown this weekend. Police released surveillance video that shows an unidentified woman taking a statue from a gravesite at Calvary Cemetery on Sunday. On Tuesday evening, after the video was released, police confirm that the woman turned herself in to police. Police said that the family had recently posted a camera near the site because it was being vandalized. After the woman places it in her van, the video shows the woman standing in front of the gravesite momentarily and then walking around it before leaving in her van. Police said the statue is valued at $100, but the family told police the “sentimental value is priceless.” Source: WFSB/CNNIf you haven’t checked out the excellent book SEGA Arcade Classics Vol. 1 by Hardcore Gaming 101, you really should fix that. The book is an excellent guide to SEGA’s arcade history, spotlighting not just games but their many sequels, revisions and home console counterparts. While volume 1 covered the early days, there was so much more to be covered. Thankfully HG101’s Kurt Kalata is giving us another volume with SEGA Arcade Classics Vol. 2, which is now available to purchase just in time for the holiday season! Per the description, covered games include golden era arcade classics like Pengo, Zaxxon, Congo Bongo, and Flicky; racing titles, ranging from classics like Monaco GP and Turbo, up through Hang-On and Rad Mobile; beat-em-ups like My Hero and Arabian Fight; SEGA’s super scalers Subroc 3-D and Buck Rogers and the Planet of Zoom; overlooked classics like Spatter, Ninja Princess, Bonanza Bros., and Aurail; and the long forgotten Sonic the Hedgehog arcade game. Also available is The Hardcore Gaming 101 and Sonic & Sega Fan Jam 2016 Fanbook, which was produced in conjunction with SEGAbits (hey, that’s us!) for the Sonic & Sega Fan Jam 2016 event in Savannah, Georgia of which we are a sponsor. The book features a sampling of HG101 articles highlighting a range of SEGA games, including Streets of Rage, Sakura Wars, ToeJam & Earl, NiGHTS, Puyo Puyo, and Virtua Fighter. Also included are reviews of two games: Segata Sanshiro Shinken Yuugi, the Saturn minigame collection starring SEGA’s ultra manly spokesman, and Segagaga, the Dreamcast simulation game where you attempt to run SEGA as a company to save the realm of video gaming! Also included are reviews of three lesser known Master System games: Ghost House, Maze Hunter 3D, and Kenseiden. The Fan Jam book is available in two flavors: the standard edition with a Master System-inspired cover and a variant cover featuring Sonic and several SEGA all-stars.Geller took down Steven Souza Jr. of the Tampa Bay Rays, Hector Santiago of the Los Angeles Angels and defending champion James Loney of the Rays in the second annual poker tournament for the MLB Players Association Players Trust. LAS VEGAS -- Mitch Geller is a marketing executive in Los Angeles who knows less about poker than he does about baseball. But there he was at the MGM Grand Hotel on the Vegas strip on Wednesday night, winning the jerseys off the backs of real life Major League Baseball players. And having a blast doing it. LAS VEGAS -- Mitch Geller is a marketing executive in Los Angeles who knows less about poker than he does about baseball. But there he was at the MGM Grand Hotel on the Vegas strip on Wednesday night, winning the jerseys off the backs of real life Major League Baseball players. And having a blast doing it. Geller took down Steven Souza Jr. of the Tampa Bay Rays, Hector Santiago of the Los Angeles Angels and defending champion James Loney of the Rays in the second annual poker tournament for the MLB Players Association Players Trust. Geller eventually bowed out of the tourney when an all-in play backfired on him and he surrendered his chips to veteran left-hander Dana Eveland, but the unique coolness of the event was not lost on him. "Baseball players are awesome," Geller said. "Out of all the athletes that play sports, baseball players are solid dudes. They have good outlooks on life, good philosophy, and it's just fun to play poker with them, but also just to hang out with them." • Players value leisure, family time in offseason But the Players Trust is about a lot more than fun. The charitable wing of the union was established in 1996 and has now completed 20 years of giving back to communities in which players live and work. From Buses to Baseball, which brings needy children into stadiums, to action teams working with high school students about volunteering, plus global disaster relief efforts and much more. The poker tournament, along with a Thursday event at nearby Cascata Golf Course, raises money for the Trust and gets players together during the offseason to bond over their shared love for the game that has given them so much and the chance to give back to others. "This is one of the marquee events for the Players Trust, and having an opportunity to put an event together where our baseball history comes out to support it, with our active guys and the inactive guys, to raise money for a program that is near and dear to them, we've been fortunate that it's continued to grow," MLBPA executive director Tony Clark said. "The connection that still exists between the active and inactive guys through the Trust is something that we hang our hats on. Getting the guys together is a lot of ways just as important as what we accomplish with the event itself." • Players sound off on top broadcasters And what a list of guys it was. Hall of Famers Dave Winfield and Eddie Murray were on hand along with one of the Vegas-bred hosts of the event, 2015 National League Rookie of the Year Award winner Kris Bryant of the Cubs. The other co-host, 2015 NL MVP Award winner Bryce Harper, was expected to unleash his vicious left-handed swing at golf balls on Thursday. Other big leaguers in attendance included Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre, outfielders Dexter Fowler and Shane Victorino, Blue Jays first baseman Chris Colabello, recently retired reliever LaTroy Hawkins, pitcher Chris Capuano and Mariners reliever Charlie Furbush. Retired legends also included Kenny Lofton, Eric Davis, Reggie Sanders and Bobby Bonilla. • Players overcome with Powerball fever The players wore their jerseys, with the rule that they would have to take them off, sign them and hand them to whoever knocked them out of the competition. If that didn't happen quickly enough, there were occasional on-the-spot auctions. "It's huge for us players," Bryant said. "It gets the word out that we do great things in the community, and this is just another resource for us to go out there and help people in need, and at the same time have some fun play some poker and some golf -- with fans out there." • Players dish on favorite movies of offseason One particularly special moment came at the dinner that preceded the poker tournament, when Hawkins was honored by the union and the Trust for his recently completed 20-year career. A video was played that showed Hawkins helping out communities throughout the years, and former teammates and friends such as Torii Hunter, Jacque Jones, Colabello and Bonilla passed along their own recorded congratulations. "It felt awesome," Hawkins said. "You do what you do not to win any awards or accolades or recognition. You do it because that's what's in my heart. To be recognized by your peers is pretty cool." And so was the poker, although none of the baseball players walked away with all the chips. That honor actually went to a basketball player, believe it or not. NBA guard Landry Fields, who's rehabbing a shoulder injury, came to Vegas with a friend who works with MLB players and ended up a prestigious tournament winner. "And I got a Kenny Lofton jersey," Fields said. "So that's awesome."After al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) occupied the city of Fallujah, the Iraqi military indicated they were willing to leave the matter to the local tribal leaders, giving them as long as necessary to retake the city peacefully. Less than a month later, the military is engaged in sustained shelling of the city, hitting random neighborhoods in hopes of seeing the militants move around and get an idea of where they area. The shelling escalated today, with officials saying a ground invasion is imminent. Military officials said the decision had been made to enter Fallujah Sunday, though so far that hasn’t happened. The military says they are waiting for “final say” from Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki before launching the operation. With the main roads into the city mined by AQI, the military is expected to try to invade from one of the breeches made by the artillery fire. Previous accounts have claimed AQI has enormous amounts of heavy weaponry, meaning the battle is likely to be long, and bloody. Last 5 posts by Jason DitzWith Netanyahu’s speech to Congress having come and gone, the focus now is on the damage done to US-Israeli ties. US officials see rapprochement as possible, but see the replacement of Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer as a key to that. Dermer was a hugely controversial choice for Israeli envoy because of his long-standing political ties to the Republicans in the US. He convinced Netanyahu to openly back Mitt Romney in the 2012 vote. The administration sees Dermer as the “instigator” of Netanyahu’s recent speech, and believe that he and House Speaker John Boehner (R – OH) worked together to plan the invite, just weeks ahead of Israel’s election. Since his appointment, Dermer has been faulted by the Israeli government for campaigning for Netanyahu in violation of his role as ambassador. Though a close ally to Netanyahu, cutting him loose might be the simplest way to smooth over months of acrimony. Last 5 posts by Jason DitzDonald Trump’s nine-sentence statement about Hillary Clinton at a Saturday Pennsylvania rally ended up taking 25 minutes when the GOP presidential nominee careened from topic to topic. His speech included doubts about Clinton’s marital fidelity, an impression of her being sick from pneumonia and opinions about the state of movies in America. “Hillary Clinton’s only loyalty is to her financial contributors and to herself…I don’t even think she’s loyal to Bill, if you want to know the truth,” Trump said. “And really, folks, really, why should she be? Right? Why should she be?” Trump did not offer any context, evidence or reasoning for accusing Clinton of disloyalty in her personal life. The Brief Newsletter Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now. View Sample Sign Up Now He also did an impromptu impression of the candidate suffering from pneumonia at the 9/11 memorial ceremony, pointing to her difficulty walking at the time as a reason for why she cannot make good deals or handle Russian President Vladimir Putin. “She can’t make it fifteen feet to her car,” Trump said. “Give me a break, give me a break.” As he accused news outlets like the Washington Post and New York Times of protecting Clinton, the Times reported on a partial tax return for Trump from 1995 that indicated he may not have paid federal income taxes for more than 10 years. Trump also offered an opinion on the state of cinema: “Right now, you say to your wife: ‘Let’s go to a movie after Trump.’ But you won’t do that because you’ll be so high and so excited that no movie is going to satisfy you. Okay? No movie. You know why? Honestly? Because they don’t make movies like they used to — is that right?” [Washington Post] Write to Julia Zorthian at [email protected] called to the Lincoln Park Lagoon after a fisherman found a duffel bag with human remains inside found a second bag with more remains Saturday, police said. Officers were called to the lagoon just before 11:10 a.m., when fishermen called 911 after finding a duffel bag filled with appeared to be human remains, police said. Marine Unit divers and detectives went to the scene and officials found a second bag with more remains, said Frank Giancamilli, a police spokesman. The remains were all believed to be from the same person, he said. Detectives were conducting a death investigation and checking missing persons reports for any possible leads. The Cook County medical examiner's office was leading the investigation into the cause and manner of death. Crews were still searching the lagoon after 4 p.m. At the scene, police gathered south of Fullerton Drive, at the Lincoln Park South Lagoon, east of Cannon Drive. Police cordoned off part of the area around the lagoon
on conflicts for board members doing business with Yeshiva because “that would rule out the best people in New York City.” That 1993 policy ran two and a half pages and simply required that those doing business with the school “at the first knowledge of the transaction, shall disclose fully the precise nature of the interest or involvement.” While the policy also declared that board and committee members “should not participate in the discussion nor vote on any matters if they themselves are in any way involved,” this rule often found exceptions—especially for the investment committee—as part of Yeshiva’s standard practice. Going back to the very time period in which the original conflict of interest policy was drafted, the investment committee routinely discussed and voted on its investments in Ezra Merkin’s Ascot Partners—a “feeder fund” to Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme—despite that Merkin was chairman of the investment committee and led meetings and votes without recusing himself. Merkin earned typical hedge fund fees while his firm managed a portion of Yeshiva’s investments at the same time that he was investment committee chair, between 1993 and 2008; Yeshiva’s investments with Merkin were consistently well more than $100 million after 2000. In total, according to Yeshiva records that have survived from this period, Merkin’s firm appears to have earned more than $20 million from Yeshiva over the course of his 15 years chairing the investment committee. Merkin’s fees are an example of how little concern there was when the investment commitee chairman’s earnings were the topic of conversation. In 2002, he announced to all investors that he would be increasing his fee for Ascot by 50 percent, justifying the claim by saying that he was contemplating a new trading operation that would require investments in computer hardware and software. For an old warhorse of Yeshiva’s investment committee such as Gottesman, this kind of move required justification, and, according to minutes of that investment committee meeting, “Mr. Gottesman asked Mr. Merkin to elaborate on the reason for the fee increase.” But Merkin was able to duck the question, according to the minutes: “Due to additional scheduled presentations, Mr. Merkin asked Dr. Socol to add Ascot Partners as an agenda item for the next meeting.” But as Horowitz and others recalled in later testimony, the issue never was revisited; the school simply started paying Merkin those higher fees. Indeed, it appears that the trustees could view conflicts of interest as a reason to bring someone on the board or its investment committee. Redwood Capital’s Jonathan Kolatch joined the investment committee in 2003, after his fund proved a good investment for $20 million of Yeshiva’s money for the prior three years. Millennium Partners’ Israel Englander joined the board after years of managing at least $50 million of Yeshiva’s money going back to at least 2002. By January 2008, the investment committee had at least two more members who were hedge fund managers and had Yeshiva money invested in their funds: Daniel Schwartz of York Capital Management and Lonnie Steffans of Spring Mountain Capital. Conflicts of interest generating significant personal returns for board and committee members abounded during the Lamm-Socol era, amounting to more than 5 percent of the school’s operating budget in 2000. For the first several years of the new administration, conflicts continued without interruption. There was a shift of the balance of conflicts somewhat away from the real estate deals of Lamm and Socol's era and toward more hedge fund investments that required disclosure—primarily with Kolatch and Merkin. In a letter to Joel from July 2005, Weiss wrote that he’d done a limited investigation into the conflicts policy. “As best as I can determine,” Weiss wrote, “YU is currently operating with an opinion given by [board member and lawyer] Ira Millstein” that essentially rubber-stamped the approach Yeshiva had been taking to that point: engaging in many conflicts but disclosing them. In that letter, Weiss recommended that Yeshiva continue the approach, writing, “I am comfortable being guided by [Millstein’s firm’s] legal position.” That firm, Weil, Gotshal & Manges, annually billed Yeshiva for $200,000 to $500,000 of work for many years, according to conflict of interest reports. Weiss’ tune began to change in 2007, but not because he was concerned about the nature of the school’s governance or the increasing concentration of its investments in hedge funds—including ones run by investment committee members. Rather, Weiss fretted about being in compliance with potential federal regulations regarding conflict of interest that could result from the Wall Street reform law known as Sarbanes-Oxley. “We were convinced that Sarbanes-Oxley would eventually apply to the not-for-profit world,” Weiss testified in a lawsuit he filed against Merkin, adding that a committee was formed “to take a look at how do we deal with conflicts going forward.” Sarbanes-Oxley never came to include those regulations, but Weiss proceeded as if they would. Rather than design a uniform conflict of interest policy from on high, Weiss sought Merkin’s input to try to create a policy that would behoove the investment committee chairman and the members he governed. In a May 2007 email to Merkin, Weiss explained the process he was using to create the overall conflicts policy within the university’s governance committee while at the same time beseeching Merkin to help him create a policy that would find agreement with the investment committee. “I still believe the wisest course of action dealing with the Investment Committee is for you and I to work out a process along the lines we have been discussing and gain support for that going forward,” Weiss wrote. The new policy would leave investment committee members free to invest in their own funds—they simply wouldn’t be allowed to keep their personal shares from the fees of those investments. It appears that this policy had a loophole that allowed board members to advance their interests: Their firms and partners could benefit directly, even if they could not. As Weiss explained in a January 2008 memo, he was seeking agreement on the policy of having investment committee members donate the fees they’d earned, and he’d succeeded in finalizing a deal with Daniel Schwartz of York Capital Management in which, “To avoid appearances of conflict, he agreed to contribute at least his income derived but can’t do that for his partners, who have no involvement with Yeshiva.” Indicating further how little concerned Yeshiva’s board was with conflicts of interest at the same time that it pursued a new policy under Weiss and others, Yeshiva didn’t get around to issuing a conflict of interest report for 2005 until 2007. According to records Yeshiva and others have disclosed in recent lawsuits relating to board members’ personal investments, Yeshiva went from delaying the preparation of conflict of interest reports to perhaps failing to prepare the reports at all: It appears that Yeshiva didn’t even bother producing conflict of interest reports for 2006, 2007, or 2008. A Close and Complicated Relationship While Weiss was crafting a conflict of interest policy that would avoid potential government scrutiny, he had a significant conflict of his own: He was simultaneously communicating with Merkin as chairman of Yeshiva—and thus Merkin’s superior on Yeshiva’s board—while having “a third of my net worth” invested with Merkin, according to court testimony—and most of his communication with Merkin was about those investments. There was a mix of cajoling and starry-eyed admiration from Weiss in their communications, as he would express wonder and awe at Merkin’s investment returns (which were a chimera concocted by Madoff), oversee him as chairman of Yeshiva, speak of their friendship, and look to him for personal investment advice. Weiss and Merkin would meet individually more than 50 times between 2000 and 2008 to discuss Weiss’ investments—both those in Merkin’s own funds and other investments Merkin would recommend. He expressed glee at Merkin’s investment returns for his family and for Yeshiva, emails show. As a bar mitzvah present for Merkin’s son, Weiss flew most of the Merkin family in to Cleveland to enjoy a series of Major League Baseball games with Weiss and his family. Weiss took the opportunity to throw a party to introduce the cream of Cleveland’s Jewish society to the man he considered an investment guru. Moving Forward Despite the existential threat from the financial losses that occurred during his tenure as president of Yeshiva, Joel seemed a happy man on Sept. 12, 2012. In a glamorous display of the school’s approach under his leadership, Joel delivered a State of the University Address to a standing-room-only crowd of students that was broadcast live over the Web to accompanying graphics. Joel announced record-setting enrollment figures for incoming classes and boasted of his performance: “Over the past nine years we have labored to build a first-rate educational product here at Yeshiva, and the public perception has finally caught up with that product.” As he spoke, Yeshiva was preparing the financial filings that would announce the fourth of five consecutive years averaging a deficit of nearly $100 million. Yet Joel declared, “The state of Yeshiva University is sound, it is strong, and it is poised for tomorrow.” In the speech, Joel announced that the board had rewarded him with a six-year contract extension. This content was produced in association with The Jewish Channel and TakePart’s parent company, Participant Media, which is collaborating with Samuel Goldwyn Films on the distribution of the documentary Ivory Tower.If you translate or repost this comic, please do it outside of DA. Thanks! MLP and its characters belong to Hasbro. OC's belong to their respective owners. 28 Jul 2017 EQD comic post I think Berzie won't get over the color change any time soon. Last time he was seen smiling but it was only because he was showing how to paint around a dead pony (makes as much sense in context).Featured changelings -'s Dopple (on the left) and my OC - Berzie (on the right).Also, Dopple has no tail because blue changelings seen in the episodes had no tail and no diamonds on their necks.Do you like my comics and pictures? Do you want to support me? Consider joining my. If that's too much, you can at least give me a DA watch - that counts as supporting too!A decade after Judicial Watch exposed the dangers of a government-backed cervical cancer vaccine, a federal lawsuit highlights its perilous side effects including paralysis, seizures, nausea and death. Litigation was initiated by disgruntled parents because the government is still pushing the hazardous vaccine, manufactured by pharmaceutical giant Merck, on children as young as nine years old to treat a sexually transmitted disease. The vaccine is called Gardasil and in the last ten years Judicial Watch has uncovered troves of government records documenting its harmful side effects. The vaccine was scandalously fast-tracked by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and was ardently promoted by the Obama administration as a miracle shot that can prevent certain strains of cervical cancer caused by Human Papillomavirus (HPV). Instead it’s been linked to thousands of debilitating side effects, according to the government’s own daunting statistics. This includes thousands of cases of paralysis, convulsions, blindness and dozens of deaths. Back in 2008, after receiving the first disturbing batch of records from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Judicial Watch published a special report detailing Gardasil’s approval process, side effects, safety concerns and marketing practices. Undoubtedly, it illustrates a large-scale public health experiment. Regardless, the government has continued promoting the vaccine while covering up its debilitating side effects, recommending it for girls—and more recently boys—starting at age 9. The Obama administration gave dozens of state and municipal health agencies tens of millions of dollars to boost the number of adolescents that get Gardasil. This includes targeting low-income and ethnic minority populations that receive “culturally sensitive” intervention in a variety of languages, including Spanish, Mandarin, Armenian and Korean. U.S. law forbids lawsuits against vaccine manufacturers, but Judicial Watch has obtained records from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) revealing that its National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) has awarded nearly $6 million to dozens of victims in claims made against the very HPV vaccine it is pushing on children. In 2014 a physician who worked at Merck denounced Gardasil as an ineffective vaccine with deadly side effects that serves no other purpose than to generate profit for its manufacturer. The former pharmaceutical industry doctor, Bernard Dalbergue, said Gardasil is useless, costs a fortune and that decision-makers at all levels are aware of it. “I predict that Gardasil will become the greatest medical scandal of all times because at some point in time, the evidence will add up to prove that this vaccine, technical and scientific feat that it may be, has absolutely no effect on cervical cancer and that all the very many adverse effects which destroy lives and even kill, serve no other purpose than to generate profit for the manufacturers,” Dr. Dalbergue said. He added that there is far too much financial interest for the vaccine to be withdrawn. Dr. Dalbergue’s statements were used by a member of the French Parliament as part of a broader campaign blasting Gardasil’s horrible safety record in Europe. All these years later governments at the federal, state, county and city level are still promoting this highly controversial vaccine. In many states, parents aren’t even notified because Gardasil falls under sexual and reproductive healthcare services, which certain minors can receive without parental consent. New York is one of the states that has long offered minors confidential sexual and reproductive healthcare services. This month a group of mothers in New York filed a lawsuit in federal court because the state administers the HPV vaccine to children without their parents’ consent. The complaint lists many of the vaccine’s serious side effects and says that the 16-year-old daughter of one of the plaintiffs had to be rushed to the emergency room after receiving the shot. “She has suffered intermittent and ongoing paralysis in her legs from the HPV vaccine requiring use of a wheelchair, and when not paralyzed, has ongoing weakness in her legs, impaired life functions, and ongoing severe headaches, fatigue and nausea,” the complaint states. The mother reported the serious adverse reaction to the CDC and a nurse from the agency contacted her to confirm “this was a known reaction to the HPV vaccine and related to the HPV vaccine,” court documents reveal.ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- A senior football player at the University of Rochester is accused of stealing a $100,000 ambulance and driving it drunk early Thursday morning on the U of R campus. Police charged Robert Cordaro, 22, with grand larceny, criminal mischief and DWI. He was arraigned in Rochester City Court Thursday morning. A University of Rochester spokesperson said Cordaro is a political science and English major from Pennsylvania. He's a senior and member of the football team. U of R's commencement is this weekend. Cordaro is accused of stealing an ambulance that was on the U of R campus responding to a call around 2:20 a.m. Authorities say Cordaro was drunk when he got in the ambulance, drove down the road and crashed into a flower bed. Court paperwork indicates Cordaro's blood alcohol content following the crash was.17. He told police he had consumed six beers and two Manhattans earlier that night. Police say he was cooperative, had glossy eyes, slurred speech and smelled of alcohol. When he was taken into police custody he said "You got me, do what you need to do, it was stupid." Bail was set at $1,500. He's scheduled to return to court Monday. A similar incident happened in Geneseo in December where a SUNY Geneseo student was charged with DWI and other charges after authorities say he took an ambulance for a joy ride. No one was injured in either incident.The Cruiser tank Mk V or A13 Mk III Covenanter was a British cruiser tank of the Second World War. The Covenanter was the first cruiser tank design to be given a name. Designed by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway as a better-armoured replacement for the Cruiser Mark IV, it was ordered into production in 1939 before pilot models were built. Problems with the design became apparent only after production was under way. The tank equipped various British armoured divisions in the home defence and training roles. It never left the British Isles as poor engine cooling caused versions MkI-MkIII to be declared unfit for use overseas service especially in hot climates. This was rectified in the MkIV after many corrective actions were undertaken but, by February 1944, it was declared obsolete. More than 1,700 of the type were built. It was named after the Covenanters, a Scottish religious faction in the British Isles at the time of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Development [ edit ] A pilot model. The radiator covers are at the left front. Note also the Valentine -type gun mantlet. Most production Covenanters had a different type of mantlet In 1938, the War Office had issued a requirement for a new, better armoured "heavy" cruiser tank to replace the Cruiser IV. Nuffield's A16 (and the A14) design was found to be too expensive and, in 1939, a cheaper and lighter cruiser tank – under General Staff specification A13 Mk III Cruiser Mark V – was chosen to be developed. It had nothing apart from Christie suspension and armament in common with the other A13 specifications. The initial specification required a QF 2 pounder gun, at least one machine gun, the same A13 Christie suspension in a lower hull,[4] epicyclic steering transmission and "armour standard" of 30 millimetres (1.2 in). The "30 mm armoured standard" referred to any vertical plate having to be 30 mm thick. Angled surfaces (through the principles of sloped armour) could be thinner, provided they were at least as effective as a 30 mm thick vertical plate.[5] From these, a design using many sloped surfaces was chosen to keep the weight low. To keep the silhouette low, the suspension used cranked arms and a low profile engine was envisaged. The engine, which was to be specifically designed for it, was to deliver at least 300 horsepower (220 kW). The Wilson transmission and steering of the A16 would be used.[6] Design work was by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway Company (LMS), who had no prior experience in the design and production of fighting vehicles.[note 1] and had been invited to participate under a Government policy that British companies should develop necessary skills in expectation of war.[7] The design assumed a welded hull rather than the usual rivetting. The turret was designed by Nuffield, with Henry Meadows designing a new low profile engine for it. On 17 April 1939, before even a single prototype was produced, the first 100 vehicles were ordered from the LMS. Additional orders soon followed, with English Electric and Leyland Motors joining the production effort, for a final production total of 1,771 Covenanters.[8][9] Nuffield was also approached, but preferred to design its own offspring of the A13 line, which became the Cruiser Mk.VI Crusader.[10] Due to the expectations of an imminent war, the design was ordered "off the drawing board". The expectation was that two pilot models would serve for testing and results applied to the production lines.[11] To meet the engine requirement, a horizontally opposed 12-cylinder design was used. Although flat, it was wide and left no room for radiators in the engine compartment, and so the radiators were situated at the front of the vehicle. The unusual arrangement, although tested in mockup form first, when combined with the rushed design process resulted in serious problems with engine cooling. Even when the systems were redesigned, there were problems, and the piping from engine to the radiators heated the fighting compartment. These problems meant that the Covenanter would not be employed in the North African Campaign. Instead, Crusader and American tanks were sent to Africa, while the Covenanters remained in the British Isles.[12] LMS advised a return to riveted construction due to doubts about the strength of the welds, and rather than risk delays due to a lack of welders, this was accepted. The welded design used two layers of armour plate, the inner being of steel that would weld readily without losing its properties. This two-plate system was retained when the design reverted to riveted construction. The use of riveted construction, the use of steel wheels instead of the intended aluminium[note 2] and an increase in armour specification to 40 millimetres (1.6 in) at the front of hull and turret increased the weight to a level where the tank suspension was at maximum load, leaving no room for later development of the design.[6] A further change was made to the transmission. Rather than risk the availability of the combined Wilson transmission and steering affecting production, the A13 "crash" gear box was used with epicyclic steering units. This necessitated a reduced size of cooling fan for the transmission compartment.[13] The contracts were placed with the manufacturers in 1939. The pilot model (with welded hull) was tested with a favourable outcome in 1940; though the second pilot had cooling issues. The first deliveries of production vehicles were not until after the battle of Dunkirk. Production of turrets lagged behind that of hulls. Although the Covenanter was needed at the time, production continued even when newer better tank designs were waiting for space on production lines. By late 1943, the Covenanter was considered too weakly armed and armoured to deal with new German tanks. It was decided that neither problem could be addressed without significant changes in the design, so the tank was declared obsolete and all vehicles except the bridgelayer variant were to be scrapped.[8] Active service [ edit ] Covenanters of the 2nd (Armoured) Irish Guards, Guards Armoured Division, during an inspection (3 March 1942) Except for a few trial vehicles, Covenanters were never deployed outside the British Isles. The Covenanter was used to re-equip the British 1st Armoured Division (six armoured regiments in two brigades), which had lost most of its tanks in the Fall of France. When the 1st was sent to Egypt, the tanks were transferred to the 9th Armoured Division.[8] Eventually, a handful of vehicles were sent to the desert for service trials and were allocated to the REME for maintenance and evaluation. It is not clear if these tanks were ever used in combat, although the unit markings indicate they may have been deployed alongside Kingforce with their new 6 pounder-equipped Churchill Mk III tanks.[16] Covenanters were also used to equip the Guards Armoured Division in 1942 and elements of the 1st Polish Armoured Division when it was formed in the UK; they were replaced before these units were sent to the front-line, except for a few bridgelayers that both divisions retained and used in their advance through Belgium and the Netherlands.[16] Observation Post tanks were issued to artillery units to carry Forward Observation Officers for Royal Artillery batteries. In an armoured division, there were two OP tanks for each RHA or field battery. Medium gun batteries had just one. Command tanks were similar to OP tanks, but had only two No. 19 sets – one on the regiment radio net and the other on the brigade net.[17] Covenanter bridgelayers were used by the 1st Czechoslovak Armoured Brigade during the siege of Dunkirk from October 1944 to May 1945.[18] The bridgelayer version was also used by the 4th Armoured Brigade of the Australian Army at Bougainville and Balikpapan during the Pacific Campaign in 1945.[19] Variants [ edit ] Covenanter Mk I (Cruiser Mk V) – Original production model. [17] Covenanter Mk I Close Support – Armed with 3-inch howitzer. [17] – Original production model. Covenanter Mk II (Cruiser Mk V) – Mark I production modified by addition of radiator-mounted oil cooler. [17] Covenanter Mk II CS – Armed with 3-inch howitzer. [17] Observation Post version existed with dummy gun, two No. 19 radios and a No. 18 radio; [note 3] issued to artillery units. [17] Command version existed with dummy gun and two No. 19 radios. – Mark I production modified by addition of radiator-mounted oil cooler. Covenanter Mk III (Cruiser Mk V) – new production with twin oil coolers installed either side of the engine. Clutch linkage modified. Air cleaners added inboard at the rear. Exhaust silencers moved to the ends of the track guards. [17] Covenanter Mk III CS – Armed with 3-inch howitzer. [17] – new production with twin oil coolers installed either side of the engine. Clutch linkage modified. Air cleaners added inboard at the rear. Exhaust silencers moved to the ends of the track guards. Covenanter Mk IV – New production as the Mk II with the clutch changes of the Mk III. [17] Covenanter Mk IV CS – Armed with 3-inch howitzer. [17] Observation Post version existed with dummy gun, two No. 19 radios and No. 18 radio. [17] – New production as the Mk II with the clutch changes of the Mk III. Covenanter Bridgelayer – Covenanter hull fitted with a vehicle-launched bridge ( "30 ft No. 1" ). This was 34 feet (10 m) long and 9 feet 6 inches (2.90 m) wide. It could span a 30-foot (9 m) gap and was capable of carrying 24 tons. [20] In 1944, an improved bridge was developed with a 30-ton capacity. – Covenanter hull fitted with a vehicle-launched bridge ( ). This was 34 feet (10 m) long and 9 feet 6 inches (2.90 m) wide. It could span a 30-foot (9 m) gap and was capable of carrying 24 tons. In 1944, an improved bridge was developed with a 30-ton capacity. Covenanter ARV Mk I – Armoured recovery vehicle based on turretless Covenanter hull. One prototype was built in 1942.[17] Additional equipment: Anti-Mine Roller Attachment (AMRA) Mk IC – a mine clearing device consisting of four heavy rollers suspended from a frame. The weight of the rollers could be increased by filling them with water or sand.[17] Surviving vehicles [ edit ] The Tank Museum's Covenanter (2010) Covenanter bridgelayer at Puckapunyal, Victoria (2007) A single Covenanter gun–tank is preserved at The Tank Museum, Bovington, in the United Kingdom. It is displayed in the markings it had during the War when it served with the 13th/18th Royal Hussars, part of the 9th Armoured Division. For unknown reasons, it was buried after the war on a farm near Dorking. In 1977 it was discovered, recovered, restored and put on display at the Bovington museum in 1985.[21][2] The Tank Museum also has the turret from an early Covenanter pilot model.[22] A second Covenanter tank was recovered in May 2017 from the same farm, now the site of Denbies vineyard.[23] The partially buried, wrecked hulls of two other tanks may be seen at Titchwell Marsh in Norfolk, UK.[24] Now a Royal Society for the Protection of Birds nature reserve, the area was formerly a tank gunnery range and the Covenanters were likely used as targets.[25] Two Covenanter Bridgelayers are preserved in Australia – one at the Royal Australian Armoured Corps Tank Museum, Puckapunyal, Victoria, and one at the 1st/15th Royal New South Wales Lancers Lancer Barracks and Museum at Parramatta, New South Wales.[26] Notes [ edit ] ^ LMS was also involved in production of the Cruiser Mark III ^ Aluminium had become a priority material that was allocated to aircraft production. ^ The No. 19 radio was the standard unit fitted in British tanks, the No. 18 radio was a manpack set intended for short–range telephony in forward areas. References [ edit ] Citations BibliographyThis article is from the archive of our partner. U.S. News has removed George Washington University from its influential college rankings after learning that the school submitted inflated figures. This isn't the first time this year a school has been caught sneaking doctored stats past U.S. News' fact-checking operation, but it is the first time one was unranked as a result. George Washington University committed the sin of over-reporting the number of incoming freshmen coming from the top 10 percent of their respective high school classes. Instead of 78 percent, only 58 percent had an elite spot in their high schools' top decile. Administrators had inflated those numbers for over a decade. U.S. News has responded by stripping GW of its No. 51 rank and tossing it into the "unranked" section, the heap in which it piles all those schools it doesn't even bother to crunch numbers for. "This Unranked status will last until next fall's publication of the 2014 edition of the Best Colleges rankings, and until George Washington confirms the accuracy of the school's next data submission in accordance with U.S. News's requirements," writes U.S. News's director of data research Bob Morse. Don't start shouting "scandalous!" just yet, though. Universities have been caught submitting fudged numbers quite often. This year alone, Emory University admitted to sending in doctored test scores, and an internal probe revealed that Claremont McKenna College had been up to the same shenanigans for the past six years. Neither were relegated to the unranked category, though. Perhaps schools keep lying about their statistics because it's so easy to do. The Best Colleges report might be the high school overachiever's bible, but critics doubt the soundness of its methodology. "Honestly, it’s just a list put together by magazine editors. The whole exercise is a little silly," The New York Times' Joe Nocera recently wrote. "Universities that want to game the rankings can easily do so."London:The UK’s global economic power is waning as the Indian economy expands. Britain is set to drop out of the world’s five largest economies based on gross domestic product in nominal terms, according to International Monetary Fund estimates published this week. India is set to leapfrog Germany to rank fourth globally by 2022, pushing the UK down to sixth place behind its European peer. The slide in Britain’s relative size comes as the nation sets out to redefine its trading relationship with the rest of the world after Brexit. The rankings also highlight India’s rapid rise, with the economy expanding 9.9% per year. By contrast, the IMF projects the UK will grow just 2% this year and 1.8% in 2018, impeded in part by “the negative effects of the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union." BloombergThe following blog post, unless otherwise noted, was written by a member of Gamasutras community. The thoughts and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not Gamasutra or its parent company. A few weeks ago I released Tower of Guns, a randomized indie-FPS-labor-of-love (here's the launch trailer for it). The game currently sits at 78% on metacritic and feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. I did most of the development work myself, which allowed for very consistent time tracking on a project-wide basis. I'll spare you the boring story of how a creative-person-with-an-aversion-to-formality got addicted to time tracking, but as a nice side effect I can tell you that over the course of 600 days, Tower of Guns took precisely 3850 hours and 5 minutes to develop. Since I tracked thoroughly, a number of folks have requested an article diving into the hourage from Tower of Guns. "3850 hours" isn't all that useful of a number on its own, so below are a bunch of different ways that number breaks down. Like many development stats, much here is specific to Tower of Guns' journey, and specific to just one developer's account at that. My numbers support many common thoughts about development, so if you're looking for startling results, look elsewhere. Still, these numbers may satisfy a passing curiosity for how long it takes someone to make an indie first-person-shooter like Tower of Guns. Before we dive in, here are some unaccounted for factors: Music composition (I contracted my brother for that. He doesn't share my time tracking obsession). Support given by the fans, friends, and family who tested and helped promote the game. Time saved by using UDK (Tower of Guns heavily leverages existing UDK tools and features). Additionally I was extremely familiar with the engine from an art/design perspective beforehand. Time saved by choosing a very abstractish level-art style (I suspect many titles would have a significantly larger art impact). I'm slow. Breaking down by Aggregate Effort: 3850 hours is actually not all that large of a number, once divided out over the development time. This chart shows roughly how much time was spent in each year, with the inset showing how much potential time there was in those years (as percents of days of the total project). What's interesting here is that the available time in each year and the amount of effort put forward in those years make a similarly sliced up chart, which along with not-alarming "hours per week" would imply* that I dove in full at full speed and never crunched or slacked. That would also be a complete lie. Method of tracking: While many companies track time using spreadsheets and fancy producer-scrum-judo, I did minimal pre-planning for a milestone, and only logged the reality of when I worked. Similar to switching on/off a competition chess clock, I kept a browser tab with tracking site Toggl.com up at all times, stopping my clock whenever I switched over to check facebook, or went to the bathroom, or scanned twitter, etc. That means the time logged was about as close to 100% efficicent as possible (not that I was 100% efficient, mind you, but that the captured time was). When planning out a project, most solid producers never run estimates using 100% efficiency (a sure road to sad times), but rather plan/book time with a lower efficiency, usually 80% or so. I never tracked "time in work-mode" (versus "time producing work") but I suspect it was consistently 9-11 hours a day, with sharper spikes near deadlines and dips afterward. That's an anecdotal number, sure, but my wife agrees and she's got a pretty good memory. Using that stat, here's what my actual efficiency looks like: Let's be clear: I'd prefer not to work 9-11 hours a day, 6 days a week, for 600 days on every project. I'm also realistic that I may never hit 80% efficiency. 2014 number's are starting to look pretty good at least though... however, that 55-67% number for 2012 was alarming. That implies that ~25 minutes of every hour was wasted. And 2013, which accounts for the lion's share of the project, was not much better. Breakdown by Development Phase: My wife jokingly said I should see when I signed up for twitter and chart that against my toggl.com hours. I did, and while despite there not being a correlation, I've a gut feeling that, for me personally, social distractions like facebook and twitter were not not causes of inefficiency, but rather were symptoms. That is to say, I spend more time on twitter because I was demotivated, and not that twitter demotivated me (usually). Here's another totally professional looking chart: The low efficiency in 2012 is straightforward to explain. Of the 1050 hours spent working on Tower of Guns in 2012, over half of that was prototyping/RnD. I was unprepared for how rough that phase would be. The desire to create something and not knowing how to progress is incredibly frustrating. I had never started a business before Terrible Posture Games. I had no idea how to talk to the press or how to market myself. I had never worked with UnrealScript (or any code in close to fifteen years). I had no concept of anything except for my expertise in isolated slivers of the development pipeline (a common history among Triple-A developers turned indies, it seems). Given my current skill set now, 20 months later, it would not be a hard to imagine the prototype period of a second project taking only 60-80 hours rather than over 600 hours. Knowing is faaaar more than half the battle when it comes to game development. Also, looking back, here's a tidbit I learned about myself during prototyping: feeling overwhelmed leads to demotivation. Demotivation leads to stagnation/distraction/facebook. Working mostly in solitude makes this worse: the sense of a shared investment that comes from teamwork is replaced with an echo-chamber of doubt. Devising strategies to combat self doubt, therefore, became a crucial part of development (maybe that's worth a blog of its own someday). Once I had a clear grasp of what Tower of Guns was (a randomized FPS aimed at the 90s era twitch fan) as well as how to approach building it, my efficiency improved dramatically. Breakdown by Month: Here I've roughly broken down my time over the project into three buckets: creative junk (asset creation and level authoring), technical crap (scripting, bug fixing, fussing with deployments), and non-dev stuff (marketing, business development, random other stuff). The severe dip in overal hours in Dec 2012 is easily explained: I joined in the IndieSpeedRun game jam. While game jams are awesome, I've learned not to underestimate the amount of energy it takes to participate in one—or recover afterwards. In the future I'll save them for when I'm between larger projects, I think. Anyway, while I do have an overall trend upwards in term of my efficiency over time, the individual buckets have a bizarre oscillation that I wasn't expecting. It looks like I focused on tech one month, art or level work the next, then tech again. This was likely because I would spent a few weeks building a new system, and then a few weeks bolstering the game's content using that feature. While I thought* I was always focused on the
: Donald Leslie Mark) 9. Thomas Jefferson was the only two term president who never vetoed a bill. Although his predecessor John Adams was the first president who never exercised the executive power of veto, Jefferson was the first two term president who never used it. Compare this to Washington who used the power of veto twice and Jefferson’s successor James Madison who used it seven times. It is accepted that he never vetoed a bill because he believed that the chief executive should play a limited, caretaking role in the government. 8. Thomas Jefferson was a terrible public speaker. Despite his skills at writing and conversation, Jefferson was never a very competent public speaker. When he had to speak publicly, he frequently mumbled and spoke in an inaudible voice that made it very difficult for people to hear him. That’s not to say that his speeches were not well written and meaningful. He just wasn’t able to give them in front of crowds. John Adams once said, “During the whole time I sat with him in Congress, I never heard him utter three sentences together.” His fear of public speaking made him an incredibly private president who tried to avoid the spotlight. For this reason, he started the tradition of sending the State of the Union message to Congress in writing so he would not have to present it. This tradition was followed until 1913 when it was broken by Woodrow Wilson. (Image: Patrick Henry Before the Virginia House of Burgesses by Peter F. Rothermel – Thomas Jefferson is seated.) 7. Jefferson was subjected to one of the worst smear campaigns in presidential history when he first ran for office. Federalist opponents of Thomas Jefferson spread rumors that he was an “infidel” during his first presidential election. The idea of Jefferson as a non-religious heathen made incredible waves in early America. These accusations were so widely believed that New England families hid their Bibles at the bottom of their wells because they believed that he would have them confiscated. Even Timothy Dwight, the president of Yale College, stated that if Jefferson was elected, it would result in, “our wives and daughters the victims of legal prostitution; soberly dishonored; speciously polluted.” The Connecticut Courant wrote that if he was elected, “There is scarcely a possibility that we shall escape a Civil War. Murder, robbery, rape, adultery, and incest will be openly taught and practiced.” This ignores the fact that… 6. Thomas Jefferson was very religious. Jefferson was a religious man but his beliefs caused controversy. He was raised as an Anglican, but grew up to be an opponent of all organized religion. Jefferson was actually a very spiritual person who believed in God and the moral teachings of Jesus Christ, even compiling and translating his own version of Jesus’ teachings. The controversy surrounding Jefferson probably comes from the fact that he did not believe that Jesus Christ was divine. 5. Thomas Jefferson was a very casual person. He had very bad posture and had a tendency to wear clothes that many felt were unfitting for a man of his stature. He usually wore a worn brown coat, red waistcoat, corduroy breeches, wool hose, and a pair of carpet slippers without heels. He almost sparked an international incident when he accidentally insulted the British ambassador by received him while wearing informal clothes. He also started the presidential tradition of shaking hands with visitors instead of bowing. 4. Thomas Jefferson loved wine. Jefferson was one of the preeminent wine connoisseurs of his age. His home, Monticello, had an enormous wine cellar that was 17 ½ feet long, 15 feet wide, and 10 feet high. Jefferson always had copious amounts of wine and other liquor at hand. Even today, bottles of wine that are associated with him are able to fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars at auctions. Jefferson was also the partner of Philip Mazzei, an Italian immigrant, who set up the first commercial vineyard venture in America. During his eight years as president, he ran up a personal wine bill of $10, 835.90. Adjusted for inflation, that translates to $146,524.40, or $18,315.55 for every year in office. Jefferson’s wine collection (and wine drinking) was one of the reasons why Jefferson was always in debt. 3. Thomas Jefferson was a talented musician. Jefferson was a very gifted violin player. During his early life, he practiced playing the violin for hours every afternoon. He also loved to sing and would frequently sing or hum to himself under his breath. His days as a violin player ended in 1786 when he broke his wrist trying to impress a woman. His wrist never fully healed afterwards. (Image: Bill Barker as Thomas Jefferson, history.org.) 2. While Thomas Jefferson was a staunch supporter of the freedom of religion, he advocated the separation of church and state. Thomas Jefferson, while a deeply religious man, believed that faith was a personal matter. He believed that the government had no right to get involved with a person’s religion. He played a major role in the passage of the 1786 Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. He also stopped the practice established by George Washington and John Adams of proclaiming days of fasting and thanksgiving. Apart from the First Amendment which guarantees (among other things) the Freedom of Religion, Jefferson wrote about his beliefs concerning religious freedom and the separation of the church and state. In a letter to the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802, he wrote: Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man & his god, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between church and state. (Image: Drafting the Declaration of Independence, by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris, left to right: Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson.) 1. Thomas Jefferson was publicly opposed to slavery. Despite the fact that Thomas Jefferson owned slaves for his entire life and had an affair with his slave Sally Hemings (a relationship that resulted in five children), he was against the institution. When he represented Virginia at that Continental Congress of 1783, he proposed a bill that would outlaw slavery in all new territories acquired by the federal government. Sadly, his proposal was defeated by one vote. In his first draft of the Declaration of Independence, he included a stinging rebuke of Great Britain for its sponsorship of the slave trade. This was later dropped at the request of South Carolina and Georgia. In 1807, he signed a bill that abolished the slave trade. It is believed that the reason that Jefferson had slaves was because he was always in great debt. He had encumbered his slaves by notes and mortgages, making him unable to free them until he had paid back his debt, something which never happened. However, he did free several of his slaves before his death. (Image: Isaac Jefferson, slave, 1775-1853, blackpast.org.) Liked it? Take a second to support Toptenz.net on Patreon! Other Articles you Might LikeLeonardo DiCaprio will star in and produce an adaptation of Stephan Talty’s book “The Black Hand” for Paramount Pictures. The true story about the origins of the mafia in America follows Joe Petrosino — nicknamed the “Italian Sherlock Holmes” — an NYPD cop who goes after the ruthless gang in the early 190os. The thugs (with the calling card black hand) migrated from Italy to America, and kidnapped people to extort money from their families. They were loathed by law-abiding Italian families who were frightened, but nevertheless helped Petrosino behind the scenes. Ellen Goldsmith-Vein and Jeremy Bell of The Gotham Group will produce. DiCaprio’s producing partner, Jennifer Davisson, will also produce with Gotham, as well as Nathaniel Posey on behalf of his Appian Way Productions. Talty is the New York Times-bestselling author of six nonfiction books focused on history and individual achievement. As a ghostwriter, Talty’s work includes “A Captain’s Duty,” which was the basis for the 2013 Oscar-nominated Tom Hanks-starrer “Captain Phillips.” DiCaprio recently starred in “Before the Flood,” the 2016 documentary about climate change directed by Fisher Stevens. He will next play Sam Phillips, a pioneer in the music industry during the 1950s who helped launch the careers of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis. Paramount has been busy acquiring material for DiCaprio following his new first-look deal, which he signed in 2015. Appain Way is developing a reboot of the “Captain Planet” series with Glen Powell, among its many projects. DiCaprio is repped by LBI Entertainment. The news was first reported by Deadline Hollywood.The 51-year old will be in the stands when City take on Barnsley at Oakwell tomorrow night as the Sky Blues look for back-to-back wins... Coventry City have appointed Tony Mowbray as their new manager. Mowbray joins the Sky Blues until the end of the current season and will be in the stands when City take on Barnsley at Oakwell tonight. The 51-year old enjoyed a successful playing career with spells at Middlesbrough, Celtic and Ipswich Town before moving into management with Scottish side Hibernian in 2004. His success with Hibs attracted the attention of West Bromwich Albion in 2006 and Mowbray guided the Black Country side to the Championship title and promotion to the Premier League in the 2007/08 season. After a brief spell with Celtic, Mowbray moved back to Middlesbrough to guide Boro to safety in the 2010/11 season before narrowly missing out on a play-off place a season later during a three-year spell. Chief Executive Steve Waggott said: "We are absolutely delighted to welcome Tony Mowbray to Coventry City as our new manager. "We've secured the services of a highly-rated, experienced candidate for the job and Tony is a manager who has enjoyed plenty of success at a higher level. "He has experience in coming into a club in challenging times and steering them through to safety and, on top of that, has enjoyed promotion too. "We were all very impressed with Tony during the interview process and it speaks volumes that the club are able to attract a manager of Tony's calibre. "We wanted someone who could come in and hit the ground running because we have 14 important games left in this season and the number one priority is to preserve our League One status. “We have agreed terms until the end of the season and then, immediately after the final ball is kicked, we can reassess and look at a longer term deal. It was just vital, at this stage, to get the right man in to help steer us through the current situation between now and the end of the season. "We believe Tony is exactly the right man for Coventry City and everyone here, from supporters to staff, will get right behind him." Neil MacFarlane and Dave Hockaday will be in charge for the game tonight.Shilpa Shetty in a still from the video, which she later deleted. (Image courtesy: Instagram) Highlights Shilpa posted a video with a chimpanzee and the internet was not amused "Why on earth do you support this animal cruelty?" said one user Shilpa deleted all the videos of her interaction with the animals Shilpa Shetty and her son Viaan are vacationing in Dubai and like many other celebrities, they stopped over at the Belhasa residence, which is owned by entrepreneur Dr Saif Ahmed Belhasa. Shilpa and Viaan interacted with various animals (not native to the Emirates), housed at the Belhasas' and after a severe backlash on Instagram, the actress deleted all three video of her with the animals. In one video shared by Shilpa Shetty, the actress interacted with a chimpanzee named Princess. She cuddled the primate, who'd smile and kiss Shilpa as instructed by the tutor. "This one's my favourite video, missing Princess already," Shilpa wrote in caption of the now deleted post. Though some Instagram users couldn't stop gushing over the video, others slammed it saying: "Why on earth do you support this animal cruelty?" Another user said: "These expressions are taught to monkeys by hurting them. Sad! People see them as entertainment." There were some who gave the owners benefit of the doubt and wrote: "Such precious animals they are! I just hope they have trained with love and not tortured him to follow commands. He looks timid and perplexed though."However, links to Shilpa's deleted Instagram posts are available on her official Twitter account:Shilpa had also shared a video of her son Viaan feeding a tiger cub and the experience she said was'surreal' for Viaan. "So important to instill love and compassion for animals in children, I believe they grow into more responsible and sensitive human beings," she had written in caption. Again, Instagram users were not impressed: "Tigers are meant to be free in a jungle, not have milk from bottles and live in mansions." One comment read: "If you love animals, then firstly you shouldn't have clicked a picture with animals and secondly you should have told your son the sort of cruelty these babies go through. An actress with such fan following should not promote such things, it is simply for the sake of photographs that tiger cubs are separated from their mothers."Shilpa had shared a third video, in which she and Viaan fed leaves to a pair of giraffes. Shilpa supported the Belhasas and wrote in caption: "It's amazing how you guys love and take care of these animals."The Belhasas are one of the richest families of Dubai and their 15-year-old son Rashed aka Money Kicks is also an entrepreneur. Among the many businesses owned by the Belhasas is a driving center. Bollywood actor Salman Khan recently inaugurated a new branch of the Belhasa Driving Center, which the Internet found ironic because theactor was tried for a hit-and-run case in India. Salman was invited by Rashed, who has chronicled his celeb meet-and-greet diary on Instagram.Shilpa also met Rashed, with whom she sat for a round of dessert tasting - one of the four videos she did not delete. Shilpa Shetty hasn't posted any clarification or issued a statement regarding the videos which she deleted.As much as I had feared that my gift would arrive after the Christmas holiday this year due to shipping concerns, I was happily surprised this morning by a package dropped off at my door, with some rather familiar wrapping of course. My SS this year, u/allsharkandnobite was gracious enough to attempt to blend my different loves of gaming together, and succeed she did. Combining World of Warcraft and my love of board games, I received a WoW themed version of trivial pursuit, an easy addition to my board game collection and the next night my wow friends get together for some fun. Thank you Laura for this wonderful early Christmas gift, it has brightened my day, and week ahead in the mess that is working through this season, can't wait to play it :DDonny was feeling pretty settled in his cushy life. Even though his girlfriend was politically active, he never gave social justice or racial issues any time. So, when Dorrie discovers something she shouldn’t have and ends up dead, no one expects Donny to be the guy to carry on her work—but that’s exactly what he does, putting on a mask and taking to the streets. He soon finds himself tangled in family history, political conspiracy, and a plot that goes far deeper than he ever imagined. Set in the heart of Los Angeles, this new VIGILANTE series raises an old question while making it relevant to our times: when you witness bad things being done, how far would you go to set them right? Written by Gary Phillips, noted writer of the Ivan Monk series of novels, and drawn by Elena Casagrande (Suicide Risk), this hard-hitting tale of revenge and redemption takes the Vigilante into a whole new danger zone.HOUSTON - For those who have to stop to remember we have a pro soccer team in Houston, the Dynamo want to refresh your memory. According to their website the club will have a ONE DAY FANTASY CAMP for 10 fans. Those 10 will have to WIN the right to take part in the promotion. I am certain one would have to show your intense love for the team. You most likely should not bring up the trade of Brad Davis (even though the team made it look as if they were doing him a favor). Don't mention the lack of a playoff spot for two seasons and I WOULDN'T say Brian Ching is best remembered as the guy who heads up the women's team. If you can't name the new coach, that's ok, neither can some of the players. I NOW SHIFT to the football most follow and the big day that determines those headed to SUPER 50. I HAVE not given the Carolina TEAM much credit despite their having won 16 of 17 and once again have the home field against Arizona. Two teams ditching the names of Phoenix and Charlotte to suggest they represent the entire states of NORTH and ARIZONA, which they do. My daughter loved Carolina since they were the one team that got her cable TV. She went to Wofford College for her undergrad work and when the Panthers came to train there, the players had the dorm rooms wired. Thanks to owner and Wofford alum Jerry Richardson, my daughter and friends had cable. Not to be outdone, my son got his Masters at Northern Arizona. Flagstaff is the training home of the Cards and they were especially friendly to the students who showed up to watch the drills. My son suffered through the heat and frustration of the Oilers so he appreciated the lack of humidity at NAU. He became a Cardinals fan. I am going with the former Blinn JC QB in this one, despite Arizona having the best receiver in Larry Fitzgerald. And for another year I am figuring Brady will out play Manning. Most fans have to hate one of the last two and NE is that team. The Pats will have to out play Wade's defense. I gotta think that might be hard to do. I love making it sound as if I have both teams winning. 2016 Click2Houston/KPRC2The superannuation industry has condemned suggestions the federal government should allow low income earners to opt out of super. Meanwhile, the iron ore price is on the up and Britain considers leaving the EU. Sheryle Bagwell takes a look at the week in finance. What are the changes being proposed for those on low incomes? Reports over the weekend said an unnamed 'industry group' was pressing the government to consider allowing workers earning less than $37,000 a year to opt out of super contributions. Forcing the poorest Australians to put part of their wages into super when they will probably never be able to save enough to live without the aged pension seems to make little sense. Under the proposal, they would instead receive their employers' contributions—of around 9.5 per cent of their wages—directly in their pay packets. I suspected the unnamed industry group was the Property Council of Australia, perhaps as a quid pro quo for any negative gearing changes. Maybe people could put the extra cash towards a deposit on a property? Though opting out of super would only put about $60 a week extra into low income earners' pay packets. But the Property Council says it wasn't them. Indeed, no one has put up their hand to claim ownership of the idea, although presumably it won't stay secret for long, as all budget submissions are eventually made public. Is it a good policy idea and is the treasurer keen on it? If the treasurer is keen on it, he's not saying. According to Scott Morrison's office, reports that he is considering these changes are just not true. We do know that philosophically, conservatives both in and outside the Liberal Party have always been against the very idea of compulsory super. They say Australians should have the choice to spend their wages on whatever they want. Some on the left are also coming around to this idea, particularly as the financial industry built around super becomes more and more monolithic and returns become more volatile. Certainly forcing the poorest Australians to put part of their wages into super when they will probably never be able to save enough to live without the aged pension seems to make little sense. The same point has been made by the chair of the financial system inquiry, David Murray. But allowing low income earners to opt out of compulsory super would probably prove to be the death knell of the whole system, as it would open the way for others, such as first home buyers, to demand the same. The big banks and the super industry would no doubt fight hard to prevent that, and I suspect Morrison won't want to fight this battle just now. What does the rise in the iron ore price mean for the budget? Last week the price of iron ore rose to a three-month high of US$48 a tonne as Chinese steel makers ramped up their production after the Lunar New Year holiday. That's a good US$10 a tonne more than it was fetching back in December. Of course, it's still a long way from the halcyon days when it touched US$180. Still, this recent appreciation could give the budget a real boost. Treasury had assumed in its latest forecasts that the price would hover around US$39 a tonne this year. Deloitte's Chris Richardson has done the numbers and says if the higher prices are sustained, it would add an extra $1.4 billion in revenue to the government's coffers this year. It would a brave treasurer who counted on these higher prices being sustained, however. The iron ore spot price is highly volatile and even the Chinese are forecasting that steel consumption will decline this year. British PM David Cameron has named June 23 as the date for a referendum on the UK's membership of the European Union. What does the business sector say about that? Not surprisingly, the British business community is totally opposed to the prospect of the UK leaving the EU, although it will be glad the matter will finally be brought to a head. For many multinationals, London is their entry point into the European Union; they also feel that Britain, with its Anglo-Saxon ways, is a steadying influence on the whole project. The UK business community fears an exit might trigger a flight of capital to Ireland or perhaps even Scotland—if Britain exits the EU, then pro-EU Scotland will almost certainly hold another independence referendum. 'The EU referendum is a significant risk, not just for the UK, but also for Europe and the world,' Andrew Formica, the Australian-born CEO of Henderson Global Investors, told RN Breakfast. 'It's a very big decision. Clearly it's a decision for the British public to make. But I think both the UK and Europe would be weaker if they were apart. I think the economic arguments stack up that both are better together.' According to recent polls, British voters are split over whether to remain part of Europe, although betting markets are still heavily backing the likelihood of a vote to stay in. Nevertheless, a quarter of Prime Minister David Cameron's cabinet will campaign for a Brexit and London's popular mayor, Boris Johnson, has thrown his support behind the 'vote to leave' campaign. British and European markets may react to that this week, as traders say the risk of a Brexit has yet to be factored in. Listen to the full analysis Monday 22 February 2016 Sheryle Bagwell previews the week ahead in finance. MoreSinger Ali Eskandarian was gunned down in New York last year with members of punk band the Yellow Dogs. He had just written Golden Years, an On-the-Road style novel that's now being hailed as a cult classic The year before he was murdered, alongside two members of the rock band the Yellow Dogs, the Iranian-American singer-songwriter Ali Eskandarian wrote to the man he hoped would become his publisher. He was working on a novel about someone like himself, he explained – "immigrant, war child, rock'n'roller, artist trying to live in a modern world he finds infuriating/exhilarating". There was, he promised, "an insurgent political bent to the writing, also lots of sex, drugs and rock'n'roll". And there were "characters very similar to the Yellow Dogs" because he "lived with the Dogs for almost two years and we got to have some fun". "I think it could be the great Iranian-American novel, or at least that's what I'll call it until someone proves me wrong," he finished. The killings in New York last November of Eskandarian, 35, and brothers Arash and Soroush Farazmand echoed around the world. Ali Akbar Mahammadi Rafie, a fellow musician whose relationship with the band had "frayed", as the New York Times put it, climbed into their Brooklyn home and shot the men with an assault rifle, before killing himself. The Yellow Dogs had fled from Tehran to New York in 2010, wanting to be able to play their music freely. In Iran, according to a US state department cable released by Wikileaks, they were part of Tehran's "small but crazy" underground club scene. In the US, they were "building a national following with [their] furiously intense post-punk", in the words of Rolling Stone. Eskandarian, who lived in the flat above the brothers in East Williamsburg, grew up in Tehran before moving to Dallas with his family as an adolescent. He'd released an album, Nothing to Say, on Wildflower Records, and toured the US with the Yellow Dogs. He was also, it turns out, writing that semi-autobiographical novel, Golden Years. It's just been bought by Faber & Faber, the most literary of the UK's publishers, where creative director Lee Brackstone believes it is a "cult classic in the making". "It's sort of Beat," Brackstone says. "Every five years or so it feels like a classic title comes out of this genre, and I think Golden Years is going to be the next one." Eskandarian writes, he says, about "the first 10 years of the 21st century, and living in Williamsburg, and going on the road in this band. It's about what it's like being a young immigrant from a minority nation, growing up, finding yourself, in cities in the US, going back to Tehran. It's very powerful; it's also extremely political. These kids in their early 20s are rebelling against what's going on in that part of the world. There'll be shockwaves from it." In September 2012, Eskandarian emailed his manuscript to his friend Oscar van Gelderen at the Dutch publisher Lebowski. Van Gelderen was at first reluctant to read it. "I was afraid it would be bad," he says. Instead, "it's poetic, lyrical, authentic, fresh and brutal". "It's not just a classic coming-of-age story," Van Gelderen goes on. "It's all here, the immigrant story, leaving everything behind … People ask me all the time to explain the killings. I'm not a psychologist. But if you leave your country, what do you have left? These guys had their friends, and their band. This guy [the killer] was sort of kicked out of their community. If you read the manuscript you can see how sensitive and fragile these people are." When Van Gelderen told Eskandarian he wanted to publish the book, "he was so excited – he couldn't believe it." On the Facebook page he set up in the author's memory, Van Gelderen has written: "Let's keep on calling it Ali's Great Iranian Novel, until someone proves him wrong." Reading on mobile? Watch Ali Eskandarian perform his song Always here Did you pack the synthetic opiates? An extract from Golden Years by Ali Eskandarian We were once again going on a cross-country tour. Kiarsh, the drummer, is the newest member to make it out of Iran. He and I had one of those instant bonds that develop between people who are supposed to ride down the road a while together. He's tall and handsome, with deep, dark eyes. The girls go nuts for him. We have to gather all the necessary supplies for the first leg of the tour. In our case the provisions consist mostly of drugs. Bottles of amphetamine, synthetic opiates, hydrocodone, and an ounce of marijuana, which all have to be procured before departure, and it's early afternoon before we point the van plus trailer towards the western shores.“This Court should not permit the Government to flout its directives at the expense of countless Americans and their loved ones” We previously wrote how the State of Hawaii (with co-plaintiff Dr. Ismail Elshikh) struck out in Hawaii federal court and in the 9th Circuit, in seeking “clarification” of how Trump’s Travel Order No. 2 was to be implemented in light of the prior court injunctions and the Supreme Court’s substantial overruling of those injunctions: The key problem identified by the court was the Hawaii’s request for “clarification” was not proper. The District Court ruled that if Hawaii wanted clarification of a Supreme Court Order, it should seek such clarification from the Supreme Court: “Upon careful consideration of the parties’ submissions, it is evident that the parties quarrel over the meaning and intent of words and phrases authored not by this Court, but by the Supreme Court in its June 26, 2017 per curiam decision. That is, the parties’ disagreements derive neither from this Court’s temporary restraining order, this Court’s preliminary injunction, nor this Court’s amended preliminary injunction,2 but from the modifications to this Court’s injunction ordered by the Supreme Court. Accordingly, the clarification to the modifications that the parties seek should be more appropriately sought in the Supreme Court…. * * * Because Plaintiffs seek clarification of the June 26, 2017 injunction modifications authored by the Supreme Court, clarification should be sought there, not here. This Court will not upset the Supreme Court’s careful balancing and “equitable judgment” brought to bear when “tailor[ing] a stay” in this matter. Slip Op. at 10. Nor would this district court presume to substitute its own understanding of the stay for that of the originating Court’s “exercise of discretion and judgment” in “[c]rafting a preliminary injunction... dependent as much on the equities of a given case as the substance of the legal issues it presents.” Slip Op. at 9. This Court declines to usurp the prerogative of the Supreme Court to interpret its own order and defers in the first instance.” The 9th Circuit held that it had no jurisdiction to review a denial of clarification: We lack jurisdiction to address Plaintiffs’ appeal of the district court’s order denying the motion to clarify the scope of the injunction. This court possesses jurisdiction to review only final judgments and a limited set of interlocutory orders. See 28 U.S.C. §§ 1291, 1292(a). The district court’s order neither resulted in a final judgment nor engaged in action deemed immediately appealable in 28 U.S.C. § 1292(a). Specifically, the district court’s order did not “grant[], continu[e], modify[], refus[e], or dissolv[e]” an injunction, or “refus[e] to dissolve or modify” an injunction. Id. § 1291(a)(1). Nor do any of the various judicially-crafted bases for appellate jurisdiction apply under these circumstances. Because the “practical effect” of Plaintiffs’ requested relief is declaratory in nature—not injunctive—we do not construe their clarification motion before the district court as one for injunctive relief. The 9th Circuit all but invited Hawaii to reformulate what it was seeking: Finally, we note that although the district court may not have authority to clarify an order of the Supreme Court, it does possess the ability to interpret and enforce the Supreme Court’s order, as well as the authority to enjoin against, for example, a party’s violation of the Supreme Court’s order placing effective limitations on the scope of the district court’s preliminary injunction. Cf. United States v. El-O-Pathic Pharmacy, 192 F.2d 62, 79–80 (9th Cir. 1951). But Plaintiffs’ motion before the district court was clear: it sought clarification of the Supreme Court’s June 26 order, not injunctive relief. Because the district court was not asked to grant injunctive relief or to modify the injunction, we do not fault it for not doing so. And sure enough, Hawaii late Friday night filed a new request, a Motion to Enforce or Alternatively Modify (pdf.) the District Court’s prior injunction, and a supporting Declaration (pdf.). Full copies of each are embedded at the bottom of this post. The Court entered an Order on the docket: The Court is in receipt of Plaintiffs’ Motion to Enforce or, In the Alternative, to Modify Preliminary Injunction. Dkt. No. 328. Defendants shall file their opposition by Tuesday, July 11, 2017. Plaintiffs shall file any reply by Wednesday, July 12, 2017. The parties’ opposition and reply briefs are limited to no more than 15 pages each. Here is the relief sought by Hawaii in the Motion: The Government has announced that it is implementing, and that it intends to continue implementing, Executive Order 13780 in a manner that conflicts with the portions of this Court’s preliminary injunction that were not stayed by the Supreme Court’s June 26, 2017 ruling. Plaintiffs therefore request that the Court issue an Order enforcing or modifying its preliminary injunction to reflect that: (1)the injunction bars the Government from implementing the Executive Order against grandparents, grandchildren, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins of persons in the United States; (2) the injunction prohibits the Government from applying sections 6(a) and 6(b) to exclude refugees who: (i) have a formal assurance from a resettlement agency within the United States (ii) have a bona fide client relationship with a U.S. legal services organization; or (iii) are in the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (“USRAP”) through the Iraqi Direct Access Program for “U.S.-affiliated Iraqis,” the Central American Minors Program, or the Lautenberg Program; (3) the injunction bars defendants from suspending any part of the refugee admission process, including any part of the “Advanced Booking” process, for individuals with a bona fide relationship with a U.S. person or entity; and (4) the preliminary injunction prohibits the Government from applying a presumption that an applicant lacks “a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States.” And sure enough, Hawaii told the District Court in its supporting Memorandum that the 9th Circuit has approved this procedural path: This Court found that it lacked authority to grant the particular relief Plaintiffs requested: a motion to clarify. But the Ninth Circuit has stated that there is an alternative, viable route for this Court to prevent these brazen violations of its order. This Court, it explained, “does possess * * * the authority to enjoin against* * * a party’s violation of the Supreme Court’s order placing effective limitations on the scope of the district court’s preliminary injunction.” Dkt. 327, at 3. Plaintiffs respectfully request that this Court follow the path the NinthCircuit laid out. It should enjoin the Government’s bald attempts to thwart the Supreme Court’s and this Court’s will. In the alternative, Plaintiffs respectfully request that this Court modify its injunction to make clear that the Government’s current course of conduct is unlawful. One thing is clear: This Court should not permit the Government to flout its directives at the expense of countless Americans and their loved ones, and it possesses the authority to prevent the Government from so doing. The problem with Hawaii’s request, even if the form has been fixed, is that substantively Hawaii is wrong. The Trump implementation is consistent with the explanations given by the Supreme Court as to who had a “bona fide” relationship to the U.S., such that the person would not fall under the Travel Order. My explanation was fairly lengthy, so see my prior post, Hawaii seeks injunction against Trump admin interpretation of SCOTUS Travel Order ruling. I concluded: It appears that at least as to visa entries, Hawaii is trying to expand the limiting language (quoted above) as to who is exempt from the Travel Order…. Expect a fast ruling. And if Hawaii loses, the 9th Circuit panel seems eager to hear the case. —————————— Hawaii v Trump – Post-SCOTUS Motion to Enforce or Modify Preliminary Injunction by Legal Insurrection on Scribd . Hawaii v Trump – Declaration and Exhibits in Support of Post-SCOTUS Motion to Enforce or Modify Preliminary… by Legal Insurrection on ScribdBreaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings. Sep. 25, 2017, 8:04 PM GMT / Updated Sep. 25, 2017, 8:04 PM GMT By Kalhan Rosenblatt The man accused of killing one woman and injuring seven other people at a Tennessee church on Sunday had threatened suicide and was involved in alleged domestic disputes in the months leading up to the attack, police records show. Emanuel K. Samson, 25, was arrested on Sunday after allegedly opening fire inside Burnette Chapel Church of Christ in Antioch, Tenn. He has been charged with first-degree murder, and more charges are likely to come, police said. Less than three months earlier, on June 27, Murfreesboro police responded to a call from his father, Vanansio Samson, that Emanuel was having suicidal thoughts. “Your phone is off, I have a gun to my head, have a nice F--- life,” the younger Samson wrote to his father in a text, according to a missing person-runaway report from the Murfreesboro PD. Emanuel Kidega Samson. Metro Nashville PD Police pinged Samson’s phone in an attempt to locate him, according to the report, but it’s unclear if contact was ever made. Vanansio Samson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. And this year, two calls were made to the Murfreesboro police — one in January and one in March — regarding domestic disputes involving Emanuel Samson. In the police report from January, Samson and his girlfriend allegedly got into an argument after she accused him of cheating on her. Samson allegedly punched a television, breaking it, and also broke a small figurine, according to the report. Samson’s girlfriend said she tried to leave the room but he demanded
Campaign published a data set in early February 2019 asserting that Walker received $1.75 million from a company with ties to Russian oligarchs, 250,000 of which went to the "Our American Revival" fund -- a group supporting Walker's 2016 bid for the presidency. The quarter-million-dollar donation came "just days" after Walker's meeting with an alleged Russian spy, Maria Butina. According to Joanna Beilman-Dulin of Onew Wisconsin Now, "The timing of this quarter-million dollar contribution sure looks like Scott Walker’s non-meeting meant something to somebody.”[1] 2018 Gubernatorial Election Loss to Tony Evers Walker conceded to State School Superintendent Tony Evers on November 7 2018, after serving as Wisconsin's chief executive for two terms.[2] According to CMD's Mary Bottari, the end of Walker's enure may lead to the end of "Wisconsin’s role as a national petri dish for right-wing policies promulgated by the Koch brothers and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), including austerity budgeting, union-busting, voter ID and the systematic denial of Medicaid assistance to the state’s residents."[3] $9.2 million dollars in TV ads From August to October, Walker and like-minded groups spent $9.2 million on broadcast TV advertising, making Walker "much better funded than [his Democratic opponent] Evers." $5.4 million came from outside GOP groups, with "most active GOP group," Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, spending $2.6 million. According to The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the outside spending breakdown is as follows:[4] Walker's Frequent Flights The Wisconsin State Journal reports that Walker took 322 taxpayer-funded flights in 2017. In 2016, he took 351. Those flights took place while Walker was campaigning for president in 2016, and then as his re-election campaign for Governor approaches in late-2018. "He held dozens of invite-only feedback sessions with local officials and residents, met with local news outlets and toured schools, health care facilities and businesses." Yet few of the flights, "only about a dozen" in 2016/2017, were reimbursed by the campaign. One Wisconsin Now, the advocacy group which first reported the frequency of Walker's flights, claims that Walker is subsidizing his political activities using public funds.[5] “I don’t see how the governor can fly to the Green Bay media market each of the six days leading up to a special election where his party is defending a seat it’s held since 1977 and claim none of it is campaign[-]related,” One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross said. “After 25 years in office, Scott Walker has become the most dangerous kind of politician, the one who thinks he’s entitled to use our tax dollars for whatever he wants.”[5] Criticism from Former Aides Walker's former Secretary of the Department of Transportation alleges that the governor boss is not telling the truth about road projects, according to the Associated Press.[6] Mark Gottlieb, a Republican appointed by Walker himself, told The Cap Times, “We got to a place where the facts were being ignored in favor of political spin." Gottlieb claims that Walker has been spreading untrue information about how choices are made about which transportation projects are funded by the state.[6] According to his former Financial Institutions secretary, Gov. Walker has instructed his subordinates to "avoid creating electronic records," in order to not create any material which would have to be turned over in a public records request. The former Walker aide, Peter Bildsten, told the Wisconsin Journal Sentinel, “I thought Scott Walker was different, but he’s just another politician looking out for himself.” Bildsten's claims are substantiated by another "former top aide to Walker" according to the Wisconsin Journal Sentinel.[7] In a book, Former state Department of Corrections Secretary Ed Wall alleges that Walker and Attorney General Brad Schimel intentionally neglected to see through an investigation into inmate abuse at Wisconsin's youth prisons. Wall claims that he asked Schimel and Walker for more resources for the investigation, but was repeatedly denied. Walker has said he sees "no value" in visiting state prisons. Walker and Schimel's offices deny Wall's allegations.[8] Campaign Fundraising Walker raised 5.5 million dollars in the first half of 2018.[9] In addition to that he had raised 7.2 million dollars in the year of 2017.[10] Historically, much of the money Walker has received has come from "Retired/Homemakers/Non-Income earning" people.[11] One out of every three dollars Walker raised in 2017 came from an out of state donor. Individuals giving directly to Walker include Reince Priebus who gave $2,000, Walter W. Buckley, Richard Colburn, Brian Follett, Edward Levy Barry MacLean, Timothy J. Roberts, Chicago and Diane Smith who all gave the maximum legal amount of $20,000.[12] According to The Milwaukee State Journal, The Koch Brothers announced a plan in early 2018 to help finance Walker's campaign.[13] In April 2018, the Republican Governors Assoication promised to spend $5.1 million of television ads for Walker.[14] According to One Wisconsin Now, Scott Walker has raised $100 million for his gubernatorial campaigns over the past 25 years. “No Wisconsin politician has raised more campaign cash for himself or been more willing to sell us out for a campaign contribution than Scott Walker. Scott Walker is the literal poster child for obscene campaign spending,” Executive Director of One Wisconsin Now Scot Ross said.[15] 2015 Photo with Alleged Russian Spy Scott Walker with Maria Butina In July of 2018, Maria Butina was charged with as a "covert Russian agent" working for the Kremlin to gather "intelligence on American officials and political organizations and worked to establish back-channel lines of communications," according to the Associated Press. A photo of Walker and Butina with Alexander Torshin Butina, deputy head of the Russian Central Bank and her alleged handler, at a National Rifle Association convention in 2015 emerged, sparking controversy. Walker maintains that the interaction was just a photo-op, but some decry a more nefarious story line.[16] One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross said about the photo that the NRA donations precluding the photo were also important. "The $3.5 million that (the NRA) doled out to support Scott Walker since then paved the way not only for him to spend 25 years in public office but also for an accused Russian spy to gain personal access to him.”[17] As more information came to light, such as data by the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, reports assert that Walker received $1.75 million from a company with ties to Russian oligarchs, 250,000 of which went to a fund supporting Walker's 2016 bid for the presidency. That donation came "just days" after Walker's meeting with Butina. According to Joanna Beilman-Dulin of Onew Wisconsin Now, "The timing of this quarter-million dollar contribution sure looks like Scott Walker’s non-meeting meant something to somebody.”[1] 4 Billion Dollar Foxconn Deal Alongside President Trump, Governor Walker unveiled a plan to bring factory of the Taiwanese tech giant, Foxconn to Eau Claire and Milwaukee. Walker and Foxconn say that the factories will bring as much as 10 million dollars into the Wisconsin economy and create thousands of jobs. Humans rights, environmentalist, and budget watchers object to the plan on the grounds that Foxconn is infamous for employee suicides,[18] river pollution,[19] and expecting tax incentives.[20] On Thursday, June 28, Walker was joined by Trump and the CEO of Foxconn in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin for a groundbreaking ceremony for the factory. Estimates say that it took $4.5 billion dollars in incentives to bring Foxconn to Wisconsin.[21] "This will make us a brain gain state, not a brain drain state," Walker said of the deal.Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag Walker's 2018 Reelection Team On November 1, 2017, the core of Walker's reelection team was released to the public. The AP reports that the team includes:[22] Michael Grebe, Campaign Chairman Jon Hammes, Campaign Finance Chairman R.J. Johnson, Senior Strategic Advisor Keith Gilkes, Consultant Joe Fadness, Campaign Manager Brian Reisinger, Advisor The Guardian Releases 1,500 Leaked Documents Relating to Walker's Second "John Doe" Investigation On September 14, 2016 The Guardian released a cache of 1,500 pages of leaked court documents and emails related to the "John Doe II" investigation surrounding Scott Walker. The leaked documents shed new light on how Governor Scott Walker, his top advisors and allies evaded Wisconsin’s campaign finance system to win his recall election, and to maintain Republican control of the Wisconsin State Senate during the tumultuous recall period of 2011 and 2012. The strategies pursued and measures taken were unprecedented in the State of Wisconsin and sparked a criminal investigation by a bipartisan group of prosecutors. The documents released by the Guardian indicate that Walker may have solicited and received corporate checks for the 2011 Senate recall fight and his own 2012 recall election, sparking a complaint by members of the Wisconsin legislature. 2016 Presidential Race Walker Endorses Ted Cruz for President Walker - Ted Cruz for President TV Ad Walker officially endorsed Ted Cruz on March 29, 2016, a week before the Wisconsin primary election. Speaking on the talk show of radio host Charlie Sykes, Walker called Cruz "the best positioned by far" to beat Donald Trump in the Republican primary race.[23] Walker also appeared in a TV ad supporting Cruz. Although he endorsed Cruz, Walker has previously suggested that the eventual GOP nominee may be someone who is currently not running, according to the Capitol Times: "'I think if it’s an open convention, it’s very likely it would be someone who’s not currently running,' Walker told reporters last Thursday."[24] Walker Ends 2016 Presidential Run On September 21, 2015, Walker quit his quest for President of the United States.[25] In his speech, Walker said that he was suspending his campaign "so that a positive, conservative message can rise to the top of the field."[25] He also urged other candidates to follow his lead "so that the voters can focus on a limited number of candidates who can offer a positive, conservative alternative to the current front-runner (Donald Trump)."[25] Walker was polling at 0% in the CNN/ORC released on September 20, 2015.[26] In an interview with Politico, Walker's campaign manager Rick Wiley stated that the campaign had a "huge revenue problem," which heavily influenced Walker's decision.[27] According to Wiley, the campaign had about $1 million in cash but owed $800,000, and fundraising “was like grinding to a halt.”[27] Politico also reported that the Unintimidated PAC was preparing to take over the major operations of the campaign upon knowing of the growing revenue problem, "In the meantime, at the super PAC supporting Walker, Unintimidated PAC, top officials were preparing something revolutionary. Keith Gilkes, a former Walker chief of staff who was a leader of the super PAC, was legally barred from coordinating with the campaign. But in August, he began asking donors pointed questions about the campaign’s finances. He concluded that the situation was dire. The super PAC, which had about $20 million available, looked into hiring field staffers in South Carolina and other early states — preparing to take over many communications and political functions from the campaign, rather than staying in the traditional role of running TV ads."[27] Walker Believes There are Only a 'Handful Of Reasonable, Moderate Followers Of Islam' Q and A: Scott Walker says there are only a "handful of reasonable, moderate followers of Islam" In a Q&A session with veterans in Derby, NH on August 21, 2015, Walker claimed that the majority of muslims in the world share the radical beliefs of terrorists. In answering a question on the war terror and the way it is characterized by the Obama administration, Walker said, "It is a war against not only America and Israel, it's a war against Christians, it's a war against Jews, it's a war against even the handful of reasonable, moderate followers of Islam who don't share the radical beliefs that these radical Islamic terrorists have."[28] If Elected President, Walker will Repeal Affordable Care Act on Day 1 Repeal and Replace On August 18, 2015 in an opinion piece for the USA Today, Walker announced that if elected to the US Presidency, he would repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on his first day in office.[29] In order to "motivate" members of Congress to pass his repeal, Walker "will sign an executive order removing President Obama’s special deal for Congress, which gives lawmakers subsidies that have exempted them from the same premium increases other Americans have suffered under ObamaCare (the ACA)."[29] Walker will then replace the ACA with his own plan. Walker claims that his plan will keep insurance affordable for Americans with tax credits and health savings accounts but it is not clear how this will work, particularly for those with lower incomes.[30][31] Walker Follows ALEC Again in Calling for an End to Birthright Citizenship Following the release of Donald Trump’s immigration plan on August 16, 2015 and the media attention it received, Walker came out publicly in support of Trump’s plan to dismantle the 14th Amendment, which grants citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States." When asked by MSNBC should birthright citizenship be discontinued, Walker replied: “Yeah, to me it's about enforcing the laws in this country. And I've been very clear, I think you enforce the laws, and I think it's important to send a message that we're going to enforce the laws, no matter how people come here we're going to enforce the laws.” [32] The American Legislative Exchange Council, or “ALEC,” adopted the same policy in a 2008 resolution. The resolution calls on the United States Congress to “enact legislation clarifying the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution as denying citizenship status to children of illegal aliens simply by virtue of their being born in the United States,” although doing so would have no legal effect. How these candidates would undo 117 years of precedent is unclear: they would either have to amend the constitution, or appoint activist U.S. Supreme Court justices willing to reverse the 1898 court decision that found the constitution guaranteed citizenship to all children born in the United States.[33] With Milwaukee Bucks Stadium Bill Signing, Walker Shows Support for Corporate Welfare On August 12, 2015, Walker signed a bill committing $250 million in public funds for a new Milwaukee Bucks arena.[34] He was able to get the bill passed through the legislature despite opposition from both sides of the aisle.[35] State Rep. David Murphy (R) told the Huffington Post, "The Bucks staying in Wisconsin would be very good for this state. But I do have a philosophical objection to seeing taxpayer money go to millionaire basketball players and billionaire team owners.”[36] The Bucks threatened to leave Wisconsin if they did not receive enough funds for the new stadium, what College of Holy Cross sports economist Victor Matheson calls "regular sports extortion".[36] As many in the media pointed out, the $250 million from the public equals the $250 million in cuts to the University of Wisconsin system.[37] Jon Hammes, one of Walker's top fundraisers for his 2016 presidential run, is a part-owner of the Bucks.[38] Club for Growth Stands with Walker Bloomberg reports that Club for Growth president David McIntosh sent an email to potential donors asking them to contribute to its PAC in support of Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Scott Walker, and Jeb Bush.[39] McIntosh wrote, “Five candidates are at the forefront of the Republican presidential field on issues of economic freedom, and the Club for Growth PAC is standing with them to help them stand out from the rest."[39] Walker Wins Koch Donor Straw Poll In a closed-door meeting of around 100 conservative donors at the Koch summit in Orange County, CA from August 1-3, 2015, Politico reports that Walker won a straw poll led by Republican pollster Frank Luntz.[40] According to the report, "While Luntz did not formally track or announce the results, sources say it was clear that Walker got the most applause, followed by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who received roughly the same amount of applause. The next most applause was for former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina."[40] Walker was a featured speaker at the event.[40] Walker Name-Drops Possible Cabinet Choices in Interview at Koch Summit While attending an event organized by the Koch-backed Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce at the St. Regis Monarch Beach luxury resort in Dana Point, California, Walker named some people he is interested in appointing to cabinet posts if elected president in an interview on August 2, 2015.[41] Walker named fellow candidates for president Carly Fiorina and Ben Carson as possible cabinet members to advise him on economic issues.[41] For input on foreign policy matters, Walker suggested he would appoint former Sen. Jim Talent (R-MO) and former Governor of Indiana Mitch Daniels.[41] When asked who he would appoint as vice president, Walker declined to name anyone.[41] Walker Delivers Keynote Speech at American Legislative Exchange Council Annual Conference "ALEC Speech 07.23.2015" On the second day of the 42nd annual American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) conference in San Diego, Walker gave a keynote speech during the morning breakfast. He was introduced by Sen. Leah Vukmir (R-WI), ALEC's national chairwoman next year and 2009 ALEC Legislator of the Year.[42] Walker has maintained connections with ALEC since the 1990s when he was state legislator. In his speech, Walker "touted efforts in Wisconsin to restrict access to abortions and require voters to present photo identification, pledging to pursue those efforts as president. He became most animated on the agreement with Iran to ease sanctions in exchange for concessions on the Islamic nation's nuclear program."[43] Walker promoted the passage of voter ID legislation along with Right-to-Work, the Castle Doctrine, and making it harder for injured people to sue corporations in Wisconsin in his speech as his accomplishments.[44] As attendee Rep. Chris Taylor (D-WI) points out though, "Even at the ALEC conference, he failed to underscore that in fact, these were all signature ALEC policies well before he got to the Governor's office. As a former ALEC member, he is well aware that he lifted these policies, yet never even gave a nod to ALEC's influence on him as a policy maker."[44] As multiple news organizations have noted, if Walker wins the presidency, he will be the first ALEC president. For further reading on Walker's decades-long relationship with ALEC, see "Scott Walker: The First ALEC President?". If Elected President, Walker will Terminate US-Iran Deal on Day 1 In a piece published in Breitbart on July 24, 2015, Walker heavily criticized the US-Iran deal to reign in Iran's nuclear program.[45] Walker starts the article by calling the agreement between the US and Iran reached on July 14, 2015 "one of the greatest diplomatic failures in American history."[45] He then goes on to state that he will "terminate the deal on day one" if elected president.[45] Walker's Presidential Primary Run His 26th Election in 25 Years With Walker's announcement that he is officially running for the republican nominee for President of the United States in 2016, Walker is now into his 26th election in 25 years. Here is a complete list of his primary and general elections since 1990: 1990 Wisconsin State Assembly District 7 (Primary and General) (Lost to Gwen Moore) 1993 Wisconsin State Assembly District 14, Special Election (Primary and General) 1994 Wisconsin State Assembly District 14 (Primary and General) 1996 Wisconsin State Assembly District 14 (Primary and General) 1998 Wisconsin State Assembly District 14 (Primary and General) 2000 Wisconsin State Assembly District 14 (Primary and General) 2002 Milwaukee County Executive, Special Election (Primary and General) 2004 Milwaukee County Executive (Primary and General) 2006 Wisconsin Governor (Primary; withdrew in March 2006) 2008 Milwaukee County Executive (Primary and General) 2010 Wisconsin Governor (Primary and General) 2012 Wisconsin Governor, Recall Election (Primary and General) 2014 Wisconsin Governor (Primary and General) 2016 President of the United States (Primary) Walker Signs 20-Week Abortion Bill On July 20, 2015, Walker signed a bill that bans abortions in Wisconsin after 20 weeks from fertilization.[46] As reported in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "The bill would make it a felony to perform abortions after 20 weeks, except when the life of the mother is in immediate danger. Doctors who do such a procedure would face up to 3 1/2 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000."[46]An earlier article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel points out that Walker would not come out in support of such a ban while campaigning in 2014, "Walker said in last year's campaign he opposed abortion, but refused to say whether he supported banning the procedure after 20 weeks. At one stage, he ran an ad saying earlier restrictions he approved were aimed at patient safety and that he understood the decision to terminate a pregnancy was an 'agonizing one.'"[47] Errors Aplenty in Walker's Recently Filed Campaign Finance Report The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign filed a complaint with the Government Accountability Board (GAB) on July 13, 2015 in which they asked for an investigation into the finance report that details Walker’s campaign spending and fundraising between July 29, 2014, and Oct. 20, 2014.[48] Campaign finance reports allow citizens to see the special interests that contribute to elected officials. According to The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, "In the 20 years that the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign has been combing campaign finance reports, it has never come across a report with such extensive inaccuracies."[48] Here is a sample of the erroneous information identified in the filed complaint: A $4,100 contribution on Aug. 25, 2014, by B. Wayne Hughes, of Malibu, Calif., identifies him as owner of the Piggly Wiggly Store in Burlington, Wis. Online records show: There is no Piggly Wiggly grocery store in Burlington, and the business address listed for the store in Walker’s campaign finance report is for Gooseberries Fresh Food Market; Hughes is a California billionaire, and the Malibu personal address listed for him in Walker’s campaign finance report is for a property management business called American Commercial Equities, which Hughes owns; A $3,000 contribution on Sept. 2, 2014, by James Liautaud, of Key Largo, Fla., identifies him as a physics professor at Purdue University located in West Lafayette, Ind. Online records show Liautaud, formerly of Illinois, has founded numerous companies, including the Jimmy Johns sandwich chain, but is not a physics professor; A $2,500 contribution on Oct. 3, 2014, by Karen McKeown, of Tyler, Tex., identifies her as president of Waxie Sanitary Supply in San Diego, Calif. Online records show Jeff Roberts is the president of Waxie Sanitary Supply and McKeown is a nurse who currently lives in Madison, Wis., and has served as administrator of Wisconsin’s Division of Public Health since 2012; Three contributions on Aug. 25, 2014, Oct. 6, 2014, and Oct. 13, 2014, that totaled $1,700 by Maejel A. Graf, of Atherton, Calif., identify her as a manager at three different companies in two states – Premier Properties of Minnesota in Excelsior, Minn.; Regal-Beloit Corp. in Beloit, Wis.; and ABC Supply in Madison, Wis. Online records found she is a retiree who is not employed by any of these companies; Two contributions of $2,000 on Aug. 27, 2014, and Sept. 30, 2014, by John M. Mattingly, of Darnestown, Md., identify him as president of Genesee Aggregate Co. in West Allis, Wis., and as president of Lovejoy Controls Corp. in Waukesha, Wis., respectively. Online records show Elaine Kraut is president of Genesee Aggregate; Kim Lovejoy is president of Lovejoy Controls; and Mattingly is the chief financial officer for DDD Co. in Landover, Md.; A $1,500 contribution on Oct. 17, 2014, by Richard H. Kimberly, of McLean, Va., identifies him as the owner of Werner Electric Supply in Neenah, Wis. Online records show Werner Electric is owned by Lynn T. MacDonald, and that the personal address listed for Kimberly in Walker’s campaign finance report is also for a data processing business called Richard H. Kimberly; Two $1,000 contributions on Oct. 20, 2014, by Allen Hartman, of Houston, Tex., identify him as a doctor who works for McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogen, Utah, and for the Permanente Medical Group in Union City, Calif. Online records found no doctor named Hartman at either medical facility, and that the Hartman at the Houston address listed on Walker’s campaign finance report is chairman, president and chief executive officer of Hartman Income REIT, a real estate firm; Contributions of $500 on Aug. 4, 2014, by J.B. McWethy, of Downers Grove, Ill., and $150 on Sept. 3, 2014, by James Meade of Oklahoma City, Okla., identify them both as president and chief executive officer of Hartman REIT in Houston, Tex. Online records show: Allen Hartman of Houston, Tex. is the chairman, president and chief executive officer of Hartman REIT; McWethy as the owner of Mistwood Golf Club, which is located at the personal address listed for McWethy in Walker’s campaign finance report; and James Meade is the chairman of Meade Energy Corp., which is located at the personal address listed for Meade in Walker’s campaign finance report.[48] Walker's full campaign finance report can be accessed here. Walker Calls Minimum Wage 'Lame' "Hannity 07.13.2015" In an interview with Sean Hannity of Fox News following his announcement speech for the presidency of the United States on July 13, 2015, Walker stated that the minimum wage is a "lame idea."[49] He made the comment while claiming that the left does not work for America's middle class, "The left claims that they're for American workers and they've just got just really lame ideas — things like the minimum wage. Instead of focusing on that, we need to talk about how we get people the skills and the education and the qualifications that they need to take on the careers that pay far more than the minimum wage."[49] Walker said this only a day after he replaced the words "living wage" with "minimum wage" in a last minute change to the state budget.[50] This is not the first time Walker has criticized the minimum wage, saying in his last campaign, "I don't think it serves a purpose."[51] Instead, Walker would like to give people the skills to attain high-wage jobs. Notably, Walker’s 2011 anti-union Act 10 bill, combined with "right to work" and the repeal of prevailing wage, will lower wages for almost 600,000 skilled public and private workers in the state. Wisconsin ranks 40th in job growth and 42nd in wage growth.[52] Walker Officially Announces 2016 Presidential Bid "Walker for America" On July 13 2015, Walker officially announced his bid for President of the United States.[53] In a tweet, Walker posted, "I'm in. I'm running for president because Americans deserve a leader who will fight and win for them."[53] Following this announcement, Walker also posted on his website that he will be going on an "Announcement Tour" for the next week which will take him through the states of Nevada, South Carolina, Georgia, New Hampshire and Iowa.[54] Walker publicly announced his 2016 run for President at the Waukesha County Expo Center to a crowd of 2,000 later in the day.[55] Walker's full announcement speech can be read here. CMD's coverage of the event can be accessed here. Walker Gets Rid of 'Living Wage' for Wisconsin Workers in New State Budget Walker made a last-minute change to the state budget in his signing of the bill on July 12, 2015 that replaced the words "living wage" with "minimum wage."[50] The Huffington Post reports that "The change means minimum-wage Wisconsin workers will earn nearly $6,000 per year less than what the Massachusetts Institute of Technology calculates is a living wage in the state. And they will have no recourse, according to the Center for American Progress. MIT says a living wage would be $10.13 an hour."[50] The change now strips workers of the ability to appeal for a living wage. Walker and GOP Leaders Attempt to Destroy Wisconsin Open Records Law, Bury Walker's Record Walker and Republican leaders made a last-minute, anonymous attempt to gut Wisconsin's open records law during budget deliberations on July 2, 2015, shortly before Walker's expected presidential announcement July 13. The changes would have created a deliberative materials exemption to the law that would apply to all levels of government from school boards to the governor's mansion. It would have permanently deep-sixed key materials regarding Walker's record as governor, prompting news articles calling him "more Nixonian than Nixon."[56][57] The changes were a direct result of a lawsuit by the Center for Media and Democracy against Walker for failing to turn over records related to Walker's efforts to strike "the search for truth" and the Wisconsin Idea from the budget bill.[58] See CMD's article here. Walker Office admits role in open records proposal Following massive opposition to the changes to the open records law from open records advocates across the political spectrum, including the the right-wing McIver Institute and Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL), Walker and the the GOP leadership announced the following day that the changes would be dropped, "After substantive discussion over the last day, we have agreed that the provisions relating to any changes in the state's open records law will be removed from the budget in its entirety. We are steadfastly committed to open and accountable government. The intended policy goal of these changes was to provide a reasonable solution to protect constituents' privacy and to encourage a deliberative process between elected officials and their staff in developing policy. It was never intended to inhibit transparent government in any way."[59] At first Walker refused to acknowledge his role in drafting the open records law changes, but finally stated that his office was involved after Republican state Senate majority leader Scott Fitzgerald and Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said that he was.[60] In emails acquired through an open records request to Assembly Speaker Robin Vos's office, the Wisconsin State Journal reported that it found that Walker was directly involved in drafting language changes to the law, "In a June 15 email to Vos aide Andrew Hanus with the subject line 'Governor’s request,' Michael Gallagher of the Legislative Reference Bureau wrote: 'In the interest of expediency, I am going to enter this as a Speaker Vos request and copy David Rabe from the Governor’s office on it. I just talked to David. He is fine with proceeding that way. Let me know if you want to do it differently. It should go out tomorrow morning.' The next morning the LRB’s legal department emailed draft legislative language that would have exempted drafts and notes, personal property and a series of other materials from being public records."[61] Jon Hammes and Todd Ricketts Will Co-Chair Fundraising for Walker's Presidential Bid According to a report by CNN, Jon Hammes and Todd Rickets will co-chair the fundraising for Walker's 2016 presidential campaign.[38] Jon Hammes, the founder of a Wisconsin health care company, has previously raised funds for Republican nominees Mitt Romney and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ).[38] This will be Chicago Cubs co-owner Todd Ricketts' first campaign position.[38] Walker: "Supreme Leader of Iran has Saved Us" from Bad Agreement While on the Lars Larson Show on July 1, 2015, Walker again criticized Obama for negotiating a bad deal with Iran.[62] This time, in discussing the ongoing negotiations, Walker seemed to support the Supreme Leader of Iran in his position on the agreement when he said that, “The only thing saving us is the Supreme Leader still doesn’t think that’s good enough, and so that apparently is going to push them away from going forward with the deal —at least, appears to. But, you know — never, never, never take for granted just how far this administration under President Obama is willing to go to lead from behind, and so I still worry that this is ultimately something that the next president is going to have to deal with it.”[62] Stephen Moore Tells Lies About Speaking with Walker to the New York Times In an article in The New York Times on July 2, 2015, Stephen Moore, a conservative scholar at the Heritage Foundation said that Walker recently told him over the phone that "I’m not going nativist; I’m pro-immigration."[63] Moore, the co-author of Rich States, Poor States and an ALEC scholar, added that Walker's position on immigration is "a work in progress."[63] The New York Times later reported on July 6 that, "after three days of pressure from Mr. Walker’s aides, Mr. Moore said that he had'misspoken' when recounting his call with Mr. Walker — and that the call had never actually taken place."[64] When Martin asked Walker if he supported a path to citizenship for undocumented workers, his spokeswomen AshLee Strong responded, "The governor has made it clear that the immigration system is broken and we need to secure the border, enforce our laws, and have a legal immigration system in place that is good for the economy, working families, and wages."[64] Walker Disapproves of Reopening of US Embassy in Cuba Breidbartreports that Walker strongly disapproves of Obama's decision to reopen the US Embassy in Cuba and to establish full diplomatic relations.[65] When asked to comment on the reopening of the Embassy, Walker stated, "“President Obama’s decision to establish full diplomatic relations with Cuba and open an embassy there is yet another example of his appeasement of dictators. He is foolishly rewarding the brutal Castro dictatorship and selling out the Cuban people. Given his track record of retreat, should we expect an embassy in Iran next? Instead of supporting our close ally Israel with an embassy in Jerusalem, President Obama is accommodating an enemy, the Castro regime, without forcing it to turn over its terrorist and criminal fugitives."[65] Walker Calls SCOTUS Ruling on Marriage Equality a 'Grave Mistake' Following the SCOTUS ruling on June 26, 2015 in favor of marriage equality for all citizens regardless of gender or sexual orientation, Walker issued a statement calling the decision a "grave mistake."[66] In the statement, he went on to argue for constitutional amendment to put the definition of marriage in the hands of the states, "The states are the proper place for these decisions to be made, and as we have seen repeatedly over the last few days, we will need a conservative president who will appoint men and women to the Court who will faithfully interpret the Constitution and laws of our land without injecting their own political agendas. As a result of this decision, the only alternative left for the American people is to support an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to reaffirm the ability of the states to continue to define marriage."[66] "Divide-and-Conquer" Walker Opposes Equal Pay Legislation Because it Divides In an interview with Boston Herald Radio on June 17, 2015, Walker stated in response to a question on Hillary Clinton's equal pay advocacy that she is trying to "pit one group of Americans versus another.”[67] Walker added that he believes that this is part of her campaign strategy, "I believe that the president and now Hillary Clinton tend to think that politically they do better if they pit one group of Americans versus another.”[67] As Brendan Fischer of The Center for Media and Democracy points out, "Throughout Walker's political career, he has mastered the art of pitting one group against another. He has established a pattern of governing by sneak attack...And his tenure has left the state divided like never before."[68] In fact, Walker stated has stated his political strategy as "divide-and-conquer" in a videotaped conversation with billionaire GOP financier Diane Hendricks, his single largest donor. “Any chance we'll ever get to be a completely red state and work on these unions....And become a right-to-work [state]?,” Hendricks asks in the January 2011 video. Walker replies: “Well, we're going to start in a couple weeks with our budget adjustment bill. The first step is we're going to deal with collective bargaining for all public employee unions, because you use divide and conquer.… That opens the door once we do that.”[68] For examples on how Walker as pitted one group against another see Fisher's article. Walker Creates 'Testing the Waters' Committee On June 18, 2015, Walker established a "Testing the Waters" committee for the Presidency of the United States and has begun raising funds for it on his new website.[69] Walker and his campaign staff will have control over these funds but "will be required to follow federal campaign finance limits now that Walker is officially weighing his options," reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.[70] "Those testing the waters might conduct polling, travel and pay for telephone calls to determine whether they should become candidates," the FEC said to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.[70] This announcement follows a complaint filed by the Campaign Legal Center before the FEC at the end of March 2015.[71] The complaint alleged that Walker has been a candidate according to federal law because he referred to himself as a candidate publicly and is reserving donations for a presidential run.[71] Therefore, he has been "violating candidate registration and reporting requirements, contribution limits and restrictions, as well as federal “soft money” prohibitions."[72] Wisconsin Ranks 35th in US in Creating Jobs under Walker Job Growth under Walker During Walker's first term as Governor, Wisconsin ranked
know is best, regardless of the laws. To have a diversity of participants, a movement must make space for a diversity of tactics. It’s controlling and self-important to think you know how everyone should act in pursuit of a better world. Denouncing others only equips the authorities to delegitimize, divide, and destroy the movement as a whole. Criticism and debate propel a movement forward, but power grabs cripple it. The goal should not be to compel everyone to adopt one set of tactics, but to discover how different approaches can be mutually beneficial. Don’t assume those who break the law or confront police are agents provocateurs. A lot of people have good reason to be angry. Not everyone is resigned to legalistic pacifism; some people still remember how to stand up for themselves. Police violence isn’t just meant to provoke us, it’s meant to hurt and scare us into inaction. In this context, self-defense is essential. Assuming that those at the front of clashes with the authorities are somehow in league with the authorities is not only illogical—it delegitimizes the spirit it takes to challenge the status quo, and dismisses the courage of those who are prepared to do so. This allegation is typical of privileged people who have been taught to trust the authorities and fear everyone who disobeys them. No government—that is to say, no centralized power—will ever willingly put the needs of common people before the needs of the powerful. It’s naïve to hope for this. The center of gravity in this movement has to be our freedom and autonomy, and the mutual aid that can sustain those—not the desire for an “accountable” centralized power. No such thing has ever existed; even in 1789, the revolutionaries presided over a “democracy” with slaves, not to mention rich and poor. That means the important thing is not just to make demands upon our rulers, but to build up the power to realize our demands ourselves. If we do this effectively, the powerful will have to take our demands seriously, if only in order to try to keep our attention and allegiance. We attain leverage by developing our own strength. Likewise, countless past movements learned the hard way that establishing their own bureaucracy, however “democratic,” only undermined their original goals. We shouldn’t invest new leaders with authority, nor even new decision-making structures; we should find ways to defend and extend our freedom, while abolishing the inequalities that have been forced on us. The occupations will thrive on the actions we take. We’re not just here to “speak truth to power”—when we only speak, the powerful turn a deaf ear to us. Let’s make space for autonomous initiatives and organize direct action that confronts the source of social inequalities and injustices. Thanks for reading and scheming and acting. May your every dream come true.How to Repel Spiders – 7 Natural Remedies [infographic] Pin 2K 2K Shares It might not be good to kill spiders in the wild—after all, they eat other, more annoying bugs—but you don’t want spiders in your home any more than you want other bugs invading your space. So how do you get rid of these pesky house guests? First, here’s a handy infographic about spider repellents: Since this is a common problem across all cultures and places there are fortunately many different home remedies containing only natural ingredients. These home remedies will get rid of the spiders without bringing toxins into your home or endangering your children and pets. Here are the five most effective home remedies to get rid of spiders: 1. Peppermint Spray Spiders actually hate peppermint (as do mice!). Dump a dozen drops of peppermint essential oil (make sure you get the really pure stuff for best effect) into a spray bottle full of water and spray the mixture around your home. This will kill spiders and make your house smell fantastic. For best effect, spray this mixture anywhere spiders can enter your home as well as anywhere you might have seen them hanging out. If you can find a house cleaner with a strong peppermint smell and use it for regular house cleaning tasks this will help keep spiders away too. 2. Vinegar If you don’t want to go out and buy peppermint essential oil the good news is that you probably already have this spider repellant in your home: Fill a spray bottle with mostly vinegar—white vinegar is always best for cleaning—and spray this in all the cracks and crevices around your home, as well as near all the entrances. Vinegar is also an excellent cleaner, so use it to keep surfaces around your home clean and ensure that spiders won’t be able to get comfortable in your house. 3. Citrus Fruit If you want to get rid of the spiders around your home and you love the smell of citrus fruit you’ll be thrilled to know that spiders hate citrus almost as much as they hate peppermint. Rubbing orange or lemon peels along baseboards and crevices where spiders like to hang out is a great way to keep them from coming back. Lemon-scented furniture polish can also be an effective spider repellant. 4. Chestnuts You might love chestnuts, but spiders hate them. Leave a few chestnuts on your windowsills or along your baseboards to keep spiders from taking up residence there. If you arrange them properly they also make an excellent winter time decoration. This might not be as effective as some of the other items on the list, but you can collect chestnuts for free and they last a long time, so it’s worth a shot. 5. Diatomaceous Earth Diatomaceous Earth is perhaps the best pet-friendly and planet-friendly way to get rid of any insects. From spiders to bedbugs, this powder will kill any insect trying to invade your home. When a bug crawls over the diatomaceous earth the powder causes several small cuts along the body, making fluid leak out and dehydrating the bug’s body. For best effect, spread this along your baseboards and any crevices or corners where spiders are likely to hang out. You can also leave a thin layer along windowsills to keep spiders and other bugs from entering your home in the first place. 6. Cedar Carefully placed cedar mulch at your windows and anywhere else spiders are likely to enter your home will keep spiders from coming in. You can generally find a large bag of cedar mulch for under $10 and this solution will last you a long time. Make sure you use the highest quality cedar available in your neighbourhood to keep the spiders away for a long period of time. 7. Hedge apple Also known as the Osage Orange, this small fruit is particularly good for getting rid of spiders. It’s also a small enough shrub that you can actually grow it in a large pot in your home, depending on the size of your house. You can also grow it outside near the entrance of your home to deter spiders. Bowls full of hedge apples will double as décor pieces and spider repellant, keeping your home vibrant and empty of spiders. Of course, the best way to keep spiders out of your home is to keep it clean and make sure all your windows are sealed properly, but these remedies will help you kick any unwelcome spiders out of your home without endangering you, your children or your pets. Try using two or three of these remedies at the same time if you have a particularly bad spider infestation.Charles Freeman, the owner of E-C Records store in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is charged with illegally selling the rap album As Nasty As They Wanna Be to an undercover officer. Immediately after the sale, six deputies rushed in to the store, handcuffed Freeman, and charged him with distributing obscene material. Freeman’s arrest came two days after U.S. District Judge Jose Gonzalez ruled that 2 Live Crew’s recording was legally obscene. Freeman was defiant from beginning to end in the battle over 2 Live Crew’s allegedly obscene album. Following Judge Gonzalez’s ruling, which covered Dade, Broward, and Palm counties in South Florida, he ordered 25 copies of the album. With customers lining up to buy it, Freeman had nearly sold out when the undercover officer purchased a copy. Even before his arrest, he told reporters, “I’ll go to jail, and I’ll come back and sell it again.” A couple of days later, three members of 2 Live Crew, including leader Luther Campbell, were arrested for performing songs from the record at Club Futura. ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website In order to be considered obscene, Judge Gonzalez ruled that As Nasty As They Wanna Be was “an appeal to dirty thoughts and the loins” aimed to “lure listeners” into sexual activity. Despite expert testimony to the contrary, Gonzalez held that the “borrowed riffs” of 2 Live Crew were wholly lacking in artistic value. It was on this final ground that a court of appeals overruled Gonzalez, faulting him for simply ignoring the evidence and basing his ruling on his own opinion and feelings. ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website Yet, this ruling didn’t come in time to save Charles Freeman, who was convicted and fined $1,000 in October 1990 after the judge refused to allow the defense to present evidence to prove that the album wasn’t patently offensive. 2 Live Crew fared better in their trial, partly because the prosecution bungled the case; they recorded the performance on a cassette that turned out to be unintelligible. The legal bills Freeman incurred made it necessary to close his record store when he fell behind in rent. Deep in debt, he began dealing drugs, and was charged with conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine in the Tallahassee area the following year. He received an 18-year sentence, making the eventual victory on the appeal of the obscenity conviction personally insignificant.Now that there's nothing 'presumptive’ about Donald J. Trump becoming the Republican nominee for president, some people are getting more uncomfortable with the increasingly realistic chance that the real estate mogul could actually make it to the Oval Office. Traditional conservatives are becoming more vocal about the candidate, as seen in public denouncements of Trump’s policies, actions, and speeches. Take, for example, New York Times’ right-leaning writer David Brooks’ recent article entitled “The Dark Night,” an essay about how the recent fear-mongering ploys by the Republican nominee "takes the pervasive collection of anxieties that plague America and it concentrates them on the most visceral one: fear of violence and crime.” So how do you explain Trump’s continued popularity? Perhaps the physicist can shed some light on the situation? “I can’t,” Stephen Hawking said, after being asked in a interview with CNN affiliate ITV to explain Trump’s unprecedented political ascension. For someone who has the ability to explain the unexplainable, this observation is a bit disappointing. However, the (arguably) smartest person on Earth did go on to offer his personal take on the man: “He is a demagogue, who seems to appeal to the lowest common denominator.” Trump has yet to comment, but don't be surprised if there’s a tweet storm a’ brewin’. Share this on Facebook? Update: This article originally appeared on December 20, 2016.OTTAWA – Former NHL enforcer Georges Laraque is slated to begin a new fight as he wades into a federal byelection for the Green party in a Montreal riding. After days of dropping online hints on Facebook and Twitter, Laraque is to make the news official Tuesday morning with Green Leader Elizabeth May in the Montreal riding of Bourassa, which has the largest population of Canadians of Haitian origin. The party hopes to make a breakthrough in the riding with Laraque, 36, who ended his hockey career in his hometown as a Montreal Canadien in 2010, then joined the Green Party as deputy leader. The Bourassa riding was held by Liberal Denis Coderre, who resigned in June to enter municipal politics as a candidate for Montreal mayor. Laraque, whose parents are from Haiti, told Postmedia News in February that he was preparing to seek a seat in the House of Commons after wrapping up his work with the NHL Players Association on a hospital construction project in the Caribbean nation. “When this (Haiti) project is done, then after that I would work to choose a good place to be a riding and try to do everything I can to (be) side by side (with) Elizabeth and try to rock the House of Commons together,” Laraque said. “So when she starts a motion, someone can second it.” Although the byelection campaign has not yet officially been called by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the Greens would get a head start on their opponents as the first out of the gate. Big news coming soon! Send a text to 514.613.0606 to be the first to know. — Georges Laraque (@GeorgesLaraque) July 5, 2013 Coderre first won the riding in 1997, beating the incumbent Osvaldo Nunez from the Bloc Quebecois, who had captured the riding in 1993. Coderre had about 41 per cent of the vote in the 2011 election, fending off a challenge from the NDP, with the Greens coming in a distant fifth behind the Bloc and the Tories. Speaking about Coderre’s resignation last spring, May noted that the veteran Liberal had worked with Laraque on a lot of major issues, such as homelessness. According to Statistics Canada, 17.5 per cent of the population in the riding were of Haitian origin, based on 2011 census and National Household Survey data. The next largest populations of Haitian origin in Canada were also in Montreal’s east end. For his part, Laraque has said he can already picture sitting next to May in Parliament. “I could just imagine what this would do for the party if both of us were there,” he said. “That would be quite the sight and quite something, because we’re both really articulate in our own ways. And really, the way we talk, and we’re not shy.” In the midst of scandals plaguing Quebec politics, Laraque was forced to defend himself after police searched his Montreal-area home for business and financial records early in 2012. At the time, he and May said the search was related to a legal dispute with a former business partner and that he was not under investigation. Laraque said he knows many people criticize him for being outspoken and sometimes question his background as a hockey player, but he said this doesn’t change any of his political convictions. “I can’t worry about all the people who don’t understand,” he said in the February interview. “Because, man, if I worry about all the haters I have every single day, I would go fly on the moon, live in a bubble and not say anything and then be the richest guy in the cemetery when I die and not share anything with anyone. When you expose yourself to the world and I’m kind of a controversial person because I say what I think and I stand by things that people find really unusual.” Laraque, who owns a few different businesses, said he has turned down offers from other parties to run in elections, choosing instead to accept an invitation from May for him to volunteer as deputy leader of the Green Party. “I don’t just talk about the Green party; I live green. I drive a hybrid car, I’m a vegan, which is the strongest thing to do for the environment. I’m a huge animal activist. I preach by example by the way that I live and the things that I do,” he said. “If every Canadian could do an act to be more green every day, we’d be all winners whether you’re Conservative or NDP or whatever.” Related articlesCHICAGO -- The Cubs have agreed with free-agent pitcher John Lackey on a two-year contract, according to a source familiar with the situation. A source told ESPN's Buster Olney that the total value of the contract is $32 million. The team has yet to confirm the deal, which is contingent on Lackey's passing a physical. In signing Lackey, the Cubs forfeit their first-round pick because he was given a qualifying offer by the Cardinals before departing via free agency. Fox Sports first reported the signing. Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein "guessed" earlier on Friday that his team would sign a free-agent pitcher and also trade for one this offseason. The agreement with Lackey presumably ends any conversations Chicago was having with former Cub Jeff Samardzija, whom Epstein said Friday the team was in "dialogue" with. Sources told ESPN.com's Jayson Stark that the bidding for Samardzija might have gone higher than the Cubs were comfortable with. Not Lack-ing in division Only Jake Arrieta had a better ERA vs. NL Central opponents last season than John Lackey (minimum 10 starts). The Cubs now have the top 3 pitchers on this list. Pitcher ERA vs. Central in '15 Jake Arrieta 1.88 John Lackey 2.13 Jon Lester 2.48 -- ESPN Stats & Information Lackey, 37, had a 2.77 ERA in 33 starts last season for the St. Louis Cardinals, throwing 218 innings and allowing 211 hits and 53 walks. He shut out the Cubs over 7⅓ innings in Game 1 of the division series and then, pitching on three days' rest, took a no-decision in Chicago's series-ending Game 4 victory. In 2015, Lackey threw his most innings in a season since 2007 and passed the 200-inning milestone for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery and missing all of 2012. Lackey made $507,500 last season because of a clause in his previous contract with the Red Sox. In signing the two-year, $32 million deal, his average annual value will be 31.5 times larger than it was in 2015. Lackey figures to slide into the No. 3 spot in the rotation behind Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester. Righties Jason Hammel and Kyle Hendricks would occupy the Nos. 4 and 5 spots, pending other deals by the Cubs. John Lackey is staying in the National League Central, joining the Cubs on a two-year deal, according to a source. AP Photo/Paul Beaty Lackey joins former teammates Lester and David Ross in Chicago. The trio played for the Boston Red Sox when they won the World Series in 2013. "One of the best competitors I've ever been around, and I'm not just saying that," Ross said Friday afternoon. "He's going to bring a toughness to our team that is going to make everybody better." Cubs manager Joe Maddon was on the coaching staff with the Los Angeles Angels when Lackey broke into the league in 2002 and won his first World Series ring. ESPN Stats & Information contributed to this report.Ruby’s Popularity On The Up; An Ideal Haven For The Recession? By Peter Cooper A week ago, in a story published by eWeek.com, Darryl K. Taft asked "Can Ruby and Rails Make Developers Shine in a Downturn?" The general gist is that with a generally lower total cost of development, projects using Ruby and Rails will continue to increase, and even thrive in a recession, ensuring the success of Ruby and Rails developers. An analyst with Forrester, John Rymer, however, countered: I respectfully suggest that the type of application someone is working on is a more important factor than language usage. In a downturn, companies tend to go back to basics. Whatever the final outcome, Ruby's popularity is still increasing. Dean Cruse of Five Runs weighs in with his own opinion - namely that "Rails represents a low risk investment for the IT organization," due to its open source nature. Of 154 people polled in Dean's post, currently 44% see more opportunities for Rails developers heading into a recession, against only 15% who see "major cutbacks" ahead. Koders.com Sees 20x Increase in Ruby Searches Further, this week, Black Duck Software, the company behind the popular Koders.com search engine, has announced that it has seen a dramatic increase in the popularity of Ruby on its code search site with the number of Ruby-related searches having increased 20 times since 2004. They've also announced that they're crawling more Ruby sources than ever, now including all of RubyForge. Tom Copeland, RubyForge's sys-admin, is delighted: Black Duck’s search data confirms the tremendous growth that we are seeing within the community of Ruby developers. It’s great to see a leading code search site like Koders.com index RubyForge because it represents another way to make the projects in our community available to tens of thousands of developers worldwide. 4 million Rubyists by 2013? IT research company Gartner, Inc. are also convinced that Ruby's popularity is on the up, and the Ruby ecosystem will reach 4 million developers worldwide by 2013. Mark Driver, research VP at Gartner, Inc. says: [..] Ruby will enjoy a higher concentration among corporate IT developers than typical, dynamic ‘scripting’ languages, such as PHP. I'm not entirely buying this yet, but if it becomes true and Ruby leapfrogs PHP in the corporate environment, you could be looking at some pretty interesting years ahead as a Ruby developer! But Python Might Be Moving Faster.. On the other hand, Ruby is still hovering at #10 in the TIOBE Programming Community Index, a position it's held for over a year now. While TIOBE's index isn't incredibly accurate, it makes a good indicator, and even Delphi has resurged back ahead of Ruby in the last year, and Python appears to be moving up the charts a lot quicker than Ruby.They have a coding system in Manila to limit the number of cars on the road. There is one day a week when you cannot drive your car, and that day is determined by the last digit of your license plate. This much I knew, as even people who don’t drive know that much about the system. But it’s proven very difficult to find out the details. When I bought my car, on December 30, 2010, I didn’t initially have license plates. I had to wait until they arrived at the dealer from the Land Transportation Office (LTO). During the five and a half months (yes,we have bureaucracy!) that I was waiting for my license plates I was not subject to coding. According to some people I was also not supposed to be driving in Manila, because I had no plates. I rejected that notion. After paying tens of thousands of dollars for a vehicle I’m supposed to wait 5 months before I drive it? That cannot be correct. In any case, I didn’t have any problems. In late May I went to the Toyota dealer in Batangas, because my plates had finally arrived. I asked them about the coding. The saleswoman told me that because my plate ends in a 2, I cannot drive on Tuesdays. I asked if there was a sheet or a booklet that explained the rules. No, nothing like that. I asked the customer service people, they had never heard of such a thing. I asked where I could not drive on Tuesdays, the saleswoman said it was a rule for the whole country. Further investigation showed that to be untrue. I asked a policeman in Tagaytay and he said, no, they do not enforce coding in Tagaytay. Nor in Batangas. Only, apparently, in Manila. Fine, so I won’t drive to Manila on a Tuesday. I went to the LTO Web site, trying to find out more details, but none were available. This all worked fine until last Monday, when I needed to go to Manila. At 3:20 pm I was stopped along a major highway in Manila, EDSA, by the police for a coding violation. It turns out the information the saleswoman gave me was completely wrong. License plates ending in 1 and 2 are prohibited from driving in Manila on Mondays between the hours of 7 to 10 am and 3 to 7 pm. 3 and 4 cannot drive Tuesday in Manila, during the same hours. 5 and 6 Wednesday, 7 and 8 Thursday, 9 and 0 Friday. According to one of the 3 cops who stopped me, the system has not changed in 10 years. The experience of being stopped changed my attitude toward corruption in the Philippines, basically from hopefulness to despair. In the moment of course I was a bit stressed and was just trying to comply with what the police wanted. I explained what I was told by the saleswoman to the cop. He asked me, as if it was a question, I’ll write you a ticket, OK? He must have asked that five times. I asked him how much the ticket was for, he said 500 pesos (about $11). I asked him if I can pay it by mail, he said yes but kept asking me the same question. Finally I said, you want me to pay the 500 now? He said yes. I looked, and told him I don’t have 500, I have 1000. I didn’t have a 500 peso bill or enough smaller bills. He said That’s OK. He asked where I was going, I told him I am going to the Mall of Asia and then back home to Tagaytay. He had one of his colleagues escort me on a motorcycle so I wouldn’t be stopped again, but explained that I would have to stay at the Mall of Asia until 7 pm, about 2 hours later than I had planned. Of course I got no change from my 1000 peso bill. Only when I got home and talked about it with Dindin did I realize I had paid a bribe. Apparently what you’re supposed to do, instead of giving the police money, is to get a ticket, and the cop will confiscate your license. (I was given no ticket, and was given my license back.) You then have to go to the LTO office, wait in one or more lines, pay your fine, and get your license back. And if you get stopped again before retrieving your license, you show the cop your ticket. This is tremendously inconvenient. Why should I waste half a day going to LTO because some saleswoman gave me the wrong info? I’m glad I paid the bribe. But what’s depressing is that the whole system is designed to make corruption your only reasonable choice. In the US a cop will almost never confiscate your license. However, in the US the cop will go back to his car before writing your ticket, where he is able to find out if you have any prior tickets, if you are wanted for a crime, if your car was stolen, etc. And then if he does write you a ticket, he usually tells you to wait until you get something in the mail before paying it, because, lo and behold, he uses a system that knows where you live! In the Philippines the cops have no such systems. They confiscate your license because otherwise they expect you’ll just throw the ticket away, and no one will ever know you didn’t pay it. Needless to say, I was quite angry with that saleswoman. I had been breaking the law for months without even knowing it! I decided that the next time I go back to Batangas I’m going to go to that Toyota dealership and demand that they reimburse my 1000 pesos, and train their staff better. Well, it didn’t quite work out that way. The next time I was in Batangas was yesterday, Friday. And it was raining. And on the way to Batangas we went through another town, Lemery, where the road was flooded. This was the deepest water I’ve ever driven in. The flooded area was about 1/10 of a mile long. Soon after I entered it I had a thought. Perhaps I shouldn’t have done that? Maybe I should turn around? The water was at times up to the top of the tires. We passed a couple of trucks, and the wakes they made in the water probably made the level as high as the engine (which is a bit higher on my minivan than on a regular car). And the water was full of broken coconuts, which I was afraid might get stuck in the wheels. Well, we made it through fine. Apparently no damage to the car, it runs fine since. Of course, this delayed us a bit. I gave up my plans to go to Toyota that day, because a) I didn’t want to take the time, and b) it was hard to be mad at Toyota now, I was at that point very happy with the car. I guess the good part of this is that I now understand the situation better. I had naively thought that it would be easy to not participate in corruption. Silly me. AdvertisementsBoston finally got its first snow event with an inch or more in total making this one of the latest such years this has ever occurred. In case you are wondering, in the years when we had to wait this long for an inch of snow, the total snowfall for the rest of the winter was far below average. This doesn’t mean it’s not going to snow again — far from it. But if you are looking at patterns and don’t like snow, this could bode well for the balance of the winter. This morning we find our snow moving east through Massachusetts. Depending on when you read this it might have already ended. Travel will be slowed by the fresh snow and although many are out of work today and schools are closed, it’s a good idea to leave yourselves some extra time. An arctic front will usher in a week of cold weather and since this is on average the coldest week of the year, it stands to reason this isn’t surprising. When March arrives, it’s not impossible this will have been one of the coldest weeks of the year. Last year, the harshest cold occurred in February and that is also still a possibility. Winds are going to be an issue this afternoon and especially overnight and Tuesday. Winds will gust over 30 miles per hour and make it feel very cold. After that blustery and cold day on Tuesday, the dry and near seasonable weather continues the rest of the week. Late on Friday or Saturday, a storm will likely threaten the area, but the actual impact won’t be known for several more days. More on this during the week. Expected wind on Tuesday. (David Epstein/WBUR) You can follow my weather updates on Twitter at @growingwisdom. Today: Snow showers ending with increasing sunshine and afternoon winds. Temperatures falling through the 20s. Tonight: Blustery and cold, with wind chill values near zero, actual air temperatures in the teens to single numbers inland. Tuesday: Partly sunny, blustery and cold. Highs in the 20s. Wednesday: Sunny, with a high 25-32. Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 31. Friday: Increasingly cloudy and highs near 32.About ten percent of all cases of malignant melanoma are familial cases. The genome of affected families tells scientists a lot about how the disease develops. Prof. Dr. Rajiv Kumar of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) together with Prof. Dr. Dirk Schadendorf from Essen University Hospital studied a family where 14 family members were affected by malignant melanoma. The scientists analyzed the genomes of family members and found an identical mutation in the gene for telomerase, an enzyme often called ‘immortality enzyme’, in all persons studied. Telomerase protects the ends of chromosomes from being lost in the process of cell division and, thus, prevents that the cell ages and dies. The inherited gene mutation leads to the formation of a binding site for protein factors in the controlling region of the telomerase gene, causing it to become overactive. As a result, mutated cells overproduce telomerase and hence become virtually immortal. This spectacular finding of the family analysis prompted the scientists to also look for mutated telomerase genes in non-inherited (sporadic) melanoma, which is much more common than the familial variant. In most of the tissue samples of melanomas of all stages they found alterations in the telomerase gene switch, which the researchers clearly identified as typical consequences of sun exposure. Even though these mutations were not identical to those found in the melanoma family, they had the same effect: overactive telomerase. “We don’t believe that the telomerase gene in melanoma is mutated by pure chance, but that it is a so-called driver mutation that drives carcinogenesis,” says Rajiv Kumar. This is also confirmed by the surprising incidence of this alteration: The telomerase gene is the most frequently mutated gene in melanoma. “This is something we hadn’t expected, because malignant melanoma has been genetically analyzed thoroughly. But this mutation always seems to have been overlooked,” says Kumar. Rajiv Kumar, Dirk Schadendorf and their teams are hoping that the alterations in the telomerase gene may be a starting point for developing novel treatment methods for malignant melanoma. A very recent development targeting a specific alteration in the B-RAF gene, which characterizes about half of all melanomas, has shown that this is possible. The mutation gave rise to the development of a targeted drug that can arrest cancer growth. “Substances inhibiting telomerase have already been developed and some of them have even been tested in phase III clinical trials,” said Rajiv Kumar. Inhibition of the immortality enzyme might also be able to arrest growth in melanoma.{"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/4\/47\/Make-Someone-Wet-the-Bed-Step-5-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Make-Someone-Wet-the-Bed-Step-5-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/4\/47\/Make-Someone-Wet-the-Bed-Step-5-Version-2.jpg\/v4-760px-Make-Someone-Wet-the-Bed-Step-5-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":760,"bigHeight":570} 1 Fill up a bowl with warm water. A plastic bowl is better than a cup, since it has more room for the hand, and being plastic means it won’t be cracked if it’s knocked over. You don’t want your parents (or your friend’s parents) bringing you down after a successful prank because you used a nice ceramic bowl, and the prankee jolted awake and cracked the bowl. Although it’s a bit of speculation (as the efficacy of this prank is disputable), if this prank works it’s likely through the power of suggestion. The same mechanism is what can make us want to pee when we hear running water. [3] The water must be warm, but it should never be hot. Hot water could burn your friend. A plastic bowl is better than a cup, since it has more room for the hand, and being plastic means it won’t be cracked if it’s knocked over. You don’t want your parents (or your friend’s parents) bringing you down after a successful prank because you used a nice ceramic bowl, and the prankee jolted awake and cracked the bowl. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/2\/2c\/Make-Someone-Wet-the-Bed-Step-6-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Make-Someone-Wet-the-Bed-Step-6-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/2\/2c\/Make-Someone-Wet-the-Bed-Step-6-Version-2.jpg\/v4-760px-Make-Someone-Wet-the-Bed-Step-6-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":760,"bigHeight":570} 2 Bring the warm water quietly into the room. Even if you don’t wake the victim, you always run the risk of waking someone else who would witness your part in this prank. Only you can determine whether this is an issue or not, as it depends only on how secretive you’re aiming to be. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/d\/da\/Make-Someone-Wet-the-Bed-Step-7.jpg\/v4-460px-Make-Someone-Wet-the-Bed-Step-7.jpg","bigUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/d\/da\/Make-Someone-Wet-the-Bed-Step-7.jpg\/v4-760px-Make-Someone-Wet-the-Bed-Step-7.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":760,"bigHeight":570} 3 Clear the splash zone. It’s highly likely for the prankee to knock the bowl over, intentionally or not, so you don’t want anything to get ruined if this happens. Delicately move everything you’d mind getting soggy out of the vicinity (a five-foot radius around the sleeper should be safe), taking special care to ensure all electronics are out of the way. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/a\/a0\/Make-Someone-Wet-the-Bed-Step-8.jpg\/v4-460px-Make-Someone-Wet-the-Bed-Step-8.jpg","bigUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/a\/a0\/Make-Someone-Wet-the-Bed-Step-8.jpg\/v4-760px-Make-Someone-Wet-the-Bed-Step-8.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":760,"bigHeight":570} 4 Place the sleeper’s hand into the water. You must contend now with the position your prankee has fallen asleep in. There are any number of possible arm placements; calmly assess the situation to find the easiest way to get their hand into the water. If their hand is dangling from a bed, you might be able to slide the bowl right underneath it. If it’s hanging slack from a bunk bed or over the arm of a sofa, you might need to stack some books underneath the bowl to reach their hand, or place the bowl onto a stool. If it’s not dangling, take care! Be very gentle as you aim to reposition their hand and arm so that it can drape into the bowl. Take a position that will allow you to feign sleep (or quickly hide) if they awake. If it’s under their head or body, you’re probably not going to succeed in moving it. Bide your time, or find a new person to prank. You must contend now with the position your prankee has fallen asleep in. There are any number of possible arm placements; calmly assess
the source for further examination.s Browser Supports According to CanIUse.com, CSS3 Multiple Backgrounds is already supported in the following browsers; IE9+, Firefox 3.6+. No luck with Internet Explorer 8. But if you can assure yourself that you can leave IE8 behind, you can use CSS3 Multiple Backgrounds right now. Further ReferencesScientists, environmentalists and Democratic lawmakers pounced Thursday after Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt refuted his own agency by insisting carbon dioxide emissions don’t cause global warming. On Friday, the most senior Republican congresswoman in the House of Representatives joined the chorus of critics. “These comments by the EPA administrator casting doubt on the causes and impacts of climate change are disconcerting and troubling,” Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) said in a statement. “I’m committed to helping ensure South Florida’s environment remains pristine and we continue to combat sea level rise in order to protect our community.” She wasn’t alone. Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.) slammed Pruitt’s comment hours after it was broadcast Thursday on CNBC. These comments are reckless, @EPAScottPruitt. It's a fact rising CO2 emissions have been a contributing factor to #climatechange for decades https://t.co/dpCBhUniF8 — Rep. Carlos Curbelo (@RepCurbelo) March 9, 2017 Spokespeople for Curbelo and Ros-Lehtinen declined The Huffington Post’s requests for an interview Friday afternoon. The pair drew attention during the presidential election last year when they publicly broke with the Republican Party line on climate change and formed the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus in the House. At the time, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush were both gunning for the Republican presidential nomination. Rubio had previously said he didn’t believe “human activity is causing these dramatic changes to our climate,” while Bush said climate change “wouldn’t be on my first page of things that wake me up in the middle of the night.” Last summer, Ros-Lehtinen filed legislation aimed at restoring coral reefs, in hopes that the underwater ecosystems would offer a natural bulwark against higher storm surges from sea-level rise. She also supported a bill requiring overseas companies to pay the cleanup costs for oil spills in nearby foreign waters. Curbelo, meanwhile, appeared in a National Geographic TV show on climate change, demonstrating what Politico described as his “role as a maverick Republican.” South Florida has already been ravaged by the effects of climate change. Temperatures in the region have increased by 2 degrees Fahrenheit since 1970, and are expected to soar by up to 8 degrees by the end of the century, according to the EPA. Hurricanes and heavy downpours have become more frequent and violent since the 1980s. Over the past 25 years, sea levels have risen by as much as 3 inches, a report from Miami-Dade County stated in December. Now regularly inundated, the city of Miami Beach alone plans to spend $500 million on flooding prevention.A junior scientist formerly employed by the Broad Institute says the storied MIT-Harvard institution’s claim to have invented CRISPR gene editing isn’t accurate, and that the organization misled the patent office. The former graduate student, Shuailiang Lin, made his accusations in an e-mail sent to Jennifer Doudna, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who is Broad’s chief rival for scientific and commercial credit to CRISPR. In the e-mail, sent on February 28, 2015, Lin called the Broad’s claims “a joke” and “unfair to me and [to] science history.” He went on to say, “I will try to defend the truth.” The explosive e-mail appears among a deluge of legal filings made public this week by the U.S. Patent Office as part of a high-stakes dispute between Broad and Berkeley to control the intellectual property in CRISPR, a powerful way of altering the DNA inside living cells that’s already worth billions. Doudna and collaborators in Europe published a key paper on the system in 2012, but Broad was able to win more than a dozen patents by telling the patent office that Feng Zhang, a researcher there, had quietly made key inventions months earlier. Lin’s account is striking not only because he worked in Zhang’s lab at the time but because he is listed as an inventor on Broad’s earliest patent filing, from December 2012. The e-mail was sent as part of a job request to Doudna. In it, Lin, who is from China, seemed ready to barter inside information and assistance with the patent case in exchange for a job. “I am willing to give more details and records if you are interested or whoever is interested to clear the truth,” he said. Lin says that in late 2011 he was the only lab member working on CRISPR and that the lab was not then able to make the technique work, something he says he can document with lab notebooks, e-mails, and results that “recorded every step of the lab’s failure process.” “I think a revolutionary technology like this … should not be mis-patented. We did not work it out before seeing your paper, it’s really a pity,” he wrote to Doudna. “But I think we should be responsible for the truth. That’s science.” Lin is currently employed as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, San Francisco. He did not respond to repeated attempts to contact him by phone and e-mail. CRISPR has already attracted hundreds of millions in investments by government agencies, through stock offerings and IPOs, and by way of alliances with makers of biotech plants and human drugs. It has also generated multimillion-dollar stock windfalls for key scientists, including Doudna and Broad’s Zhang. The e-mail was submitted to the U.S. Patent Office by lawyers for Berkeley and is one of scores of documents filed this week to support motions ahead of an administrative trial, called an interference, that will determine who ends up with the patent rights. The crucial question is exactly who made key inventions and when. Most researchers directly involved are keeping mum or signing affidavits backing their institutions’ versions of events. Indeed, in May 2014 Lin also signed such an oath in connection with one of Broad’s patent applications. That statement—which carries legal penalties if found to be false—could be seen as contradicting the charges he made to Doudna a year later. In Broad’s various legal filings, which stretch across a score of pending patents, either Lin’s name is mostly absent or he is portrayed as a minor figure with limited autonomy—under the “intellectual control” of Zhang, the lab’s chief, and not necessarily aware of other doings in the lab. Lin worked in the Zhang lab for nine months starting in October 2011, the crucial period during which Broad says it mastered CRISPR gene editing in human cells. He later took a post at the Harvard laboratory of biologist Norbert Perrimon. In an interview, Perrimon said Lin was a productive scientist and there were no red flags concerning his behavior. “I never had any issues with him,” he says. “I think that people will have to look at this statement carefully.” Other Broad researchers are not willing to discuss what occurred in the lab. Neville Sanjana, a biologist who now holds a faculty position at the New York Genome Center, shared a lab bench with Lin during the critical period and oversaw part of his work. Sanjana declined to comment on Lin’s claims or character and referred questions to the Broad Institute. Lee McGuire, a spokesperson for the Broad, cast doubt on Lin’s motivations, saying he had been rejected for a new post at the Cambridge institution immediately before firing off the e-mail to Doudna. He said that Lin, whose position in the Perrimon lab was ending, was in a rush to renew his visa, something he was able to do after being offered a position at UCSF. “Abundant evidence already shows that the student’s claims are false,” says McGuire. The patent fight hinges on who will control commercial rights to editing in human cells. Berkeley says it should control those rights because of a key paper published in 2012 by Doudna and Emmanuel Charpentier, a researcher in Europe, showing a simplified CRISPR system able to cut DNA in vitro, or in a test tube. Berkeley’s lawyers say other scientists, including those at the Broad Institute, quickly jumped on that finding in order to demonstrate that it could also work in human cells, where its application is most valuable because of the possibility of creating new types of gene-therapy treatments. In his e-mail to Doudna, Lin agreed with Berkeley’s version of events. “After seeing your in virto [sic] paper, Feng Zhang and Le Cong quickly jumped to the project without letting me know,” Lin complained. Cong is another scientist in the lab whose results are especially important to Broad’s case. The Broad Institute, however, was exploring CRISPR well before Doudna’s paper. Not only was Lin assigned to work on it by 2011, but Zhang submitted a grant application to the National Institutes of Health in January 2012 in which he asked the agency to finance a larger effort to turn CRISPR into an editing tool. Despite Doudna’s earlier publication, Broad was able to get its patents after it told the patent office that its effort to edit human cells had been successful, even though details were not published until 2013. The documents in the interference proceeding show the sides are well matched. Broad has made clever scientific arguments as to why Berkeley’s test-tube research never amounted to a true, patentable invention. Berkeley, for its part, argues that Broad’s Zhang was just one of the scientists who grabbed on to its discovery. The patent battle is becoming costly. During a conference call this month, Katrine Bosley, the CEO of Editas Medicine, a startup cofounded by Zhang that licensed the Broad patents, said she was very confident they would hold up. In its most recent corporate filings, Editas said it had spent $10.9 million so far this year in legal fees to defend the patents.The Cincinnati Bengals’ secondary will be put to the test when they face Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers this Sunday. Already under criticism before the season began, Cincinnati’s defensive backfield failed to stop Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler’s fourth quarter comeback the opening week of the season. Now they must face the 2011 NFL Most Valuable Player coming off one of the best games of his career. Last week, Rodgers threw for a career-high 480 yards, helping his team jump out to a 31-0 lead against the Washington Redskins. While the Packers (1-1) lost starting running back Eddie Lacy to a concussion in that game, James Starks came off the bench to rush for 132 yards on only 16 carries. He became the first Packer to rush for more than 100 yards in 44 games. The fact that Green Bay’s offense seems to be clicking on all cylinders is not a good sign for the Bengals (1-1) who are not yet where they want to be defensively. In addition to the questions in the secondary, the Bengals have not been able to get as much pressure on opposing quarterbacks as they would like. After totaling 51 sacks last year, Cincinnati has only two sacks so far through two games. It is not like the Bengals have not had favorable match ups. In week one they faced a Bears offensive line that featured three new member and last week faced a Steelers unit that had just lost its starting center in Pro Bowler Maurkice Pouncey. Look for defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer to mix up his schemes to apply pressure on Rodgers. On the other side of the ball, Green Bay’s secondary was shredded in week one by Colin Kaepernick (412 yards and three touchdowns) and then allowed Robert Griffin III, fresh off rehabbing an ACL injury, to put up solid numbers as well (320 yards, three touchdowns and one interception). Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton may not be as physically gifted as the two aforementioned signal callers, but he does have more weapons. In addition to Pro Bowlers A.J. Green and Jermaine Gresham, Dalton now has rookie tight end Tyler Eifert to throw to and a potential superstar-in-the-making in rookie running back Giovani Bernard. Both players were a big part of the Bengals 20-10 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers Monday. Dalton must take advantage of his tight ends and running backs until he can improve his accuracy down the field and maintain his composure against superior opponents.What Torrance residents don’t know about the potential dangers posed by ExxonMobil’s oil refinery could kill them, in part because they can’t rely on government agencies to tell them. Consider the following pair of examples about the facility, which was built before the densely populated suburban area was developed around it: • A worst-case disaster scenario at the ExxonMobil Torrance Refinery could release 5,200 pounds of an extremely toxic vapor that could spread 3.2 miles and imperil more than a quarter of a million people, according to a published article that cites closely held government reports. • The South Coast Air Quality Management District kept inspectors responding to the massive Feb. 18 refinery explosion out of the field after hearing reports from another agency of a possible release of radioactive material from the plant. But the AQMD did not inform the public or the Torrance Fire Department of the precautions it was taking on behalf of its own employees. “It was a surprise to us,” Torrance Fire Chief William Racowschi said. “We didn’t hear anything about radioactivity until way after the thing was over.” AQMD spokesman Sam Atwood defended the agency’s action, which delayed monitoring of the ash and spent catalyst dust raining down on the community until after noon, more than three hours after the explosion shook parts of the city with the force of a small earthquake. “From our point of view we don’t issue any advisories to the public until we are absolutely certain of a concern and, in this case, what was thought to be perhaps a concern was dismissed in fairly short order,” he said. “We have to have the scientific facts to be able to responsibly inform the public. In this case, it didn’t rise to anywhere close to that level.” Still, the AQMD took precautions residents and other emergency responders were unable to take. It’s that sort of secrecy before and during refinery emergencies that has critics hoping state legislators take a close look later this week at disaster preparedness plans and responses related to potentially deadly incidents. The state Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee and the Environmental Quality Committee will hold a joint hearing at 6 p.m. Thursday at Torrance City Hall to discuss the emergency response, the refinery’s safety record and effect of the incident on the community. Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles, noted that the recent explosion was the first significant incident at a California refinery since the 2012 Bay Area explosion in Richmond endangered the lives of 19 workers and sent 15,000 residents to hospitals. Another joint Senate committee hearing is set for late March to discuss how refinery explosions disrupt supplies and help send prices soaring, as has occurred in the wake of the Torrance incident. “The refinery explosion deeply concerns me about the safety of our neighbors but also our rights as consumers of energy and fuel,” de Leon said Friday. “I am working with my colleagues to protect consumers from the volatility of gas prices and examine what causes them. The upcoming hearings will focus on getting the facts and we hope (the) oil industry will be open and transparent when it comes to answering our questions.” But openness and transparency are in short supply when it comes to informing residents of the true threat refineries can pose to a community as well as the appropriate response required in the wake of such incidents, critics contend. ExxonMobil was lambasted by residents at a town hall meeting for its reaction to the explosion, while Torrance City Council members also questioned the emergency response at a subsequent meeting. The company again on Friday declined to provide substantive comment to the Daily Breeze on its response to the community. ExxonMobil, for instance, declined to say how many local residents have contacted claims representatives for reimbursement for damages to vehicle paint; one Torrance resident who filed for compensation said she was told the company was “flooded” by claims. “As a matter of practice, we do not comment on proprietary matters,” said ExxonMobil spokeswoman Gesuina Paras, who formerly worked for the city of Torrance. “We continue to process all legitimate claims caused by the incident. … We are working to make sure all key stakeholders are well-informed.” Kim Nibarger, a former refinery operator who has been a health and safety specialist for the United Steelworkers union based in Pittsburgh, said such responses are typical of oil giants like ExxonMobil because they have good reason to maintain a low profile before and after public relations debacles like the recent explosion. “They want to have the image that they are a good neighbor,” Nibarger said. “They’re concerned about two things: making money and their public image, and they don’t like either to be disturbed.” ExxonMobil refinery manager Brian Ablett, on the job just nine months, boasted to reporters before the town hall meeting that the company has a good working relationship with the community, citing in particular its Community Advisory Panel. However, meetings of the largely anonymous group are not publicized or open to the public. “I’ve been disappointed in the lack of communication from ExxonMobil,” Councilman Tim Goodrich said. “I was very disappointed when they attended the council meeting where we addressed the explosion, but they chose not to address the community. It seems they are more interested in being quiet and hoping not to draw attention to the problem.” That problem includes the scale of a potentially large-scale disaster uncovered by The Center for Public Integrity in a 2011 article (that was updated again last year) titled “Use of toxic acid puts millions at risk.” The lengthy expose related the risks of hydrofluoric acid, which is capable of producing a fast-moving, potentially deadly toxic vapor. Known as an “Offsite Consequences Analysis,” the worst-case scenarios for every refinery in the nation are kept under tight security by the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Justice. Appointments have to be made to see the documents days in advance. No photocopying is allowed. And they are not officially available on the Internet, although some groups like the Right to Know Network have published the technical documents online. This is ostensibly for security reasons in the wake of 9/11, but it also has the effect of reducing scrutiny of a potentially dangerous industry, allowing serious risks to fall under the radar, Nibarger said. “A community has no idea of what kinds of chemicals are in (refineries) and what the consequences of the release of those chemicals can be,” he said. Torrance officials generally downplay the risks, too. In an interview with the Daily Breeze last week, Racowschi said the Torrance refinery uses a modified form of hydrofluoric acid that is a safer because it won’t vaporize as rapidly and drift as far. But Nibarger confirmed that the disaster scenario outlined in the Center for Public Integrity article involved the supposedly modified form of HF, which may not be safer under some circumstances anyway than the original type. “In a fire scenario, we don’t know what the difference is and we haven’t been able to find out,” Nibarger said. Just how prepared the city is to respond to a major refinery emergency is a matter of debate, too, with measures such as a new mass notification telephone system a work in progress, city officials acknowledged last Tuesday. Goodrich, a member of the volunteer Community Emergency Response Team, said the unit has received no specific training in how to respond to a refinery incident. He also confirmed reports circulating in the community that the group was “in a state of flux” that had seen some volunteers quit because “some things need to be worked out” and changes made. Municipal officials last week declined substantive comment on the worst-case scenario involving the refinery in the city. “We need to be careful what’s put out there because I don’t want to start a panic,” Racowschi said. Goodrich disagreed. “We have to know what could happen in a worst-case scenario,” he said. “That’s the only way we could be adequately prepared. When we prepare for an earthquake, we don’t prepare for a 3.0 (magnitude), we prepare for a worst-case scenario.”The March issue of Kadokawa's Young Ace magazine is revealing on Thursday that Kei Sanbe's Boku dake ga Inai Machi manga will end in the magazine's April issue, which ships on March 4. The magazine also notes that the manga's current seven volumes have 2.54 million copies. The story follows Satoru, a struggling manga artist who has an ability that forces him back in time to prevent deaths. When his mother is killed, he is sent back in time to solve the mystery, but ends up back in elementary school just before the disappearance of his classmate Kayo. An anime adaptation of the manga titled ERASED in English premiered on January 7. Aniplex of America has licensed the series, and Crunchyroll, Daisuki, and Funimation are all streaming the series as it airs. Director Tomohiko Ito posted on the anime's official Twitter account earlier this month that the show will portray the original manga's ending. The anime is listed with 12 episodes, and is slated to end on March 24. The manga is also inspiring a live-action film that will open in Japan on March 19. Sanbe began the original manga in 2012. Kadokawa published the manga's seventh compiled book volume on December 26. The manga was nominated for the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize 'Reader Award' in 2014 and last year's Manga Taisho Awards. [Via earl.box]Three More Stories That Help Explain Why Obama Won Enlarge this image toggle caption Jewel Samad /AFP/Getty Images Jewel Samad /AFP/Getty Images NPR.org's Scott Neuman wrote earlier about how "a mixture of demographics, superior organization and a few tactical missteps from Republicans" helped President Obama win the battleground states. From this morning's post-election analyses of the presidential campaign, here are three more looks at why Obama was re-elected Tuesday: -- The New York Times: "In Chicago, the [Obama] campaign recruited a team of behavioral scientists to build an extraordinarily sophisticated database packed with names of millions of undecided voters and potential supporters. The ever-expanding list let the campaign find and register new voters who fit the demographic pattern of Obama backers and methodically track their views through thousands of telephone calls every night. "That allowed the Obama campaign not only to alter the very nature of the electorate, making it younger and less white, but also to create a portrait of shifting voter allegiances. The power of this operation stunned Mr. Romney's aides on election night, as they saw voters they never even knew existed turn out in places like Osceola County, Fla." -- Los Angeles Times: "The president built his winning coalition on a series of election-year initiatives and issue differences with Republican challenger Mitt Romney. In the months leading up to the election, Obama announced his support for same-sex marriage, unilaterally granted a form of limited legalization to young illegal immigrants and put abortion rights and contraception at the heart of a brutally effective anti-Romney attack ad campaign. "The result turned out to be an unbeatable combination: virtually universal support from black voters, who turned out as strongly as in 2008, plus decisive backing from members of the younger and fast-growing Latino and Asian American communities, who chose Obama over Romney by ratios of roughly 3 to 1. All of those groups contributed to Obama's majority among women. (Gay voters, a far smaller group, went for Obama by a 54-point margin.)" -- The Wall Street Journal: "Mitt Romney is one of the wealthiest men ever to run for president. And yet the lack of money earlier this year stalled his campaign, and he never really recovered.... "Back in spring, the Romney campaign's biggest worry was money. So the campaign's finance chair, Spencer Zwick, huddled with political director Rich Beeson to craft a complex schedule that took Mr. Romney to the cities that were prime real estate for fundraising. It meant visits to places like California, Texas and New York—none of which were important political battlegrounds.... "But Mr. Romney paid a deep political price. The fundraising marathon reduced his ability to deliver his own message to voters just as the Obama campaign was stepping in to define the Republican candidate on its terms." There's still time to answer our question: "What clinched the election for President Obama?"April 8 - Rock & Troll April 4 - Giving Credit(s) where it's due March 31 - Behemoths for Chocolate All updates published to date The World of Board Games The world of board games is different from the rest of gaming: You get larger boxes, lots of cool components, and games that can still be played 20 years later. You don’t ever need to worry about what platform it’s on! But even in that world, we've developed a reputation for being a bit different at Days of Wonder: we focus on developing board games with the coolest components, best theme and gameplay, not on producing the cheapest games possible; we develop digital versions of our games ourselves, in-house, rather than licensing them to third-parties; and we never, ever, discuss new products and future plans ahead of their actual release. But this time, we'd like to Play Different! The Project: Small World 2 A year after the launch of Small World - the Board Game, on the first day the original iPad became available, we launched Small World for iPad, pioneering a whole new world of board games on Tablets! The game earned critical acclaim and hordes of devoted players, but soon took a backseat to our own Ticket to Ride - the train game that pays the bills at Days of Wonder. The game didn’t die though. While fans kept playing the original iPad version, deep in a corner of our Paris office, a dedicated team started creating the next generation of Small World. Development of Small World 2 is now well underway... ... and it will ship later this year, no matter what! Small World is about to get A WHOLE LOT BIGGER, in Small World 2. Coming soon to a screen near you? For the first time, the game will accommodate not just 2, but 3, 4 and 5 players, each players configuration with its own map, just like the board game! Small World ain't so small anymore - just a bit crowded (here, with 5 players!). More players also means more ways to play: Beyond its original Solo and 2 players Face-to-face mode, Small World 2 will now also support Pass'N Play, Local Play and a true Turn-by-Turn asynchronous online mode that lets you play with friends across different platforms and multiple time zones, while remaining fast enough to support real-time play. Play alone or with friends, on one device or multiple ones, even on different platforms! There will also be more Races and Special Powers than ever competing for world domination in Small World 2, now. In addition to the original Cursed! and Grand Dames expansions, Be Not Afraid will be available as an In-App Purchase. And if this campaign gets funded, all backers at the Tritons level and higher will automatically unlock and receive The Kickstarter Backers digital Bonus Pack, a set of 3 new Races and 3 new Special Powers that Philippe Keyaerts has developed specially for this release. "Be Not Afraid..." - Famous last words of a Small World Pigmy about to roll a die Even better, all these expansions will be playable under a generous "boardgame-like" policy, where as long as the person who initiates a game owns an expansion, all players in that game get a chance to play with it; no risk of waiting for opponents with the same set of expansions you own! Why Kickstarter? We're committed to releasing Small World 2 on iPad no matter what; but we've also heard those of you clamoring for a port onto Android and Steam. For a small company like us, especially one doing all its development in-house, creating versions for these platforms is a non-trivial project, and one that will divert significant resources away from our Ticket to Ride mainstay. In our forums, on Facebook and on Twitter, enough of you have told us you’d like to spend some hard-earned cash on Android and Steam apps to make it worth our while. Now is your chance to prove it. And to sweeten the pot, we've come up with some very cool swag to help you decide to pledge! The Rewards The Online game and Kickstarter Backers digital Bonus Pack Philippe Keyaerts has designed 3 new races and 3 new special powers specially for Small World players who choose to back us with their pledges during this campaign. These new races and special powers will be unlocked through a special achievement linked to each backers (at the Tritons level and higher) player account, when Small Word 2 for Android and Steam ships. Pledge at the Skeletons level if you want the bonus races & powers along with a copy of the game on the platform of your choice. If you already own Small World iPad, and are interested in getting a copy of the game on another platform, no problem - Go ahead and pledge for this new platform, and your Bonus pack will automatically appear and be playable on all platforms you own Small World 2 on! If you already own Small World iPad, but don't care about the Android or Steam versions, pledge at the Tritons level instead: Physical board game rewards for higher pledges If you're a committed player of the board game, you might also be tempted by the rewards for some of our higher pledges, such as... The 6 Player cardboard Map of Small World that Philippe is designing for this campaign. Featuring Small World on one side, Small World Underground on the other, this reward will ship with all the additional tokens (mountains, lost tribes, monsters, etc.) required to play with 6 players around the table. If you already own Small World on the iPad, and don't care about any of our other digital versions, but choose to pledge at the Goblins level to get this map, you will be given a chance to donate the digital copy of the game you receive as part of your pledge to a friend, while still choosing to keep the Kickstarter Backers digital Bonus Pack for yourself! Finally, if you don't care at all about any digital versions, but still lust for this map, we hope to offer some for sale on our web site, at a later date and slightly higher retail price. We're also busy designing The Small World Pocket Encyclopedia, a 110x140mm hard cover notebook filled with 84+ full-color pages of concept art, illustrations, strategic advice and trivia surrounding the denizens of Small World. To receive the Encyclopedia, simply up your pledge to the Orcs level. The same comments as for the Goblins pledge apply, if you're interested in the Encyclopedia but don't care about digital versions of the games (or already own the iPad version, and have no friends to donate a digital copy to ;-)). And last but not least, for the most committed, crazy, extravagant or dedicated of you, we are offering a very limited number of opportunities for you to design your very own Small World race or mini-expansion! We will professionally illustrate this expansion, lay it out, print it, and who knows? - maybe even publish it or code it into the game, if we really like it! Some all important Add-ons... But it wouldn't quite be Small World if we'd stopped there, right? It's a Board game after all, so we thought we should have some things for those of you who still live in the digital dark ages and couldn't care less about tablets, phones and other strange electrical contraptions. So we've come up with some very special add-ons; physical rewards that you can receive by simply adding the corresponding $ amount to the pledge of your choice. For instance, if you wish to get yourself our sure-to-be-cool 'I Backed a Troll' T-shirt, simply add $ 21 to the pledge of your choice. We will ask your choice of T-shirt size (S, M, L, XL, XXL, XXXL) once the campaign ends. Living outside the USA? Add + $ 14 in shipping fees to your pledge (i.e. $ 35 in total), to receive this t-shirt. If you only care for some of our add-ons but none of the digital stuff, just pledge at the $1 Kobolds level: ... and add the $ amount of the physical rewards you want to receive to your pledge. For instance, $ 10 ($1 Kobolds pledge + $9 for the Royal Bonus) will get you a cardboard version of the 3 new races and 3 new special powers Philippe designed for this campaign, along with all the race tokens and markers needed to play them in Small World the board game. Living outside the USA? Add + $ 5 in shipping fees to your pledge (i.e. $ 14 in total), to receive the cardboard races. ...and a very special Designer Edition! For those of you who wish to go even further, we've come up with a very special add-on: The Designer's Oath version of Small World's upcoming deluxe Designer Edition. The Designer Edition - A truly deluxe version of Small World the Board game Small World's Designer Edition is a spare-no-expense version of Small World the board game that will ship in 2014; this version of the game is true to Philippe Keyaerts' original wooden prototype. Philippe's original prototype of Small World featured delightful wood tokens; we've finally managed to reproduce them for this very special Designer Edition! The Designer Edition will feature: 307 deluxe wooden tokens covering all races from the base game and its Cursed!, Grand Dames and Be Not Afraid expansions + the Lost Tribes each race will comes in its own individual, lavishly illustrated box the banners, special powers and markers that complement the deluxe tokens will all be heat-printed on wood, matching the tokens neatly the victory coins will all be distinctive metal coins specially forged for Small World the maps will be super-sized copies of Small World's 2-5 player maps, and include a new 6 player map specially designed by Philippe Keyaerts for this campaign The Dragon, the Catapult, the 2 Heroes will all be represented by custom resin miniatures We are still in the early design stages of the Designer Edition; Back us now and we'll work hard to make your own copy even nicer... Living outside the USA? Add + $ 50 in shipping fees to your pledge. By adding $ 320 to your pledge now, you'll receive a Kickstarter exclusive version of our Designer Edition, that will include: A deluxe wooden version of the 3 new Races & Special Powers in the Kickstarter Backers Bonus Pack A signed plaque - numbered and engraved in your name Shipment 3 months ahead of the actual retail release An $ 80 discount off the $ 400 retail price of the Designer EditionYesterday, Target mistakenly leaked the sequel to Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor by posting the game for sale online. Now we have an official announcement for Middle-earth: Shadow of War, along with a release date, trailer, and some other information. Shadow of War will be coming to PS4, Xbox One, and PC on August 22nd, 2017. It will also be on Project Scorpio when that releases sometime this holiday season. The trailer sets the stage for Shadow of War‘s story. It seems that Talion and Celebrimbor have created another ring of power to battle Sauron. For those that remember, it was Celebrimbor that crafted the original rings of power. The trailer also shows the two being separated somehow, so we’ll have to see what that does for the story. Here’s what the announcement had to say regarding the narrative: Players will wield a new Ring of Power and confront the deadliest of enemies, including Sauron and his Nazgul, in a monumental battle for Middle-earth. With an original story featuring our two heroes from the first game, Middle-earth: Shadow of War will have you going deep behind enemy lines to forge an army in the hopes of turning all of Mordor against the Dark Lord himself. The Nemesis System will, of course, be making a return in Shadow of War and have some changes and additions to it, though those details have yet to be revealed. Other than that, gameplaywise the announcement promises something pretty lofty in that they claim players will have a profound effect on the world they explore, “creating a personal world unique to every gameplay experience.” Players can influence both the environment and characters. We’ll learn more on March 8th when gameplay is revealed. The official site for the game is now up and running, which shows that there will be four different versions you can purchase: Standard, Silver, Gold, and Mithril editions of the game. Each version received the pre-order bonus of the Legendary Champions War Party and Exclusive Epic Sword of Dominion. Silver includes some DLC, Gold even more, and Mithril is basically the collector’s edition of the game coming with a large Balrog vs. Drake statue. Middle-earth: Shadow of War releases August 22nd on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Steam. It will also be an Xbox Anywhere title, meaning that if you purchase it for Xbox One or Windows 10, you get both versions of the game as well as a version on Scorpio after that console’s release. What do you think of Middle-earth: Shadow of War? What are you hoping to see more of? What are you hoping to see change? Let us know in the comments below! Share Have a tip for us? Awesome! Shoot us an email at [email protected] and we'll take a look!SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said on Tuesday that it would cut off a hot line with the United States military in South Korea, calling the truce that stopped the Korean War in 1953 null and void and threatening to strike the United States with “lighter and smaller nukes.” North Korea had many times said it was nullifying the Korean War Armistice that stopped, but did not officially end, the three-year war. When it wanted to raise tensions in the past, it had also cut off, and later restored, the military hot line that the American-led United Nations Command maintained with North Korea through the truce village of Panmunjom north of the South Korean capital, Seoul, to help avoid armed conflicts on the divided peninsula. North Korea’s latest threats came as the United Nations Security Council was about to consider a new sanctions resolution, and five days after the United States and South Korea began their annual joint military exercises. North Korea has always denounced such drills as rehearsals for invasion, and its military started its own drills, with its leader Kim Jong-un visiting military units and its government exhorting the North Koreans to stay on a war
a wanted an easy way to carry his snowboard into the backcountry on his snowmobile. Dave built something in his shop and over the past ten years CFR has evolved into the leader of board/ski/gear carrying racks for snowmobiles. There’s simply no other way to carry your skis or board on your sled that makes as much sense as a CFR rack. Often imitated but never matched, CFR racks have become a must-have for any serious backcountry shredder, and for good reason—they work better than anything else. Dave and CFR continue to expand each year. As well as refining their existing products to the point of near perfection they’re also now offering a huge line of aftermarket snowmobile accessories— from performance handlebars to waterproof gear bags. Don’t you dare ask me to go shred in the backcountry with you if you don’t have one of these babies on the back of your whip! LEFT: Heard about Herd? RIGHT: CFR ski rack is a must have. Herd Headwear As winter sports lovers we all gotta keep our noggins warm and in this part of the world that means one thing … a toque atop your head. Whistler-based Herd Headwear was founded as more than a simple headwear brand. Herd is a movement, a collection of artists, athletes and adventurers who all seek the beauty in the great outdoors and the endless playground they provide. With that hard-to-argue-against ideology, some simple designs and a locally-stacked team, Herd is a real Whistler locals’ favourite. Hightide Manufacturing New on the scene this winter, Hightide Mfg is changing the way people snowboard the local mountains. Rather than having one board for all conditions, the founders of Hightide are taking a more surf-based approach — they offer a quiver of boards to suit each and every condition, ensuring each day in the mountains is customized and full pow potential is always reached. LEFT: Hightide rider Rube Goldberg. PHOTO: Brian Hockenstein. MIDDLE: Akasha at work. RIGHT: Ready to ride. Founders/owners Gabe Langlois and Akasha Weisgarber custom-built their own snowboard press this summer and have been pumping boards out of their Pemberton-based factory ever since. With a ton of hype and hope surrounding this brand, it seems like everyone is cheering for the little guy and hoping they can gain some traction and give local backcountry shredders a boutique shred brand to call their own. Gabe and Akasha both have over 20 years of experience in the mountains and from the early sound of things these boards are the real deal as well. There are lots of great non-sports related local companies and Whistler brands as well. Best thing to do is just start shopping and don’t be afraid to ask questions. We’ve all heard of the 100-mile diet but supporting local brands can extend beyond what you put in your mouth and by purchasing products from local brands, you’re directly supporting the people that help make Whistler so vibrant and awesome. And who knows, you might just be sharing your next chairlift ride with the owner of the company you support. Happy Holidays.Now, now, Carnage. We don't need a relapse of your Superior days. That's not how it works! That's not how any of this works! It's Carnage Hour once more, featuring the bloody, the macabre, the Carnage-Man! Ah, you gotta love the dark humor of this series. Welcome back to my review series on Marveltie-in miniseries,. Today I'll be reviewing the second of three issues, so sit back in your desk chair, turn off the world, and turn on the chaos! In the last issue, Carnage began his solo career as a hero by saving a hooker from her abusive pimp and opportunistic news anchor Alice Gleeson from the new and supernatural serial killer, the Sin Eater. It's been a tough road for the former symbiotic serial killer known as Cletus Kasady since Doctor Doom and Scarlet Witch's inversion spell changed his morality; he's had to learn restraint and cull his bloodlust in an insane effort to become a superhero to make amends for his multitude of past sins. To help him learn to become the hero he's driven to be, Carnage kidnapped Alice in the last issue, convinced that a reputable news anchor such as herself could help him become good.In this issue, writer Rick Spears and artists Germán Peralta and Rain Beredo give us a glimpse of an altered version of Cletus' past which shaped him into the serial killer he became while trying to give it a heroic spin to explain Cletus' new motivation. What's interesting to note is that Carnage has subconsciously inserted Alice into his memories as a sort of muse that inspires key moments in his history. The way the creative team works her into his history leads me to believe that Cletus' impression of Alice is beyond inspirational—perhaps he's harboring deeper feelings for his kidnappee? This would be an intriguing development especially when considering that the only other person Carnage has ever been extremely close with was Shriek, his frequent partner-in-crime.Another interesting development that is revealed in this issue is the Sin Eater's connection to Emil Gregg, the serial confessor who was linked to the first Sin Eater and Venom's origin. We find out what Emil has been doing during the Sin Eater's recent inquisition, which creates even more questions regarding the new Sin Eater's identity. As for the rest of the issue, we're given yet another joyride of Carnage attempting and partially failing at being a hero as Alice uses her kidnapping as an opportunity to advance her career.Spears' writing is just downright fantastic for Carnage and this series. Not many can pull of a true Carnage comic, but he's definitely one of my favorite Carnage writers now—and that's saying something coming from an avid symbiote fan! Both Peralta and Beredo's art synergy is very reminiscent of one of my favorite artistic pairs, Declan Shalvey and Jordie Bellaire (), which gains them bonus points for appealing to my own taste in modern superhero comic art. There isn't much more that can be said that I've already covered in my last review. AXIS: Carnage #2 gets 5 stars out of 5 for the writing and 4.5 stars out of 5 for the art (a half point down because of the same gripes I had with the last issue). What did you think of this issue? Who do you think the new Sin Eater is? Can Carnage really pull off being a hero? Let us know in the comments section below, and continue following Fanboys Anonymous for more comic reviews by yours truly. Also, check out The Venom Site for all of your symbiote news, reviews, and point-of-views, plus its blog,, for a chance to win a Marvel Legends Agent Venom action figure during its Symbiotic Holiday Giveaway!THE FBI has launched its “next generation” facial recognition system — and the implications are terrifying. It not only draws on a database of criminal mugshots, it searches through ordinary people too. Anyone who has ever had a background check when applying for a job could be identified in a police hunt. And the system is hardly infallible — a search will pull up 50 faces, with only an 85 per cent likelihood that the suspect will be on list, by the FBI’s own estimation. The Interstate Photo System is expected to have reached 50 states by the end of the year, and have collected 52 million faces by 2015. “This effort is a significant step forward for the criminal justice community in utilising biometrics as an investigative enabler,” the FBI said in a statement. And it may not be long until Australian biometrics become this far-reaching. In NSW, a system called PhotoTrac has been matching CCTV footage and photos to a criminal database since 2011. Victoria Police have been using the iFace biometric system since 2010, with officers able to scan photos snapped on their mobiles in the street as well as pictures lifted from Facebook, according to IT News. In 2012, privacy laws were changed so that scans taken for passports, driver’s licences or nightclub entry could be stored in police and spy agency databases, in what was slammed as a Big Brother-style development. Immigration Minister Scott Morrison has already said that $158 million “eGate” departure gate scanners will be rolled out mid-next year. The FBI’s Next Generation Identification system simply takes the technology one step further. It aims to eventually replace fingerprinting with a complex array of biometrics, assigning everyone with a “Universal Control Number”, in what sounds like a plotline from a sci-fi movie. “One of the risks here, without assessing the privacy considerations, is the prospect of mission creep with the use of biometric identifiers,” Jeramie Scott, national security counsel with the Electronic Privacy Information Center told the National Journal in June. Whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed in that same month that the National Security Agency pulls in millions of images to aid its own facial recognition program. The IPS had some success last month, The Verge reported, when a child sex abuse fugitive was caught when he applied for a visa at the US embassy in Nepal. It still compares poorly with Facebook’s DeepFace system, which can tell you with 97 per cent accuracy whether two pictures are of the same person. But authorities using the social network’s technology could only be a court order away. Besides, the FBI has disclaimed responsibility for the accuracy of the IPS, stating that the list “is an investigative lead not an identification.” It would seem we need to keep a close eye on the surveillance methods coming soon to our hometowns.Australia’s High Court upheld the country’s controversial policy of detaining asylum seekers in offshore processing centers Wednesday, dismissing a claim that the conditions under which they are being held on the island of Nauru violates the Australian constitution. The case was brought by an anonymous Bangladeshi woman temporarily relocated from Nauru to Australia for medical treatment, the BBC reports. The court’s ruling means that over 250 asylum seekers, including around 50 children and nearly 40 infants born in Australia, will be deported to the island nation in the coming days, despite allegations by rights groups that the centers are not safe. Nationwide protests against the ruling have reportedly been planned. The Australian government’s treatment of refugees arriving at its shores, who are promptly transported to Nauru and Papua New Guinea’s Manus island, where reports of human-rights violations abound, has long been a subject of intense controversy. Read more: Australia Will Keep Detaining Refugees Indefinitely, Whatever the World Thinks Detainees at the two island centers are reportedly subjected to widespread violence and abuse, with the most recent public outrage involving the case of a 5-year-old boy who was allegedly raped on Nauru and will now likely be sent back. “That is this huge cloud hanging over him,” Dr. Karen Zwi, a pediatrician who examined the boy, told broadcaster Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC). “That he will be returned to an absolutely traumatic and devastating environment for him.” Zwi mentioned that the young boy had started wetting the bed and even began to self-harm, a phenomenon she reports seeing in several distressed children. Australia’s Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said he would take medical advice on the 5-year-old’s case into consideration. Meanwhile, rights groups attacked the government’s hasty amendment to a funding-related law — closing a loophole that enabled it to defeat the court challenge — in June last year. Daniel Webb of the Human Rights Law Centre told ABC that the government “shifted the goalposts” by changing the law while the case was ongoing. “They won in the High Court, but let me tell you, around the country right now there are 267 incredibly vulnerable people who will be terrified.” A visceral fear at the prospect of going back to Nauru is the predominant reaction of most asylum seekers temporarily moved to mainland Australia, with a Sri Lankan woman who was also allegedly sexually assaulted on the island telling the Guardian‘s Australia edition ahead of the court ruling, that she was “too scared” to return. “If I am sent back to Nauru, I will commit suicide,” she said. Write to Rishi Iyengar at [email protected] his book Poetic Diction, Owen Barfield posits that there is a moment in the evolution of every language where conditions are perfect for a masterpiece to be born. It’s a moment when a majority of the speakers of the language fully understand how it works, but the “rules” have not yet been chiseled into stone. There exists a perfect balance of structure to build upon without the rigidity of form. Doubtless Mr. Barfield would object to his philosophy being applied to the slasher film genre in general, and Silent Night, Deadly Night in particular, but the application is apt nonetheless. The 80s were a perfect storm in the evolution of cinematic language of the slasher film. The films that preceded that time had not completely codified the tropes of the genre, and the films that followed were necessarily works of imitation and deconstruction. But at the exact balancing point between chaos and convention, Silent Night, Deadly Night emerged, whole and complete and perfect in every way. The story opens with a typical family going to visit their grandfather in a mental institution on Christmas Day. He sits in his wheelchair, seemingly catatonic, until the rest of the family leaves little Billy Chapman alone with the old man. Then he begins to speak, whispering to Billy that Santa Claus rides out each year, not only to bring presents to the good children, but to punish those who have been naughty even once. Later Billy’s family stops to help a man in a Santa suit who has broken down by the side of the road; but the man turns out to be a robber who brutally murders Billy’s mother and father right in front of him. As the years pass Billy has an understandable fear of Santa Claus, despite having blocked the specifics of that night from his young mind, but the Mother superior at the Catholic orphanage where he is raised believes the best way to treat his phobias is by administering ever more stringent discipline, forcing Billy’s fears ever further inward. This song of psychological trauma finally crescendos into madness when an adult Billy is asked to wear the garb of a department store Santa Claus. Silent Night, Deadly Night is fascinating because of the line it walks between bowing to the tropes of the 80’s slasher film, and making its own way. On the one hand it indulges in violence for violence’s sake, killing off amorous teens and stereotypical bullies in increasingly gruesome and creative set pieces. Take those scenes out of context and it could just as easily be Jason Vorhees or Freddy Krueger lopping off heads and impaling nubile teens on mounted antlers (do you get it? She’s horny). But context is everything. And Billy Chapman is not like Jason or Freddy. His backstory is not painted in a broad strokes flashback narrated by the people he’s about to slaughter. We see how he got to be this way. He’s not a supernatural, unstoppable force. He’s just a guy who’s been taken beyond the breaking point by the cruel twists and turns of life. Silent Night, Deadly Night drags the subversive truth of how we view slasher films into the cold light of day; it knows we aren’t really cheering for the stupid teenagers. It knows that on some level, the killer is the hero of the film. Silent Night, Deadly Night does away with beating around the moral bush and makes the slasher the main character. And it succeeds on more than a theoretical level. The cinematography here is beautiful; the framing, perfect; the set design, spot on. The actors could easily be forgiven for mailing in their lines in such a bizarre movie, but instead their performances bring even more depth to these characters. In particular, the role of the Mother Superior could have easily devolved into a cartoonishly evil caricature, but instead Lilyan Chauvin brings a depth to the character that makes her seem real and relatable. Silent Night Deadly Night entered the world in a storm of controversy. Critics panned it simply for its subject matter, believing that it was an attack on Christmas and Santa Claus and all that was good in the world. But for all of its gore and gruesome violence, Silent Night Deadly Night isn’t a mean-spirited movie. It’s a story about a boy who lost his way and eventually lost his mind, in the dark days of what should have been season of cheer. And it’s a dirge for every time the true spirit of Christmas is lost in the shadow of selfishness and cynicism. Albert lives in Florida where the humidity has driven him halfway to madness, and his children have finished the job. He is the author of The Mulch Pile and A Prairie Home Apocalypse or: What the Dog Saw. To hear more of our thoughts on Silent Night, Deadly Night check out Episode 172 of the Human Echoes Podcast.Unless a Republican wins the the Presidential election in 2017, the 7-year debate over whether to build the Keystone pipeline is probably over. Gone will be the endless TV and newspaper ads describing the dangers of either building or not building it. Waiting in the wings, however, is another energy/climate debate that will make the Keystone controversy look like a flyspeck on the pages of history. I am talking about the coming debate over what now is variously known as “cold fusion,” “Low Energy Nuclear Reactions,” or “Condensed Matter Nuclear Reactions”, all of which describe same the heat producing reaction which has been observed for the last 25 years. This new debate, which seems likely to start sometime next year, may be one of the most acrimonious in US history for these new energy-producing technologies have the potential to, over time, seriously disrupt or even destroy much of the oil, natural gas, coal, nuclear, hydro, and wind industries. In short this and/or similar developments could easily be the mother of all disruptive technologies leaving the world a far different place from the one we know. For the last 25 years, the industries and scientific establishments that might be threatened by “cold fusion” and similar technologies have been able to keep the news of the technologies’ development under wraps through a variety of stratagems and keep government funding from speeding its development. This situation is about to change radically. In recent years, principal developers of this new technology, tired of all the skepticism and accusations of fraud, have adopted the position that they will continue to work until a commercially viable product is ready and then put it on the market. To those of us who have been following the issue, the artificial wall of secrecy that has existed for over 25 years is about to fall. A few tentative stories have begun to appear in the press and last week a California company, Brillouin Energy, that has been making progress on its LENR technology in recent years, was invited to make a presentation on Capital Hill. The key event which could turn all this around will be the completion of the one-year trial that a North Carolina company, Industrial Heat, has been conducting. This trial is due to be finished this winter and if successful, the company says it will disclose the results and if all goes well announce that they have a product for sale. Thus, the results of Industrial Heat’s one-year test will be critical to what happens next. If the reactor has indeed been able to produce a megawatt of pollution-free heat continuously for a year and the verified costs of operating the device are sufficiently below any other source of energy to justify taking a gamble on a new technology, then we are clearly in a new age. Industrial Heat says they already have over $3 billion in tentative orders awaiting the results of the trial. Assuming that no technical showstoppers emerge from the test and that energy producing reactors become available for sale in the next year or so, there would seem to only one possibly insurmountable problem remaining. That will be the disruption this will eventually cause to existing energy producing industries. If they have not already been made aware of what could happen, then a few minutes after the news hits the cable networks they will. High-level meetings will gather across the US and around the world to figure out how to stop or at least delay this technology for as long as possible. We have seen this scenario before. Remember cigarettes and cancer? Exxon and global warming? It is clear that a well financed campaign to spread doubt and confusion can be highly effective. In the case of cigarettes, it was decades before tobacco consumption began to drop. In the case of global warming, enough money and PR has about half of the American people convinced that global warming is all an environmentalist hoax, even as sea levels rise, California fries, and unprecedented storms tear the land apart. In the case of low energy nuclear reactions, it will be easy to conjure up fears. In a matter of days after it becomes apparent that the technology is valid and could shake the economy to its core, television ads will start claiming that the technology is bad for your health, and that it should be tested for another 30 or 40 years before the public is endangered. The TV ads naturally will be accompanied by a rush of lobbyists to Capital Hill seeking to outlaw or at least mandate years of testing before it can be released to the public. It will sound a lot like the campaign against AC electricity 120 years ago. It should be noted that in 25 years of testing, no experimenter has detected harmful emissions or residue resulting from the technology. Fortunately, however, the leadership of Industrial Heat, which at least for the minute seems to be the company that could be the first to offer this technology for sale, has a stratagem to circumvent to what will surely become widespread opposition to the technology. Industrial Heat simply took the technology to China where PR firms, lobbyists, congressmen and TV commercials have zero impact on decision makers. Moreover, China, where people are dying from their own coal smoke, is desperately in need of a clean source of energy ASAP. Last month some sort of an agreement to set up an R&D establishment in China was signed between Industrial Heat and the Chinese government. It seems likely that the technology being tested by Industrial Heat will be transferred to the Chinese government, who are in sore need of a fix for their environmental and economic problems, will evaluate the technology on its own merits and with little consideration for the disruption it could cause to existing industries. The world just might be saved from global warming after all. Share this: Print Email Tweet Comments commentsSadistic methods of raising children absolutely normal in US More than strange methods of "education" (more like tortures), which became known to the general public during the trials of adoptive parents in the United States, should not be regarded as the fruit of sick imagination of mentally challenged individuals. As it turns out, this "therapy" is recommended in the United States to suppress the will of foster children and make them attach to their foster parents. The followers of such practice already actively support and promote it in Russia. Jessica Bigley became famous overnight not only in her state of Alaska, but also far beyond its borders. All thanks to a home video, which she sent to a popular TV show. The footage shows the woman making her adoptive boy from Russia rinse his mouth with hot pepper sauce, forbidding him to spit it out. Afterwards, she made the child stand under a cold shower. The boy can be heard screaming and begging the woman to stop the tortures. Click here to see the video. While watching this video, many women in the studio were crying. The Commissioner for Children's Rights of the Russian Federation Pavel Astakhov compared the scenes in the video with "tortures of prisoners in Guantanamo." Jessica was very surprised when, instead of appraisals for her methods of "education," she was condemned. She said that she was doing the things that experts recommended her to do. The court took those factors into consideration and sentenced the foster mother to only six months on probation and a $ 2,500 fine. The Leszczynskis also got off with a probation punishment for abusing their three daughters, whom they adopted from Russia. They forced them to run for tens of kilometers, push up from a board, so that the girls had their fists deformed. They also made the children stand on their heads for a long time and exposed them to cold showers. For a slightest offense, the parents would send the girls to sleep in a doghouse. One of the girls nearly suffocated in water: when being punished for slow mowing, the parents aimed a water hose at her. Finally, the Cravers were sentenced to only a few months in prison, although their adopted son Ivan (Vanya) Skorobogatov was hospitalized with serious head injuries incompatible with life. All of the above cases (in fact, there are a lot more of such stories) have something in common. They depict wild and downright savage attitude exercised towards foster children, as well as soft punishments that seem to be incomparable to committed offense. According to US-based human rights organization Parents Against Domestic Violence, incidents of child abuse entail a punishment of at least three years in prison. However, when it comes to children from Russia, the terms turn to probational ones. This phenomenon has an explanation. It is called the lack-of-attachment syndrome. This diagnosis, along with fetal alcohol syndrome, is attributed in the United States to adopted children, especially to those adopted from Russia. The above-mentioned horrific stories are published on the website of the Advocates for Children in Therapy - an American human rights organization founded by leading U.S. experts in the field of child psychology and psychiatry with a purpose to fight pseudo-scientific theories, dangerous to children's life and health. One of the most common theories of this kind is known as Attachment Therapy. The videos on the website of the Advocates for Children in Therapy demonstrate the methods of this "therapy." One of the videos shows a little girl of about seven, who is forced to lie down on a mat. A big woman (weighing about 100 kilos) lies on top of her. The girl screams in pain, she can hardly breathe. The woman is heard yelling at her: "Will you stop behaving like that?" When discussing the ban on the adoption of Russian orphans by Americans, the psychologists, who criticize the methods of AT, wrote on discussion boards that the majority of injuries and deaths among children adopted from Russia were connected with the use of this "therapy." The fact is that the followers of this practice insist that all foster children suffer from the attachment disorder syndrome - no matter at what age they found themselves in an orphanage. This means that parents are not to blame for not being able to establish a contact with such children. Children are always to blame. Bigley, the Cravers, and the Leszczynskis - all of them asked for advice and help from the psychologists practicing AT. One can say that those parents are not actually guilty, because they learned of such sadistic methods from specialists. It is also recommended to starve foster children, wrap them up in a carpet and sit on top (such videos can be found on the website of the Advocates for Children in Therapy). "These activities have no scientific basis. The described methods of this" therapy" are beyond the humane attitude to a human being, they are associated with violence, both physical and moral). The results of this work led to several deaths - six children aged from 3 to 13 years died. In this case we are talking about the methods to break children's personality brutally," psychologist Tatiana Kuzmishina told Pravda.Ru. The website of the Advocates for Children in Therapy writes that Attachment Therapy today represents the most dangerous form of fraud in the United States. For most defenseless and vulnerable children, who live in custody institutions, with foster families, this pseudo-therapy caries nothing but unbearable suffering. How on Earth the suggestion of fear, hunger, pain and humiliation can lead to attachment, faith, love? How can it all make a child happy? A year ago, one of the most ardent supporters of this "therapy" - Nancy Thomas - lectured in Russia's Yekaterinburg. On the website of a local public organization, she was touted as "one of the leading experts in the field of early attachment and family therapy." Foster parents and employees of child services were invited to attend the lecture. Advocates for Children in Therapy said that before developing the fondness for AT methods, Nancy Thomas was fond of breeding dogs. Not surprisingly, she recommends, for example, the following in one of her lectures: "The child may get completely out of control at times. Then we sit down on top of the child. Before that, I used to do that to dogs, and it was much more dangerous with their fangs and claws than it is with a child. I take a good book and read it while sitting on a child." The "expert" also said that the majority of foster children "work for the devil and pray to the devil." AT practitioners also claim that without the "therapy" children will become psychopathic killers and "Hitlers." One of such foster mothers, who received recommendations from AT "specialists," called the police and handed her adopted five-year-old child to an orphanage after she saw a kitchen knife in the child's hands. The woman assumed that the child was going to kill her. Many countries that "supplied" their children to the adoption market have started to introduce restrictions in this area. In 2007, there were 4,726 children exported from Guatemala to the United States. In 2009, the number reduced to 754, in 2011 - to only 32. Vietnam also banned the "export" of its children. In 2007, U.S. citizens adopted 828 Vietnamese children, in 2010 - 9, in 2011 - 0. Even the Chinese export of children to the U.S. has decreased by 50% over the past five years. It is worth mentioning that in 2010, well-known American expert in the field of child psychology and psychiatry, Professor Jean Mercer, wrote in an open letter to the Russian Ombudsman for Children's Rights about the need for a moratorium on adoptions of Russian orphans by U.S. citizens. The reason - too many traumas and deaths among foster children from the use of AT. As they say, time has come. Svetlana Smetanina Pravda.Ru Read the original in RussianA woman told a court yesterday how she drugged and suffocated to death the father of her child before hiding the body in a wheelie bin in her bedroom. Karen Otmani, 42, who is said to suffer from mental health problems described to the Old Bailey how she killed 42-year-old Shaun Corey in the flat they shared on Stanstead Road, Lewisham, in June last year. Otmani broke down in tears as she told the court how she wanted to ‘shut him up’, but claimed she never meant to kill Corey. “Shaun was so mean and horrible I just couldn’t take it anymore,” she said. “I wanted to shut him up. I wanted to shut him up and I did, but I didn’t mean to. I really loved him.” She spoke of the verbal and physical abuse she had suffered at the hands of Corey, claiming that on one occasion he had anally raped her after drugging her with Rohypnol – the same drug she subsequently used to spike his drink the night she killed him. After killing Corey, Otmani said she had gone to the kitchen to make him a breakfast of cheesy beans in an effort to “wake him up”. Police discovered the body of Corey eleven days later wrapped up in tarpaulin inside a large green wheelie bin in her bedroom. The body was so badly decomposed that a full post-mortem was not possible. The court heard last week how Otmani had used the bin with the body in it as a sideboard to keep her television on. It was claimed she also intended to leave the body to rot so that she could then grind up the bones into a dust and sprinkle them around the country. Bobbie Cheema, prosecuting, said Otmani was heard arguing with Corey in the bedroom, before being joined by her friend Bernard Beddoe, 60. Otmani and Corey were heard arguing in the bedroom early on the morning of June 4, 2011, said the prosection. Beddoe, who Otmani called uncle, is said to have then joined them. After ten minutes it then went quiet. “Shaun Corey died at the hands of these two defendants”, Cheema said. Otmani denies murder on the grounds that she was suffering from ‘battered woman syndrome’. Beddoe of Brockley also denies charges of murder, as well as an additional charge of assisting Otmani knowing she had killed Corey. The trial continues.Can’t ‘Let It Go’? Then we have some good news: the world premiere of Frozen in Concert takes place at the Royal Albert Hall next month, as a full orchestra accompanies this beloved winter warmer on the world’s most famous stage. The Hall was chock-full of little Disney princesses last year as the venue hosted three wildly successful screenings of the Frozen Sing-Along, with special appearances from Anna, Elsa, X Factor star Lauren Platt and a pair of reindeer. Now the film will be the latest in the Hall’s series of unmissable film-and-live-orchestra events, as it’s screened in full on 29 October, following the likes of Titanic, Back to the Future and Pixar’s enchanting Ratatouille – which will be lighting up the venue the previous day. Lucy Noble, Director of Events at the Royal Albert Hall, said: “Frozen is simply a phenomenon, but fans have never had the chance to experience anything like this: that joyous slice of Disney escapism screened in the UK’s biggest cinema, complete with a full concert orchestra bringing to life the incredible score – for the first time in forever. “From ‘Do You Want to Build a Snowman?’ to ‘Love Is an Open Door’ and ‘Fixer Upper’, all of these classic numbers will be heard as never before at one of the world’s most iconic venues, as well as that other song, though I can’t remember for the life of me what it’s called…!” Whatever its name, that other song has now been viewed more than a billion times on YouTube alone, so I’m sure you’ll recognise it when you hear it! Frozen is the highest-grossing Disney film of all time, having made over $1 billion at the box office, and drew rave reviews from critics and audiences alike, while scooping two Oscars, a BAFTA and a Golden Globe. The extraordinary accompaniment on Thursday 29 October will come courtesy of the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra conducted by David Firman, complete with a chorus from the Maida Vale Singers – who will, among other things, give voice to the movie’s trolls. Other upcoming film-and-live-orchestra shows at the Royal Albert Hall include Ratatouille, Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Tickets for the two Frozen screenings on Thursday 29 October are expected to sell out quickly – to get yours, log on to www.royalalberthall.com at 9am on Friday 18 September. Listings info: Frozen in Concert at the Royal Albert Hall Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AP Thursday 29 October, 2pm and 6:30pm Tickets from £33.10 (inc fees) www.royalalberthall.com / 020 7589 8212Just for the record, here’s an interview with Smadar Reisfeld in Haaretz, Israel’s oldest daily newspaper, and, I’m told, an influential one. The interview, timed to coincide with the launch of my book in Hebrew, is behind a paywall, but you can see it if you can sign in free for 10 articles per month, a pretty simple process. But to save you trouble, I’ve reproduced the piece below. If you’ve been at my site a while, much of this is probably old news. Thanks to Smadar for asking good questions. I was a bit wary of criticizing religion so “stridently” in an Israeli newspaper, but of course I had no choice. And, as Smadar told me, “It was the most popular article of the week and got excellent reviews.” Pray tell: Why religious people struggle with the theory of evolution Prof. Jerry Coyne, one the world’s foremost scholars of evolution, is especially proud of his ‘Emperor Has No Clothes Award.’ By Smadar Reisfeld \| Mar.28, 2013 \| 7:16 PM Of all the titles and prizes awarded over the years to Prof. Jerry Coyne of the Department of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Chicago, he is most proud of the Emperor Has No Clothes Award. The gilded statuette, cast by the same company that makes the Oscar statuettes, was given to him by the Freedom from Religion Foundation. Coyne thus joined a long list of distinguished recipients: scientists such as Richard Dawkins, Steven Pinker and Oliver Sacks, media mogul Ted Turner and jurist Alan Dershowitz. All were awarded the prize for “plain speaking” on the shortcomings of religion. In his latest book, “Why Evolution Is True,” Coyne cites evidence from a large number of fields to prove the existence of evolution. The book, which has been translated into 16 languages, has now been published in Hebrew… Richard Dawkins said of your book that he would defy any reasonable person to read it and still take seriously the “theory” of intelligent design. Quite naive, isn’t he? Coyne: “How so?” Because it is impossible to persuade someone to accept the idea of evolution if he is predisposed to object to it, no matter how many proofs you show him. “That is true. I once gave a talk to businesspeople about the various proofs of evolution, based on the book. After the talk, one of them came up to me and shook my hand, saying, ‘Wow, I found your evidence for evolution very convincing. But I’m still not convinced.’” In the same way as it is impossible to persuade an anorexic that she is not fat? “That’s a good analogy, because in both cases there is blindness to the truth: a subjective refusal to accept objective data. There is so much evidence from so many fields showing that living creatures developed in a long evolutionary process. And all the evidence attests to the fact that the animals were not created all at one time in their present form about 6,000 years ago, as the creationists claim. But there are people who are simply unwilling to be persuaded. “Take, for example, what the creationists call the ‘missing links.’ The theory of evolution posits the existence of transitional forms, which link earlier groups to later ones. If we say, for example, that the land vertebrates
and the landmarks they passed. She needn't have bothered really, as their destination eventually resolved itself into a very familiar set of ruins. "I'm going to murder that man," she whispered to herself wonderingly. Though she did have to give him credit, Ozpin was nothing if not arrogantly brash. Quite the set he has on him to bring me back here. I look forward to cutting them off. With Crescent Rose. As the airship hovered close to the ground, Ruby grabbed her ever-present pack and slung it over her shoulder as she leapt down. Four rapid impacts told her the others had quickly followed her. With a whine of engines the airship took off again, leaving them alone in the stillness. Ruby sighed as she turned to face the four edgy students. It's not their fault they're in this situation. "So," she began gruffly. "I'm assuming you know who I am." "Y- Yes, ma'am," the blonde stammered. "You're Ruby Rose, the Red Huntress." "Well, of all the titles they've decided to slap on me in the past, I like that one the best, so we're off on the right foot," Ruby commented, her flat grey eyes peering about their surroundings. "And you know where we are, and why we're here?" "Ma'am, this is Mountain Glenn, the ancient failed expansion of Vale," the blonde reported, her voice becoming more confident. "And we are here to investigate reports of increased Grimm activity." "History repeating itself, eh, Doctor Oobleck?" Ruby murmured to herself before raising her voice to a normal level. "It's not all that ancient, kid. And stop calling me'ma'am'. Ruby is fine." The blonde student nodded rapidly, while the others simply gazed at her in awe. Ruby sighed again. I so do not need to be hero-worshipped. "Okay, let's start moving, and while we do so you can introduce yourselves. Keep alert," she added. "Um, okay, so, my name's Pippin Cerise," the blonde began as they moved between the crumbling structures of the ruined settlement. "Everyone calls me Pip." "Team leader?" Ruby inquired. "Yes, ma'am. Um, I mean, Ruby." "Semblance?" the huntress asked sharply. This is going to take forever if I have to drag everything out of her. "Oh, well, it's heat. That is, I can make my weapon, er, Odachi Dahlia, glow really hot and cut through a Grimm like butter." "Useful," Ruby commented. She glanced at the tall and rangy girl. "Your armor too?" Pippin looked down at her breastplate and matching arm and leg guards. "Er, no, ma'am. That is, it only works from my hands." Ruby nodded, letting the formal address slide this time, and drifted over towards the blue-haired girl who was gripping her round shield and sword determinedly. "And how about you, Blue?" "My name is Beryl. Radiance Beryl, but I usually just go by my last name," the short and skinny girl replied quietly. Like Pippin, she wore minimal but functional armor, though unlike her leader's red accents hers was a solid blue that matched both her hair and her shield. "My semblance is immobility." "And how does that work?" "Well, I plant my feet and I can't be moved. Most charging Grimm just bounce off me." Ruby eyed the diminutive girl. "You're smaller than I am," she commented. "Doesn't it hurt?" "Not if I keep Dahl up. Um, that's my shield, Dahl." "And your sword?" the huntress asked, her curiosity about weaponry getting the better of her despite herself. "This is Shashka," Beryl said proudly, twirling her sword. With a deft movement it turned into a nicely-balanced carbine, and then back into a sword again. "Hmm, nice actuator, very smooth," Ruby murmured appreciatively. She nodded and slowed her steps, not noticing the pleased blush that spread across the blue-haired student's face. "And how about you?" she asked the dark-skinned girl as she pulled next to her. "Lustre Bijou, ma'am," she replied, running her fingers through her silver hair while her other hand propped her staff up against her shoulder. Her voice had a faint but soft accent to it that Ruby couldn't identify. "I have a speed semblance, though it's only for short durations. Er, nothing like yours, ma'am." Ruby barked out a quiet laugh. "Well, don't go believing the legends," she replied with a shake of her head. "I'm sure my abilities have been somewhat exaggerated. Also, stop calling me'ma'am'." "Yes, ma'am." The huntress glanced at the silver-haired girl before scanning their flank. "Impertinent, are we?" "I've been told so, yes, ma'am." "Yeah, reminds me of…" Ruby grunted irritably. "Never mind." With a resigned sigh she drifted over to walk quietly next to the Faunus. "And what's your story?" she asked just above a whisper, almost dreading the sound of the girl's voice. Please, please don't sound like her, I don't think I could handle it… "Evelyn Black," the feline Faunus replied curtly, tossing her black mane of hair as her bright sapphire eyes flashed in the sunlight. "Call me Evie." Well, at least she doesn't sound similar. Got as much of an attitude as Lustre, but in an opposite fashion. Granted, it's likely well-earned, Faunus still don't have an easy time of it, though it finally seems to be getting better… Ruby shook herself out of her reverie. "Semblance?" she asked sharply. The lithe raven-haired girl stumbled slightly at the abrupt question. "Um, teleportation. Short distances only." The huntress eyed the curved sword at Evelyn's side where she clutched it, one hand on the scabbard while the other gripped the guardless hilt. "Your weapon doesn't appear to be very versatile." Evelyn seemed to wilt slightly under the criticism. "Dao can hold a dust chamber that allows me to project force. I can, well, blink in and hit a large group of Grimm before blinking back out." Ruby grunted and nodded, moving off towards the front of the small group again. The Faunus turned to her teammates incredulously. "What was that all about?" she whispered. Pippin shook her head. "I dunno, Evie, just keep your head down and don't let her tweak your tail." The blonde smirked at her softly. "Might help if you weren't so abrasive." "I'm sorry, I couldn't help it!" Evelyn hissed, said tail twitching furiously. "Did you see how she looked at me back on the pad?" "Maybe she has something against Faunus?" Beryl murmured. Lustre shook her head, her short silver hair swaying gently in the breeze. "I do not think that is the case," she interjected in her softly-accented voice. "I saw her look, it was not one of hate or anger. More like… pain." "Pain?" Pippin asked curiously. "That is what I saw," Lustre shrugged. The four girls halted their conversation as they noticed Ruby had pulled to a stop in front of them. She had her head tilted slightly to the side but otherwise remained motionless. The blonde team leader cautiously crept forward. "Um, Ruby?" "Grimm incoming," the redheaded huntress murmured. "Beowolf pack. Maybe twenty or thirty strong. Get your team ready." Pippin nodded determinedly and turned to deploy her girls with quick hand motions. Finally, something she could handle. The blonde grinned to herself as she pulled her two-handed sword off of her back and twisted the handle to transform it into a sniper rifle, hoping to at least give the huntress a favorable impression of her skills. It wasn't long before the howls and thundering feet were audible to the others. Beryl strode to the forefront, her weapon and shield at the ready, while Lustre deftly turned her staff, Winter Contus, into a rifle and took up position at her teammate's shoulder. Evelyn had her sword in hand, bouncing on her toes as she readied to throw herself into action. The blonde girl took a long step back and shouldered her rifle, sighting down the barrel at the street from where the attack was likely to come. Pippin glanced at Ruby curiously, but the huntress hadn't moved a muscle from where she stood slightly to the right of where Beryl had taken position. And then the leading edge of the pack was in view, letting out loud howls as they spotted their prey. With a snarl, Pippin began picking off Grimm as fast as she could, Lustre joining her fire in with her leader's. The ranks began to thin, and with an exultant shout Evelyn activated her semblance. She reappeared on the flank of the pack, swinging her sword in a wide arc in front of her. A wave of brilliant red energy spread out, igniting the Beowolves that it touched. With another shout the Faunus teleported onto the other side of the pack, this time sending a concussive blast that bowled a few of the charging Grimm onto their sides and making them easy targets for the others. Beryl yelled out a wordless challenge as she waded forward, intercepting the survivors as they headed into their position. Evelyn quickly appeared at her side, slashing with her sabre, and Lustre moved up as well. The silver-haired girl twirled her rifle, changing it back into a combat staff, and laid into the advancing Grimm. As her teammates engaged with the creatures, Pippin changed her own weapon back into a giant sword and hefted it eagerly, preparing to charge. But then she glanced at Ruby again, the sight making her blood run cold. The veteran huntress was no longer staring at the advancing Beowolves, but instead at another intersection of dilapidated streets on the other side of Pippin's team. The blonde opened her mouth to ask what Ruby had noticed when a roar shook dust from the buildings. With a slither and a crash, the black head of an enormous King Taijitu emerged to tower over the impromptu battlefield. The white head followed soon thereafter, both of them giving another furious roar. Pippin was momentarily frozen in fear, but quickly regained her equilibrium and gripped her sword determinedly. Before she could charge at the new threat, however, there was a loud bang, and suddenly Ruby was flying through the air at the two-headed Grimm. The blonde watched in amazement as the small huntress, trailing rose petals as she went and wielding the legendary Crescent Rose, flew straight at the gaping maw of the black head. Before it could snap at her, Ruby swung her scythe upwards, ripping into the bottom of the chin and pinning the lower jaw against the roof of its mouth while piercing the brain. The veteran huntress twisted her weapon, firing off another shot to rip the scythe out and fling herself back away again. The black head seemed to almost groan as it sagged to the side, crushing one of the ruined buildings. Ruby bounced off of the side of another building, firing her weapon to speed her into a new trajectory to intercept the white head of the King Taijitu. It seemed stunned at the quick defeat of its other half, and barely had the time to react as Ruby brought her blade down on top of its head. Time seemed to freeze for a heartbeat before Ruby fired her gun again, flinging herself in a somersault backwards towards the girls once again as the other half collapsed to the ground. Pippin blinked her light red eyes, stunned. The entire fight between Ruby and the King Taijitu took all of five seconds. Ruby landed in a crouch next to the blonde and straightened, peering out at the few remaining Beowolves. "Don't get distracted," she murmured, folding her scythe back up and tucking it behind her back. "That will kill you faster on a battlefield than mere incompetence." "Oh! Sorry!" Pippin replied, chagrined, as she returned to her original course and headed in to help her teammates. Cleaning up the remaining Beowolves took little effort on the part of Team PERL, and soon enough the group of five women were heading down the street once more. "Um, Ruby," Pippen eventually began somewhat abashedly. "Listen, what happened back there…" The huntress held up a calloused hand to interrupt her. "Evie, Beryl, Lustre," she instructed. "Scout out this building here. Pip and I will keep the exit open." The three girls, to their credit, only glanced at their team leader briefly before nodding and entering their assigned building. "Did you notice," Ruby began softly, "that I did not admonish you within earshot of your team?" "Um, well… I did now." The huntress nodded slowly. "You are team leader, and therefore have to be at your very best. I'm not saying you have to be perfect, nobody is, but you must always maintain the appearance of control and confidence. So when I do offer you, the team leader, criticism, I will do so where your team will not hear it." "I… see." Pippin sighed dejectedly. She was a second-year student, and still it seemed she was learning how to lead. But, she supposed that was the whole point of being a student. "You're thinking about how much you still have to learn, aren't you?" Ruby asked wryly. Pippin nodded and glanced into the huntress' eyes. To her surprise, the flat grey color in her eyes had softened to a warm silver briefly before becoming like steel again. The other three girls had returned by that point. "Nothing inside," Beryl reported. "No sign of Grimm." "How secure was the inside perimeter of the building?" Ruby asked calmly. "Um," Beryl replied hesitantly, glancing at her teammates. "We didn't really…" "I looked at the ground level," Evelyn interjected. "Other exits were blocked, no basement. This was the only way in." "Good," the huntress nodded, which caused the Faunus to smile slightly. "Note that I said scout, not what for. If given a broad directive, then assemble all the possible information. We can come back and use this location for lodging tonight." "Yes, ma'am," Beryl said, her head downcast. Ruby exhaled loudly out of her nose, her gaze taking on a faraway look. "I want to tell you something that someone else once relayed to me," she began. "He was far wiser than I ever knew, at least until it was too late to appreciate that fact about him." She cleared her throat, and this time all four of the girls were able to observe the huntress' eyes take on a silver shine. "Just remember that you've still got a long way to go. Don't think for a second that graduating means you're done, either. Every day out here in the field is worth a week inside Beacon." The huntress paused and glanced around at the other four attentive girls, her gaze lingering on the feline Faunus. "You have the talent and skills to go far, but only if you keep on learning, if you never stop moving forward. Understand?" The members of Team PERL nodded solemnly, their eyes shining. Ruby sighed softly. Annnd there we go with the hero-worship again. "Right," she barked, making the students jump. "Let's keep moving." As nightfall approached, they found themselves back at the building they had scouted earlier. The five of them had cleaned out a Beowolf den, along with several more Beowolves, and eliminated a pair of Ursa. Otherwise the rest of their patrol had gone smoothly. Ruby nodded to the blonde team leader as they piled their packs into the middle of the largest room on the still-intact second floor. "Pip, get a fire going. Should be sheltered from any Grimm on the street. I'm going up a level to get a better look. Post a watch on the stairs leading up here before you sleep." Pippin nodded. "Yes, ma'am. I mean, Ruby." The huntress just rolled her eyes and walked off into the gloom of the building. Placing her hands on the timber they'd gathered, Pippin got the fire going in the center of the room. "Ahhh, sweet warmth," Beryl sighed, scooting closer to the fire. Lustre chuckled fondly. "You are always so cold," she commented to her partner. "That's because I'm so small!" she replied archly. "I've got no insulation!" "I don't think that's how it works," Evelyn murmured as she sat cross-legged on her sleeping mat and pulled out her rations to munch on, her tail lazily swishing behind her. With a relieved huff Pippin plopped herself down next to her partner. "Evie, has Ruby been giving you any more, um… odd looks?" The Faunus shrugged. "Not when I'm looking," she replied slowly. "It's not an obvious thing," Lustre, the most observant of the four of them, stated. "She seems to just… linger on you when she glances around. Like her gaze can't help be drawn to you." "But why?" Evelyn asked, her brows furrowed. "And here's something else weird," Pippin added. "Anyone else notice how her eyes changed?" "That's her normal color," Lustre answered. She glanced around at the inquisitive looks the others were directing her way. "Well, I know… a little bit about her. I did a paper on her for Oobleck's class." "That old fossil," Beryl snorted. "I don't know why he hasn't retired yet." "So what else do you know?" Pippin prompted the silver-haired girl. "And why do her eyes change like that?" Lustre sighed as she settled back onto her elbows. "As I said, her normal eye color is as silver as my hair. But, as I understand it, she has had many difficulties and lost many friends. That can dull the eyes of any person." "You don't know the half of it," a raspy voice drifted towards them from the shadows. There was a glimpse of red before Ruby emerged and slowly walked towards the fire, her cloak wrapped around her. "Um, we're sorry," Pippin began hesitantly. "Really, we didn't mean anything by…" The huntress held up her hand as she sat in between Beryl and Evelyn, cutting off the team leader's apology. She fished into her pouch for a few seconds before her hand emerged clutching a folded-up piece of paper. With gentle care, she unfolded it and carefully spread it out against her thigh. "You are correct in that I have… lost much. Many friends. All of my family." Ruby's silver eyes were shining bright in the light of the fire. "My team…" she whispered. The huntress slowly turned the paper over, revealing a photo of four girls. The others leaned in to peer at it. "Is that you?" Pippin asked incredulously. Ruby nodded with a soft smile that caused the scars running down the right side of her face to pull. "Yes," she murmured. "I was the leader of Team RWBY." "You were admitted two years early," Lustre recalled, staring hard at the photo. The huntress nodded again. "This one here," she said, pointing to a haughty-looking platinum-haired girl, "was my partner, Weiss. And then this was my sister, Yang." She indicated the vivacious blonde who was grinning widely at the camera. "And then this…" Evelyn gasped lightly as she focused on the image of the fourth girl. "She looks so much like me," she murmured. "Except not a Faunus," Beryl added. "Oh, but she was a Faunus," Ruby explained. "The bow hid her ears, so that she might be known for who she was instead of what she was." The redhead looked at the photo, rubbing her finger gently against the image of the raven-haired girl. "Her name was Blake," she said with a slight tremor in her voice. "And… she was my world." The four girls rapidly looked between the photo and the huntress. "You… and Blake… were…?" Pippin breathed. "Very much so," Ruby smiled at the half-asked question. Her smile dropped, and the silver sheen to her eyes flattened to the accustomed steel grey. "And then I failed her when she needed me the most." She slowly folded the photo back up and gently tucked it back into her pouch. Beryl cleared her throat. "Did she…?" "Die? Yes," Ruby replied flatly. "They all did, eventually, but losing Blake hurt even more than losing my sister did. She was my future. And now…" She stood with a weary sigh. "Now my only future is the hunt." The huntress turned back towards the way she had come. "I'll bunk upstairs," she said over her shoulder as she walked off. The four teammates glanced at each other before staring somberly into the fire. "Damn," Beryl breathed. "Couldn't have put it better myself," Pippin added. She glanced over at her partner. "Evie, you okay?" "I suppose," the Faunus sighed. "I just… Back then, relationships between humans and Faunus were unheard of, and usually met with violence from both sides. They were incredibly brave to do what they did." "Or very much in love," Lustre murmured. Evelyn nodded somberly. "Yes, or very much in love." The next morning Ruby was her usual brusque self again, curtly ordering the students about as they broke camp and made ready for the next day's patrol. The veteran huntress paused next to Pippin as the girl tied her blond hair back in a ponytail. "How long is your assignment?" she asked gruffly. The team leader hesitated before finishing with her hair. "Um, only two days. We should get picked up before nightfall tonight. Didn't… Didn't Professor Ozpin tell you any of this?" Ruby shrugged unconcernedly as she lit a cigarette and moved to head back towards the upper floor. "Oz tells me what he wants to tell me. I just take things as they come." Beryl looked after the departing huntress as she strapped her blue armor on over her dark brown shirt. "I don't get her still," she murmured. "She does tend to be… contradictory," Evelyn agreed, pulling on her black fingerless gloves and adjusting the crimson straps lining her arms. "Still…" "Perhaps she has two sides to her," Lustre began softly in her accented voice. She was sitting cross-legged, already dressed in her usual outfit of white shorts, light blue tank top, and short white jacket. Her light blue leggings were tucked into her white combat boots, the entire outfit contrasting sharply with her dark skin. "It would seem she has a softer side, one that is truly who she is, and we were graced with a glimpse of that last night. But this person we see again this morning… It is her armor, how she survives still. The Red Huntress." "Damn, Lustre," Pippin smirked. "Pretty deep for so early in the morning." The silver-haired girl shrugged with an answering smile. "I do not require caffeine to get my brain working." "Ugh, why did you have to mention that?" Evelyn moaned as she stomped her black boots to settle them into place. "I would kill for some coffee right now." "I think I can oblige with the killing," Ruby commented as she strode into the room, flicking her cigarette to the floor before crushing it under her boot. "Not so much the coffee. There's an Ursa roaming about the entrance. Can your team handle that?" "Yes, ma'am!" Pippin replied, jumping to her feet and strapping her beloved sword to her back. "We're on it!" Ruby waved them off while she finished collecting up the camp. She kept an ear on the fighting below, noting from the sounds how the team organized themselves against a single opponent and efficiently brought it down. Five minutes later the four girls returned, smiling exultantly. "Nothing like a little exercise to get the blood flowing," Pippin laughed, stretching her arms over her head. The huntress stood calmly in the middle of the packed bags. "Not bad," she commented. "That was a rather large Ursa as well. Anyone care to guess as to its age?" "Um," Beryl hesitated. "Maybe twenty-five or so?" "No, I believe older than that," Lustre disagreed politely. "By the size of the spikes, I'd estimate twice that, easily." "Good instincts, Lustre," Ruby nodded. "That would be my guess as well. Can't always go by the size, but the bone projections on Grimm like Ursa, Beowolves, Creeps, and Boarbatusks are a good indicator. Now, let's grab our gear and move out." "Teacher's pet," Beryl snorted to her partner as she shrugged her pack on. "Oh, please," Lustre replied loftily but with a humorous glint in her pale blue eyes. "I'm just that good." "Oum, the ego," Evelyn chortled. "I can't see past it! It's blocking out the sun!" Pippin snickered as she lightly smacked the Faunus on the arm. "Come on, you guys. Let's not keep Ruby waiting." Four hours later and they'd only come across a small pack of Creeps, the two-legged Grimm falling easily to the group. Eventually they paused in the middle of a ruined building overlooking the plains below them. "So this is the edge of the settlement," Beryl commented, running her hand through her damp blue strands of hair. "Used to be, yes," Ruby said quietly as she gazed out across the scrub and sparse trees. "Wasn't enough of a barrier to help them." She sighed quietly to herself. "We've covered all of the upper ruins. Time to head underground." "Um… underground?" Evelyn squeaked, her ears and tail twitching furiously. "I thought they sealed all of that off back during the Great Breach?" The huntress nodded slowly. "Most of it, yes, but they left the sentient-accessible portals merely secured. I have a feeling there are some more cracks we don't know about, allowing Grimm to emerge from the subterranean chambers." "Ruby?" the silver-haired student began hesitantly. "Were you not a part of the Great Breach?" "I was. My team and I attempted to stop the train. We failed." Ruby's words were clipped as her eyes took on a faraway look again, though they remained a hard grey color. "Thankfully, along with several other Beacon teams still available, we contained the outbreak inside Vale. But lives were lost, so it was still a failure." The redheaded huntress looked at Lustre sharply. "I didn't think of it as such at first, but I've come to realize any loss of innocent life is a failure on our parts as huntresses. We should have tried harder." "What about the lives of hunters and huntresses?" Beryl asked quietly. Ruby just shrugged. "We're expendable. It's part of the job." With that she turned on her heel, heading towards a large ruined building they had passed previously. With wordless glances among themselves, Team PERL followed in her footsteps. The veteran huntress halted at what seemed to be an ordinary door, though it lacked a handle and seemed to be of much stronger material than those they had come across so far. She ran her calloused fingers along the edge, probing firmly until she stopped at a point near the top on the right-hand side. With a grunt, she leaned up on her tiptoes and pushed in. The portal popped open with an audible noise of pressurized air. "It's likely to be dark in here," Ruby murmured, peering forward. "Any of you brought lights?" The four girls glanced among themselves uncertainly. "Um, I can use my sword…" Pippin began. Ruby sighed and reached back to dig into her pack. She pulled out a handful of glowsticks. "Always keep some of these in your field pack," she explained. "Even you, Evie, I know Faunus can see especially well in the dark but it won't help you underground." She passed the glowsticks out, demonstrating how to activate them and clip them onto their clothing or armor. Pippin slipped her stick inside her pocket, resolving to rely on her semblance and her sword, while Beryl managed to fasten hers to the outside of her trusty shield Dahl. Both Evelyn and Lustre followed Ruby's lead in clipping the glowstick to their clothing. The small group entered down the hallway, Ruby sealing the door back behind them again. They moved through several more portals and chambers before heading down a long staircase that emptied out into a sprawling underground chamber. "This… this is…" Beryl breathed, looking about in wonderment. "Huge," Pippin finished for her quietly. "Oobleck called this the world's biggest grave," Ruby commented quietly. "I call it a monument to stupidity. This entire settlement never should have been attempted." "They had good intentions," Lustre insisted as her eyes roamed about the ruined underground buildings, carefully placing one foot in front of the other. "Well-designed defenses, the underground transportation…" "And it all failed," Ruby said flatly. "All those lives lost due to sheer stubbornness. I see it out in the wild as well, communities living outside of the major cities who think they can simply handle what's thrown at them." "Have you come across many of them?" Pippin asked curiously. "Communities in the wilds, I mean." The huntress gave her a hard glance with her grey eyes. "Never more than once," she replied softly. "They're always gone without a trace when I return that way again." The four students resumed their trek without further comment, Pippin holding her glowing sword up high to provide wide ambient lighting. Eventually they pulled to a halt once more as Ruby held her hand up, her head tilted slightly in a manner that immediately told Pippin she'd noticed something. The team leader slowly inched towards the huntress, holding her sword slightly behind her as she tried to peer into the darkness where the red-cloaked woman was looking. "Something out there?" she whispered worriedly. Ruby nodded slowly. She raised her right hand, pointing a finger off to the side past some buildings. "There's a breeze coming from that direction. It smells clean, so I'm guessing that's our breach." Slowly her hand drifted to point straight forward. "Big pack of Grimm heading this way. Trying to get a count now." Pippin nodded, and wordlessly signalled for her team to ready themselves. After only a few seconds, Ruby whirled to face the girls. "Pip, dim your sword. We need to move, there's entirely too many to handle here. Let's go." Without further ado, the huntress was hurrying off towards where she sensed the breeze to be coming from, the four students trailing determinedly in her wake. "Are we just going to leave all these Grimm?" Beryl asked breathlessly. Ruby shook her head, not bothering to turn around. "No. We're gaining a more favorable ground, where we can hopefully bottleneck them. Perhaps gather enough of them into the breach and collapse it on them. Evie, is Dao able to handle that?" The Faunus nodded, secretly pleased that the huntress remembered the name for her scimitar. "Yes, it can do that easily." "Alright, then, we have a plan," Ruby ground out as she increased her pace. "Also, they've noticed us. Pick it up, please." The five of them raced ahead, the sounds of pursuit resolving into howls and fierce growling over the pounding of many, many paws. "How… many?" Pippin panted. "Many," Ruby grunted. "And lots of different kinds." "Don't look back, don't look back," Beryl muttered under her breath as she ran. She slipped her shield onto her back, dislodging her glowstick as she did so. She glanced over her shoulder to see it rolling down the incline, and saw as well hundreds of glowing red eyes coming increasingly closer. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" the blue-haired girl squealed as she willed her short legs to pump faster. "What did I just say? What did I just say?" "Beryl?" her silver-haired partner asked. "Nothing! Just keep running!" Finally they spotted the crack ahead, allowing a sliver of late-afternoon sunlight to filter through. They emerged next to the ruins of a building near the northern area of the abandoned settlement, the deep crack barely visible from the street. Ruby came to a skidding halt, pulling her scythe out and twirling it as it extended into its full and deadly size. She flipped it down and embedded the blade's tip into the concrete with a crunch. "Catch your breath," she ordered, her grey eyes darkening and a slight eager grin creasing the scars on her face. "I'll handle the first wave." With that she moved forward, her scythe whirling about her in a complex pattern. The first Beowolf out of the breach didn't even have the chance to howl as it was bisected, nor did the next three fare any better. The four students watched in amazement as the huntress flipped her weapon under a small Ursa, triggering the gun to send her flying upward and slicing the Grimm from crotch to crown. The two halves began to dissolve immediately as she twirled, slicing into the next pair of monsters out of the crevice as she descended again. "Wow," Beryl breathed. "I wanna be like her when I grow up." Pippin snorted and smacked her lightly upside her head. "Stop goofing around. Everyone good? Alright, then, let's act like we were trained for this." The four students smoothly moved into position to back the veteran huntress up. Beryl firmly planted her feet at the entrance, holding her shield in front of her. A soft blue glow began to surround her, the same color as her hair and armor and shield. An Ursa came charging out, barrelling full-speed into the diminutive huntress-in-training, only to unexpectedly rebound off of her and sprawl backwards. Beryl wasted little time in sending a pair of shots from her carbine into its belly, causing it to roar in pain. Pippin strode up, her sword glowing a bright orange, and drove it into the Grimm's body, killing it. The blonde quickly turned, swinging her sword around and decapitating the next Ursa through. Lustre was whirling about, a blur of white as she pounded her staff into the heads and torsos of the Grimm she faced, triggering the occasional shot from the end of her staff as a coup-de-gras. Evelyn blinked back and forth, containing the few Grimm who threatened to break through and past their line with vicious slashes from her scimitar. She could quickly tell, however, that it wasn't going to be enough as they were being slowly driven back from the entrance to the breach. Ruby had evidently come to the same conclusion. "Fall back!" she ordered. "Evie, bring the building down!" While the Faunus watched the others of her team start to move back in good order, she teleported herself to the top of the building to examine the area. She quickly noted where she'd need to hit, and placed herself back on the ground where she was required to be. She gasped lightly after getting into position. She'd been overextending herself, and all of the teleporting was beginning to take a toll on her, drawing deeply from her aura. Gritting her teeth against the dizziness, the raven-haired girl braced herself, black tail swishing determinedly behind her. "Clear!" she heard her team leader shout. The Faunus unhesitatingly whipped her scimitar across, channeling the remainder of her green dust in her chamber in a concussive blast that caused chunks of concrete to shoot outwards. Several Grimm were bowled over by the blast, and more were impacted from the rubble projectiles, but she'd done her job. The towering ruined building groaned before slowly toppling over and crashing in cloud of dust, sealing the breach and likely collapsing the tunnel on top of the Grimm still underground. Evelyn let out a relieved sigh as she staggered slightly. Now all that was left was the cleanup of the few Grimm remaining… And then Pippin's scream echoed across the ruins. "Evie!" The Faunus spied her partner racing towards her desperately, pointing her sword at a point behind the raven-haired student. Feeling as if she were moving in slow motion, she turned to behold the terrifying sight of a looming Death Stalker bearing down on her, its golden stinger already descending. Evelyn could only stare uncomprehendingly as she faced her certain death, but then she was flying to the side in an explosion of rose petals. Ruby was there, swinging her deadly scythe and impaling the Grimm with her blade right on its forehead. The students watched in horror as the stinger completed its downward thrust, piercing the chest of the veteran huntress. "Nooo!" Evelyn screamed, scrambling back to her feet as she saw the small redhead slowly topple backwards in a sprawl, her scythe falling to the ground at her side. The Faunus pushed the last of her aura into her semblance to catch Ruby before her head could hit the ground. The Death Stalker's stinger had fallen backwards with the creature's death, but the damage had been done. The chest wound was horrific, gaping and oozing more blood than Evelyn thought any one person could contain. "Oh, Oum," Pippin moaned as she skidded to a halt by their side. Her partner was gently cradling Ruby's head in her lap, weeping softly. Both Beryl and Lustre arrived after
surveyed nearly 600 working adults from a variety of industries - including education and finance- in the U.S. and South Korea. The surveyed employees were all Christian, but identified with a variety of denominations, including Presbyterian, Baptist and Methodist, among others. The researchers asked participants how important religion was to them and how it helped to shape their identity. Results showed that employees who valued religion as a core part of their lives were more likely to disclose their religion in the workplace. Employees who felt pressure to assimilate in the workplace were less likely to disclose their religious identity, Kim said. But most significantly, the researchers found that the employees who disclosed their religion in the workplace had several positive outcomes, including higher job satisfaction and higher perceived well-being. "Disclosing your religion can be beneficial for employees and individual well-being," Kim said. "When you try to hide your identity, you have to pretend or you have to lie to others, which can be stressful and negatively impact how you build relationships with co-workers." Kim said there are several ways employees can share their religion in the workplace. Employees might decorate their desk with a religious object, such as a cross or a calendar. They also may share stories or information about their religious beliefs during conversation, such as describing a church-related event. The researchers found no major differences between the U.S. and Korean samples. They also found no major differences between industries, but Kim said that an organization's culture also might play a role in determining if employees disclose their religion. Kim said the research on religion in the workplace plays a part into work-life balance. Research continues to show that individual characteristics - such as family and religion - can influence work-related issues. "People can bring nonworking issues into the workplace or they may bring a work issue into their nonworking domain," Kim said. "Now days that boundary is blurred and there are less clear distinctions between work and personal life."Now that I've had time to read and gnaw on Judge Walker's ruling, I can only say that to this non-lawyer, it is a masterful work of art. I may not be a lawyer, but I read a lot of court rulings, and this one transcends most in terms of its construction, its logic, and its thoroughness. No corner was left with dust in it. Which means, of course, that the crazy is now beginning. Even as the party rolls on in the Castro district and West Hollywood tonight, the wingers have begun to roll out statements of their own -- statements which have only one message for those with ears to hear. "Fear the gays." It's the same message they used to ram Proposition 8 down the throats of California voters in the first place. Crazy doesn't like to be called crazy, and especially not in the venue they use most to cling to crazy -- the courts. So we have some notable statements from the Proposition 8 proponents. Maggie Gallagher, chairman of National Organization for Marriage (NOM): If this ruling is upheld, millions of Americans will face for the first time a legal system that is committed to the view that our deeply held moral views on sex and marriage are unacceptable in the public square, the fruit of bigotry that should be discredited, stigmatized and repressed. Parents will find that, almost Soviet-style, their own children will be re-educated using their own tax dollars to disrespect their parents' views and values. Read more... Maggie Gallagher's argument restated with a different group substituted would read something like this: If this ruling is upheld, millions of Americans will face for the first time a legal system that is committed to the view that our deeply held views on the inferiority of the Negro [Hispanic, Asian, etc] race are unacceptable in the public square... Why yes, yes they are unacceptable. What Maggie fails to grasp is what the judge so brilliantly articulated: Allowing discrimination based upon popular opinion is unconstitutional. Thrice-married stellar defender of marriage Newt Gingrich stepped out with his own brand of intellectual dishonesty, aiming for a twofer by swiping at Elena Kagan and Judge Walker: "Congress now has the responsibility to act immediately to reaffirm marriage as a union of one man and one woman as our national policy," Gingrich said in a statement. "Today’s notorious decision also underscores the importance of the Senate vote tomorrow on the nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court because judges who oppose the American people are a growing threat to our society.” Oh, Newtie. Be very, very careful what you wish for, particularly on that "Congress" thing. Congress already had a swipe at it, but a judge in Massachusetts said Congress' attempt was also unconstitutional. Think DOMA, Newtie. Family Research Council Tony Perkins foamed out this statement: "This lawsuit, should it be upheld on appeal and in the Supreme Court, would become the 'Roe v. Wade' of same-sex'marriage,' overturning the marriage laws of 45 states. As with abortion, the Supreme Court's involvement would only make the issue more volatile. It's time for the far Left to stop insisting that judges redefine our most fundamental social institution and using liberal courts to obtain a political goal they cannot obtain at the ballot box. "Marriage is recognized as a public institution, rather than a purely private one, because of its role in bringing together men and women for the reproduction of the human race and keeping them together to raise the children produced by their union. The fact that homosexuals prefer not to enter into marriages as historically defined does not give them a right to change the definition of what a'marriage' is. Ah, a true debunk moment. The kind I live for. FRC: "Marriage is recognized as a public institution, rather than a purely private one, because of its role in bringing together men and women for the reproduction..." Judge Walker (Fact 19, page 60): Marriage in the United States has always been a civil matter. Civil authorities may permit religious leaders to solemnize marriages but not to determine who may enter or leave a civil marriage. Religious leaders may determine independently whether to recognize a civil marriage or divorce but that recognition or lack thereof has no effect on the relationship under state law. And this (Fact 21, page 60): California, like every other state, has never required that individuals entering a marriage be willing or able to procreate. This is the bankruptcy of the right, laid bare. At the very time they're out there with their flags and crosses and claims of reverence for the holy sacred Constitution, decrying government intervention in their lives, they are also trying to claim that government intervention is absolutely warranted and required to keep those gays from marrying each other. They don't get to have it both ways, and this, more than anything else, is what Judge Walker's ruling spoke to. He disposed of the hypocrisy of their stance with facts, and having ruled on the facts, disposed of their feeble attempt to discriminate against their fellow citizens. Behold the beauty of his logic, via just a few of his factual findings: Individuals do not generally choose their sexual orientation. No credible evidence supports a finding that an individual may, through conscious decision, therapeutic intervention or any other method, change his or her sexual orientation. Same-sex couples are identical to opposite-sex couples in the characteristics relevant to the ability to form successful marital unions. Like opposite-sex couples, same-sex couples have happy, satisfying relationships and form deep emotional bonds and strong commitments to their partners. Marrying a person of the opposite sex is an unrealistic option for gay and lesbian individuals. Permitting same-sex couples to marry will not affect the number of opposite-sex couples who marry, divorce, cohabit, have children outside of marriage or otherwise affect the stability of opposite-sex marriage. Gays and lesbians have been victims of a long history of discrimination. Stereotypes and misinformation have resulted in social and legal disadvantages for gays and lesbians. Proposition 8 singles out gays and lesbians and legitimates their unequal treatment. Proposition 8 perpetuates the stereotype that gays and lesbians are incapable of forming long-term loving relationships and that gays and lesbians are not good parents. There are many more, but these address directly the arguments Perkins, Gingrich and Gallagher try to make for why California should be allowed to legally discriminate and take rights away from a class of people in this state. As Judge Walker said in his ruling on points of law: That the majority of California voters supported Proposition 8 is irrelevant, as 'fundamental rights may not be submitted to [a] vote; they depend on the outcome of no elections.'" And this: Moral disapproval alone is an improper basis on which to deny rights. What the proponents of Proposition 8 have always sought is to strip rights away from fellow citizens. What Judge Walker did is restore them. The next steps will be the 9th circuit court of appeals and then the U.S. Supreme Court, assuming they agree to hear the case. No matter what the outcome, the right wingers who use the Constitution as their whip and chair for progressive ideas should be very careful what they wish for, because Judge Walker made it abundantly clear that the rule of law transcends their petty little prejudices. Oh, one other thing. Judge Walker is no left-wing activist judge. He was originally a Reagan appointee who was finally confirmed under George HW Bush. The right wing screamers are already out in full force over the fact that Walker is gay. They should read the ruling before squawking too loudly, given that it is wholly non-partisan, applies existing case law, and has been very carefully constructed. If they try to dismantle it, their own house of cards might come tumbling down. On a personal note, I truly hope the family of Lawrence King feels a small bit of vindication on this day, no matter what the ultimate outcome is. Lawrence King knew what discrimination and hate turned on him felt like, and now he's dead for being gay. It's a shame none of these so-called moralists could find a small sliver of compassion in their heart for him. When confronted just before Election Day, 2008 with Lawrence King's murder, the righteous squawkers on the Holy Bus Tour didn't even know who he was. He mattered that little. And they talk about family values. Talk is all they do.Mizon was founded in 2000 by a group of beauty experts from Korea’s most prestigious cosmetics companies. Now headquartered in Gangnam-Gu in Seoul, Sourth Korea, the brand promises to develop only the gentlest, most non-irritating, and highet-quality skincare products, while guaranteeing the best value for your money. Originally, they focused on creating products that are ideal for the specific features of Asian skin types, but have also started to accommodate a wider range of skin types and cosmetic needs. What defines Mizon is their dedication to creating products that rely heavily on scientific research, using only tried and tested natural ingredients. This is only possible thanks to the company’s tradition of maintaining multiple specialized and professional R&D teams. Meanwhile, all products are also made in the company’s own factories, helping reduce manufacturing and distribution costs to a minimum. Though the Mizon product line-up includes CC creams, BB creams, makeup bases, and cheek stains, their bestselling products are their anti-aging creams, moisturizers, and anti-acne creams – all of which have made Mizon a famous brand throughout Korea. In particular, their Snail Recovery Gel Cream is a highly effective, very affordable, multi-purpose anti-aging cream and moisturizer, while their All-in-One Snail Repair cream is an innovative hydrating cream that’s effective at restoring damaged sensitive skin. As the company starts to gain a stronger hold on worldwide markets, they’ve also started to channel their R&D team’s efforts into catering to a wider range of skin types. This has also made it an opportune moment for cosmetics lovers in the Philippines as they also expand into Southeast Asia. Thanks to a dedicated team of cosmetics experts, Mizon is a brand that knows beauty well. If you’re looking for the best skincare regimen for your sensitive skin, you can’t go wrong with Mizon. Order their products now through BeautyMNL.Also posted on the MWO forums. So the recently introduced Heat Scale system in Mechwarrior Online has been a pretty hot topic of late. There are a lot of different opinions on how it’s managed (and how best) to tackle the boating problem. (Spoiler: I think most of them suck.) So I took a long hard think about it. Long story short, I think PGI basically has the right idea, that being to try to limit the number of weapons that can be fired at once, but their implementation is amazingly obtuse and arbitrary. There’s no intuitive way to figure out what’s going on. I mean just read the command chair post and tell me your head isn’t spinning by the end of it. Good luck explaining to new players why they’re exploding from firing more than 2 PPCs or large lasers. The number of 0.5 seconds between shots is also really inelegant. Shooting off your second salvo just a split second too early is going to cause you to incur ALL that heat penalty? Sucks to be you. It also doesn’t solve builds with 2PPCs and a Gauss Rifle. And while the speed differential means that it’s impossible to be pinpoint accurate at long ranges as long as the target is moving, both projectiles are fast enough that at close to medium ranges they might as well be pinpoint. Not to mention it’s a build with some of the best sustained DPS in the game. (Though partially solved in the future with heat nerfs coming to PPCs.) So what I would like to see PGI do is rework the system to be something more organic and elegant. I’m not sure, but I believe something along these lines has actually been suggested before. I think it’s worth another look given that this is the direction PGI has gone. Fixing Heat Scale Give every mech an engine capacity, this could be a function of engine size but it doesn’t have to be. This would be up to PGI. Give it a bar on the HUD. In the following video I place it right beside the Heat bar. Firing any weapon would cause a sharp increase followed by a more gradual but still fairly sharp decrease. Going over the engine capacity will cause the engine to be “overloaded” and cause it to dump excess heat into the mech (depending on how many points over) and flash an appropriate warning on the screen. I made a video showing how it might work mostly based off PGIs own numbers currently. So yeah. Relatively simple and easy to explain and enforces staggered firing while accounting for multiple weapon types. Also relatively easy to implement. Simple is good. Different weapons could be given different profiles for how they use up engine capacity, for example, in the video lasers use their capacity for the duration of the beam then have a sharp dropoff. PPCs, Gauss and ACs use their capacity immediately upon firing but then have a slower dropoff. Questions How do we explain ammo based weapons using up energy? Clearly by video game logic! Okay. Fine. Alternatively, ACs and missiles generate recoil, putting load on the gyro. Gauss is recoil less but needs energy to charge it’s capacitors. What about Homeless Bill’s targeting computer solution? I like it I guess. In theory it solves a lot of problems. But I think it might be too complicated to implement properly and it’s probably not nearly as intuitive as he thinks it is. I wouldn’t mind seeing what would happen if it did get implemented though. Regardless, I do think PGI’s solution basically does what it’s supposed to do. Just that it’s a terrible way to go about it and they should fix it. What about X? Refer to the “Rebuttals II: Alternatives” section in Homeless Bill’s article. I basically agree with pretty much everything there.Get the biggest celebs stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email The army's first transgender officer has revealed what it was like coming out to her peers. During an appearance on ITV's Lorraine, Abi Austen - the world's first soldier to fully transition from man to woman - opened up to Amanda Holden about life in Afghanistan. "I served there with both the British and American army for about four-and-a-half years," she said. "Ten years ago, when I served, it was a very different world. The army didn't have provision for people like me and so I had to leave - that's on record. But I'm so proud of my generation and what they have sacrificed because now we can debate these issues. READ MORE: Transgender headteacher's 55-year struggle and barbaric attempt to cure her (Image: ITV) "People are openly discussing it, which means young people can talk freely about what they decide for their identity. People like myself led the struggle to get to where we are now. "We have changed the perception of the LGBT community. There's a lot of terminology being used at the moment, like gender fluid, bigender. My personal opinion is I hope it all settles down and we learn to just see people as human beings rather than labels. "It's lovely after ten years we are finally able to have discussions like this." (Image: ITV) After leaving the army and transitioning into a woman, Abi went on to become the world's first transgender war correspondent. On Channel 4 this Friday, she is hosting a special episode of Unreported World. In the programme, she jets back to Afghanistan and reunites with officers she used to serve with on the front line. (Image: John Moore/Getty Images) "It was really dangerous making the film," she added. "On our final mission, the helicopter that was following behind us was shot down. "I feel that the British and American armies pulled out of Afghanistan too early. Everything we fought for is now controlled by the Taliban. "We are now seeing it descend into chaos. At the moment, it's unlikely the country will survive unless we intervene." Unreported World is on Channel 4, Friday at 7.30pm.The Green Bay Packers are the best team in the NFL... for this week anyway. Was their 26-21 win over the New England Patriots a Super Bowl preview? Sure, I mean, it could be. Just like the game between the Packers and the Falcons next Monday could also be an NFC Championship preview. Likely? No. Possible? Yes. The NFL is always in a flux from week to week, which is a fine way to introduce the latest and greatest power rankings that now have the Packers arbitrarily positioned in the top spot. With the weekly "any given Sunday" lecture out of the way, it's now safe to say that the Packers have a pretty convincing argument as the NFL's best team. At 9-3, they're tied with the Eagles (who Green Bay beat two weeks ago) and the Cardinals (sinking fast after a loss to the Falcons) in the NFC. It's four wins in a row for Green Bay, and the only blemish on its record since the end of September is a Week 8 loss to the Saints. And the best news of all for the Packers is that their last four games are against the Falcons, Bills, Buccaneers and Lions. The Patriots are still pretty good too and still have a leg up in the race for the AFC's top seed thanks to their win against the Broncos a month ago. Tom Brady's connection with Rob Gronkowski was as strong as ever against the Packers -- the uber bro caught seven passes for 98 yards. Had Gronk been able to hold on to a would-be touchdown pass on second-and-9 with 3:31 left in the game, we might be talking about a completely different arrangement at the top of the rankings this week. Philadelphia's outstanding special teams play continued this week. This time the hero was rookie kicker Cody Parkey, who made all four of his field goal attempts in a Thanksgiving Day win against the Cowboys. Parkey now leads the NFL with 27 field goals. The big story for the Eagles this time wasn't the competent play from Mark Sanchez, but LeSean McCoy picking up where he left off last week. Shady's 159 rushing yards were a season high and his 6.4 yards per attempt was his second-best effort this year. The Eagles aren't just winning games this year, they're blowing the doors off opponents. Of Philadelphia's nine wins, only three of those games have been decided by a touchdown or less. Denver regains some ground this week after a convincing win against the Chiefs in Kansas City. The Broncos are now 6-0 against the Chiefs since signing Peyton Manning in 2012. But enough about Manning; the star of the show was C.J. Anderson who had 168 rushing yards, the second week in a row he's topped the 160-yard mark. Denver can do many wonderful things with Manning at the helm, but it's fair to wonder if it can win a Super Bowl without Anderson or some semblance of a running game. Next week, I suspect we'll be talking about the Seahawks ascending toward the top of the power rankings. Seattle's defense hasn't allowed a touchdown in two weeks. Its last two opponents -- the Cardinals and 49ers -- scored a combined six points. So, yeah, the Seahawks are out of whatever funk it was we were gossiping about six weeks ago. Their upcoming game against the Eagles should be a lot of fun. Tier two There's no shame in losing to the Seahawks at home. On the other hand, losing to the Falcons and one of the league's worst pass defenses raises a big red flag about the Cardinals. So much for Bruce Arians' assertion he could win a Super Bowl with Drew Stanton. Meanwhile, the Colts rolled up another big win against an inferior opponent. They might be the least impressive eight-win team if it weren't for the Cincinnati Bengals. Bad Andy Dalton was back this week, and he nearly cost his team a win against the Buccaneers, if not for Marvin Lewis' illegal challenge flag. Another team mired in the late-season doldrums is the Cowboys. Tony Romo might need another of whatever it is Dr. Jerry's been giving him for his injured back (something that I'm sure will have no long-term health consequences, besides, flags fly forever or something like that). The game this week against the Bears is no gimme, but the real test for Romo and company is a Week 15 trip to Philadelphia. The Lions are scoring touchdowns again, which is nice. Despite ugly losses to the Cardinals and Patriots, Detroit is still beating inferior competition. That should serve the Lions well with three of their last four against the Bucs, Vikings and Bears. The Chargers have a similar vibe as the Lions, their fellow 8-4 team. Philip Rivers threw three touchdowns and one interception in a narrow win against the Ravens, bringing his total against Baltimore to 11 touchdowns and four interceptions in six career games. The 7-5 bubble There are now 18 teams with at least seven wins, after the Bills and Dolphins joined that group this week. That's a record. But before you get too excited about all the winning everyone's doing, remember that some of these teams are going to be 8-8 or even 7-9 when the season ends. Of the seven teams with seven wins right now, six are in the AFC, which should make for an exciting wild card race during the last four weeks. Miami looks like the best, or at least the most complete, team stuck with the rest in the fat part of the curve. Comeback wins are usually impressive, but comeback wins against the Jets are much less so. With the Bills at 7-5 too, the race for second place in the AFC East is finally interesting. Kansas City is probably next in line here. The Chiefs still don't have a wide receiver with a receiving touchdown. If they're ever going to beat the Broncos, they're going to need more than just Jamaal Charles doing the heavy lifting. San Francisco's offense is still in the midst of an existential crisis. It may just be a down year, but Colin Kaepernick hasn't taken that next step as a passer or lived up to the expectations that came with his new contract. It's a shame the 49ers' offense can't figure it out, because the defense is playing lights-out football. The most disappointing teams in this bunch are clustered in the AFC North. The Steelers tied an NFL record for first downs in a losing effort with 36 against the Saints. This is a team that has losses to the Bucs and Jets. Baltimore blew a 10-point lead and gave up 21 in the fourth quarter in a 34-33 loss to the Chargers. The Browns have dropped two of their last three, signaling that the feel-good hit of the fall might have reached its terminus... unless Johnny Manziel can do something about it. Houston's another team that belongs in this cluster. The Texans have some real strengths, but are lacking in a key area: quarterback, in this case. About the NFC South It's rare that an entire division deserves its own special place in the discussion of the league's worst teams. The Panthers and Buccaneers are falling out of the playoff picture. Tampa has an excuse because this is only year one for Lovie Smith. Carolina's been hit hard by injuries, but three wins and a thrashing by the Vikings is a bigger fall than anyone could have reasonably anticipated. Atlanta actually looked pretty good beating the Cardinals this week. That's not an easy win. The Falcons are 4-0 in the division with a leg up on the Saints. The two teams will meet in New Orleans in Week 16. If there's any sense of humor left in the cosmos, the Falcons will finish the season 7-9 (or even 6-10), win the division, get a home playoff game, get hot at the right time and go all the way to the Super Bowl. Bottom of the pile The Jaguars got a nice win this week, the largest comeback victory in franchise history. They beat the Giants, who might have taken the title of saddest New York team from the Jets, which is no small accomplishment. Oakland followed up its upset over Kansas City in the most Raiders way possible: a 52-0 loss to the Rams. Speaking of the Rams, it looks like Jeff Fisher has his team back on track and headed to another 7-9 or maybe even 8-8 finish, which tells you all you need to know about how the most mediocre coach in NFL history has managed to hold a head coaching job for 20 seasons. (Don't worry. Danny Kelly will be back on the power rankings beat next week. We're contractually obligated to let him out of the small room where we make him watch film 22 hours a day for one week in the fall and spring. Come on, people, we're not the Buccaneers when it comes to labor policy.)http://www.rockislandauction.com/viewitem/aid/68/lid/738 The story of the development of the Barrett M82.50 BMG semiauto rifle is really a neat story - much more interesting than most people probably expect, and reminiscent of many firearms development stories of the 1800s. Ronnie Barrett was working as a photographer in the late 70s, and became interested (perhaps obsessed?) with the idea of a semiauto.50 caliber rifle after a photo session with a Vietnam War jungle patrol boat (which was armed with a pair of M2.50 caliber machine guns). At the time, the only civilian options for the.50 BMG cartridge were conversions of WWII antitank rifles like the Boys and PTRD. Barrett, with basically no formal engineering background, sketched up a design and approached some machine shops for advice and assistance. He started working in his garage, and after a couple years had a function prototype completed. He sold the rifles commercially at gun shows and through publications like Shotgun News until making his first military sale in 1989, to the Swedish government. The following year he received an order from the US military, and sales took off from there. Contrary to common expectation, the Barrett M82A1 is not really a "sniper" rifle - as a semiautomatic design with a recoil-operated action it's potential accuracy is much less than that of a bolt action precision rifle - and this is amplified by the lack of a precision.50 BMG cartridge in US military service. In practice, the M82A1 will shoot about 3 MOA with normal ball ammunition, and about 1.5-2 MOA with good handloads. It is used primarily as an EOD rifle to detonate heavy-walled unexploded shells at a safe distance, and as an anti-material rifle to attack light vehicles and infrastructure at a long distance. These are relatively large targets, which require the large payload of a.50 BMG projectile but not the extreme accuracy of a true "sniper's" rifle.Movies are shown every Tuesday night in July and August (weather permitting) at Second Beach in Stanley Park. All movies start after Sunset. Please come early for best lawn seating selection. Click on Movie Title to view Trailer Note: movie sunset times are approximate – all shows starts after sunset; scheduled films subject to change without notice. THE PRINCESS BRIDE – Tuesday, July 3 1987/PG/98 minutes Sunset: 9:20pm View Trailer A fairy tale adventure about a beautiful young woman and her one true love. He must find her after a long separation and save her. They must battle the evils of the mythical kingdom of Florin to be reunited with each other. Based on the William Goldman novel "The Princess Bride" which earned its own loyal audience. # https://www.picatic.com/SummerCinemaVIP STAND BY ME – Tuesday, July 10 1986/PG/89 minutes Sunset: 9:15pm View Trailer After learning that a stranger has been accidentally killed near their rural homes, four Oregon boys decide to go see the body. On the way, Gordie Lachance (Wil Wheaton), Vern Tessio (Jerry O'Connell), Chris Chambers (River Phoenix) and Teddy Duchamp (Corey Feldman) encounter a mean junk man and a marsh full of leeches, as they also learn more about one another and their very different home lives. Just a lark at first, the boys' adventure evolves into a defining event in their lives. # https://www.picatic.com/SummerCinemaVIP THE LION KING – Tuesday, July 17 1995/G/89 minutes Sunset: 9:10pm View Trailer This Disney animated feature follows the adventures of the young lion Simba (Zoe Leader), the heir of his father, Mufasa (Ernie Sabella). Simba's wicked uncle, Scar (Rowan Atkinson), plots to usurp Mufasa's throne by luring father and son into a stampede of wildebeests. But Simba escapes, and only Mufasa is killed. Simba returns as an adult (Jeremy Irons) to take back his homeland from Scar with the help of his friends Timon (Jonathan Taylor Thomas) and Pumbaa (Cheech Marin). # https://www.picatic.com/SummerCinemaVIP MEAN GIRLS – Tuesday, July 24 2004/PG/97 minutes Sunset: 9:05pm View Trailer Teenage Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan) was educated in Africa by her scientist parents. When her family moves to the suburbs of Illinois, Cady finally gets to experience public school and gets a quick primer on the cruel, tacit laws of popularity that divide her fellow students into tightly knit cliques. She unwittingly finds herself in the good graces of an elite group of cool students dubbed "the Plastics," but Cady soon realizes how her shallow group of new friends earned this nickname. # https://www.picatic.com/SummerCinemaVIP SPICE WORLD – Tuesday, July 31 1997/PG/93 minutes Sunset: 8:55pm View Trailer Hang on to your knickers, pump up your platforms and fasten your seat belts, because the Spice Girls - Emma Bunton (Baby Spice), Geri Halliwell (Ginger Spice), Melanie Brown (Scary Spice), Melanie Chisholm (Sporty Spice) and Victoria Addams (Posh Spice) - are taking center stage in their feature film debut "Spice World," a roller coaster ride which will spice up your life and open your eyes very wide! # https://www.picatic.com/SummerCinemaVIP FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF – Tuesday, August 7 1986/PG/108 minutes Sunset: 8:45pm View Trailer Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) has an uncanny skill at cutting classes and getting away with it. Intending to make one last duck-out before graduation, Ferris calls in sick, "borrows" a Ferrari, and embarks on a one-day journey through the streets of Chicago. On Ferris' trail is high school principal Rooney (Jeffrey Jones), determined to catch him in the act. # https://www.picatic.com/SummerCinemaVIP GREASE – Tuesday, August 14 1978/PG/110 minutes Sunset: 8:30pm View Trailer Experience the friendships, romances and adventures of a group of high school kids in the 1950s. Welcome to the singing and dancing world of "Grease," the most successful movie musical of all time. A wholesome exchange student (Olivia Newton-John) and a leather-clad Danny (John Travolta) have a summer romance, but will it cross clique lines? # https://www.picatic.com/SummerCinemaVIP TITANIC – Tuesday, August 21 1997/PG/195 minutes Sunset: 8:20pm View Trailer An epic, action-packed romance set against the ill-fated maiden voyage of the "unsinkable" Titanic, at the time, the largest moving object ever built. She was the most luxurious liner of her era—the "ship of dreams"—which ultimately carried over 1,500 people to their death in the ice cold waters of the North Atlantic in the early hours of April 15, 1912. Rose DeWitt Bukater (Kate Winslet) is a 17-year-old, upper-class American suffocating under the rigid confines and expectations of Edwardian society who falls for a free-spirited young steerage passenger named Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio). Once he opens her eyes to the world that lies outside her gilded cage, Rose and Jack's forbidden love begins a powerful mystery that ultimately echoes across the years into the present. Nothing on earth is going to come between them—not even something as unimaginable as the sinking of Titanic. # https://www.picatic.com/SummerCinemaVIPFilmmaker Michael Moore on Friday is launching the national release of his new documentary Where to Invade Next, which is said to be both his happiest and "most subversive" movie yet. In the film, Moore travels to countries throughout Europe and also Tunisia to "pry loose from them the tools they’ve been using to make their countries happy, shiny places," he writes, with the goal of "show[ing] millions of Americans what these countries have been hiding from us." Such tools range from eight weeks paid vacation in Italy, to a year of paid maternity leave in Scandinavia, to women with "true equality and power" in Tunisia, to trusting prisons in Norway. Moore, who is known for such works as Bowling for Columbine and Capitalism: A Love Story, penned an open letter to supporters last week explaining how a recent bout of pneumonia and subsequent hospital stay forced him to cancel all television appearances promoting the film. "I have to be honest," Moore writes. "I'm now worried about my film's release. I can't fly, I have to recover, and [on February 12th] this great movie I've put so much of my life into is going to open in theaters—with little or no assistance from me." Then, in a direct appeal to his fans, Moore then calls for a "cobbled-together 'army' of grassroots foot soldiers" to help spread the word about the new movie, which he says "will inspire people to think about things in a different way." He continues: Last week, laying in the hospital, I watched one Presidential candidate attack the candidate from Vermont for his ideas being “unrealistic,” “pie in the sky,” and “ideas that sound good on paper, but aren’t going to happen.” The truth is, all these great “ideas”—free universal health care, free university, free day care, taxing and policing hedge fund millionaires—have already happened in nearly every other industrialized country in the world! And I have the evidence—and the film—to prove it! "You are going to be seriously f**ed up by this film," Moore adds. "It’s unlike anything I’ve ever done." SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT Help Keep Common Dreams Alive Our progressive news model only survives if those informed and inspired by this work support our efforts Intercept columnist Jon Schwarz, who previously worked with Moore, argues that Where it Invade Next is the filmmaker's "most subversive movie" yet. "On its surface, Where to Invade Next seems to be a cheerful travelogue as Moore enjoys an extended vacation, 'invading' a passel of European countries plus Tunisia to steal their best ideas and bring them back home to America," Schwarz writes. But, he adds, by the end of the film, "after seeing working-class Italians with two months paid vacation, Finnish schools with no homework and the world’s best test scores, Slovenians going to college for free, and women seizing unprecedented power in Tunisia and Iceland—you may realize that the entire movie is about how other countries have dismantled the prisons in which Americans live: prison-like schools and workplaces, debtor’s prisons in order to pay for college, prisons of social roles for women, and the mental prison of refusing to face our own history." Schwarz continues: You’ll also perceive clearly why we’ve built these prisons. It’s because the core ideology of the United States isn’t capitalism, or American exceptionalism, but something even deeper: People are bad. People are so bad that they have to be constantly controlled and threatened with punishment, and if they get a moment of freedom they’ll go crazy and ruin everything. The secret message of Where to Invade Next is that America’s had it wrong all along about human beings. You and I aren’t bad. All the people around us aren’t bad. It’s okay to get high, or get sick, or for teenagers to spend every waking moment trying to figure out how to bonk each other. If regular people get control over their own lives, they’ll use it wisely rather than burning the country down in a festival of mindless debauchery. Tickets and showtime information are available here.Watch the film's preview below.WASHINGTON, Oct. 24, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Chicago chef, writer and humanitarian Rick Bayless is donating objects that represent his early career to the
Daniel, an ally who, as the sitting chair of the Michigan GOP, is a current RNC member. As the talks intensified, some Trump aides who supported Ayers grew frustrated. Priebus, they felt, was getting behind McDaniel, the niece of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, simply because he wanted to maintain influence over the committee. In the end, it was McDaniel who got Trump’s approval. On Friday evening, the president-elect stood backstage with McDaniel prior to a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and told her he looked forward to working together. But there was a twist, one that underscored the deepening divide in Trump Tower. After much horse-trading and negotiating, Trump decided that McDaniel’s RNC co-chair wouldn’t be a fellow establishment figure, but rather Bob Paduchik, a campaign loyalist who oversaw his campaign in Ohio. (Trump has yet to officially announce the McDaniel-Paduchik RNC partnership, though it is expected to be rolled out in the coming days.) Priebus has prevailed in other early personnel contests. Two of his top lieutenants, Katie Walsh and Sean Spicer, are all but certain to get senior positions, and there has been talk that Raj Shah, who oversaw Priebus’ research shop at the RNC, will be hired, too. “Those are huge wins for Reince,” said one transition adviser. “Trump works on a power proximity matrix, so if he’s seeing Reince and his people every day in the White House, that gives him a lot of juice.” Priebus’ momentum has stoked concern among Trump’s conservative loyalists, who fear they will be left out in the cold after risking their careers to support him when few Republican operatives would. Some of them described the RNC forces as highly organized and said there was rising concern that they would move swiftly to lock down the most coveted West Wing jobs. And while RNC staffers have a supporter in Priebus, loyalists say, it’s not always clear who’s advocating on their behalf. As anxiety has increased, so, too, has suspicion. One Trump aide, who has yet to lock down a job, said he recently observed a closed room full of RNC staffers in Trump Tower pecking away at laptops and wondered what they were up to. “The transition has taken a decidedly nasty and more vitriolic turn,” said another aide, who said each day brought “more division and more pieces of contention to argue over.” Trump is aware of the rancor. Last week, after POLITICO published a story detailing how many of Trump’s longest-serving loyalists hadn’t been contacted about jobs, the president-elect responded angrily. He told Priebus to fix it, four transition sources said. Priebus subsequently reached out to a number of loyalists, including Lewandowski, to reassure them. They would be taken care of, he promised — there had simply been more focus on filling high-level Cabinet posts than on West Wing staffing. Those close to Priebus dispute the idea that he’s stocking the administration with his allies. During staffing discussions, they say, RNC officials have been working with former Trump campaign staffers to ensure that neither side is getting a disproportionate share of posts, according to a transition team official. “There is constant horse-trading and balancing,” said the official. “Every one piece you take off the board is another less piece that you have to bargain with.” But there’s no hostility, the official argued, stressing that it’s the president-elect who makes the final call on every staffing decision. And, as is often the case with Trump, he sometimes goes his own way — without regard for his staff’s sensitivities.WRIGLEYVILLE — When Elliot Stevens heard car alarms going off Tuesday morning, he didn't think much of it. "It's normal to hear car alarms in the alley, so we disregarded it," the Wrigleyville resident said. "But then my neighbor came up and said, 'Your cars are on fire.' " Stevens and his roommate rushed outside to the alley behind their home in the 3500 block of North Wilton Avenue. The scene they found "was out of a movie." Someone had set eight cars and a canopy on fire shortly after 4 a.m. Tuesday, according to police. There were five fires in the alley, which sits between Wilton and Sheffield avenues. Stevens, 24, said the first fire engine on the scene Tuesday ran out of water. Elliot Stevens, 24, eyes the damage to his car. View Full Caption DNAinfo/Erica Demarest "I guess that shows you how much fire there was," he said. Several witnesses said flames rose so high in some places that they touched the "L" tracks above the alley. Neighbors reported hearing loud booms around 4 a.m. "I don't know if they were doing it Molotov cocktail-style or what, but there were definitely explosions — every 10 minutes from 4 to 4:30," said Meg Thomas, 23, who lives on Sheffield. On Tuesday afternoon, five severely damaged cars and a singed canopy were in the alley. Shattered glass covered the ground, and the smell of something burning was in the air. No one was in custody. One of the most damaged cars belonged to Stevens' roommate. The vehicle, which had been draped in a cloth cover, was gutted, its tires and front bumper melted to the ground. "I feel so bad for him. He only has liability insurance," Stevens said, adding that his own car was totaled, but he has full coverage. Neighbors said they've seen a lot of "riffraff" in the alley before, especially on game days at nearby Wrigley Field. Several car windows have been smashed in the last few weeks. "It's Wrigleyville," Thomas deadpanned, but was quick to add there haven't been serious incidents beyond "the typical bro action." "It's really lucky that nothing worse happened. No buildings caught fire, no people were injured," Stevens said. "It's something kind of serious. It could've been much worse." Contributing: Tanveer Ali For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio:PyCon USA is looking for people to come and give talks, tutorials and poster sessions. So whether you are one of those people who just loves to talk or you’re more of a visual person, there’s a place for you. For the talkers, and I mean serious talkers, I would recommend the tutorial or regular talk sessions. If you’re not a talker or you want to get better, then you’d want to choose a 30-minute talk, a poster session or just get your feet wet with a lightning talk, the last of which you’d have to sign up for onsite. Don’t know what to talk about? PyCon’s got your back. They wrote a whole article on the topic. There’s also an article on tutorial topics and a brand new article about the poster session. So if you don’t know what to talk about, those posts should get your creative juices flowing. Regardless of what you choose, you only have until October 12th to get your submission in. What are you waiting for? Christmas? That’s too late! Get on this right now! Note: If you just hate talking, join the PyCon organizers mailing list and help in some other way. It’s not tax deductible, but it might give you warm fuzzies.Police in Washington DC did not have to resort to shooting dead an unarmed woman, who lead officers on a short-lived car chase through the Capitol on Thursday, said the driver's sister, former New York police sergeant Valarie Carey. "My sister could have been any person traveling in our capital," Valarie Carey told reporters outside her Brooklyn home on Saturday. "Deadly physical force was not the ultimate recourse and it didn't have to be." Miriam Carey, a 34-year old dental hygienist from Connecticut, tried to drive her black Infiniti coupe through a barrier near the White House, hitting a Secret Service agent who attempted to wave her away. She then sped toward Capitol Hill, leading police on a high-speed pursuit that came to an end when her car got stuck on the median and police shot her. A Capitol Police officer was also hurt when his car hit a barricade during the mile and a half mid-afternoon chase, which lasted just a few minutes. Law enforcement sources said Carey did discharge a firearm and there was no indication that she was in possession of a weapon. "I'm more than certain that there was no need for a gun to be used [by police] when there was no gunfire coming from the vehicle," Valarie Carey said. "I don't know how their protocols are in DC, but I do know how they are in New York City." Representatives from the Capitol Police and the District of Columbia's Metropolitan Police Department could not be reached for comment early on Saturday. Kerry, whose one-year-old daughter Erica was with her in the car during the chase on Thursday, had reportedly been hospitalized for postpartum depression months after giving birth. At the news conference in Brooklyn, Carey's other sister, Amy Carey-Jones, told reporters of her sister’s emotional struggles. "I can tell you that she was a law-abiding citizen, carefree and loving. She had a baby and she did suffer from post-partum depression with psychosis," Carey-Jones said, adding that her sister had received treatment, including medication and therapy. The visibly shaken sisters held hands during the news conference. Earlier in the day they had traveled to the Capitol to identify their sister to authorities with the aid of photographs, Carey-Jones said.Let’s start with the basics: no one can possibly prevent critics from reviewing shows if they want to do. Whether it’s requested or even imposed by theatre company, a venue, a rights holder, or an author, members of the press – just like the public – can always buy a ticket to a theatrical production and express what they think. To actively prevent members of the press from entering a theatre is at least foolhardy if not potentially discriminatory; to prevent anyone from writing or broadcasting their opinion is a denial of their rights to speech. Just so we’re all on the same page. That’s why a recent press release from The Wooster Group and the Los Angeles venue REDCAT quickly stirred up a hornet’s nest. It stated that the license granted to The Wooster Group for the REDCAT run of the Group’s production of Harold Pinter’s The Room, beginning tomorrow, contained the admonition, “There may be absolutely No reviews of this production; e.g. newspaper, website posts etc.” It also appeared in a press release issued by The Wooster and REDCAT, after an opening paragraph which stated “Samuel French, Inc., which manages the United States rights for Harold Pinter’s work, restricts critics from reviewing the world premiere of the Group’s production of The Room at REDCAT.” Very little angers and piques the interest of the press more than being told what they can’t do, so it’s no surprise that following the initial word of the issue coming from the website Bitter Lemons, both the Los Angeles Times and New York Times did features on the ostensible critical blackout. But there’s more to the story, which both Times recounted. In short, The Wooster Group acquired a license for “advance” presentations of The Room last fall, at their home The Performing Garage in New York, where it played an extended run in October and November of 2015. At the time the Group announced that engagement, press releases issued by the company spoke of the planned “premiere” at REDCAT, a return run in New York, and plans to make The Room the first of a trilogy of Pinter productions (The Wooster Group has subsequently spoken of plans to take The Room to France). However, Bruce Lazarus, executive director of Samuel French, which licenses Pinter’s work in the U.S. on behalf of the Pinter estate’s London agent, says that the announcement of any presentation beyond the original New York license caught the company by surprise. The Wooster Group has confirmed that they had not secured licenses for any of the subsequent engagements beyond November 2015, with their general manager Pamela Reichen writing in an e-mail, “Our plans to do further Pinter pieces besides The Room were preliminary and tentative, when we first announced performances of The Room in New York City. We did not have specific dates for these further productions, and so had not yet made an application for rights to Samuel French.” Both parties agree that they began discussions about future licenses immediately after French learned of the company’s plans, but the pace and substance of those negotiations and terms are in dispute. What is not in dispute is that by the time rights for the REDCAT engagement were completed, the prohibition against opening the production for review was in place. When this first hit the press, Lazarus issued a statement that read in part: Samuel French is licensing agent representing the wishes of the Harold Pinter estate. The Wooster Group announced the Los Angeles production of Pinter’s “The Room” before securing the rights. Had The Wooster Group attempted to secure the rights to the play prior to announcing the production, the estate would have withheld the rights. Lazarus maintains that the Pinter estate had not been prepared to grant any subsequent license, because the British agent had lined up a “first class” production in the UK, which had an option for a US transfer. Lazarus points out that French could have simply said no. He said that French persuaded the UK agent to allow the LA production, with restrictions. “We said yes because they begged, said Lazarus, “They said, ‘We’ll lose money’.” At first the license was written so as not to permit any promotion of the production, but that was scaled back to being a limitation on reviews. Queried about the “no reviews” language, Lazarus says French, “made it clear what we meant: don’t invite the critics and don’t provide press tickets. We were under no illusion that the press couldn’t buy a ticket and that if they did so, it wasn’t a breach of contract. We weren’t denying freedom of speech.” That said, whatever the content of the conversations were, in stark black and white contract language, the suggestion of a press exclusion appeared much more blunt, and became even more so when deployed in a press release verbatim. Lazarus allowed that in the future, should such stipulations be made, the language will be more specific. In the Wooster/REDCAT release, Mark Murphy, Executive Director of REDCAT, says that the review restrictions were “’highly unusual and puzzling,’ adding that, ‘This attempt to restrict critical discussion of such an important production in print and online is deeply troubling, with the potential for severe financial impact.’” In point of fact, review restrictions have become increasingly frequent, for any number of reasons. Just last summer, Connecticut critics were strongly urged not to review A.R. Gurney’s Love and Money at the Westport Country Playhouse because the show’s ‘true’ premiere was to take place immediately following its Connecticut run at New York’s Signature Theatre. Several years ago, national press was “uninvited” from the premiere of Tony Kushner’s The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide at the Guthrie Theatre once a commercial producer optioned the piece. Major press was asked to skip The Bridges of Madison County when it was first seen at Williamstown Theatre Festival. I can think back almost 30 years to a time when I pleaded with a New York Times critic not to attend a production at Hartford Stage, even though local press had attended. And let’s not forget how long Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark spent in preview before the press finally got fed up and covered it despite the stated preferences of the production. Whether or not one likes the practice of letting producers decide when reviews are or are not “permitted” (Jeremy Gerard of Deadline, previously of Bloomberg and Variety, stakes out his position in a recent column), whether one feels the press is honorable or complicit in how they handle these requests on a case by case basis, it’s hardly a rare practice. In the case of how the press was handled in connection with The Wooster Group’s unreviewed advance showings of The Room in New York in the fall, Pamela Reichen, general manager of the company, who responded to e-mail questions, writes, “The New York performances were not open to the press. We develop our work over long periods of time that involve work-in-progress showings – like the October-November showings of The Room – at our home theater, The Performing Garage. We only open a show for review in New York or elsewhere once development is complete. The decision not to invite press to the advance showings was our decision, not a stipulation from Samuel French. It was our intention to open the show for review in Los Angeles.” In a phone conversation about this situation, Jeremy Gerard of Deadline noted, “There’s no other kind of journalism where the journalist says, ‘Is it OK if I report this kind of story?’” That said, the allowance for theatrical productions to be developed and previewed in front of paying audiences has become generally standard practice and important to countless creative artists, the result of a détente between the natural instincts of the press and the creative process of artists. It’s impossible not to wonder whether the license was actually being denied because of dissatisfaction with the advance presentation in New York by French or the estate. Lazarus says that’s not the case. “No,” he stated, “This is not a value judgment on the production.” That seems consistent with the account by Pamela Reichen, who writes, “We received an appreciative note from the representative of Samuel French who attended an advance showing performance. We have not received any other communication from the estate or Samuel French relating to the concept or execution of our production.” Asked whether the current denial of right to perform The Room for the foreseeable future after the Los Angeles run would effect their exploration of other Pinter works, Reichen wrote, “Because the rights are not being made available to us, we have no plans to explore other Pinter works. No significant work had begun on them. But our inability to perform The Room in New York or on tour will cause The Wooster Group a significant financial loss. We are a not-for-profit organization, and we fund our own productions. We therefore must recoup our investment over time through long performance runs and touring fees.” * * * So let’s cull this down to the basics. The Wooster Group entered into an agreement to premiere their production of The Room in Los Angeles without having secured the rights to do so, and predicated company finances on presentations of the work beyond the original advance shows in New York in the fall 2015. Whatever the circumstances of the negotiations for those rights, The Wooster Group moved forward with an additional engagement, and was planning for yet more, with no assurance that they could do the piece. In ultimately granting the rights for the Los Angeles engagement, Samuel French, on behalf of the Pinter estate’s wishes, stipulated that the show at REDCAT should not be open for reviews, but with language that can be construed as a broadly sweeping admonition over any reviews appearing, as opposed to being merely that the venue not facilitate the attendance of critics. Could French and the Pinter estate have allowed the brief LA engagement to proceed with no restrictions, without materially affecting the fortunates of a UK first class production and avoiding the resulting fuss? Sure, but ultimately, it was their call.* In accepting the terms as set forth by French, The Wooster Group and REDCAT apparently still bridled at them, and so instead of asking critics not to attend, they issued a media release which implied an actual, but entirely unenforceable, press ban by French. I would suggest that The Wooster Group and REDCAT, instead of acquiescing to their agreement and abiding by its spirit, issued the press release they did precisely to incite the press to greater interest in covering The Room, and it worked like a charm. It resulted in more national press than a 10-day run in Los Angeles might have otherwise received, and it prompted the American Theatre Critics Association to issue a statement in support of the right of the arts press to cover work as they see fit. Editors are reportedly debating whether or not to honor – is it a ban or is it a request – the position that the Los Angeles production isn’t officially open for review, even when it’s perfectly clear that they can do as they wish and always could. Ultimately, The Wooster Group and REDCAT may have won the battle, but they’ve lost the war, since there won’t be any further Pinter work by the company at this time. But they did successfully turn the press account of the situation away from their inability to secure rights on terms they found acceptable into one of press freedom. However, the impact of heightened alertness by the press to requests that work be protected from review in some cases or for some period of time may prove detrimental to other companies and productions in the wake of this scenario. I have always supported the right of artists and companies to explore their work in front of audiences for a reasonable period of time before critics weigh in, and will continue to do so, but in all cases, the press will have the final word. I’m not sure this situation was ultimately beneficial to the arts community because it puts a longstanding, unwritten mutual agreement under the glare of scrutiny that one day may have far-reaching implications. The two sentences which finish with an asterisk above were inadvertently left out of the post when it first appeared, and were added approximately 90 minutes after this piece first went online. Bruce Lazarus’s title at Samuel French was incorrect in the original post and the text has been altered to reflect his correct position at the company. Howard Sherman is the director off the Arts Integrity Initiative at The New School College of Performing Arts. Like this: Like Loading...Continuing its business slump, a new review of Kellogg’s brand, as calculated on the value of the company’s name, shows the company took another dip, falling from 74th most valuable brand to 84th over last year’s rating. In addition, the company’s brand fell 24 spots since 2014. According to calculations by Brand Finance’s Brand Directory, Kellogg has been steadily falling at least since 2014. According to the group’s ratings, the cereal giant figured in as the 60th most valued company in 2014. But over each of the ensuing years, that assessment has dropped. In 2015, Kellogg was the 68th most valued company in the country; in 2016, it fell eight more slots to 76; and with its latest measurement, Brand Finance says Kellogg has fallen eight more slots to 84. The company has seen a drop of 24 slots in just four years. Brand Finance calculates a company’s brand on its earnings, stock, and profits and then measures all that to determine how much a given company would pay to license its brand as if it did not own it. The Brand Finance rating isn’t the only example of trouble for the breakfast food company. The Michigan-based company has also seen its stock falling since last year. Kellogg’s stock closed last week at $72.61 per share, down from its 52-week high of $87.16. Kellogg has been experiencing major business contractions, too, especially over the last year. The company has been desperately cutting its work force and downsizing facilities at least since last December. In January, Kellogg announced that it was cutting another 250 employees from its U.S. workforce, and by February, it had closed 39 distribution centers and laid off its entire U.S. sales force. The company’s contraction came after Kellogg decided to cut its advertising with Breitbart News at the end of 2016, thereby snubbing Breitbart’s 45,000,000 readers. In November, Kellogg noted that the conservative readers at Breitbart News are not “aligned with our values as a company.” While the decision by Kellogg to cease advertising made virtually no revenue impact on Breitbart.com., it did represent an escalation in the war by leftist companies like Target and Allstate against conservative customers whose values propelled Donald Trump into the White House. After the cereal maker turned its back on conservative customers, Breitbart News launched its #DumpKelloggs petition, which has been signed by more than 450,000 people. Finally, according to advertising industry watchdog, Adweek, Kellogg’s decision to pull advertising from Breitbart and the ensuing controversy over the move inflicted massive, long-term damage to the cereal company’s brand online. Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at [email protected]'s the future and we're still waiting for our personal jetpacks, but it looks like robot helpers in every home are closer than ever, with thecorpra's Qbo getting us ever closer. Okay, so without arms he's unlikely to be much of a help around the house, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't make a useful addition to your abode. He's peppered with sensors of various types, has stereo high-def webcam eyes, microphone ears, and even an LED mouth. Inside his belly rests a Mini-ITX motherboard festooned with WiFi, Bluetooth, an Intel Atom processor and NVIDIA Ion graphics, all running some flavor of Linux. Yes, that means he could stream YouTube videos in HD... if only he had the appropriate outputs. There's no mention of price or availability at this point but something tells us he won't be free as in beer. Full picture with specs after the break.Thought Crime: UK Leadership Wants To Ban Predicted 'Extremists' From Social Media, TV, Events from the police-state dept Extremists will have to get posts on Facebook and Twitter approved in advance by the police under sweeping rules planned by the Conservatives. They will also be barred from speaking at public events if they represent a threat to “the functioning of democracy”, under the new Extremist Disruption Orders. Under the Tories' new proposals, groups that cannot currently be proscribed could be subject to banning orders should ministers "reasonably believe" that they intend to incite religious or racial hatred, to threaten democracy or if there is a pressing need to protect the public from harm, either from a risk of violence, public disorder, harassment or other criminal acts. The new orders will be part of the Government’s “Prevent” strategy, which tackles the ideology behind the terrorist threat. So-called hate preachers, who currently stay just within terrorism legislation, will be one of the targets of banning orders and Extremism Disruption Orders (EDOs). The fact that these Extremist Disruption Orders won’t only apply to potential terrorists, but simply to those who present a threat to public disorder, clearly highlights that this policy is the thin end of the wedge. We were told that the National Extremist Database would contain details of those who posed a nations security, yet we know members of the public who have done little more than organise meetings on environmental issues are on the database. Theresa May, the current UK Home Secretary, has announced that, if re-elected, her party (the Conservatives) will push for "extremist disruption orders" which would effectively ban people declared "extremist" (using a very broad definition) from using social media or appearing on TV.The broad definitions here matter. Part of the plan is to make such rules cover a wide variety of groups and individuals, based on what the government "reasonably believes" they may be up to:Yes, if the government "reasonably believes" you engage in harassment at some point in the future, it can have you declared an extremist, bar you from TV and public events, and make sure that all your social media posts are pre-reviewed for approval. Supporters flat out admit that this would be done to get people who are currently doing things that are perfectly legal:But, of course, things like that imply that it will only be used against "terrorists" or terrorist sympathizers. But, as the details make clear, this expands way beyond terrorism to those who may be involved in other offenses. Big Brother Watch details how environmental groups may be tied up by this:What's especially galling is the fact that May is claiming that this is being done in the name of "British values," which certainly suggests that freedom of speech and freedom to associate are, in fact, antithetical to British values. Also, all of this assumes that speech, alone, is somehow dangerous -- despite years of proof that speech by itself is rarely dangerous. However, theof speech often creates more problems. Filed Under: censorship, extremism disruption orders, extremists, free assocation, free press, free speech, theresa may, ukOlya was checking Facebook on her way to work when she learned that her friend Buse, a fellow trans sex worker, had been brutally murdered at home by a client. Buse had lived on the outskirts of Istanbul. This wasn’t the first time Olya had lost a colleague and friend to a hate crime—and she suspects it won’t be the last. “My friend was killed and the murderer is still out there. He could be my next client. But I still have to work,” she tells VICE. “In this community, nobody ever dies of natural causes. Every day, I come back home from work, shut the door behind myself, and take a deep breath and say, ‘Thank God I’m alive for one more day.'” With 39 recorded murders between 2008 and 2015, Turkey is the most dangerous place in Europe to be a transgender person, followed pretty closely by Italy. Most of these crimes were reportedly committed against sex workers, who have no legal recognition or protection. “People who demand to have sex with transgender women tend to be those behind the murders. Sometimes, after having sex, they feel embarrassed about having slept with a transgender woman,” Olya says. “It doesn’t suit their manliness. They get aggressive and kill the sex worker.” When Olya received death threats in her coastal hometown, 41-year-old Oyku Ay—another transgender woman and a prominent activist in Istanbul—invited her to move into a safe shelter. Run by charity the Istanbul LGBTT Solidarity Association, it’s tucked away in an apartment—secretly, for security reasons—and hosts up to 20 homeless trans people who would otherwise be on the streets. Neighbors, frequenters of the nearby mosque, or anyone outside the LGBT+ community have no idea about the handful of transgender women living in the top floors of the old, moldy flat. Shelter residents keep most curtains closed and some of the women hardly leave in order to keep a low profile. Inside, Oyku walks me through her room. She’s a devout Muslim, with a dressing room in her flat and a cupboard full of dozens of hijabs—which she shows off proudly. “Please write that I am very attached to my religion and Turkish traditions,” she says. “When people hear ‘trans sex worker’ they shouldn’t immediately think of a deviant drug addict.” Oyku (left) and Olya, in the shelter. All photos by Didem Tali. Oyku’s got a colorful collection of wigs that she’s keen to show me. And beside them, a Ya Sin Muslim prayer text sits stacked with other religious books. “I don’t pray with the wigs of course, they are just for the clients,” she says with a laugh. “My work and my religion… They can coexist. They are different things.” Turkey’s transgender community isn’t necessarily synonymous with sex work, but the overwhelming majority of transgender people in the shelter feel they haven’t got other means to sustain themselves, thanks to transphobic working environments. “All my life, I dreamed of having a normal day job, but it wasn’t my kismet,” Oyku says. “When I realized I wouldn’t get a day job, I opened a café with my brother. But we lost the business when people eventually learned about me. They said they didn’t want to be fed by a faggot.” When people discovered that shelter tenant and former sex worker Ozlem was a trans woman, she says she lost her home and her business as a beautician. “I was standing near a bridge, ready to commit suicide. But because my foot was broken at the time, I couldn’t jump. “The next day, I found out about the shelter and came here. If I hadn’t found this place, I would have found another way to kill myself. Don’t get me wrong, I am grateful to be here. But we’re worried about our futures,” she adds. Ozlem’s comments echo a tension mentioned by most of the women I spoke to. Once they’ve decided to “come out” as trans, they’ve got to grapple with the limitations of working in an industry that doesn’t offer them legal protection, when they struggle to find work elsewhere. Until sex workers are offered protection granted to other people in high-risk jobs, Oyku also has the feeling that life won’t get safer for trans women in Turkey any time soon. “In the same way that a miner can go hundreds of meters underground despite the risks to feed his family, we do sex work,” she says. “It’s dangerous. We know it. But as long as the stigma lingers, we continue to get excluded and bullied in all walks of life, and sex work will remain the only way of making money.” That said, Oyku is still grateful for what she has achieved in life. In her 40s, she’s more comfortable than she has ever been. Although she still does sex work, she also makes money from a farming business she set up in her hometown in eastern Turkey. Seda, who arrived at the shelter around the same time as Ozlem, is hopeful, too: “I am 44 but I still look like a model. You’ll now publish my photos somewhere. The world will know about us. Who knows what the future holds?” she says, laughing. Seda, on the roof of the shelter Obviously, it’s not all giggles and wig stands. But in the face of a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood where rent prices and changing demographics may push the LGBT+ community out altogether, the women at the shelter say they’re doing their best. “There was a time I slept with five winebibbers in a row for a piece of bread. If you’d asked me in my 20s, I wouldn’t have known if I was going to be alive by the time I was 40,” Oyku says. “I thought about moving to Germany to make my life easier, but I won’t. I couldn’t live anywhere outside Turkey. At times I’m heartbroken, but I still love my country. It’s our duty to do our best to change things and benefit our community. If we don’t, who will?” RELATED STORIESUncertainty over future of two historic Hitchin buildings Hitchin Citizen's Advice Bureau at Thomas Bellamy house on Bedford Road. Daniel Wilson Concerns have been raised by residents about the future of two historic Hitchin buildings after it was revealed they could be sold. Share Email this article to a friend To send a link to this page you must be logged in. Hitchin Museum Hitchin Museum Members of the public attending Hitchin Town Talk on Tuesday were told that Thomas Bellamy House in Bedford Road and Charnwood House – the former Hitchin Museum – in Paynes Park could be sold by North Herts District Council (NHDC). Cabinet members at the council are due to meet in August to discuss the future of the two buildings as part of its asset disposable and community asset transfer policy. June LeSueur, of Wratten Road East, raised concerns during the meeting about the possibility of the Citizens Advice Bureau and a drugs support group, which currently use Thomas Bellamy House, being left homeless if the building is sold off. Ms LeSueur told the Comet afterwards that she has made an application to register both Thomas Bellamy House and Charnwood House as an asset of community value – giving community groups the opportunity to buy each property for public benefit. Charnwood House, currently occupied by museum staff who will move to Hitchin Town Hall where a district-wide museum is expected to open in 2015, was donated to Hitchin by the Moss family to be used as a museum or library. Ms LeSueur added: “We do not have an information centre or a centralised hub for charities or people to go to get information on local community groups and I believe the use of these two properties should be retained. “If Charnwood House is not going to be used for a museum or library it should go back to the family or be kept for the people of Hitchin – not for NHDC to sell it off and make a financial gain on it.” Robin Dartington from Keep Hitchin Special pressed the chairman of the meeting, Cllr Ray Shakespeare-Smith, to ensure that both properties would be discussed at the next Hitchin area committee prior to Cabinet making a decision – something which he agreed to. Mr Dartington said: “It would be quite deplorable to consider the properties for disposal without it coming to the area committee. We now have until June 10 – the next area committee meeting – to come up with a plan and ideas on how we want to use the two building and present it to the area committee. I favour calling a public meeting to start a public consultation on how the buildings should be used.” Cllr Terry Hone, NHDC portfolio holder for finance said: “Thomas Bellamy House and Hitchin Museum are both on the council’s list of potential assets for disposal. Hitchin Museum is currently occupied by staff preparing for the move to the new North Herts Museum, therefore it is not yet deemed surplus to requirements. “A report is due to go to cabinet later this year for a decision on the potential disposal of Thomas Bellamy House, following which Hitchin Area Committee will be given the opportunity to express their views. “Both properties have been registered as assets of community value, meaning that if they are approved for disposal, community groups will have the right to bid to buy the properties, although cabinet will make the final decision regarding who to dispose to.”A few different readers have asked about checklists and whether I use one. I have started to recently, and have found it helpful. A year or two ago I heard Mohnish Pabrai talking about the Checklist Manifesto, and how he implemented his own checklist into his investment routine. Pabrai made an analogy to pilots, who go through a detailed checklist just prior to a flight. Using a checklist can help you catch something you didn’t check or didn’t think about. It can also make your investment routine more organized and efficient. Mohnish didn’t publish his, saying that it would be more beneficial for one to develop his or her own. I would agree with this, because each investing style and process is somewhat unique. Plus, the process of building the list is beneficial because it gets you thinking about what you value when you buy a stock. Nevertheless, I thought I’d share mine on the blog. This is really nothing special. And it’s not nearly as detailed as Mohnish’s 88 question checklist. It’s just meant to basically reaffirm my thesis and help me make sure I’ve
-27, before milepost 60, for the half-hour drive to Vicksburg, MS. The town of Vicksburg charmed us and made us want to return later (which we did; see our Captain’s Logs here and here). But on this first visit, we only had time to see Vicksburg National Military Park. President Lincoln referred to Vicksburg as the key to the South during the Civil War. The Union’s epic siege there ended up being the turning point of the war. When you visit, make sure you go through the U.S.S. Cairo Museum. This ironclad ship represents a unique part of our country’s naval history, and you’ll be able to walk up, down and through the restored vessel! Rocky Springs –> Natchez Trace RV Park: 54.8-251ish Cypress Swamp 122.0. Driving right past Jackson, MS, we meandered along the two-way parkway until we reached the other-worldly Cypress Swamp. This ecological playground holds a trail through a forest of water tupelo and bald cypress trees. Watch for alligators! French Camp and Council House Cafe 180.7. Depending on your interest level and schedule, you could spend a day at French Camp. This historic district features a variety of 1800s-era buildings, including homes, a carriage house, a sorghum mill and a blacksmith shop. There’s also a gift shop and cafe. You’ll enjoy learning all the history associated with this area. Pigeon Roost 203.5. There isn’t much to see here, and that’s the problem. Pull your vehicle over to read the sign, then continue on your journey. Natchez Trace RV Park 250.0ish. Between milepost 250 and 255, we exited at County Road 506 to stay at Natchez Trace RV Park. This is a quiet campground, perfect for a one- or two-night stay as you travel the parkway. Tupelo, MS 260.0ish. Less than 10 miles north of Natchez Trace RV Park, Tupelo waits to be explored. We grabbed dinner at Johnnie’s Drive-In (908 E. Main St.). Johnnie’s is known as an Elvis haunt–before his days of fame–and the dough burger. This is a small joint. But if you get there when it isn’t too busy, you might be able to sit in the Elvis Booth. Order one Depression-era dough burger to share. You probably won’t care for it, but this bite out of history will cause you to appreciate everything we have today. Elvis Presley Birthplace is located nearby (306 Elvis Presley Drive). We just walked around the grounds, read the signs and took photos. If you’re a big Elvis fan, you’ll probably want to make time to see the museum, too. Natchez Trace RV Park –> Red Bay, AL: 251ish-302ish Chickasaw Village Site 261.8. You’re standing on what used to be a Chickasaw Indian village with multiple dwelling places and a fort. Though this archaeological site has been reduced to a field, walk around and you’ll find outlines of a winter home, summer home and the fort on the ground. Trailheads for a short nature trail and the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail are here. Confederate Gravesites 269.4. Thirteen unknown Confederate soldiers lie buried here, on the Old Trace. As with many places along the parkway, a short stroll under a canopy of aged trees offers an opportunity to reflect on our nation’s history and imagine what life was like then. Pharr Mounds 286.7. As you pull into the parking lot at Pharr Mounds, stop to count the eight artificial hills laid out across the sprawling field. These mounds are older than Emerald Mound, built between 1 and 200 A.D. Red Bay, AL –> Tishomingo State Park: 302ish-304.5 295.0ish. For Tiffin owners, Natchez Trace Parkway provides a scenic route to the factory and service center in Red Bay, AL. In fact, the small town of Red Bay is a mere 12 miles off the parkway! We stopped at Tiffin for a week or so to get some work done, which we’ve chronicled in another article. By the way, even if you’re not a Tiffin owner, the factory tour is pretty cool. 303.0ish. We left Red Bay late on our day of departure, and only had time to relocate to Tishomingo State Park. We absolutely loved this beautiful campground, especially in contrast to the dirt parking lot we had just stayed in for a week! Don’t miss the magical Swinging Bridge when you visit. But beware: this campground is barely big rig friendly. To date, it’s the tightest squeeze we’ve had with Meriwether (who is 40 feet long). Tishomingo State Park –> Northern Terminus: 304.5-444 Cave Spring 308.4. It’s the final leg of our journey up the parkway! As we walked the nature trail, I almost fell into Cave Spring and Eric had to pull me out. Whew! Colbert Ferry 327.3. Before you take the bridge across the Tennessee River, the Colbert Ferry site provides a beautiful photo opportunity–especially if you’re there at sunset. We visited during an overcast midday, but that didn’t stop us from imagining the entrepreneurial George Colbert charging Andrew Jackson $75,000 to ferry the Tennessee army across the river. What a sight that must have been! Meriwether Lewis Site 385.9. Our RV is named after Meriwether Lewis, of Lewis and Clark fame. Lewis led an amazing life, completing a two-year expedition through wilderness to the Pacific Northwest by the time he was 32 years old. When he returned, he was made governor of the Upper Louisiana Territory. Unfortunately, Lewis died along the Natchez Trace Parkway three years later, under mysterious conditions. Most historians have concluded that his gunshot wounds were self-inflicted, for reasons we can only guess at now. Today, a humble memorial marks Lewis’ grave, near the cabin where his death occurred. I often wonder what Lewis would have accomplished, had he lived a full life. Although, I suppose “full” is open to interpretation. He lived more life in 35 years than most of us ever will. Fall Hollow 391.9. There are a number of waterfalls along Natchez Trace Parkway, but Fall Hollow is my favorite. I love taking the walkway over the stream that rushes towards the narrow incline. Depending on the time of year and whether rain has made the trail wet, you can carefully hike down to the base of the fall for a completely different view. Tobacco Farm 401.4. Tobacco Farm displays a tobacco farm from the early 1900s. A short trail leads you to an old barn where tobacco hangs from the timbers. I’ll never forget the moment when Eric and I walked out of the barn and looked over the hills and fields in front of us. We thought to ourselves, “We’re really doing it.” It was still surreal that we had taken the leap to fulltime RVing. In that moment, we realized that our dreams were coming true. The drastic lifestyle change was already allowing us to make memories we never would have otherwise. Jackson Falls 404.7. The trail at Jackson Falls is one of the most popular along the parkway. It is a moderately strenuous hike, but well worth it. Jackson Falls is named after Andrew Jackson. Leiper’s Fork 428.0. Hungry yet? Exit the parkway onto Tennessee Highway 46 and go east to the village of Leiper’s Fork! A short drive will lead you to this pleasant Registered National Historic District, with shops, restaurants, and bed and breakfasts. Puckett’s Grocery is our meal pick. Everything is good. Eric loves the burgers, and I love the mashed potatoes! If you’re lucky, you’ll get to hear live acoustic music while you dine. Walk off your meal with a stroll down the street to see the various boutique shops. At this point, you’re only 45 minutes from the center of Nashville. ### Believe it or not, these are only the highlights of our 444-mile drive up the parkway. There are many more sights to see, all outlined in the map you’ll receive from the National Park Service. Choose the locations that interest you most. But, above all, prepare yourself for a slow, scenic drive. Interstates can never offer you an experience like this. I am so glad we began our fulltime RV adventure with such an amazing trip. Though some of our travels between then and now have blurred together, the Natchez Trace Parkway is etched in my mind. I highly recommend that you see all or some of it during your own travels. If you have any questions about logistics, let me know in a comment! -BSalford owner Marwan Koukash says he is not walking away from the Red Devils Salford Red Devils owner Marwan Koukash Salford owner Marwan Koukash says he is not walking away from the club and is bringing in Australia coach Tim Sheens to advise the club. The multi-millionaire racehorse owner sparked speculation about his future with the Red Devils following the 52-6 defeat by St Helens in their opening home Super League match of the season by tweeting: "I have had enough". But Koukash insists he remains fully committed to the club and says the position of head coach Iestyn Harris is not under threat and he will be given "additional resources" if necessary. Koukash, who invested between £3million and £4million in his first two years in charge, also revealed his plans to bring Sheens over from Australia to provide him with advice and help put new structures in place. St Helens thrashed Salford 52-6 last Thursday St Helens thrashed Salford 52-6 last Thursday On his famous tweet, Koukash said: "I don't want to discuss that publicly. I discussed it with my boys this morning. We had a great meeting and whatever was discussed in house is going to stay private. "I'm not walking out on the club. We're going to come out fighting. I'm going to work harder and if Iestyn wants additional resources he will have them at his disposal. "And also a friend of mine will be visiting me soon, to look around the club and give me his opinion. I'm not the most experienced person in rugby league – I've only been in the sport for three years – and sometimes I need extra help. "That friend is Tim Sheens, who will visit me for three weeks and advise me on various bits and pieces and help put some systems and structures into the club." Koukash, a regular visitor to Australia, says he expects Sheens to arrive for a pre-arranged visit by the end of the month and insists his presence will not threaten the position of Harris. "He's not coming for any other reason but to look at the club as a friend to help me out," Koukash said.This won't be a result of individual car brand partnerships, however. Instead, Inrix is working to integrate Alexa into its OpenCar platform, which vehicle manufacturers can take and shape into their own, branded infotainment systems -- similar to BlackBerry's QNX platform, which may be powering your ride's dash even if you don't know it. Inrix acquired OpenCar early last year and pitches it as an alternative to the more-walled app ecosystems of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Putting Alexa in the coveted shotgun seat should represent a serious improvement over existing voice-controlled systems -- Volvo is trying to do the same with Cortana -- but car manufacturers first have to ally themselves with the OpenCar platform. In other words, we've no idea which cars Alexa might end up riding in. Before Inrix snapped it up, OpenCar was working with Mazda, so that's one potential customer. Inrix isn't exactly small fry in the automotive industry. The company already serves data like real-time traffic and parking information to connected cars from the likes of Audi, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, so it has the contacts. (Alexa will also be able to access this kind of info in the car and in the home as part of the OpenCar tie-in.) But as it stands, we'll just have to wait and see which car makers jump at plug-and-play Alexa support later this year.The first thing to know about surviving the apocalypse is this: you’re not going to survive the apocalypse. You’re not special. If everyone dies? That includes you. If the ecological crisis that triggers the collapse (my money is on runaway global warming, personally) doesn’t get you, then the further militarization of our society probably will. If you want to survive, and I cannot express this strongly enough, you should not go run and hide in your little isolated cabin somewhere by yourself or with five of your friends!(Unless there are zombies.) If you simply retreat and wait for the world to right itself, you’re a coward and not even a very bright one; if you leave all of the work to other people, things aren’t going to come out so pretty. It is this sort of cowardice, this individualistic gusto, that arguably got us into this trouble in the first place. If you stand idly by and watch a fascistic army take control, you will, in the end, die. If you don’t try to organize with people to kickstart a permacultured agriculture to feed people, you will, in the end, die. If you live with two other people and never see another living soul again in your life? You might survive, but you might very well wish you hadn’t. When your appendix ruptures and whoops you forgot that your brother isn’t a surgeon? You will die. Like it or not, humans are social animals. Our best hope to stay alive, and furthermore, to thrive, after an apocalyptic event is to discover social solutions. Staying in settled areas can be dangerous too, of course. Hunger does monstrous things to people. But in most apocalyptic literature there’s this assumption that everyone else will join “roving gangs” that pillage the survivors. This will only happen if we let it. We’ve been told by civilization, with its specialized class of rulers and politicians, that we can’t organize ourselves. This is nonsense. Organization isn’t something that we simply get placed into without willing it. Power isn’t something that simply gets used against us. Power is something that we all have, as individuals and most importantly as groups. For example, there’s no reason we can’t form roving gangs that travel around and teach permaculture, medical, and post-civilization organization the survivors instead. There’s no reason we can’t organize with our neighbors, pool what resources we’re willing to share, and begin immediately to grow food, develop a shared culture, and defend ourselves against the people who try to take it away from us. And who knows? Maybe industrial civilization will collapse before we hit chain-reaction levels of carbon release. Maybe peak oil will save us from obliterating most all life on earth. Or maybe enough people will wisen up and begin to actively dismantle the industrial civilization that is killing us as surely as an axe might. What then? Two things: rewilding and community rescue. Rewilding Rewilding is the process of turning what is domesticated back into something that is wild. The first thing, the very first thing that honestly we should be doing right now, regardless of law, is tearing up pavement and helping the forest return. Some road infrastructure might come in handy, of course, but there is plenty of space that quite obviously—to the post-civilized—would be better left feral. And every road carved through the forest in essence cuts the forest into two distinct areas. This is most easily observed by getting out of your car and walking a few meters into the trees; only the outside of a healthy forest is a tangled thicket. The inside is quite roomy. Nature will reclaim territory at its own pace, but in some areas it makes sense to help it along. Desertification is real and it’s scary and it’s something that humanity has been doing for millennia before the industrial revolution. Even with careful replanting, tree farms often last only a few cycles before the soil is too depleted to sustain life. The more that science learns about forest ecology, the more we learn that we’re better off leaving forests to fend for themselves. I would argue, and I’m not alone, that global reforestation at a rapid pace is one of the only chances we have of preventing our climate from going completely out control. But mostly, we need to let the wilderness encroach back towards us for its own sake. Anthropocentric ideas—that is, ideas that take humanity and its “needs” as an absolute priority—are another of the many elements that led us down this foolish road we’ve called civilization. It’s astounding, this haughtiness that has allowed humanity to see nature as so inconsequential that we permit coal companies to literally level entire mountain ranges (see mountaintop removal coal-mining in the Appalachian mountains). The fact that we don’t rise in anger against such monstrous acts shows just how domesticated, how tame we’ve become. As much as we need to rewild huge tracts of the earth, we need to rewild most everything within ourselves. Community Rescue After the collapse, much of the infrastructure of our global society will of course have fallen. And those in power will try their hardest to stay in power. But if we organize for ourselves and our communities, the existing governmental and corporate structures may be simply rendered obsolete. Humans, by nature (yes, yes, we can argue forever about what is and isn’t human nature, but this is my column) work together in times of crisis. When things go wrong, the status quo of isolation is suspended. This is easily observed by waiting for the bus: you stand and wait and no one speaks with anyone else. But as soon as the bus is ten minutes late, everyone is friends. When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, people organized collectively to loot food. The government showed up a few days later and started shooting people. And the bureaucratic aid organizations were so bloated and inefficient that some members of the National Guard, their humanity showing through their uniform, smuggled supplies to the anarchist Common Ground Collective. They did it because they knew that the anarchists would actually get medicine to where it was needed. People always talk about how without the government we’d all just kill one another, but most often the only killing that happens in a crisis is done by the government as it aims to maintain law and order, the civilized status quo, at all costs. (The next bogeyman strawman that anti-anarchists will pull out is Somalia, but Somalia doesn’t lack for governments; it’s full of warlords.) So our role is simply to help these organic communities foster, the same as we might help forests retake Walmart parking lots. We need to organize in our local areas to meet people’s needs: food, water, shelter, medical care, and culture. And we’ll need to fight against the remnants of civilization as it tries to reassert its might. Most survival guides focus on the nuts and bolts of individual survival: how to filter your water, how to store food, how to construct shelters out of whatever one might find. These books are useful, and it’s worth keeping a few around. A lot of my friends keep what some people call “oh shit gear,” or OSG for short. Water purification systems, canned food, topographic maps of the area. Medical kits, with an emphasis on antibiotics and any prescription medicines one might need. Spare eyeglasses. Gas masks and air filters. Protective clothing. These things are worth having around. At least one group, the Aftershock Action Alliance of New York City, is doing community, grassroots disaster preparedness. They work with their neighbors to develop plans of how the neighborhood can work together to survive catastrophe. They teach workshops on community rescue. It’s only on the social scale that we can defend ourselves from famine, illness, and warlords. And it’s there that we need to focus. You can find more unbelievable facts and some expert tips to prevent the disastrous events post collapse on usdeception.com Article first appeared in Alan Moore’s Dodgem Logic Other Survival Solutions(This are the most reliable survival books that you can find)Canonical has revealed the style of the new default theme that will be used in Ubuntu 10.04, the next major version of the popular Linux distribution. In a significant departure from tradition, Ubuntu is shedding its signature brown color scheme and is adopting a new look with a palette that includes orange and an aubergine shade of purple. Ubuntu's distinctive brown look dates back to the very first version of the distribution, which was released in 2004. Although the style has evolved considerably since then and new colors like orange gradually gained a foothold in the desktop palette, brown has been the dominant color of Ubuntu's default themes for the past five years. Canonical began discussing the possibility of a major visual refresh in 2007 during the development of Ubuntu 8.04, the last major long-term support release. At the time, Canonical's art team was thinking about adopting a darker look with a black and orange color scheme, but the theme concept was abandoned and never implemented. Although the idea of a major visual refresh was resurrected and discussed again during the development process of several subsequent Ubuntu versions, it hasn't happened until now. The theme change is part of a broader effort to redefine Ubuntu's visual identity, a move that could help make the open source desktop platform seem more professional and attractive to a mainstream audience. According to design documentation in the Ubuntu wiki, the new style was developed last year by Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth and a team of designers. They chose "light" as the thematic concept behind the new brand identity. The new Ubuntu logo, which was also unveiled today, has a thinner font and a smaller icon. "We're drawn to Light because it denotes both warmth and clarity, and intrigued by the idea that 'light' is a good value in software. Good software is 'light' in the sense that it uses your resources efficiently, runs quickly, and can easily be reshaped as needed," the design documentation says. "Visually, light is beautiful, light is ethereal, light brings clarity and comfort." Another GtK theme The new logo and colors will be rolled out to the Ubuntu website. The logo will also be featured in the new boot splash screen for Ubuntu 10.04. The updated GNOME theme will include an aubergine desktop and gray widget styling. The orange "Humanity" icon theme will apparently be retained during this cycle. Two variants of the GNOME theme are displayed on the Wiki page, one with black menus and panels and another with light menus and panels. It's unclear at this time which one will be the new default. These designs are still at a relatively early stage and will undergo further refinement prior to the official release. Making Linux beautiful When Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth gave his memorable keynote at OSCON in 2008, he articulated a vision of building a Linux desktop with industry-leading design and unbeatable usability. He promised that Canonical would invest in a broad effort to make Linux beautiful. "I think the great task ahead of us over the next two years is to lift the experience of the Linux desktop from something that is stable and robust and not so pretty, to something which is art. Not emulate, but blow right past Apple in the user experience we deliver to our end users," he said at OSCON in 2008. A few months after that speech, Canonical launched the Ayatana project, a broad initiative to improve the usability of Ubuntu and upstream open source software projects including the GNOME desktop. Canonical assembled a team of professional usability and design experts to take on the task. Ayatana has delivered tangible results, including an enhanced desktop notification system and a multitude of minor improvements to usability and consistency throughout the desktop. Although Ubuntu has made great strides in the area of usability, it has still lagged behind other distros like openSUSE in the quality of its theming and visual style. The new theme is a nice improvement that will move Ubuntu forward and make the desktop more visually appealing.It wouldn’t be fair to refer to MLB’s disciplinary record as toothless. There exists a relatively tough PED policy, and as of not all that long ago, there also exists a relatively tough policy on domestic violence. And last summer, the Red Sox were dealt a decently severe penalty for international signing violations, even though their behavior wasn’t exactly unique to them. The Red Sox were hit hard. Individual players have been hit hard when they’ve crossed the line. There’s not a consistent history of the commissioner being too light. What we have now, though, are two penalties that have drawn similar reactions within the league. Many teams and team-people thought the Padres got off way too easy when A.J. Preller was suspended a month for withholding medical information in trade talks. And now, there’s a similar consensus belief about the penalty dealt to the Cardinals for Chris Correa’s repeated hacks of the Astros. Everyone had been waiting for a while to see how baseball would deal with an unprecedented conduct violation. In the end, the Cardinals are out a couple draft picks. Baseball itself had to wait until it could impose any sanctions. Federal investigators got first priority, and only over the weekend did we learn a final ruling was close. Correa as an individual had already been given a jail sentence. Here are the full details of MLB’s discipline: Cardinals send Astros $2 million Cardinals send Astros draft picks No. 56 and 75 (top two picks available) Correa placed on the permanently-ineligible list There’s nothing surprising about the last bullet — Correa wasn’t going to get another baseball job again. There was more mystery about the first two bullets. Nathaniel Grow wrote about possible penalties all the way back in June of 2015, and this is in keeping with his analysis. There was never going to be, say, a postseason ban. There would be a lost job, or lost jobs, and there would be a fine. As Grow wrote, “the commissioner cannot fine an MLB team more than $2 million for any single offense.” That not being sufficient, MLB has also taken a couple picks. All a draft pick is to a team is money in a different, more human-like form. I think it was inevitable it would come down to money and picks. It was simply a question of how much, and based on baseball’s investigation, Correa acted alone. As such, they didn’t want to treat the Cardinals too harshly, but what’s happened is that they probably went too soft as a consequence. I don’t personally know that many people in the game, but they’ve had the same response. Buster Olney knows a lot more people in the game. He used the words “shockingly light.” While this case was unprecedented, within major-league baseball circles, that’s all the more reason to err toward something tougher. By definition, this case was going to set a precedent, and the response suggests this isn’t a strong-enough deterrent. To be clear, Correa is in jail. That’s a good deterrent. And there’s no history of picks being taken from one team and given to another, compensation picks aside. This is a first, and we all know how organizations value young players higher than ever. What really colors things in this case is that, from the outside, it looks like the Cardinals get to benefit from having already surrendered a high pick to sign Dexter Fowler. While it’s impossible to say what might’ve happened under other circumstances, it’s likely the Cardinals would’ve had to give up their top two picks no matter what. The penalty, then, could be considered reduced, because the Cardinals opted to sign a valuable free agent. That doesn’t make a lot of sense, and as you probably already knew, draft picks, on average, lose their value fast. The best draft picks are the earliest draft picks. That’s how it’s supposed to work, but the historical drop-off is extreme, after the earlier part of the first round. The Cardinals are forfeiting a pick in the back half of the second round, and then the last pick between the second and third rounds. Nothing is ever perfectly demonstrated by a single anecdote, but consider the Rays draft in 2011, when they had 12 of the first 89 picks. They also had none of the first 23. From that whole crop, the Rays have gotten Blake Snell, and then no one better than Mikie Mahtook. The picks the Cardinals are losing simply aren’t that valuable, and any real value, anyway, wouldn’t materialize for a number of years. You could estimate that, overall, this violation has cost the Cardinals an employee and something like $5 – 10 million. Maybe that’s okay with you — I don’t know. I can’t exactly say what’s fair, because this had never happened, so there isn’t an outline of how to proceed. It’s also impossible to determine to what extent the Cardinals organization benefited from the information Correa took. It’s not like he kept it all to himself, and it’s not like he was un-influenced by what he saw. On the other side of the same coin, we don’t know how badly the Astros were hurt. Yet I’m also not sure how much that matters. At the end of the day, this was one team employee hacking into another team’s database. Said employee repeated his act dozens and dozens of times. Baseball would’ve been under pressure to send a forceful message, and it would appear, in that regard, they’ve failed. I’m not sure how many draft picks would’ve been sufficient. There might’ve been the additional opportunity to give the Astros some or all of the Cardinals’ international signing pool. A small fine won’t do much to affect an organization, so you have to go after the pipeline of talent. Losing two non-premium picks doesn’t sting. The Fowler consideration makes it all worse. The Cardinals were never going to get completely and utterly torn apart, but all this is is a bump in the road, following the first known hack in major-league history. I don’t know how effectively this is going to prevent a second.By Sen. David Perdue June 1 at 6:15 AM Georgia GOP Sen. David Perdue says Republicans should be embracing Donald Trump not running away from him. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY The Outrage Machine is regular opinion column by voices from the left and right on Washington. Republican voters have sent the Washington establishment a message in the form of our presidential nominee. It is loud, and it should be clear. Yet, a small enclave of career politicians within our party is still struggling to understand the mass appeal of Donald Trump. These D.C. insiders are so caught up in the Washington bubble that they failed to realize the world around them has changed. For too long, career politicians have over promised and under-delivered. The constant gridlock and lack of results in Washington is unacceptable. We have a political system that protects those in power and leaves the American people behind. Georgians sent a strong message to the establishment in my Senate race by electing an outsider to the political process. We now see that same movement sweeping across the country, and we should welcome it. Two short years ago, I was an outsider businessman campaigning for the first time and endured some of the same criticisms being leveled against Mr. Trump today. Through my own experience, I probably understand the Trump phenomenon and the new reality of this electorate better than most. In my race, the establishment types said I wasn’t Republican enough. They warned the party faithful that I hadn’t paid my political dues and that voting for me would be risky. Never mind the fact I had spent my career running major companies and creating jobs, versus running for political office as a full-time job. People listened when I spoke in business terms out on the campaign trail about the national debt and global security crisis – instead of reciting tired old GOP talking points. Instead of the usual Washington Beltway babble, I spoke plainly to people about their concerns with the economy and jobs, and their frustration with Washington. The antiquated tactics that were used unsuccessfully against me have been deployed against Mr. Trump, and the voters responded in similar fashion. They ignored the preachy pundits, the ideology police, and the Washington establishment. They chose a different type of candidate because they believe to get different results, you have to send a different type of person to Washington. Mr. Trump’s nabbing of the presidential nod embodies a dramatic shift in the political paradigm. Many voters are now more motivated by their frustration with Washington than their ideology. As I’ve said all along, this movement is bigger than party or ideology, or even, dare I say, Trump himself. However, I’m not dismissing the incredible skill set our nominee possesses. Through straightforward, unapologetic criticism of the powers-that-be, Trump has tapped into the anti-Washington sentiment. Anyone who read ‘ Through straightforward, unapologetic criticism of the powers-that-be, Trump has tapped into the anti-Washington sentiment. Anyone who read ‘ The Art of the Dea l’ shouldn’t be surprised by his technique or his success. The negotiation strategy outlined by Trump the Dealmaker in his signature book gives key insight into Trump the Campaigner. He is focused on the American people’s shared frustration with politicians, bureaucrats, and the media. He is bold and unpredictable, always keeping the opposition off balance. And he is a master of earned media. The undeniable talent that Mr. Trump displayed while navigating a massive 17-person primary will become even more evident in a head-to-head matchup this fall. One by one, he picked off the best and brightest the Republican establishment had to offer and motivated more people to go to the polls in the primary. He is the only true outsider running for president. Now, he can focus on dismantling the Republican Party’s real opponent, Hillary Clinton. While unpredictability shakes those conditioned to protect their own power, anyone who still has doubts about Mr. Trump should stop agonizing for a minute, take a deep breath, and at least contemplate the value of having such a unique asset at the top of our ticket. Fortunately for our party, Trump is a nominee unlike anything we have ever seen. Based on everything we’ve witnessed to date, Mr. Trump is not going to walk into the Democrats’ traps or take their bait. He will play his own game, one that he intends to win. As Republicans, let’s not lose sight of our shared mission to change the direction of our country. That’s why we worked so hard to win the Senate majority in 2014. To affect real change, we must keep the Senate majority and win the White House in November. Our country simply cannot afford four more years of the liberal, progressive policies that have failed the working middle-class of America. Clinton has committed to doubling down on these failed policies. We certainly cannot withstand losing the Supreme Court for a generation. We have a unique opportunity to finally change course. It is time for an outsider in the White House. It is time to let Trump be Trump, and to help him win this election.The bird world has its share of amazing migratory feats. Arctic Terns, for instance, are known for having the longest overall migration, with one bird racking up almost 60,000 miles on its round-trip journey between England and Antarctica. And as scientists recently discovered, Great Frigatebirds can sleep in 10-second bursts while remaining airborne for up to two months. But when it comes to uninterrupted flight, the Alpine Swift has held the record for the longest single flight of any avian species at 200 days. No longer: Now there’s a new record holder, and this bird absolutely obliterated the Alpine's previous record. According to new research, Common Swifts can stay in the air for up to 10 months without stopping. Yes, 10 months. While scientists have long suspected that the bird might be capable of such a staggering achievement, they only recently had the tools to prove it. Smaller than an Alpine Swift and slightly bigger than a Chimney Swift, Common Swifts are as well adapted for flying as their aerodynamic cousins. Mated pairs raise their chicks in Scandinavia for two months each year before taking off in August to feed on flying insects in the sub-Saharan jungles of Africa for the next 10 months. For decades, though, ornithologists couldn’t find any signs that the birds were roosting in their winter home. The species' flying efficiency combined with the mysterious absence of roosts led some scientists to theorize that the Common Swift remained in flight during most of its migration. However, the technology they needed to study the birds didn’t exist. Then came the iPhone. Interestingly enough, innovation in the race to build thinner, sleeker mobile phones has also been a boon for bird research, says biologist Anders Hedenström, who led the team of researchers from Lund Unversity in Switzerland. The tiny accelerometers that steer smartphone users around the streets of an unfamiliar city have also been put to work in the past decade tracking birds in motion. To find out what exactly the Commons Swifts got up to during those 10 months, Hedenström and his team paired an accelerometer and a light sensor in a bird “backpack” that weighed less than half an ounce. The team then attached the compact data trackers to the backs of 13 individual Common Swifts before the birds set off on their round-trip voyage to Africa. The backpacks allowed the team to record how much time the swifts spent in flight and where they travelled, without interfering with the birds’ natural behavior. When Hedenström’s team recaptured returning birds over the course of two years, they were able to prove the hypothesis of their predecessors: Common Swifts rarely stopped to rest during their intercontinental trek, and three of the birds never landed at all during the entire 10-month journey. “That’s quite amazing, I think, that the bird can remain airborne for such a long time,” says Hedenström, whose research was published last month in Current Biology. “It is very much an aerial life when they are away from the breeding area.” That aerial life includes only a few interruptions. The birds that did land during their migratory trips still spent more than 99 percent of that time in flight. Their stops never amounted to more than one or two hours at a time, Hedenström says. He also points out that this is probably for the best. “They are pathetic when they are grounded,” he says, noting that the swifts’ short legs make them appear awkward and almost wounded. “They look really clumsy and will easily become victims for predators on the ground.” Common Swifts have evolved to essentially live in the air, where they can eat, drink, mate, and likely even sleep from the time they depart from Scandinavia in August until they return to breed in June. How and when they sleep is a question that Hedenström

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